Some invertebrates of January

The use of the word "invertebrates" rather than insects may suggest to arachnophobes that they should be wary in reading this post.

I have tried to order the images according to Order, beginning with Coleoptera.

A draft title for this post was "A Plague on all your Soldier Beetles" as they (Chaulignathus lugibris) turned up in numbers for the first time this year.  They are accompanied by a Flower Scarab (Polystigma punctata)
 This is clearly in the family Mordellidae (Pintail Beetles) and looks to be a good match to Tomoxioda aterrima as shown on Brisbane insects.  The Atlas of Living Australia shows them only recorded in Queensland so I have added an observation (with status = uncertain).
No doubt about this one Eupoecila australasiae the Fiddle Beetle.
Nor this Anoplognathus rugosus a Christmas Beetle.  It did seem a very large specimen.
I will go so far as to call this next one a Weevil.  As there are about 8000 species in Australia attempting to go further without keying is a huge risk but it has a short snout and was on a wattle (Acacia rubida I think) so I will take a punt on Leptopius quadridens (the Wattle pig, as described in Hangay and Zborowski.
One of the easiest IDs going: Chrysolopus spectabilis Botany Bay Diamond Weevil.

They are not in short supply now and, if this behaviour is what it looks like, that situation is going to continue.

We now shift into the Order Hemiptera containing inter alia bugs and aphids.

This is I think Spilostethus hospes named by Brisbane insects as the Darth Maul bug.  I hope the link lets Lucasfilms live long and prosper so they don't go me for copyright violation.
A pretty good match to Nezara viridula.
Into the murky world, or at least Order of Diptera: essentially flies and mozzies.

This first sample is I suspect a greenbottle, from the family Calliphoridae.
The ducks seem to form a row for this to be a Grey Snipe Fly Chrysopilus tonnoiri. 

Other than a member of the Diptera I am far from sure what this is.  I found it on some rushes while looking for the swarming midges, but I don't think its a midge.
Now the Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants).

I thought this one would be easy with all black abdomen and the yellow band on the "shoulders".  Not so, and I will list is as wasp.
On the other hand this is I am sure a Blue Hairy Flower Wasp (Scolia soror).
Lepidoptera - moths and butterflies. I must confess this image is more about the venation of the leaf, rather than the moth itself.
A day-flying moth, possibly of the genus Nyctemera.
This image is more to show the flowers of the Buddleia (also known as Butterfly Bush.
I saw an unusual butterfly in the garden on 27 January and took a photo
I had not tried to ID it when a post to the COG chatline talked about a tropical species "Yellow Albatross which sometimes irrupts this far South.  Bingo!  It is a female.  I have put a record in to ALA which was the first for this area.


Although there are many members of the order Odonata (Dragonflies and Damsellflies) they are mainly too quick for me to photograph.  This - which I had thought was a dead spider has been identified by Harvey as "the exuvia (final nymphal skin) of a dragonfly."
We are not leg-ist on this blog so its spider time!!!  This is a Daddy Longlegs (family Pholciae) which was doing its thing in our bedroom. It does in fact only have 8 legs - the extras are all shadows from the flash.
Here it has climbed down to a prey item cocooned on the very twisted silk.

Comments

Harvey Perkins said…
Hi Martin - your final photo is the exuvia (final nymphal skin) of a dragonfly.
25 January 2015 at 21:07:00 GMT+11
Flabmeister said…
Thanks Harvey. One of my more egregious misidentifications, which I have remedied.

Martin
26 January 2015 at 05:03:00 GMT+11
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