More January invertebrates

As I suggested in response to Denis Wilson's comment on an earlier (by a few days) post on this topic, when the number of photos gets too great I will start another post.  That time has arrived so here we go.

I had noted that the Bursaria spinosa (blackthorn) is bursting into flower all over the place (a spectacular group of bushes are at the foot of the precipice known as the Kings Highway as it leaves Queanbeyan).  This usually attracts a good range of insects so I took myself off to my favourite patch on our block overlooking Whiskers Creek.

The bushes were in good flower, but there were few invertebrates in view.  However I got quite an interesting haul by the time I had got back to the house (about 150m away).

This Fiddler Beetle (Eupoecila australasiae) was the only insect I could find in the Bursaria,  Unusually for the species it hung around long enough for me to takes a couple of photos.

This weevil was on a (planted) Eucalyptus viminalis and then took a dive - on to my sock which explains the background.  I wonder if it is Leptopius sp.  No, it is Gonipterus sp
 More work needed to put a name to this one. The work has been done - see comments - and it is Edusella puberula: thanks Kimberi Pullen for this and other IDs 
 A moth!  Getting down a bit closer, I suspect it is a case moth (family Psychidae)
 This only has two wings, which puts it into the Order Diptera.  Largely because it also looks a bit like a bee - without a clear waist) I will go for the family Bombyliidae and hope to get a bit closer with more work. Again Kimberi did the hard yards and got it to a Tangle-vein fly, Trichophthalma punctata.
 The bee fly scores two images with this fierce looking proboscis.
The daisies continue to attract insects.  This is I think a Green Stink Bug (Plautia affinis).
 Despite appearances, I believe this not to be a Long-legged Fly but a Tachnid, possibly Prosena sp.
 Hopefully I will get a better image some time of this Mud-daubing wasp.  I believe it to be Sceliphron laetum, because the yellow blurs on the front end seem to be the defining antennae!
I have not yet been successful in that, but readers should check the Spider Wasp post!  I have got a few other images to include here, before starting a third post!

The first is a darkling beetle Ecnolagria grandis.
 The next image is a Gumleaf Grasshopper  Goniaea australasiae
Finally I have an image of an early stage caterpillar of an Orchard Butterfly Papilio aegeus
Hopefully I won't have a later stage larva as they eat the daylights out of citrus.

Comments

Judi Gray said…
The fiddler beetle is fabulous - i've only ever come across a dead one at out place! Great photos.
8 January 2014 at 14:45:00 GMT+11
Kimberi Pullen said…
The weevil you thought might be a Leptopius is Gonipterus sp. The pale green beetle with reddish legs is Edusella puberula, a leaf beetle. The brown 'bee fly' is in fact a Tangle-vein fly, Trichophthalma punctata.
8 December 2016 at 01:43:00 GMT+11
Flabmeister said…
Kimberi: Many thanks for your comments on this and the previous post. I hope I have corrected things appropriately.

Martin
8 December 2016 at 20:43:00 GMT+11
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