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Tag Archives: WTB? Down Under

Blue Metallic Flea Beetle from Australia

two beetles? one fly?
January 24, 2010
1.blue beetle in botanic garden Canberra
2.golden beetle Burramine, Murray Valley Hwy vic. on the ground
3. fly Woodend vic in a garden
elise
victoria Nsw

leaf beetle elise australia 300x228 Blue Metallic Flea Beetle from Australia

Leaf Beetle

Hi Elise,
We only like to post one species per letter to keep our archives from being too confusing. Your blue beetle is some species of Leaf Beetle in the family Chrysomelidae.  None of the species on the Brisbane Insect website seem to match your beetle. We believe we found a matching image on the OZ Animals website, but it is listed as unidentified, possibly in the genus Lilioceris. Perhaps it is an introduced species.  Your golden beetle is a Christmas Beetle in the genus Anoplognathus and the fly is a Robber Fly.

Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your quick answer. I just spent a few weeks in Australia and now I am back in the snow in the Netherlands.
Since eveything, every flower, every animal is different from here I have a lot of “research” to do.
I had a book for trees, for flowers, for animals. for birds, but not for insects.
Is there a website that can help me find out by myself what the creatures on my photos are?
Being totally ignorant in australian buglife I probably saw only the very very common insects.
If I have more questions I’ll send them one by one.
Elise

Thanks for the additional information Elise.  Your original letter was so spare and lacking in information that we thought providing you with family information would suffice.  We are not scientists and often exact species identification is difficult for us.  Since receiving your reply, we have posted a second beetle image in a separate posting, but we could not get exact identification.  All of our replies have contained links with websites we use.  You may try additional web searching the same way that we do if the family name isn’t exact for you.  Otherwise, you can continue to check into our website to see if any of our readers post an identification to this Leaf Beetle.  Since we cannot retain email addresses for perpetuity, we strongly recommend adding a comment to your postings through our website and then if any additional postings come in some time in the future, you will automatically be notified.  Csiro Publishing is advertising an Insects of Australia book for sale that might be helpful.

Karl identifies the Leaf Beetle
Hi Daniel and Elise:
I think this could be a Blue Metallic Flea Beetle (Altica pagana). That may not be the exact species since there are several in that genus in Australia, but I believe it is pretty close. Although yours appears to be a single individual, they tend to gather in large clusters. Many flea beetles are considered agricultural pests but I could find nothing to suggest that the Blue Metallic Flea Beetle falls into that category. They are reported to feed on members of the Rosacea family. Regards.
Karl

Yes, I think that is it.  Thank you Daniel and Karl. I found this http://www.flickr.com/photos/nuytsia_pix/3653712810/in/photostream/ that confirms it.
I thought WTB to be australian, but it is american. Are you ‘doing’ bugs for the ‘whole world’? Regards,
Elise

Hi again Elise,
The offices of What’s That Bug? are based in Los Angeles California, but we will attempt to identify anything that comes our way, time permitting.  Our readership and contributors may be found anywhere the world wide web reaches.

Posted 25 January 2010 § Leaf Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Christmas Beetle from Australia

two beetles? one fly?
January 24, 2010
1.blue beetle in botanic garden Canberra
2.golden beetle Burramine, Murray Valley Hwy vic. on the ground
3. fly Woodend vic in a garden
elise
victoria Nsw

christmas beetle australia elise 300x251 Christmas Beetle from Australia

Christmas Beetle

Hi Elise,
We only like to post one species per letter to keep our archives from being too confusing.  Your golden beetle is a Christmas Beetle in the genus Anoplognathus.  They get their common name because they arrive like clockwork each year around Christmas in Australia.  Csiro has a nice web page with information.  Your blue beetle is some species of Leaf Beetle and the fly is a Robber Fly.

Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your quick answer. I just spent a few weeks in Australia and now I am back in the snow in the Netherlands.
Since eveything, every flower, every animal is different from here I have a lot of “research” to do.
I had a book for trees, for flowers, for animals. for birds, but not for insects.
Is there a website that can help me find out by myself what the creatures on my photos are?
Being totally ignorant in australian buglife I probably saw only the very very common insects.
If I have more questions I’ll send them one by one.
Elise

Posted 24 January 2010 § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Mating French’s Longicorn from Australia: A Rarity???

French’s Longicorns
January 21, 2010
I just discovered your site today – being a keen bug fiend, I cant believe that I had not come across it before!
I searched through your site to find more information on French’s Longicorn beetle (Batocera frenchi) – but couldnt find any!
We came across these beautiful, large longicorns on a hike through the Wooroonooran National Park in North Queensland in November – They were in a recently broken hollowed tree (probably had something to do with it breaking!!) and appear to be in the midst of a courtship. This is the first time I have seen these amazing beetles – even though they are described as having a geographical area from Mid New South Wales to North Queensland.
Hopefully someone will be able to let me know if they are rare? In which case, I am completely and utterly chuffed to have met them personally icon biggrin Mating Frenchs Longicorn from Australia: A Rarity???
The Dreaded Bug Queen
Wooroonooran NP -Palmerston, North Queensland, Australia

mating frenchs longicorns australia 300x193 Mating Frenchs Longicorn from Australia: A Rarity???

Mating French's Longicorns

Dear Dreaded Bug Queen,
Though we are based in Los Angeles, we here at What’s That Bug? have had a long history of posting letters of Australian insects, most notably during your summer because our readership does not submit as many identification requests during our winter months.  We have posted several letters from locations including India and Israel containing images of the related Mango Stem Borer, Batocera rufomaculata, and once we even posted a letter of a Chinese species we believe to be Batocera rubus, but your wonderful image of mating French’s Longicorns is a first for Batocerus frenchi for us.  An image of a French’s Longicorn is posted on the Csiro website, but there is not much information.  We have been unable to find out much information on your beetle, though a specimen of French’s Longicorn is listed as rare and is currently for sale on the Insects & More website is listed at 52 Euros, which is approximately $75 US, a hefty price indeed.  A female on the same website is selling for 65 Euros.   Another website lists it as very rare.  We believe your sighting is significant and we are thankful you sent us your marvelous image.  Just prior to posting, we decided to search by the common name French’s Longicorn rather than the scientific name.  We found a wonderful website of Shell Picture Card series on Cerambycidae that contains this information:  “Card no. 339 – French’s Longicorn Beetle, Batocera frenchi (Van de Poll)  [as Batocera frenchi Blkb.]  Card data: ‘This is one of the finest Longicorn Beetles in Australia. It is found in the rain forests from northern New South Wales to north Queensland. It measures 2” or more in length and is found in certain native fig trees, in the branches and trunks of which its grubs feed. This beetle is a common species of the family Cerambycidae.’  Comments: The biology and host plants of Batocera boisduvali (Hope)(often regarded by entomologists as the same species as B. frenchi) have been reviewed by Hawkeswood (1987a) & Hawkeswood & Dauber (1990, 1993).“

Posted 21 January 2010 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Debris Carrying Green Lacewing Larva in Australia

Friend of The Ants
January 15, 2010
This unidentified creature was found along an ant trail in the window frame of our bathroom in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney, Australia. Although it looks like a lump of glue with some dirt sticking to it, underneath is has six widely spaced white legs with which it moves very slowly. There were two or three of these hanging about with the ants. Any ideas?
Thanks, Jane
Coastal Region, Sydney, Australia

lacewing larva australia jane 300x248 Debris Carrying Green Lacewing Larva in Australia

Debris Carrying Lacewing Larva

Hi Jane,
We believe this is a Debris Carrying Larva of a Green Lacewing, and we don’t think it is a friend to the ants.  It may be preying upon the ants.  According to BugGuide:  “It seems that the trash carried by these larvae confers some protection against predatory ladybeetles.“ The Insects of Brisbane website also contains some images of the larvae and adults of species from Australia.

Posted 15 January 2010 § Neuropterans: Lacewings, Antlions, and Owlflies ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

Black Flower Wasp from Australia

Large black wasp type bug, with rather pretty wings
January 14, 2010
We have a tree in our garden that has just come into flower, and as we’ve only been here for 9 months, it’s the first time we’e seen this. Of course it’s covered in your normal run of the mill bee ( that usually drink at my bird bath, or drown if they fall or get pushed in), but I also noticed a bug I’ve never seen before. It’s about twice the length of a bee, and completely black, with oil like black wings. Oil, as in like oil mixed with water and how it swirls – they change colour depending on the light to having purple, gold and blue swirls on them. The photos I took show that it has what seems to be a small stinger on the end of its tail. As I’ve never seen this before, the only thing I know is that it likes the flowers on our tree, and moves quite quickly on the tree. I’m pretty sure it’s a wasp, just not sure which one. The pics I got were the best I could get, they moved on pretty quick, from one bunch of flowers, around the tree, then to another bunch. Not sure if this is a native to Australia or not, but they don’t look too friendly anyway, being all black. If anyone knows, thanks icon smile Black Flower Wasp from Australia
Sarah
Shepparton, Victoria, Australia

black flower wasp australia sarah 300x271 Black Flower Wasp from Australia

Black Flower Wasp

Dear Sarah,
This is some species of Scoliid Wasp in the family Scoliidae, commonly called Flower Wasps.  The adults feed upon nectar, and the female lays her eggs on Scarab Beetle Grubs similar to the White Grubs we just posted.  Though we don’t like to base scientific identifications on Flickr pages, we found an image entitled a Black Flower Wasp, Discolia soror, on Flickr that looks like your wasp.  A photo on the Botanic Gardens Trust government website supports that identification, so we are comfortable saying this is a Black Flower Wasp.  According to BugGuide, Scoliid Wasps can be recognized because of their large size, dark coloration and hairy bodies.  Csiro has a wonderful fact page, but alas, only a photo of a mounted specimen and we much prefer your excellent photos of a vibrant, living specimen.  The site indicates:  “Female black flower wasps can sting but rarely do, as they are not aggressive. It is not necessary to control them.”

black flower wasp australia sarah 2 300x238 Black Flower Wasp from Australia

Black Flower Wasp

Your photos are so lovely, we are posting all of them.

black flower wasp australia sarah 3 300x217 Black Flower Wasp from Australia

Black Flower Wasp

Posted 14 January 2010 § Scoliid Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Drugstore Beetles from Australia

Bugs in Melbourne, Australia
January 12, 2010
Dear Bugman,
I was wondering if you could please help me identify these bugs. We have had many, many of them flying around our home in the past few weeks, and many are dead on the window sills. I cannot work out where they are coming from and am worried they might be borers, however could they be some type of food weevil? (Some of the legs and antennas have fallen off these dead ones, when I moved them to photograph)
Sam
Melbourne, Australia

drugstore beetles australia sam 294x300 Drugstore Beetles from Australia

Drugstore Beetles

Hi Sam,
Your letter is the third we have posted in as many days from readers with infestations of tiny beetles found in the kitchen, and all three were different species.  We believe your beetles are Drugstore Beetles, Stegobium paniceum, which according to BugGuide:  “larvae feed on prescription drugs, flours, dry mixes, breads, cookies, spices, chocolates and other sweets, plus a variety of “non-food” items (see Remarks section below)  adults do not feed.  … Remarks … Larval non-food material includes wool, hair, leather, horn, and museum specimens. Larvae have been known to bore into books, wooden objects, and, in some cases, tin or aluminum foil and lead sheets.“

drugstore beetle australia sam 266x300 Drugstore Beetles from Australia

Drugstore Beetle

We hope one of our readers can confirm this identification.

drugstore beetles australia 2 sam 300x208 Drugstore Beetles from Australia

Drugstore Beetles

Posted 13 January 2010 § Pantry Beetles, Grain Weevils, Spider Beetles, Meal Worms and Carpet Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Children’s Stick Insect from Australia

Can u name this insect please?
January 6, 2010
Large flying insect landed in pool (and assumed drowned). we live in northern Sydney area (Australia) with loads of bush surrounding area.
Thank you, Craig
Sydney Australia

childrens stick insect australia craig 300x209 Childrens Stick Insect from Australia

Children's Stick Insect

Hi Craig,
What a gorgeous female Children’s Stick Insect she is.  It is sad she met such an untimely end.  We identified the species, Tropidoderus childrenii on the Brisbane Insect website, and then found a nice Oz Animals page that indicates:  “Children’s Stick Insect is a medium sized stick insect. Females are larger and bulkier than males, and usually green, but can also be pinkish or cream. The wings are yellowish with bright patches of yellow and blue at the base. Males are slender and light reddish brown. Both males and both the males and females have two pairs of wings. Males are strong fliers, but females are too bulky to fly well. They rely on camouflage to avoid predators. When threatened, Children’s Stick Insect will spread its wings showing the yellow and blue markings. Nymphs have a yellow stripe running along the length of the body. When at rest, the nymphs will align themselves on the leaf so yellow stripe aligns with the leaf midvein.”  Peter Miller’s website states the Children’s Stick Insect is also called a Yellow Winged Spectre. The Children’s Stick Insect feeds on the leaves of eucalyptus.

childrens stick insect australia craig 2 300x239 Childrens Stick Insect from Australia

Children's Stick Insect

Thanks Daniel really appreciate it cheers Craig

Posted 06 January 2010 § Walkingsticks ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged:

Immature Palm Planthopper (we believe) from Australia

Strange sideways/backwards-walking, jumping bug
January 4, 2010
Hi,
We say this strange bug in Coffs Harbour in New South Wales, Australia on Christmas Day. The weather was dry and it was warm. We were out of direct sunlight although the bug did sit on some of the wood around us in the sunlight looking for heat perhaps.
Assuming we’ve identified teh head correctly it has reddish eyes a white and orange coloured two-piece “back” and a segmented tail end with black and white stripes running across the segments.
The strangest feature were the two long antennae-type bits at the tail end (we thought this was the head first) which where dark with white strips and sort of feathery white ends.
It seemed to walk in any direction without turning round and jumped up to a metre very quicky.
I live in Scotland and have never seen anything like this so don’t even know where to start. It looks like a beetle of some sort!
Any ideas?!
alan
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia

palm planthopper nymph australia alan 244x300 Immature Palm Planthopper (we believe) from Australia

Immature Palm Planthopper

Dear Alan,
This was a challenge since it is an immature insect and they can be difficult to identify.  We have received similar images in the past that we identified on the Brisbane Insect website as Wattle Hoppers in the family Eurybrachyidae, but this specimen looked different.  We clicked around on the Brisbane Insect website a bit longer and stumbled upon the Palm Planthopper, Magia subocellata in the family Lophopidae, and it looks quite close.

palm planthopper nymph australia 2 alan 270x300 Immature Palm Planthopper (we believe) from Australia

Immature Palm Planthopper

We then found an image of an immature Palm Planthopper, Magia subocellata, on the LifeUnseen website that corroborates our identification as does a Flickr posting.

palm planthopper nymph australia 3 alan 300x161 Immature Palm Planthopper (we believe) from Australia

Immature Palm Planthopper

Hi Daniel,
Many thanks for this!  I’d done some insect ID many years ago but don’t have any of the resources.  Funnily enough I think I saw something resembling the adult Planthopper closeby while we were entertained by the wee fellow.
Great work, hopw you have a great 2010. J
Cheers,
alan

Posted 04 January 2010 § Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

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