Conclusion: true. "Residents sound alarm after invasive red fire ants land over 20 people in hospital, kill puppy: 'They're just everywhere'" (H/T: Mrs. Paco)
I hope my Australian friends will forgive this bit of hyperbole. Obviously, not every wild creature in Australia is dangerous. For example, back in the 1960s, there was a swagman named William "Billabong Billy" Albanese (no kin to the current Prime Minister, I'm sure) who traveled with a toothless old wombat that was said to be fairly gentle.
Update We kid about Australia sometimes, but, in my view, it's still the psychic second home of all red-blooded Americans. And thanks, mates, for kicking in a few billion bucks for helping us upgrade the shipyards where our submarines are built.
"Invasive"? What, they don't have enough creatures that can kill you, or at least make your day not fun, that they have to import more?
ReplyDeleteWell, Australia's got a reputation to uphold, so I'm not surprised that even invasive species are out to get you.
DeleteI feel for the fire ant invasion of Australia. We always had a version of them in Texas, and I’ve had the unfortunate experience of accidentally stepping on a nest and being swarmed. They inject Formica acid in their bite, and it can burn for weeks. I know from experience that ordinary hand lotion (especially if it has lanolin in it), neutralizes the itching and stinging better than anything else.
ReplyDeleteI used to encounter them in Florida from time to time, and we have them here in North Carolina, too, although (knock on wood) I haven't seen any in my yard - yet.
DeleteI mean I feel for the people of Australia, not the fire ants. It’s a miserable thing to get bitten by them.
DeleteRebeccaH
DeleteCrap. Formic acid, not Formica.
DeleteIt's no fun being bitten by Australians, either. Just thought we should be clear on that.
DeleteFire Ants are a recent arrival in Australia, IIRC from Texas.
Delete(from USA anyway)
Fire Ants are a recent arrival in Australia, IIRC from Texas.
Delete(from USA anyway)
Eat up Martha
ReplyDeleteQueensland, northern Australia, same distance from equator as Florida. So far Fire Ants are only there and nearby. That's also the home of crocodiles and most of the dangerous things.
ReplyDeleteQueensland is huge, two and half times the size of Texas. But much of it is arid, with tropical rainforest in the deep north along the coast. Arid because Australia is very flat, no high mountains to catch rain, so no large rivers at all.
These guys are a terror all along Australia's coasts in early summer:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/articles/2022/february/march-flies-prowl-australias-beaches-looking-for-blood
Their bite is very painful and lasts days, needing an allergy tablet for relief.
Mowing the lawn in summer, a huge fly lands on my leg and immediately bites and starts drinking my blood. Aaaaaah!
DeleteOh, man, I hate blood sucking flies! My father's place used to be plagued by horse flies and deer flies in the summer. I got bit on the neck by a horsefly one time, and I swear I'd rather be stung by a bee or a wasp than get bitten by one of those things again. I got a little of my own back, eventually, though. I was out by the pool and took the head off a horse fly with a wet towel while it was in flight. A thousand-to-one shot, probably, but I did it. Just once, of course; it never happened again.
DeletePS, those billions we probably got from China, selling them iron ore etc, which built their military and navy. So you could consider it a small atonement. And China got the money from you originally.
ReplyDeleteSo...we're really just using our own recycled money? Oh, well. It's the thought that counts!
Delete