Bug from Australia
Sun, Jan 18, 2009 at 4:56 PM
Never seen this before, found in front yard of my house on a Elm tree leaf, the photo doesnt do it justice it looks much more beautiful in real life thats why i ran into my house to grab the camera and it moves around so swiftly, we are in the middle of summer january 18
bkorpar
Melbourne Doncaster
Dear bkorpar,
According to the Insects of Brisbane website, this is a Beautiful Cockroach or Austral Ellipsidion, Ellipsidion australe. According to the site: “This Cockroach is active at day time, running freely on the leaves and flowers. Most other cockroaches are scavengers, they feed on almost everything. We are not exactly sure what this Austral Ellipsidion Cockroach feed on, but they are always found on plants, seldom on the ground. They are believed feed on pollen, honeydew and mould fungus.”