The flying ants had their nuptial flight last night. They were EVERYWHERE.

Seriously. We were driving - and then it looked like it was raining flying ants.

They were swarming around streetlights and headlights and torches and fires.

When we got home, loads of them had managed to get into the house.

And then, this morning, there were zillions of wings all over the verandah (the ants drop their wings when they've got from A to B) - and a few clumps of flying ants, some with wings, some without.

It's slightly creepy. The insects aren't that bad, though. All they do is flap around.

But seeing them like that ^ is creepy.

The dogs were scoffing them last nights. So were the birds, this morning.

And I collected a lot and gave them to my chameleon, Apple.

Speaking of Apple, she escaped yesterday when I was "exercising" her on a bush.

I was pretty upset, but figured that since Sophie, Simon and Sir Ivy had all escaped and been found again (and then escaped again, admittedly), I'd probably find Apple again.

And I did! I found her this morning, on one of the nearby bushes.

She's finished shedding on her head, and is now starting on her arms and legs.

Maybe they're just legs and no arms. But I'm more used to saying arms and legs than forelegs and hindlegs.

I found a great place in the long grass for some weird green / beige crickets. They're really slow jumpers, so easy to catch. I also saw a few praying mantids.

Still trying to get a decent photo of a chameleon with its tongue out.

I got one recently (at the same time as the photo above) - but as the insect she was aiming for was above her, the tongue kind of curved and it wasn't totally in focus.

The ladybirds here are different from the ones in Europe. More patchy, rather than spotty.

And they're not all red-and-black or yellow-and-black. Some are kind of peach coloured, like the one above.

Two random photos for your possible enjoyment.

 

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