A Sign Of The Times?

Winter was the time I could safely put away all weapons of mass destruction where flies, particularly blowflies, were concerned. Not so this year!

I hate these little mongrels with a passion and had to execute one who managed to bulldoze its way inside this morning.

I will point the finger at my neighbour who allowed the decomposing bodies of three sheep, probably victims of bad weather a few weeks ago, to lie in state for a week near our boundary fence!



This is probably Calliphora stygia - Common Brown Blowfly.

Anyone else having fly problems in the middle of winter?

Fisera perplexata (Winter Form)

Geometridae/Ennominae

On June 5th, I posted a few shots of this moth and could not identify it.

I now know it to be Fisera perplexata - winter form.

I have learnt something. Moths can have different forms depending on the seasons.





Thanks Peter.

Nothing Really!

I thought I would have a moth or two to photograph over the past few days, but no. The nights have been mild for this time of year and we really need rain again. Even the fungi wandered off!

The camera has been mobilised however. I found a frog!

The second Blog will be updated reasonably regularly whilst this one dips into a bit of a hiatus until the invertebrates begin to move again.

On Mosura's advice, I closely inspected the tagasaste for any evidence of caterpillar activity particularly in light of his recent entry on the Tree Lucerne Moth. Although some smaller branches appeared to be defoliated, there was regrowth, so the caterpillars have possibly been and gone.

While the weather is more springlike than winter, I guess I will just continue plucking capeweed from my lawns until I find some action somewhere! :-)

A Late June Moth!

I found this moth yesterday on the doorstep.
As it was still alive, I moved it to a piece of wood.

This photo is not good. I may have a better one still to be loaded onto my computer.



I have no idea what it is yet. It might be a Pyralid of some description.
It was approximately 2.5cm in length.


Pectanate antennae.



The hindwing is fawn/grey with small spots and brown margin.

UPDATE: Nisista (most likely serrata)
Geometridae (Ennominae)

My Other Blog

Winter is likely to bring a bit of a halt to my invertebrate photography, so I've been building a second Blog. At the moment it's full of fungi! I want to record as many species as I can this year and so far, I'm having a field day! :-)

All sightings are from my own garden or within a few hundred metres of my property. In other words, easy walking distance!

Another huge learning curve happening here!

Other odds and ends will be included in the 2nd Blog.

Monday Night's Mothing

Here's one I prepared earlier! :)

(Click images to enlarge)


I believe it is a Hepialid but the significant difference I noticed between this one and other Hepialids such as the one below are the 'knickerbockers'! Much more dense upper leg cover (which makes me wonder if it is a Hepialid, actually.) Quite a nice moth. It had an orangy coloured hindwing which is visible in the photo.

UPDATE: Oxycanus (could be rosaceous; rufescens or sirpus)



After some rain last night, (5.5mm in total) this species of Hepialid was active. I saw 3. About 4cm in length, it had a greyish hindwing. Probably another Oxycanus sp.

UPDATE: Could be Oxycanus antipoda

This moth was quite pretty. Approximately 3cm in length. No idea what it is, but I'm about to trundle off to see if I can find out.

Update: Thanks to Duncan's very good Moth Gallery, I think this one is probably Crypsiphona ocultaria. (Geometridae - sub-family Geometrinae) I missed it fly off so was unable to observe the undercarriage which is strikingly coloured. Black and crimson on white.

Pollen Baskets

I must pay attention this Spring because I can't remember seeing red tinted corbiculas on domestic or wild honey bees before.

It might be an Autumn phenomenon with not many plants in flower.

This bee is busy on Salvia microphylla (Huntington Red) which is a prolific bloomer at most times of the year. Many nectar-feeding invertebrates including the Blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) also love this plant.

(Click image to enlarge)


This photo does not do the flower justice. It is bright red. The shot was taken in overcast conditions after some rain.

Another Gastropod

I've now seen two of these slugs this year - and they are big ones. I found them both in the vicinity of a seldom used gully-trap.

I hope I'm right by slotting it into the Lehmannia sp catagory (Family: Limacidae)

I believe Lehmannia is an introduced model from Europe.

(Click image to enlarge)



Finding any gastropod is a bit of a novelty - so be patient with me, please! :)

I couldn't access CSIRO databases yesterday - but I might wander over now and check a little further.

Unidentified MOTH No. 1

Last night, we had 1.5mm of drizzle and I managed to photograph two moths. I am having difficulty with No. 1 and a bit more exploration is required on No. 2.

UPDATE: Geometridae/Ennominae (Fisera perplexata - winter form)
1/7/2008


The moth is about 3.5cm in length.



This shot was taken when said moth landed on my back door and it's not very clear, but it shows the stout body. The hindwing was grey.



I may be forced to annoy the Museum of Victoria again with yet another query!

However, if there is somebody who is able to correctly identify this moth, I would be very grateful.

*I can hear you laughing from here, Duncan! :)

It Must Be Winter!

My photography has gone to the dogs! Not much around at the moment but what there is, I'm managing to muck up. I got a few shots of another little mollusc yesterday but alas, they are far from good.

I guess I will just have to practice on the Sulphur-crested cockatoos as they wreck my olive and cypress trees. I do look at their damage as a form of pruning but the litter I have to clear away is incredible. I'm sure cockatoos become really bored at certain times of the year, ergo, this vandalism is a type of therapy for them! Cypress seed cones and olives are probably on the menu to some extent but striping the tree tops does not lead to a good look!

The forecast is for a few showers today and tomorrow, so hopefully, a few moths may be around tonight - if the Bureau of Meteorology happens to be correct!

There are a few stragglers from a small flush of Common Grass-blue butterflies a couple of weeks ago and the odd Cabbage White is still hanging in there.

I hope I will find a few invertebrates to photograph during the winter months. Otherwise, this Blog will begin to look a little sad - and we cannot have that!