A Sparassid At Last!

Well, at least a Neosparassid!

This "Badge Huntsman" was on my sliding door when I returned from annoying a couple of amphibians with my camera last night. The weather has warmed up and more like spring so I imagine spiders will become a little more active now.

This one did not appear to be fully grown but rode the door backwards and forwards as I came in and out from several missions, including rounding up a couple of logs to keep the fire going during the night.

Neosparassids can be identified easily by the black shield (usually with 2 white dots) on the abdomen but the pattern of the shield may differ between species. They are also known as "Shield Huntsmen"

Just so you know, this is the only way I will be looking at the underparts of Huntsmen. Them on one side of glass and me on the other! :-)

(Click to enlarge)

Butterflies

Sorry folks, no sightings so far!

I was just going through my records from August last year and noted I saw my first Vanessa kershawi (Australian Painted Lady) on the 22nd August last year. Vanessa itea (Yellow Admiral) on the 30th August. Some small blues and Pieris rapae were seen around the 27th August, 2007

The butterflies are a bit slow off the mark here this year.

Perhaps September will be more favourable!

Flowers, Frogs & Fungi....

I've changed the Blog's name and URL.

http://fungiofgreatwestern.blogspot.com

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Hepialidae - Fraus fusca

At the time, I decided this photograph was not good enough to post to this blog. However, after having the privilege of an expert opinion on some moth identifications, I've changed my mind!

There is little knowledge about Fraus fusca in adult form and in my area of Victoria (the Wimmera) collections are few and far between.

I will be keeping my eyes open for future sightings of this moth. Data, obviously, is pretty important.

I spotted this one on my doorstep in April this year. It was quite a small moth.

(Click to enlarge)


Identification updates of some Hepialids plus a couple of other moth species will be made shortly, thanks to 'expert opinion'.

I'm very grateful for the assistance I've received.

Small And Silver

I first found this striking little moth on a young Black Wattle the other day, but do you think I could capture a sharp photo of it? No!

All of 1cm in length, it's wing colour was silver. Not grey - but pure silver!

On Friday, I noticed another one (well, it may have been the same one, who would know!) on the outside of my kitchen window which faces south, so the tones of this image are somewhat bluish.

I have absolutely no idea what it is. More than likely, it's very common and a world-wide pest!

I searched various families, including Hypertrophids, Epermeniids and Yponomeutids to no avail. Of course, the likelihood of it not belonging to any of those families is rather high!

If anyone knows what it is, step up to the plate, please! :-)

Temporary Captive

Acting on a call for help from Denis a day ago with regard to identification of his little bug, my subsequent research led me to think it could have been the larva of a native Ladybird (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) commonly known as the Mealybug Ladybird. Larvae of this species mimic their prey. This Ladybird is native to NSW and Qld.

I also looked at centipedes and I suspect Chris' identification of a really immature House Centipede (Scutigerid) is most likely the correct one.

It's a bit ironic that I found this Common Spotted Ladybird (Harmonia conformis) on my bathroom window today!

(Click to enlarge)


Yes - it was released onto my rose garden the instant our photo session ceased!

Order: Coleoptera

Family: Coccinellidae

Red

Yesterday, while I was stalking fungi I found this little bug! It was small. I've had a bit of a look to try and determine which family it should be placed in. No luck. It's not a mite as it appears to have 6 legs rather than 8.

(Click image to enlarge)


Anyone know?


Update: It might be a mite of some sort afterall. Body shape and size is similar to the Red Velvet Mite. Apparently, there are about 30 species of the Order Acarina, family Trombidiidae in Australia of which very few have been documented.

Tempting Fate

Blame it on my eyes, but the smaller arachnid does not look like the male of this particular Desidae species!

I watched this little battle for over an hour this morning. The Black House spider was out of her comfort zone and away from her web.

(Click to enlarge)


The smaller spider was persistent. It did resemble mating behaviour, but the male of Badumna insignis is supposed to be similar in colour to the female but slightly lighter, so what exactly was going on here?


It came down to the female numerous times and stroked her head and front legs. She tried to lunge but had little traction on the aluminium door frame. The small spider would retreat up the thread and when well out of reach, turn around and repeat the process all over again!

Whatever it was going on between these two, it was certainly interesting to watch.




UPDATE: I sent myself off to do a little research and it's possible the small arachnid is Achaearanea sp. Same family (Theridiidae) as the Redback. If that's the case then this encounter may have more to do with a territorial dispute than anything else.

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.