Thank you to OneAPenny2APenny for sponsoring the cache
Western Thatching Ants - An Island Spirit Legacy.
The Cowichan Valley Trail will take you from Duncan through Lake Cowichan and down past the Kinsol Trestle following former CN and E&N railway lines. With many access points and 8 trestles, it's a beautiful trail to walk, jog or bike. From the Island Spirit Team, we hope you enjoy your time in the Cowichan Valley.
All the Island Spirit Legacy Caches are within a 2 steps of the trail, unless otherwise noted. There is no need to bushwack or trample the vegetation.
Western Thatching Ants
These ant colonies are usually easily identifiable because they normally construct mounds out of small sticks, grass stems and pine needles. Western Thatching Ants are normally quite beneficial if you have a colony near your garden as they are fierce predators of other insects. However they can become a nuisance around lawns or picnic areas. They can bite quite hard and will usually spray the area of the bite with formic acid, this can produce pain and even blistering. Like several other species of ants, Western Thatching Ants are also known to “herd” aphid colonies on shrubs near their nests in order to harvest the sweet aphid nectar.