Spitfire Grub?
Location: Canberra
January 25, 2012 9:54 pm
Woud you please identify this bug, found in a dwarf snow gum on 26 January 2012 at 1100.
Signature: Bill Reid
White Stemmed Gum Moth Caterpillar
Hi Bill,
After some searching, we determined that your caterpillar is a member of the family Anthelidae. According to the Encyclopedia of Life: “a small family of moths restricted to Australia, New Guinea and the adjacent Aru archipelago. At present the family comprises 74 species in 8 genera described from Australia (Edwards and Fairey 1996) and 20 species from new Guinea in one endemic genus and one genus shared with Australia. However, numerous distinct species have already been identified as undescribed in museum collections such as the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC).” Some taxonomists consider them to be closely related to the Lappet Moths and Tent Caterpillars. We eventually identified your caterpillar as Chelepteryx collesi, the White Stemmed Gum Moth on the Butterfly House website where we learned that “This Caterpillar is a great hazard to people climbing Gum trees. Scattered over its skin are tufts of long stiff reddish hairs, which are strong enough to penetrate human skin. When they do, they are very painful, and difficult to remove because they are barbed and brittle.” Another bit of information from Butterfly House is: “It is also one of the largest Caterpillars in Australia, growing in length to about 12 cms. Some trees where they may be found most years in Leichhardt are known by local school-children as ‘sausage trees’ because the Caterpillars look from the ground like sausages growing in the trees.”
Hi Daniel
Thank you so much for this information. I have many friends here and overseas that are interested.
A great service that you provide.
Best wishes
Bill Reid
1
Giant Water Bug
Location: Queensland, Australia
January 26, 2012 12:50 am
Hi guys,
Hope you like these shots of a giant water bug that was hanging around banging into a shiny piece of stainless steel in my carport. They will often mistake a reflective surface for water and attempt to drop into it.
The bug played dead when I got close to it and it allowed me to turn it over for a shot of its piercing mouthparts. It was determined not to give itself away until I picked it up and took it over to some long grass. When I dropped it on the grass it quickly righted itself and flew away.
Signature: aussietrev
Water Scorpion
Hi Trevor,
The very flattened body and extremely long, posterior breathing tube indicates that this is a Water Scorpion, and not a closely related Giant Water Bug. Interestingly, we found a photos of a Water Scorpion from Australia submitted by you in 2008 in our archive. We decided to do a bit more research and we found the AusEmade website that has a photo of an Australian Water Scorpion from Simpsons Gap that is identified as Laccotrephes tristis and contains this information: “One of the interesting looking insects found swimming in the pools is the Water Scorpion, whose other common name is Toe-biter. These strange looking creatures are carnivores, feeding on other aquatic organisms that they can capture including tadpoles, small frogs and small fish. They swim with the tip of their long needle like tail breaking the water surface, acting as a breathing siphon. With their large pincer-like forelegs used for seizing their prey, Water Scorpions can inflict a nasty nip, although they are also known to play dead when disturbed. Once they have grasped their prey, they inject a venom that liquefy the prey from the inside, which enables the Water Scorpion to suck out the prey’s body fluid.” The Identification and Ecology of Australian Freshwater Invertebrates website also has some good information. The Atlas of Living Australiahas a distribution map.
Water Scorpion
If you look closely at your close-up photos, you can see tiny red spots which we suspect are Mites. Several sources indicate a common name of Toe-Biter which is shared with the North American Giant Water Bugs.
Water Scorpion
Striped Beetle??
Location: North-East Goldfields, Western Australia
January 24, 2012 6:15 pm
Hi,
I’m currently working in the Goldfields of Western Australia. This is on a new mine development in a very remote location to the north east of the city of Kalgoorlie. I found this interesting specimen. I think its a beetle and a rather attractive one with its strips. Its currently summer time here, but we have had a fair bit of rain. Hope you can help me identify it!
Signature: Josh
possibly Rhytiphora macleayi from Australia
Dear Josh,
This strikingly beautiful beetle is a member of the family Cerambycidae, commonly called Longhorns, Longicorns or Bycids. Our initial search has not turned up a conclusive species identification. Insects from the more populous eastern parts of Australia are more available on the internet.
We continued to search after posting and stumbled upon the Silver Striped Beetle, Rhytiphora dallasi, on the Shell Picture Card website which states: “Card data: “This is another magnificent Longicorn – a native of Western Australia. It measures about 1 1/2 inches in length and has a distinctive silvery white body adorned with black lines. This beetle is only found during the warm months. Its grubs are borers in native timbers. Family:
Cerambycidae. ” Comments: Nothing appears to have been written on the biology of this species since publication of the Shell Picture Card series.” The Antennae of the specimen on Csiro or the pair on the Worldwide Cerambycidae PHoto Gallery don’t seem to match as they are not striped like your individual. The related Rhytiphora macleayi from the Agriculture of Western Australia website seems a better match.
1
One for your collection
Location: Queensland. Australia
January 21, 2012 12:33 am
Hi guys,
Seems you don’t have this guy in the database, or at least the search engine didn’t bring it up for me. These guys, the Blue-banded Bee – Amegilla cingulata, are becoming a very important pollinators for commercial crops as the Small Hive Beetle infests many European Honey Bee nests in Queensland and wipes them out.
Signature: Aussietrev
Blue Banded Bee
Dear Trevor,
Thanks so much for providing us with another wonderful and underrepresented species from Australia. We are able to link to the Brisbane Insect website which has some nice images of the Blue Banded Bee. As you indicate, with modern threats to domestic Honey Bee populations, Solitary native bees are becoming increasingly important as pollinators.
Caterpillar
Location: Australia QLD Redcliffe 4020
December 9, 2011 10:18 pm
Hey guys.
Found this Caterpillar today eating my Orange Tree leaves. Like to know what this is and if it’s a thread to the tree or not.
Michael
Signature: michael from australia redcliffe QLD
Orchard Swallowtail Caterpillar
Dear Michael,
This spectacular caterpillar is that of an Orchard Swallowtail, Papilio aegeus, and we confirmed that identification on the Brisbane Insect website. As you indicated, the caterpillar eats the foliage of orange and other citrus trees, however, the loss of some leaves will not harm the tree appreciably. The red horns at the front of your caterpillar is a scent organ known as the osmeterium. It is normally hidden, but when the caterpillar feels threatened by a predator, the osmeterium is displayed along with an odor that is described as disagreeable.
ID needed for derbidae family hopper
Location: Lake Eacham, tablelands, far north qld, australia
January 9, 2012 10:07 pm
Taken near Lake Eacham, far north queensland. rainforest over xmas hols.
I have taken similar ones before (Lydda elongata (Fabricius)i think) but this has a large nose !
thanks in advance
Signature: Andy
Derbid Planthopper
Dear Andy,
Your Derbid Planthopper images are gorgeous and quite detailed. We are posting this as an unidentified insect, and we hope to be able to eventually provide you with a genus or species identification.
Derbid Planthopper
The closeup image is especially nice.
Derbid Planthopper
1
Australian Moth
Location: Sydney’s Northern Beaches
January 2, 2012 5:41 pm
Hello again bugman. I’ve got another potentially tricky moth for you. I managed to find a photo of a similar one on the net, that was of a moth in Georgia, U.S. (http://sparkleberrysprings.com/v-web/b2/index.php?m=200703). Could mine be the same species (I’m in Australia after all)?
Thanks for the previous identification!
Signature: Ridou
Redlined Looper
Dear Ridou,
We are very happy you included a photo of the distinctive underside of this Geometer Moth. We quickly identified it as a Redlined Looper, Crypsiphona ocultaria, on the Brisbane Insect website, and then we substantiated that identification on Dave’s Garden.
Redlined Looper
.
1
Happy New Year
Location: Queensland, Australia
December 31, 2011 8:01 pm
Hi guys,
Happy New year to all, hope it is another great one for bugs.
Thought you might like this shot of an Ironbark Cicada. They are emerging in great numbers right now following a quite wet December. This is about as big as they come, I have seen ones only half this size so perhaps the difference is gender.
They don’t make a lot of noise and will scurry around to the other side of the tree as you walk around trying to spot them. Very frustrating.
Signature: Aussietrev
Ironbark Cicada from Australia
Happy New Year to you as well Trevor.
Thanks for thinking of us and sending your wonderful photo of a new Australian Cicada species for our site. We found a page devoted to Cicadas in the genus Burbunga from Australia that are called Bark Cicadas, but other than that, we cannot locate much information. The hiding behavior you describe is typical of many of the Leafhoppers and Treehoppers that are classified with Cicadas in the superfamily Cicadoidea.
1
¶ Posted 01 January 2012 § Cicadas ‡ ° Also tagged: 
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