ANPS does party

This was a Christmas Party.  Some may say it is closer to Easter than Christmas but they fail 'rithmetic and will therefore be ignored.

The plan for this year's event was proposed by Frances and was to do a shortish walk in Stony Creek Nature Reserve and then retire to Stony Creek Community Hall for lunch.  This had the advantage of being indoors and thus not influenced by the weather.

The plants in the Reserve were definitely influenced by the weather with very few in flower and most of those that did deign to put forward their reproductive apparatus did so in a very weary fashion - thus not earning  themselves a photo.  The one exception was a Blue Devil (Eryngium ovinum) which more into stamen-flaunting than I have previously noticed.
Quite a few insects, at various stages of development were seen.  If I have this correct this first invertebrate image shows ants tending some aphid larvae.
 Roger identified this as an assassin bug and I believe it to be Scipinia arenacea.
 Under a stem I found this relative of a scale insect from the family Margarodidae.
 I will go no further than "Woolly Bear" for the ID of this very hairy caterpillar.
 A shield bug possibly from the genus Poecilometis was one of three insects fussing around in some Cassinia longifolia (which I can never tell if it is in flower or not).
 Processionary caterpillars were living up to their name.
 Roger has very good eyes, not only for spotting this bush-cricket ...
 .. but also noticing some mites on it.
 A lurid cup moth larva busy munching on a eucalypt leaf.
 This leaf beetle, dining on Acacia dealbata, is of the genus Calomela but does not match well the illustration I have of the Silver Wattle Leaf Beetle (C. ioptera)
 The only reptile seen today was a very dark Bearded Dragon well up a tree.
 Here is the Community Hall with a selection of the cars: pooling didn't seem to be a big thrust for the day.
 A very large spread of food was a big thrust, especially as another table had the desserts!

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