Brumation is a better term for their overwintering period; they do not hibernate in the strict sense of the word as bears do. Most snakes in and around south western Australia will not be seen for months now, however during warmer periods some will reappear to bask and warm up a bit, especially tiger snakes, one of our most cold tolerant species.

The female skink laid 2 eggs and then weeks later also gave birth to a live baby. Skinks are often strange lizards and the three toed skink (Saiphos equalis) is stranger still.

It is known that southern populations of the lizard near Sydney lay eggs, whilst populations from further north bear live young – I said they were strange. When researchers have switched them around i.e. taking the northern skinks south or the southern ones north, they retain their usual geographic reproductive behaviour.

Edward Osborne Wilson is 89 years of age, younger than David Attenborough who I wrote about in newsletter 51 and just a tad older than Jane Goodall in Newsletter 50. Obviously, many of our planet's famous conservationists are older. You may not have heard of Edward Osborne Wilson, however his books inspired me (the bits I could understand) and, I am sure, many students and biologists are familiar with his numerous works. E O Wilson has throughout his lifetime had an unending curiosity and desire to look scientifically at our natural world and more importantly our place and meaning within that.

An eye injury as a child caused him to lose stereoscopic vision in one eye. However he could still see the hairs on the bodies of small insects. It became easier to observe small things than bigger birds and mammals. Once pulling away rotting bark from a tree he found some citronella ants. The worker ants were "short, fat, brilliant yellow and emitted strong odour". Wilson said this encounter left a vivid and lasting impression on him. Whilst keen to become an entomologist he began collecting flies but apparently due to World War II the shortage of the pins (used to display flies) made him switch to ants that were stored in vials.

Most of us understand now that our planet is in trouble, big trouble. Threatened in many ways, such as with huge human population growth and massive reduction of wild places for agriculture and our endless consumption of finite resources. In order to survive we need a vision for the future, a way forward that enables us as a species to not only survive but also thrive long term. E O Wilson has proposed a half earth proposal and has a charitable foundation that aims to help empower people to achieve the aim of preserving half the planet's land and half its oceans to ensure the survival of most of its biodiversity. Some larger organisations and many individuals are helping to map out a strategy of what to save and how to achieve this. More at https://eowilsonfoundation.org/mission-statement

According to the Guinness Book of Records we have the worlds most dangerous ant as a native, it is also one of the largest, being between 14mm and 26mm long.

The bull ant Myrmecia pyriformis has been responsible for several deaths in recent years – death has occurred within 15 minutes of a sting - in attack it uses its sting and jaws simultaneously. It is so named because of its ferocity and determination during such an attack and shows little fear of human beings. Bull ants can be found pretty much throughout Australia being absent only from NT and the North of WA.

Several deaths in recent years have been recorded from this and its close relative the Jack jumper ants Myrmecia pilosula. Both well worth avoiding.

Other than those two we have some 1,275 described species divided into 103 genera and 10 subfamilies. Probably only about 1 in 5 ant species have been described by science so around 6,500 species may be found around the Australian continent. Budding entomologists – there is work to do!

Ants are considered one of the most influential and abundant elements in Australian ecosystems. They are highly social creatures and communicate via complex pheromone chemical signalling. Ants are the most commonly encountered type of insect by humans. Ant nests contain eggs, larvae and different types (castes) of ants. Australian ant colonies may vary in size from a few individual to many tens of thousands.