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Tag Archives: WTB? Down Under

Paper Wasps from Australia

Nasty Wasp
Location: Hawkesbury, Sydney, Australia
December 4, 2011 5:19 pm
Hello again,
Wondering if you can identify this wasp. Sorry the picture is not too clear, but these are aggressive wasps and they’re deep in a fairly dense garden. I didn’t want to get any closer or move the bushes around in case I provoked an attack. The nest is in a geranium bush, but quite low to the ground and is around 8-10cm across. The wasps themselves are about 2.5-3cm long. My boyfriend was gardening there and was stung on the knee when he accidentally disturbed them. The sting was extremely painful and shortly afterwards he came over very hot for a while. The sting area was painful for about 2 weeks.
We are in the Hawkesbury region, a rural area about an hour out of Sydney.
Signature: Tracy

paper wasps australia tracy 300x283 Paper Wasps from Australia

Paper Wasps

Hi Tracy,
These are Paper Wasps in the genus Polistes.  They are not normally aggressive, but they will defend their nest.  We just finished posting another submission of Paper Wasps from Australia.

Posted 04 December 2011 § Paper Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Paper Wasps and Nest in Australia

Wasp Nest.
Location: Nsw, Australia, Near the coast.
December 2, 2011 3:02 am
Hi. I thought you might like some pictures of what we’ve always called a paper wasp nest, although I don’t know if thats what they actually are. I was very frightened that they would fly at me and start stinging me every time the flash whent off. I hope you like the pictures.
Thanks.
Signature: Emma

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Paper Wasps and Nest

Hi Emma,
Thank you for braving danger to take photographs of these Paper Wasps in the genus Polistes working on constructing their nest.  Paper Wasps are not normally aggressive, however, they will defend the nest.  We believe, based on photos posted to the Brisbane Insect website, that your wasps might be the Common Paper Wasp or Australian Paper Wasp, Polistes humilis.  There is a page dedicated to the species on the Brisbane Insect website.

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Paper Wasps and Nest

Hi! I think the reason they didn’t attack me is because it was a rainy day. They seemed to be sleeping, they weren’t moving much. Thanks for letting me know what they are! I’ve found three nests around the farm already, without even looking very hard.

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Posted 04 December 2011 § Paper Wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Striped Raspy Cricket from Australia

Insect from Kilcowera Station
Location: Kilcowera Station, Outback Queensland, Australia
December 2, 2011 6:45 pm
Hi bugman! Love your website, so handy!It’s early summer here in Oz and these insects are all over the place in their little homes growing big, ready to fly.
They live in bricks,small diameter steel pipes and in suitable bits of steel and other things that have a nice cosy hole that they can cover at one end.
Do they bite? They look quite terrifying and I hate the look of them. They start off only a couple of centimetres long and can get to about 8 cm.
Signature: Toni Sherwin

striped raspy cricket australia toni 300x170 Striped Raspy Cricket from Australia

Striped Raspy Cricket

Hi Toni,
We identified your insect as a Striped Raspy Cricket, Paragryllacris combusta, on the Brisbane Insect website which states:  “Striped Raspy Crickets are also known as Tree Crickets. Adults are dark brown to pale brown in colour with fully developed wings. They have very long antenna, all legs are spiny.  They hide in nest on tree during the day. Their nest is usually two board leaves hold together by silky material. They are well known for their ability to find the way home after foraging distance away.”  You indicate that they live in bricks and pipes, and provided a photo of the covering they create at one end.  We did additional research and learned on Bush Craft Oz that they are:  “Large cricket (body up to 45 mm), nocturnal feeder, spends day in tree holes, or, more usually, two leaves stuck together with silk like material. Can navigate home each night. Has been observed nectar feeding. Fully developed wings. Patterns on face.”  Since they spend the diurnal hours in tree holes, they are probably using your bricks as a substitute lair.  We are intrigued with their ability to spin silk.  The sword-like ovipositor on your individual indicates she is a female.

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Silken Lair of the Striped Raspy Cricket

Well thank you very much for your speedy response.  I have never seen their nest in trees! I have observed however that it seems it’s the smaller ones hide behind the white silk like stuff and don’t come out for a fee weeks, then one day the white stuff will have been broken or eaten away and the insect is gone.  And they get much bigger than 45ml!!!  Do they bite?????  Regards Toni

Many large Orthopterans can bite, but we have no knowledge of the Striped Raspy Cricket being a biter, though we would surmise that they would only bite if carelessly handled.

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Posted 04 December 2011 § Crickets, Camel Crickets and Mole Crickets ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Two Spined Spider from Australia

How can something be so pretty and so creepy at the same time?
Location: NSW, Australia
December 2, 2011 2:08 am
Hi! I live in NSW, Australia, neer the coast. I found this multi coloured, spikey looking spider. You can’t see too well in the photos, but it was also red underneath. I live in the bush and I’ve seen lots of spiders, but never one so pretty! Can you tell me what kind it is?
Thank you.
Signature: Emma

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Two Spined Spider

Dear Emma,
We had a power outage at our offices that lasted 36 hours.  This is a Two Spined Spider, Poecilopachys australasia, and you can read some good information on Spiders on the Insects of Brisbane website.

I’ve always wanted to send something in to Whats That Bug! I waited untill I found something interesting that I’d never seen before. Can’t wait to find out more on the Insects of Brisbane website. Thank you so much!!! icon biggrin Two Spined Spider from Australia

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Posted 03 December 2011 § Orb Weavers ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Banded Huntsman Spider from Australia

Banded Huntsman Spider
Location: Hawkesbury Region, Sydney, Australia
November 28, 2011 3:12 pm
Hi,
I live a little outside of Sydney in a rural area (quite dense bushland) and get quite a few of these Banded Huntsman Spiders (please correct me if I’m wrong). This one was quite large as you can see in the photos. They are quite timid, which is great for taking photos, and their markings are stunning. Thought you’d like the photos as I haven’t seen one like this on your site as yet.
Signature: Tracy

banded huntsman australia tracy 300x225 Banded Huntsman Spider from Australia

Banded Huntsman Spider

Hi Tracy,
It seems that Banded Huntsman Spider is the correct common name for this spider, and an aptly chosen common name, however, we have encountered two different possible scientific names.  FlickR has a beautiful photograph identified as Isopeda insignis, though we would not trust FlickR for scientific accuracy.  Another website dedicated to Australian Huntsman Spiders has the species identified as Holconia insignis and states:  “This spider is also known as the banded huntsman spider. The male is 25-30 mm and the female 32-40 mm large. This species is one of the largest in its genus in Australia.”  The photo with the hand for scale does indicate the size nicely.  Thanks for sending your photos.

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Banded Huntsman Spider

 

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Posted 29 November 2011 § Huntsman Spiders ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Fiddler Beetle from Australia

Whats that bug?
Location: Lightning Ridge, NSW, Australia
November 21, 2011 2:36 am
Hi there, this particular beetle was found in a pot plant by my mother in law. The bright florescent green was what caught her eye so she bought it right round so i could snap a photo.
Markings were symmetrical on top and on bottom, obviously 6 legs, eyes under its head and wings under its hard shell on its back. Spring is nearly over now heading into summer. Hope this helps.
Regards, Peter

fiddler beetle australia peter 300x216 Fiddler Beetle from Australia

Fiddler Beetle

Hi Peter,
As winter approaches in the northern hemisphere and our North American identification requests begin to diminish, we have a surge of identification requests from Australia and other southern realms.  We generally get several requests each year to identify Fiddler Beetles, Eupoecila australasiae, like the individual in your photograph.  Fiddler Beetles make their summer appearance in Australia beginning in late November and continuing through about February.  We featured the Fiddler Beetle as the Bug of the Month for February 2007. 

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Posted 21 November 2011 § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Long-Nosed Lycid Beetle

Long Nose Lycid Beetle
Location: Queensland Australia
November 15, 2011 8:18 am
Hi bugman, been a while since i sent you anything. I have went to Australia since my last submission.
What we have here is the Porrostoma rhipidium – Long nose Lycid Beetle. He is a very docile and somewhat curious critter. He crawled around on me while i took many shots.. then as I let him go, he landed beside of me and continued hanging around in the yard for another entire day.
Signature: SCWIDVICIOUS

porrostoma rhipidium australia scwidvicious 300x207 Long Nosed Lycid Beetle

Long-Nosed Lycid Beetle

Dear SCWIDVICIOUS,
Thanks so much for sending us this marvelous submission.  The Brisbane Insect Websitehas many excellent images of this species.  Members of the family Lycidae are commonly called Net-Winged Beetles and they are somewhat unusual in that they have soft elytra, unlike most beetles.  Now that winter is approaching in the northern hemisphere, we are expecting a surge in submissions from Australia if our typical annual cycle remains unchanged.

porrostoma rhipidium australia scwidvicious 2 300x181 Long Nosed Lycid Beetle

Long-Nosed Lycid Beetle

 

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Posted 17 November 2011 § Net-Winged Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Deceased huntsman spider with unknown wasp
Location: Eastern Suburbs, Sydney, about 1km away from the pacific ocean.
November 13, 2011 11:45 pm
Hey, I got these series of pictures and this video outside on a warm summers day, on the 14th November, 2011. A warm summer summer in November must mean the southern hemisphere, indeed this image is taken on the eastern suburbs, in Sydney, Australia, about 1km away from the ocean.
Im fairly sure the spider is an huntsman spider but I do not know about the wasp. Does it normally prey on spiders and other large insects ? Where does it nest, and does it pose a threat to humans ?
(I live with my grandparents, and to say they are squeamish about insects is an understatement)
EDIT : I realized that the wasp has been featured previously on this site, however, I shall share these high resolution (if you think they are) images of what I found. I also catch huntsman spiders inside my home and release them too. I shall attach those too, if you wish to share them.
I hope you find the images to be of reasonable quality and I hope they will be useful for your site. You may repost/embed the video to your site too, if you wish.
Signature: Sufyan

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Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Hi Sufyan,
We actually have this particular Food Chain drama posted to our website several times including this recent posting of a Spider Wasp and its Huntsman Spider prey.  We believe the Spider Wasp is Cryptocheilus bicolor, but we do not feel confident trying to identify the Huntsman Spider to the species lever because there are so many Huntsman Spiders in Australia.

spider wasp huntsman australia sufyan 2 300x206 Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Spider Wasps are solitary wasps, and a female provisions the nest with paralyzed spiders for her brood.  The adult Spider Wasps feed upon pollen, and only the larval wasps are carnivores, but they are unable to hunt for themselves.  It is important to realize that this Huntsman Spider is paralyzed, not dead.  A dead spider would soon dry out, making it an unacceptable food for the larvae.  By paralyzing the Huntsman Spider, the living spider supplies the larval wasp with fresh meat.  The larva feeds upon non-vital meat first so that the spider is literally eaten alive.  Since the nest is underground and we have received so many images of this particular Spider Wasp scaling walls while dragging a large paralyzed Huntsman Spider, we have deduced that the Spider Wasp is unable to take off from the ground with such a heavy payload, but by climbing to gain altitude, it is able to fly or glide towards its burrow with the heavy Spider in tow.  Spider Wasps are not aggressive, though we suspect they may sting if provoked or carelessly handled.

spider wasp huntsman australia sufyan 3 300x206 Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

Spider Wasp preys upon Huntsman Spider

 

 

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Posted 14 November 2011 § Huntsman Spiders § spider wasps ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

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