Wildlife Encounters.., Have you had any? Options

[swizz]

Any more guesses/answers on why the gold from the ant hill was the same size?

My guess is that the ants' mandibles can only open to X width... restricting the size of material they can transport.

[CP]

The ants are actually very strong for their size. Although much of what they use to build their colonies are heavier than each ant, they can move/lift up to 30 times their own weight. Imagine if you weigh in at 100 pounds, you could lift 3,000 lbs......
So we'd have to assume weight isn't the factor.

Size of the gravels comes from the requirements of air circulation and heat/temp regulation within the colony. Each species of ant uses only a certain size range of materials and very intricately designs the colony to stay a certain temp, drains off water, etc.....all just for the sake of the colony/larvea's exsistence.

When in gold bearing dirt, the ants there (which ever species) will gather any gold pieces that fit their size range and use them along with all other gravels found of that size. Smaller ants like black ants will have tiny gravels where as some of the larger carpenter ants (red and black) will gather much larger gravels and the gold found on those will be nice little chunkers not flour! And don't worry, ant's float well they'll just walk of the water after wards and rebuild.....it's what they do.

CP

[Coalbunny]

And when dealing with gold less than 2.5mm in size on a placer claim, the ants are your best friends.

When you are working your claim, assess the gravel size & frequency. IOW out of a cubic yard of bank run, how much is 6" or larger, 3" to 6", 1" to 3", <1", etc., and then calculate the amount of material you would have to move to equal the work the ants have performed. If the anthill is 3.5' dia. and 8" tall, you have approx. 1.68 cubic feet of material you can test, if bringing the hill level to the surrounding terrain.

If on a 20 acre claim you find 45 ant hills (not unusual, but conservative), you now have 75 cubic feet of material to test and map. Calculate the equal man-labor to do the testing and calculate the expense you would incur to do the testing. There's your proof of labor.

So when you see an anthill, pay them for their efforts.

[79CHIEF]

Ruby Throat Hummingbird Mobile Al. Sept. 2011

[Denise]

Fantastic picture Dean! Hummingbirds are tough to get pics of in flight but you nailed it. I would love to see more of your photography.
Thanks for sharing the photo with us and keep up the good work.

[Denise]

No gold found from these ants!

This is a cool piece of wood that the carpenter ants made a home from.........We were told that if we feed the uninvited guests uncooked grits for breakfast, that they won't be a problem anymore.



Pics of the ants coming soon.......

[Denise]

Here is a picture of the ants........



NOOOOOO, not on the chalcedony!!!

[Denise]

Carpenter ants are one thing, but it's a whole different story when you hear your child yell out "RATTLESNAKE!!!"

It's even scarier to get there and find a Mojave (green) rattlesnake right up against your place shaking it's thing.
Beautiful lime green color, but had to go!

[Denise]

I have never personally killed a rattlesnake....or any snake for that matter, so CP took the opportunity to give Timmy and myself a lesson while we both were there. He's a great hands on teacher!

Gads!! Was like a scene right out of a horror movie! I have heard stories of what happens when you kill them, but it's alot different seeing it for yourself. Enough to give a person nightmares!! I have to say that Timmy was officially freaked out, but now has more knowledge on how dangerous they really can be.....even dead!

Thanks for the lesson CP!

[OklaPony]

I have never personally killed a rattlesnake....or any snake for that matter, so CP took the opportunity to give Timmy and myself a lesson while we both were there. He's a great hands on teacher!

Gads!! Was like a scene right out of a horror movie! I have heard stories of what happens when you kill them, but it's alot different seeing it for yourself. Enough to give a person nightmares!! I have to say that Timmy was officially freaked out, but now has more knowledge on how dangerous they really can be.....even dead!

Thanks for the lesson CP!

What, no video or even pictures? :)

[swizz]

I'm guessing it went something like this:

[OklaPony]

LOL! That must've been some fight!

[Denise]

What, no video or even pictures? :)

Ummm, no........I was too busy paying attention to the instructor and the snake.

Too funny Chris! It wasn't that gory, but it sure was mind boggeling to see the head (several minutes later) smelling and trying to bite still.

[Denise]

Here is a cool Dragonfly that survived the cold and the snow. Poor thing seems to have an issue with it's upper right wing, so it wasn't able to fly. I found it a good spot to hang out and warm up.



Lets see those pictures everyone!

[Denise]

This was a little encounter we had. It's not wildlife but If it didn't get out....he may have had a wildlife encounter himself that evening. He was sure fighting to get out, but his front legs wouldn't move.

We reported it to one of the locals that said they would call it in. Hopefully they got it out, because temps that evening reached a low of 6.......brrrrr.
The water is not a place one wants to get stuck in for the evening.