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Tag Archives: WTB Down Under?

What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Meat Ants devour Scarab Beetle in Australia

Food Chain Meat ants v Scarab beetle
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 9:37 PM
Our Australian meat ants, Iridomyrmex purpereus, are omnivorous and quite as happy eating the flowers off my zucchinis as any hapless critter that stays still long enough. Farmers will sometimes use a nest as a disposal system for animal carcasses. A nest may have around 85000 ants and they can reduce a full size cow to just bones in about three days. Their bite does not sting but they will chomp on you if you are in their way in bare feet.. This scarab beetle, Exochogenys nigripennisare, will be little more than a snack.
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia although widespread

Meat Ants devour Scarab Beetle in Australia

Meat Ants devour Scarab Beetle in Australia

Wow Trevor,
Thanks for the exciting documentation of the Australian Meat Ants and the Scarab which you have identified as Exochogenys nigripennis.

Posted 11 December 2008 § Ants § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Snail Parasite Fly

Snail Parasite Fly
Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 12:31 AM
Hi guys, me again,
Got this Snail Parasite Fly. Calliphoridae Amenia imperialis, in my backyard and thought you might like her. The larvae parasite snails amongst leaf litter. The male has eyes that are much closer together but apart from that they are very similar. Quite a beautiful critter really I think
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia

Amenia imperialis

Amenia imperialis

Hi Trevor,
We wish we had a Snail Parasite Fly in Los Angeles.  Thanks for keeping our Australian postings freshly stocked.  Oz Animals has some nice images.

Posted 05 December 2008 § Flies ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Crested Tooth Grinder from Australia

Crested Tooth-grinder
Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 4:15 PM
Hi Guys,
Here is a strange one for you, a Crested Tooth-grinder, Ecphantus quadrilobus. This is a 4th instar nymph. While apparently widespread in Australia this is my first encounter with one. Here is a link http://140.247.119.138/albums/Album_1/source/10.html
with a bit more information. Hope you like this unusual guy.
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia

Crested Tooth-Grinder

Crested Tooth-Grinder

Hi Trevor,
What an interesting looking Grasshopper you have sent us for our archives.

Posted 02 December 2008 § Grasshoppers ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Guenee’s Emerald from Australia

Guenee’s Emerald, Chlorocoma melocrossa
Thu, Nov 27, 2008 at 6:08 PM
Hi guys,
Have been having a bit of a problem tracking this guy down but near as I can find is Guenee’s Emerald, Chlorocoma melocrossa, one of the geometridae but unlike the examples I have seen on the net this one has no wing markings.
Taken in the Capricornia Region, Queensland
aussietrev
Capricornia Region, Queensland

Guenee's Emerald from Australia

Guenee's Emerald from Australia

Hi Trevor,
The Emeralds are a very distinctive group of Geometrid Moths.  Thanks for allowing our readership to see what one of the Australian species looks like.

Posted 28 November 2008 § Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Acacia Longicorn from Australia

Black & white spotted poka dot cockroach
Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 9:31 PM
Hi there I was just wondering what this bug is I was working in the Pilbara, In Western Australia it is about the size of a cockroach.
Felicity Packer
Tom Price Western Australia

Acacia Longicorn

Acacia Longicorn

Hi Felicity,
This is not a cockroach, but a Longhorned Borer Beetle in the family Cerambycidae.  Your photo is extremely blurry, but we believe, based on the markings, that this may be an Acacia Longicorn, Penthea vermicularia which we located on the Geocities website of Brisbane Insects.

Posted 26 November 2008 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Fiddler Beetle from Australia

Yellow fiddler beetle, Victoria, Australia
Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 9:28 PM
I saw a very brightly coloured bug on my back step, and after going through your Australian bugs, I found it was a fiddler beetle. I thought it would be a good addition to your photo collection as it is bright yellow, where all the photos you have they are green. Unfortunately this is the only decent shot I managed to get.
Anthony ‘Timorg’ Cassidy
Victoria, Australia

Fiddler Beetle

Fiddler Beetle

Hi Anthony,
We know that winter is upon us in Los Angeles when the Fiddler Beetle photos from Australia start to arrive in our email inbox.  Sure enough, your letter arrived just as our first major rain storm of the season fell.

Posted 26 November 2008 § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Syntherata janetta from New Guinea

Papua New Guinea, saturnid moth
Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 6:17 AM
Papua New Guinea, saturnid moth
We were on a diving trip in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea and some great moths appeared on the boat every night. We missed getting a photo of the big saturnid moth with long tails, but we did get a good photo of this yellow moth. It was quite common in that area of Milne Bay. Any idea what it is?
Thanks
Bruce Carlson
Papua New Guinea, Milne Bay

Syntherata janetta from New Guinea

Syntherata janetta from New Guinea

Hi Bruce,
We identified your moth as Syntherata janetta on the World’s Largest Saturniidae Site which is membership only and run by Bill Oehlke. It is also found in Australia, and you may read about it on OzAnimals website where it is called an Emperor Moth. There are several color variations and the caterpillars feed on the leaves from a variety of trees, including citrus and guava.

Thanks!  If you’re ever in Atlanta, look me up.  I’ll show you around the Georgia Aquarium.
Bruce

Posted 24 November 2008 § Giant Silk Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Mantidfly from Australia

Micro Mantidfly
Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 3:59 PM
Hi guys,
found this tiny mantidfly on my back door. Its only about 12mm long but really liked the patterns which became visible in the close up. Order Neuroptera, Family Mantispidae, apart from that I can’t go further with the ID. Hope you like it.
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia

Mantidfly from Australia

Mantidfly from Australia

Hi Trevor,
As always, we love getting your contributions from Australia.  The Mantidfly is a nice addition.

Posted 16 November 2008 § Neuropterans: Lacewings, Antlions, and Owlflies ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Possibly Parthenogenic Leafhopper from Australia

STRANGE AUSSIE HEMIPTERAN
Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 3:25 AM
what is this odd looking thing? found in eastern Australia.
cheers,
Olga

????????? from Australia
Ledromorpha planirostris (Donovan) from Australia

Hi Olga,
This is a mystery. We have had no luck after about an hour of internet searching. We will post and hope to get an answer from someone. There is a resemblance to the Fulgorid Planthopper known as the Peanut Headed Bug, Fulgora laternaria , but it lives in the new world.

????????? from Australia
Ledromorpha planirostris (Donovan) from Australia

Unknown Australian Fulgoroid
Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 7:51 PM
Hi Daniel,
Eastern Australia is a pretty big place, similar to saying Eastern United States really. A location and a size reference may be helpful. Just to give you an idea, here is the list of fulgoroids from one Eastern state, New South Wales, alone. Many of the links on this page open up to lists about the same size just for variations of that one type.
http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/ascu/fulgor/
If you can get some more information about location, time when it was found, eg did it come to a light at night or was it on a shrub during the day, and approximate size. I may be able to get an ID for you. It may be a lanternfly also.
regards,
Trevor

There is a tribe of plant hoppers called Thymbrini, the largest of which is Rhotidus which is brown with a triangular head. Could be . . .? These sites might help make the identification:
http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/ascu/leafhop/ledrinae/thym00.htm (an online key to identification)
http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_cicadas/Ledrinae.htm
http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/ascu/leafhop/cicaspp/rtelefor.htm (one of those horrible photos of a pinned dead insect, but might help
Grev

Unknown Leafhopper from Australia
Ledromorpha planirostris (Donovan) from Australia

Hi Daniel,
It flew into my fathers windscreen while he was driving around a very bushy area near Jarvis Bay. Thats down the coast from Sydney. This was in the early afternoon. I have attached some more detailed pictures for aid in identification. Unfortunately the little bugger has since died and will now be preserved in a collection. I hope someone will be able to identify it! :)
Cheers,
Olga

Unknown Planthopper from Australia
Ledromorpha planirostris (Donovan) from Australia

Hi Olga,
Thanks for sending additional information and images. You should bookmark our posting and continue to check as people can provide comments. Our newly metamorphosed website allows for comments to be sent to the originator of the posting when that post is sent using a form. Since you contacted us through regular email, you will not receive those updates. We expect that one day, this truly unique Planthopper will be identified to the species level.

Unknown Planthopper from Australia
Ledromorpha planirostris (Donovan) from Australia

Hullo Daniel,
I think the mysterious bug is leafhopper Ledromorpha planirostris. No male has ever been photographed, only males. Is it parthenogenic the scientists ask?
I’ve posted link in the comments box.
Kind regards,
Grev

By George Grev,
We do believe you’ve got it right.  What an awesome addition to our website.

Posted 16 November 2008 § Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

Gutta Bug

Orange and black bugs
Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 6:33 PM
Hi, I live in Western Australia, and recently moved house, finding these bugs in the backyard right after moving in.. What are they? and are they useful or harmful? (There’s a ton of them in the lawn…)
DN
Perth, Western Australia

Gutta Bug

Gutta Bug

Hi DN,
You have photos of a winged adult and immature nymph of the Gutta Bug, Physopelta gutta.  We located images on the Geocities Australian Insects page. The Gutta Bug is a Seed Bug in the family Largidae.

Gutta Bug Nymph

Gutta Bug Nymph

Posted 16 November 2008 § True Bugs ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Bronze Orange Bug Nymph from Australia

Flat Yellow Insect from the backyard
Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 1:25 AM
Dear Bugman,
We hope you can help us identify an insect that my son found in the backyard in a paved area. It is about the size of a 5 cent coin, flat and yellow in colour with a black spot in the middle if its back and a thin black line around the edge of its body. It has black and yellow stripes on the antennae. it does not appear to have any wings and is happy to sit and walk around on my sons hand. He thinks it is lovely and want to keep it as a pet and find out what it eats!
Bug lovers
Australia (Gold Coast)

Bronze Orange Bug Nymph

Bronze Orange Bug Nymph

Hi Bug Lovers,
The reason your Bronze Orange Bug, Musgraveia sulciventris, doesn’t have wings is that it is an immature nymph.  We found matching images on the Geocities website where the text indicates that they suck the sap from citrus tree leaves and twigs.

Posted 13 November 2008 § Stink Bugs and Shield Bugs ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Badge Huntsman Spider

Please identify this spider – from australia
Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 5:32 PM
This spider came out at night (on the outside of our glass door) – it is about the size of a disposable coffee cup lid (including its legs) and I have tried to identify it from australian spider charts with no luck.
The bands on the legs were already bright though the flash from the camera made them a bit brighter. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Alex
NSW Central coast, Australia

Banded Huntsman Spider

Badge Huntsman Spider

Hi Alex,
We believe this is a Banded Huntsman Spider in the genus Holconia. We found an Australian government website with some photos of Huntsman Spiders, but they don’t show the Banded Huntsman Spider on the ventral surface like your photo. Ventral surface photos for identification are not that common.

Correction:
This spider looks like a Badge Huntsman in the genus Neosparassus (formerly Olios). Brunet, in “Spiderwatch: A Guide to Australian Spiders”,says that Badge Huntsman, with 25 species, “have blue, yellow, black and white bands and spots on their legs, and often a brilliantly coloured ‘badge’ design on the ventral surface of their abdomens…” Most of them are harmless, but there are two species that can produce a brief illness if they bite humans.
Grev

Thanks Grev,
WE are having a difficult time finding a ventral surface view that shows the “badge” but we did find another nice Huntsman Spider page.

Daniel, Here’s a nice one, showing both aspects:

http://www.riddellscreeklandcare.org.au/Spiders/BadgeHuntsmanNdiana.ph

And another from the same site.
http://www.riddellscreeklandcare.org.au/Spiders/BadgeHuntsmanNpatellatus.JPG
Grev

Hi Daniel,
Thank you for getting back to me re my spider.
I have had feedback from another source also saying it is a banded (or badged) huntsman and completely harmless.  It is nice to know what it is and its presence is very appreciated (apparently disposes of mosquitos and cockroaches).
Many thanks,
Alex

Posted 13 November 2008 § Huntsman Spiders ‡ Comments (4) ° Also tagged:

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