I have been flushing some ants out, as they are a problem in our kitchen.
We have a tribe of Dwarf Geckos living here, and they came out to have a feast.
A train of ants was fleeing from the water that I was pouring down into their nest, and the geckos gathered to feast on it. Geckos of all sizes and they all had a ball. Dwarf geckos grow to the size of the small finger (pinkie), on my hand and they are great pest catchers such as mosquitos.
Whenever I do this, then it means that I have to remain close by because of the dangers, that I will show you in here.
Come and have a look.
The ant train went up on the column of our front wall, and as you can see, the geckos gathered.
Here below is the reason why I had to keep a watch, as you can see a Robin assessing his chances of snatching one of the smaller geckos.
But it had no chance, as I was standing with the hosepipe in my hand, ready to give it a bath :)
See the bigger ant in the train below? It seemed like the smaller ants were trying to protect the bigger ants, they might be the queen ants.
Bang! The gecko grabbed it.
Now here below, and also in the first picture of the post, is what I learned about the geckos. Surprise, surprise, they don't catch the small ants. Bigger ants appear at intervals in the train and the geckos wait to catch and eat only the bigger ants.
One would think that they would go after all of the ants, but no, they don't as they only eat the bigger ants in the train.
Sorry mister Drongo, there was no chance of you getting one of our geckos.
During the birds breeding season, which is thankfully now past, different bird species come here to catch the baby geckos, as feed for their babies. Hectic times and even the little Cape Sparrows catch the gecko babies. We are now almost at the start of winter and one would think that the danger of the geckos would be less, but not so as I also often have to go out to chase some Fiscal Shrikes away. The reason why I don't like the shrikes is that they don't eat their catch, but they hang it out on a wire fence to dry. Imagine the sight when one sees a little dead gecko hanging upside down on a fence, but nature has its ways and we are confirmed nature lovers. Now don't ask me why the geckos only eat the bigger ants, as I have not found the answer yet. Maybe they are just expert shoppers:))
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the picture story.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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