Barbara's children recall spending many hours with her collecting plant specimens from Melville Koppies. In 1971, Barbara Pike, a multi-award-winning artist, illustrated Annabelle Lucas' seminal 'Wild flowers of the Witwatersrand', also with line drawings and water colour paintings. This was painted for a Kirstenbosch Botanical art competition A water colour of different parts of a Protea caffa twig with flower heads, seeds and pollinators. They will deter small invaders by squirting stinging fluid into their eyes.īarbara Pike. Sterile male termite soldiers will march en masse to breaches in the fortress. Some of the queen's eggs will become sterile multi-tasking female workers that cultivate fungal food gardens, feed babies and workers, and repair and extend the termitary as necessary. A lucky male may escape and, lured by the pheromones of an equally lucky female, will join her, quickly dig a chamber in the earth, mate, and stay there in lockdown for the rest of their lives - just breeding and breeding and breeding. (We still do this toting of bags of seeded weeds but the number of bags is much reduced.)Īlates emerge at dusk in nuptial flight swarms from the many termitaries at Melville Koppies.
Workers toted heavy bags of stuff off the Koppies to awaiting skips and trucks. Sponsored fences with controlled access gates kept dumpers at bay. The alates are produced by the termite queen, serviced by her faithful monogamous king in a royal relationship that can span up to 50 years. The 'flying ants' are actually the reproductive ALATES of the snouted harvester termites (Trinervitermes trinervoides). Delicious Halaal, Kosher and Banting oil-and-protein rich treats! Remove the wings, lightly fry the squishy little bodies and then sprinkle with salt. Why do dogs and cats leap about catching and munching the nutritious treats of 'flying ants'? Because they can. Wits Honours student, Megan Field, preparing to do fieldwork research into the temperatures in a termitary in 2008 See the 2004 movie: 'Kinsey' with Liam Neeson and Laura Linney. 'Guilt' assuaged? Perhaps these reports, coupled with the new contraceptive pill, encouraged the sexual revolution of the 1960s - and women's lib? The 1950s Kinsey Reports illustrated that previously held taboos and secretive aspects of sexuality were actually quite normal and common. Kinsey then applied his empirical research methodology into investigating human sexuality - with a limited sample of subjects. The botanist, Alfred Kinsey, earned his PhD with his meticulous, exhaustive research on these minute insects. When the egg hatches, the baby wasp has a nutritious, protective 'womb' to start its new life in. The plant responds by forming a gall with a shape peculiar to each gall wasp species. The female pierces the leaf and lays an egg. There are over 1300 species of gall wasps ranging from 1 to 8mm and they are all host plant specific. Silicone can be made into a flexible plastic-like material used for items such as flexible tubing, catheters, contact lenses, "boob" implants and personal lubricants.Ī young visitor examines wasp galls on the leaf of Wild Medlar (Vangueria infausta) on Melville Koppies. Silicon, a natural element, is not to be confused with SILICONE, which is a synthetic polymer made of silicon and other elements. Nomadic Bushmen, who were the first people at the Koppies, used flakes of sharp quartz for cutting and for arrow heads. These would be very tempting souvenirs if this was allowed! In places, patches of quartz rocks and pebbles are visible. Veins of white quartz have intruded in many places into faults in the quartzite rocks at Melville Koppies making strikingly beautiful features. Quartz is a very hard crystalline rock that doesn't weather easily. Silicon is the element in microchips that run our computers, silicon watches and other electronic devices - powering us through the lockdown. Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust after oxygen.
Ursula pointing out a quartz vein in a quartzite rock at Melville Koppies. In addition, Anthony Paton kept us updated with his passion for birds - the feathered kind. There were lots of things to love, and maybe even some lusty titbits. This inspired us to write a Melville Koppies related snippet every day for 41 days while we were in lockdown. While they were there, each person told a story every day - hence 100 stories, most of them with the themes of love and lust. In the book, ten young Florentines went into seclusion in a villa for ten days. Melville Koppies: 41 days: Lockdown notesĭuring the Black Death in Italy in the 14th Century, Boccaccio was inspired to write The Decameron. Johannesburg, South Africa Friends of Melville Koppies:
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