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THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND

Volume 32, Part 4, 10 December 2005

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THE AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGIST

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Cover: The New Caledonian Aoupinia pseudohelea Matthews (Coleoptera:

Tenebrionidae) bears a striking resemblance to Australia’s pie-dish beetles of the

genus Helea. However it belongs to the unrelated Gondwanan tribe Adeliini. This

species is known only from the Aoupinie Special Fauna Reserve that straddles New

Caledonia’s central mountain massif between Poya and Ponerihouen. It is a cryptic

species living within rainforest leaf litter. Illustration by Geoff Thompson.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4): 145-153 145

EUPLOEA ALCATHOE MISENUS MISKIN (LEPIDOPTERA:

NYMPHALIDAE) IN TORRES STRAIT, QUEENSLAND

TREVOR A. LAMBKIN

Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, 665 Fairfield Road, Yeerongpilly,

Qld 4105 (Email: Trevor.Lambkin@dpi.gld.gov.au)

Abstract

Euploea alcathoe misenus Miskin, 1890, stat. rev. is shown to be the appropriate subspecific

name for E. alcathoe (Godart) populations in Torres Strait, Queensland. The type locality of

Thursday Island for E. a. monilifera (Moore, 1883) is shown to be erroneous and this taxon

should be treated as a junior synonym of either E. a. nox Butler, 1866, from Aru Island,

Indonesia, or E. a occulta Butler, 1877, from the Port Moresby region of Papua New Guinea.

Introduction

Euploea alcathoe (Godart) has an extensive distribution, ranging from the

Moluccas (Obi Island to Aru), through Numfoor and Japen, east to New

Guinea and its outlying islands (where it is widespread) and southwards to

northern Australia (Braby 2000, Parsons 1998). Its external facies are highly

variable and, as a result, this has led to around 30 names of ‘races’ or

subspecies being applied to this species (Parsons 1998); however, several

distinct subspecies are recognisd (M. De Baar pers. comm.).

E. alcathoe was described in 1819 from a series of specimens from Ambon,

in the southern Moluccas, Indonesia (Edwards et al. 2001). Subsequently, a

number of subspecies or forms were described from closer to Australia, many

from Papua New Guinea (Ackery and Vane-Wright 1984, Parsons 1998).

Almost all of these have been appropriately assigned to E. alcathoe (Ackery

and Vane-Wright 1984), but disagreement still occurs over the correct

placement of the endemic Australian taxon E. a. eichhorni Staudinger

(Ackery and Vane-Wright 1984, Braby 2000), with many Australian workers

still regarding it as a separate species (Lambkin 2001).

Parsons (1998) amended the taxonomic positions of the various ‘races’

occurring in Papua New Guinea and determined that, on the mainland, only

two ‘races’ of E. alcathoe occurred: E. a. coffea Fruhstorfer, 1910 (Type

locality: Madang), found on the northern mainland and some offshore

islands, and E. a. occulta Butler, 1877 (Type locality: Port Moresby),

occurring on the southern and eastern mainland and Daru Island. In general,

E. a. coffea is predominately dark without spotting, while E. a. occulta most

often has minor white spotting (Parsons 1998), but frequently occurs as a

boldly white-spotted form (form samaraina Carpenter) in southern Papua

New Guinea (Parsons 1998). Similar boldly spotted forms are also known

from Aru (E. a. nox Butler, 1866) and the Kai Islands (E. a. nymphas

Fruhstorfer, 1910) (Fenner 1991).

Considering the doubt that still surrounds the taxonomic placement of the

distinctive E. a. eichhorni, two other recognisably distinct subspecies of E.

146 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

alcathoe occur in Australia. E. a. enastri Fenner is found in northeastern

Arnhem Land, Northern Territory and was described from a type series of 24

males and 5 females (Fenner 1991), while E. a. monilifera (Moore)

[originally Gamatoba monilifera] was described from a single female

purportedly collected on Thursday Island, Torres Strait, Queensland (Moore

1883) and housed in The Natural History Museum, London. Until the mid

1980s, E. a. monilifera was known only from the female type and a single

male from Cape York in the Queensland Museum, Brisbane, which had been

described as E. misenus Miskin (Miskin 1890, Hancock 1995). Both

specimens were illustrated by Waterhouse and Lyell (1914).

Since the mid 1980s, many specimens of supposed E. a. monilifera have been

collected from Torres Strait, almost all from the more northern islands

(Lambkin 2001). An examination of the more recently collected females has

indicated that none of them resembles the type specimen, which casts doubt

on the reliability of the type’s label data. Furthermore, the type appears to be

closest to E. a. nox (Fig. 1) from Aru and form samaraina of E. a. occulta

(Fig. 2), which occurs on the Papua New Guinea mainland, particularly

around Port Moresby and Wau (M. De Baar pers. comm.), both areas not a

great distance from Torres Strait.

In this paper, the results of the examination of these recently collected

specimens are provided, the history of collecting in the region prior to 1883 is

discussed, evidence is presented that the type of E. a. monilifera was not

collected in Torres Strait but most likely originated from eastern Papua New

Guinea or Aru, and its nomenclature is consequently revised.

Figs 1-2. Euploea alcathoe subspp.; upperside left, underside right; all figures to

scale. (1) E. a. nox, female, Dobo, Aru, August 1996 [forewing length 45 mm]; (2) E.

a. occulta, female, Wau, 1500 m, Morobe Province, PNG, 8.x.1987, JG [44 mm].

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 147

Abbreviations of specimen depositories are: BMNH — The Natural History

Museum, London; CEMC — C.E. Meyer collection, Canberra; MDBC — M.

De Baar collection, Brisbane; SSBC — S.S. Brown collection, Bowral;

TLIKC — joint collection of T.A. Lambkin and A.I. Knight, Brisbane.

Abbreviations of collectors are: AIK — A.I. Knight; CEM — C.E. Meyer; JG —

J. Guyomar; SSB — S.S. Brown; TAL — T.A. Lambkin.

Material examined

Euploea alcathoe monilifera

Holotype ? (in BMNH), with 5 labels: (1) ‘Thursday P. Pur. From E. Gerrard. 80—

83.’; (2) ‘B.M. TYPE No. Rh. 6569 Gamatoba monilifera $ Moore’; (3) ‘Gamatoba

monilifera ? Type Moore’; (4) ‘Type’; (5) Thursday Isl. 80-83 ?’.

Euploea alcathoe misenus

QUEENSLAND (TORRES STRAIT): 6 99, Saibai Island, 11-12.iv.1992, 21.11.1994,

23.i11.1994, 23.iv.1995, 1.111.1996, 14.iii.2001, TAL (TLIKC); 28 99, same data

except 11-12.iv.1992, 18.iv.2000, 20.iv.2000 (3), 21.iv.2000 (2), 29.iv.2000, 8.v.2000

(3), 21.v.2000, 5.iv.2001, 7.iv.2001 (3), 3.v.2001 (3), 5.v.2001, 7.v.2001, 8.v.2001

(3), 19.v.2001 (2), 13.11.2004, 15.11.2004, AIK (TLIKC); 2 99, same data except 19-

20.iv.2001, 3.v.2002, CEM (CEMC); 1 9, same data except 22.11.1994, TAL

(MDBC); 10 99, Dauan Island, 10.iv.1992, 18.iv.1992, 17.11.2004, 18.11.2004 (2),

19.11.2004, 20.11.2004 (2), 21.11.2004, 23.11.2004, TAL (TLIKC); 7 99, same data

except 27.iv.2000, 24.iv.2001, 10.v.2001, 13.v.2001, 25.iv.2001, 14.i.2004, 18.1.2004,

AIK (TLIKC); 10 99, same data except 11-17.iv.2001 (5), 28.iv-2.v.2002 (5), CEM

(CEMC); 8 99, same data except 15-16.iv.2001 (4), 25.iv-2.v.2002 (4), SSB (SSBC);

4 99, Boigu Island, 21.ii1.1994, 10.11.2001 (2), egg coll. 10.iii.2001, TAL (TLIKC);

1 9, Darnley Island, 16.1.1994, AIK (TLIKC).

Euploea alcathoe occulta

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: 2 99, Wau, 1500 m, Morobe Province, 8.x.1987, JG

(MDBC).

Euploea alcathoe nox

INDONESIA (ARU): 1 $, Dobo, Aru Is., August 1996 (MDBC).

Discussion

In general, ‘true’ E. alcathoe is a relatively large species, with many of the

forms having a predominately dark brown to black ground colour without

extensive areas of white spotting (except in E. a. eichhorni) (Ackery and

Vane-Wright 1984, Parsons 1998). Males of E. alcathoe can be distinguished

from other similar Euploea Fabricius species by the bowed dorsum of the

forewing, presence of a matt-black speculum on the hindwing upperside and

the absence of a forewing sex brand. Females of E. alcathoe have broad

wings with a predominately dark brown ground colour, often with a pale or

whitened hindwing tornus, and a characteristic pale broad streak on the

forewing underside below vein CuA,. E. alcathoe is common locally and

frequents marginal vegetation such as vine thickets and mangroves (Fenner

1991, Lambkin 2001) and secondary forest (Parsons 1998). It is a strong flyer

148 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

and frequently visits blossom (Lambkin 2001, Parsons 1998). Larvae are

known to feed on Gymnanthera oblonga (Asclepiadaceae) (Lambkin 2001).

The type specimen of E. a. monilifera, which resembles well spotted forms of

E. a. nox (Fig. 1) and E. a. occulta (Fig. 2), is characterised by possessing

relatively large white spots in the forewing upperside subapical area (curving

outward from the costa) and the hindwing upperside submarginal area, with

smaller, distinct hindwing marginal white spots (Moore 1883, Waterhouse

and Lyell 1914). Examination of a series of 77 females (listed above) from

Torres Strait (Figs 3-10) indicates that none of these recently collected

specimens resembles the type. Moreover, they can be roughly placed into

four morphological groups, ranging from predominately dark specimens with

no upperside spotting through to specimens with some fore and hindwing

spotting on the upperside, but still no specimens with as much upperside

spotting or as strongly spotted as the type.

These morphological groups are (upperside markings): (1) with no white

spotting [29 of 77 specimens] (Figs 3-4); (2) with 0-3 subcostal and/or

postmedial small white spots on forewing, 0-2 small white subapical streaks

or spots on forewing, no hindwing white spotting [16 of 77 specimens] (Figs

5-6); (3) with 0-3 subcostal and/or postmedial small white spots on forewing,

0-4 sub apical spots on forewing, faint marginal and submarginal white dots

or spots on hindwing [26 of 77 specimens] (Figs 7-8); (4) with 3-4 subapical

spots on forewing, small marginal and larger submarginal white spots on

hindwing [6 of 77 specimens] (Figs 9-10).

In general, females of E. alcathoe from Torres Strait are more spotted than

males. Now that a larger number of specimens of both sexes is known from

Torres Strait, the population is found to be more variable than was previously

thought (Fenner 1991). Despite this, they are still not as variable as their

Papua New Guimea counterparts, which are known to vary considerably,

even from the same locality (Parsons 1998). Examination of Torres Strait

females has shown that only a small proportion of them (6 of 77) have

significant white spotting, but still lack the relatively large white spots on the

forewing subapical and hindwing subterminal areas, which are characteristic

of the E. a. monilifera type specimen.

An examination of the female holotype (K. Goodger pers. comm.) indicates

that the specimen is labelled “Thursday Isl? and was purchased by the BMNH

from “E. [Edward] Gerrard’. Edward Gerrard was a natural history agent and

taxidermist and the BMNH acquired bird skins through his agency from

collectors in northern Queensland, including Cape York (Whittell 1954,

Morris 2004). The type was registered in the museum collection in 1880 (K.

Goodger pers. comm.) [being part of the 83rd collection acquired that year]

and subsequently described by Moore (1883). The date of capture and the

collector are unknown but, since the specimen was registered in 1880,

collection of the specimen must have occurred no later than that.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 149

Figs 3-10. Euploea alcathoe misenus females; upperside left, underside right; all

figures to scale. (3) Saibai Island, Torres Strait, 21.iv.2000, AIK, [forewing length 42

mm]; (4) Saibai, 19.v.2001, AIK, [46 mm]; (5) Saibai, 8.v.2001, AIK [43 mm]; (6)

Saibai, 5.v.2001, AIK [42 mm]; (7) Saibai, 21.iv.2000, AIK [42 mm]; (8) Dauan

Island, 24.iv.2001, AIK [48 mm]; (9) Darnley Island, 16.i.1994, AIK [45 mm]; (10)

Dauan, 14.1.2004, AIK [43 mm].

150 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

The locality data for Gerrard’s acquisitions that he sold to the BMNH are

questionable, as he also sold a specimen of E. treitschkei viridis Butler to the

BMNH (designated as the female type) and it too purportedly came from

Thursday Island (Label data: ‘Thursday Is, Purch. from E. Gerrard. 80-83.

BMNH Rh. 6738’) (Parsons 1998). This same specimen was illustrated and

discussed by Waterhouse and Lyell (1914), who concluded that the Thursday

Island collection locality was erroneous and it was ‘almost certain that this

island was the place of export but not the place of capture’. E. treitschkei

(Boisduval) is restricted mainly to coastal regions of northern New Guinea,

various outlying islands in Papua New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago,

the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia (Parsons 1998, M. De

Baar pers. comm.) and, since no other specimens are known from the

southern coast of New Guinea and Torres Strait, it is unlikely that Gerrard’s

specimen was collected on Thursday Island.

What further challenges the veracity of the locality labels of some natural

history specimens from this era (including Moore’s G. a. monilifera) is that

during the period 1867 to 1880 many bird collectors travelled through the

southern Torres Strait en route to Aru from Cape York. For example, J.T. and

J.F. Cockerell were two such collectors whose collections were eventually

passed on to the BMNH and, since then, it has been discovered that many of

Cockerell’s specimens labelled ‘Cape York’ are believed to have originated

from Aru (Whittell 1954, Monteith 1987). Waterhouse and Lyell (1914) also

examined both Moore’s (G. monilifera) and Miskin’s (E. misenus) type

specimens. They commented that there was no doubt that Miskin’s type

originated from Australia and inferred that they had doubts over the origin of

Moore’s Thursday Island specimen. They also commented on the similarity

of Moore’s Thursday Island specimen with E. a. nox from Aru: ‘the figure of

the female is almost identical with an Aru female of E. nox in our collection’.

Other incorrect label data on butterfly specimens from this era are known

(Meyer et al. 2004).

The major butterfly collections made in the Torres Strait in the late 19th and

early 20th centuries, after Moore described his type, were by Gervase F.

Mathew on Thursday Island in 1885 (Mathew 1885, Parsons 1998), and

Hermann Elgner (Moulds 1977) throughout Torres Strait during the’ first

decade of the last century, some 20-30 years after Moore’s description.

Published butterfly collection records from Torres Strait prior to 1880 are

restricted to those noted by John MacGillivray during the voyage of HMS

Rattlesnake during the years 1846-1850 (Moulds 1977). HMS Rattlesnake

made only four stops in Torres Strait during 1849 (Mt Ernest, Arden, Darnley

Islands and Bramble Cay), with no mention of Thursday Island (Moulds

1977, Monteith 1987). W.Y. Turner in about 1875 (Butler 1876a, Parsons

1998) and Andrew Goldie from the Australian Museum in 1877 and 1879

(Parsons 1998) collected butterflies at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 151

Natural history specimens, including butterflies, were also collected at Aru in

the mid 1860s (Butler 1866, Monteith 1987).

Port Moresby and Aru are the closest locations to the Torres Strait islands

where collections of Euploea were made around that time and where spotted

forms of E. a. occulta (form samaraina) and E. a. nox respectively

commonly occur (Parsons 1998). Arthur G. Butler described E. nox [E. a.

nox] from Aru in 1866. Turner later sent his specimens to Butler in the

BMNH, who subsequently published Turner’s collection records, plus

descriptions of several new taxa (Butler 1876a, 1876b, 1877, Parsons 1998).

Among these, Butler (1876b, 1877) recorded or described a number of

Euploea taxa from Port Moresby, including the description of E. occulta [E.

a. occulta] (Butler 1877). Goldie’s specimens were eventually passed on to

and deposited in the collection of Frederick D. Godman and Osbert Salvin via

Henry Grose-Smith (Parsons 1998) and Moore (1883) later used some of

these specimens in his monograph. Moore was also based at the BMNH

around the same time as Butler and was revising Euploea. He placed Butler’s

E. occulta into his newly erected genus Gamatoba Moore, as well as

describing two further species, G. monilifera from Thursday Island and G.

diadema Moore [a synonym of E. a. occulta] from Port Moresby [at that time

in the collection of Grose-Smith (Moore 1883)]. Therefore, during the two

decades that Butler and Moore were describing new Euploea taxa, much

confusion occurred with regard to the many different forms and species

available to them from the Indo-Australian region. This confusion might also

have led to uncertainty with some locality labels on particular specimens.

At the time when Moore was describing or nominating the species within his

new genus Gamatoba, all the specimens of boldly white-spotted forms of E.

alcathoe (E. a. occulta and E. a. nox) that were in the BMNH primarily

originated from Port Moresby and Aru, except the female type of G.

monilifera, which purportedly came from Thursday Island. Therefore,

considering that: (1) the similarity of the female type specimen to female E.

a. occulta (form samaraina) and E. nox, especially from Port Moresby and

Aru where all the known specimens of this species were known from at that

time; (2) the first record of butterflies collected on Thursday Island (Mathew

1885) was five years after the BMNH acquired the type specimen; (3) no

other female specimen resembling the type has since been collected in Torres

Strait; (4) incorrect data labels on specimens from this period are possible,

particularly those of Edward Gerrard; (5) Waterhouse and Lyell (1914) had

previously expressed doubt concerning the female’s label data and inferred

Aru as a possible origin; and (6) the bulk and diversity of Euploea

acquisitions from the Indo-Australian region that were deposited in the

BMNH took place during the time Moore and Butler were based there, it is

evident from the information and data presented here that Moore’s female

type most likely was not collected on Thursday Island, but might have

originated from Port Moresby or Aru.

152 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

Acceptiing that Moore’s holotype of E. a. monilifera was not from Australia,

then E. a. misenus Miskin, 1890, stat. rev. is the name that should be used for

specimens from Torres Strait and Cape York. Miskin’s type matches, in

external facies, a good proportion of E. alcathoe males currently known from

Torres Strait. Accordingly, E. a. misenus is removed from synonymy with E.

a. monilifera. Based on the evidence presented here, the taxon E. a.

monilifera (Moore, 1883) should be treated as a junior synonym of either E.

a. nox Butler, 1866, or E. a occulta Butler, 1877.

Acknowledgements

K. Goodger (BMNH) and M. De Baar provided valuable personal

communications; K. Goodger also provided valuable advice on the type of E.

a. monilifera; C.E. Meyer, M. De Baar and S.S. Brown allowed examination

of material held in their collections and J.S. Bartlett formatted and prepared

the black and white plates. A.I. Knight, who collected many of the specimens

used for this study, is recognised here for the major contribution he has made

to the knowledge of Torres Strait butterflies.

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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

The following notes on new or interesting butterfly distribution records are abstracted

from the News Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Queensland and were first

published during 2004 or 2005 in the volumes and parts indicated.

Nesolycaena albosericea (Miskin) [Lycaenidae] - Between 31 August and 15

September 2004, a suvey was undertaken to assess the distribution and vulnerability

of this species in the Bundaberg area, SE Qld. N. albosericea and its host plant

Boronia rosmarinifolia (Rutaceae) were found only on certain Podsols, including

Coona, Kinkuna, Theodolite, Wallum and Woodgate soils, and the butterfly was

common at several localities. It was not found on Boronia falcifolia growing in

swampy heath. Fire was identified as a potential threat to N. a/bosericea communities.

- The distribution of the Satin blue butterfly (Nesolycaena albosericea) in the

Bundaberg area - Jane Wilson - 32(7): 174-178 (2004).

Catopsilia scylla etesia (Hewitson) [Pieridae] - Generally regarded as rare south of

Rockhampton, this migratory species was recorded recently at two separate residential

locations at Beaudesert, approx. 60 km south of Brisbane, SE Qld. Two males and

two females were captured between 23 April and 8 June 2004, flying around the

introduced host plant Senna surattensis (Caesalpiniaceae). Three more adults were

identified between 24 August and 11 September 2004; these were in perfect condition,

suggesting local breeding during the winter months. Several eggs were collected on

24 August and reared in captivity, producing adults on 1-2 October. The related C.

gorgophone gorgophone (Boisduval) has been recorded at one of the sites throughout

the year, flying even after local morning frosts. - Notes for Catopsilia scylla etesia in

Beaudesert - Wesley Jenkinson - 32(8): 207-208 (2004).

Signeta tymbophora (Meyrick & Lower) [Hesperiidae] - During January 2004, two

males and a female were collected at Vincent’s Lookout (elevation 424 m) in the

Watagan State Forest, near Newcastle, NSW. The males were feeding on the flowers

of Parsonsia staminea, while the female was collected flying near clumps of Gahnia

sieberiana further down the slopes. This locality is intermediate between those known

previously. - An intermediate location for Signeta tymbophora (Meyrick & Lower,

1902) - Paul Bambach - 32(9): 247 (2004[2005]).

Yoma sabina parva (Butler) [Nymphalidae] - Following initial sightings of this

species in the Townsville district during March and June 2004 [see Australian

Entomologist 32(3): 134], a number of other sightings have been recorded: (1) at

Kelso, upper Bohle River (P. Valentine), on 28 June, 28 August, 12 & 20 September,

30 November, 12, 18 & 19 December 2004, 6, 8, 9, 11, 15 & 19 January, throughout

February (with numerous adults on 11 & 12 February), erratically during March, 3

April and 11 & 14 July 2005. Adults were mostly fresh. Females were observed

laying eggs on Ruellia sp. (Acanthaceae) in December and January; (2) at Wulguru, a

suburb of Townsville about 10 km from the Kelso location (A. & J. Dartnall); (3) at

Paluma, N of Townsville (A. & J. Dartnall). This species has persisted well despite

the failure of the normal wet season to eventuate (the fourth in a row). It is unlikely

that it has been permanently established in Townsville prior to the recent sightings,

given its conspicuous nature and the numerous butterfly enthusiasts resident in the

area over the past 100 years. - Persistence of Yoma sabina parva (Butler) Lepidoptera:

Nymphalidae in the Townsville region - Peter Valentine - 33(4): 72-74 (2005).

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4): 155-156 155

THE REDISCOVERY OF TAGIADES NESTUS (C. FELDER)

(LEPIDOPTERA: HESPERIIDAE: PYRGINAE) IN AUSTRALIA

PETER S. VALENTINE! and STEPHEN J. JOHNSON?”

'Tropical Environment Studies & Geography, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811

784 Pacific Parade, North Kirra, Qld 4225

Abstract

Tagiades nestus korela Mabille is rediscovered in Torres Strait, Queensland, after almost 100

years. A breeding population is recorded on Dauan Island in northern Torres Strait, feeding on

climbing yam vines, Dioscorea sp. (Dioscoraceae).

Introduction

Tagiades nestus (C. Felder) was first recorded in Australia from a single

male, collected by H. Elgner in 1910 on Darnley Island in eastern Torres

Strait (Waterhouse and Lyell 1914). This specimen appears to belong to T. n.

korela Mabille, which occurs on mainland New Guinea and adjacent islands

(Braby 2000). Since then, there have been no further records of the species in

Australia.

In April 2004, we undertook a survey of butterflies on Dauan Island (9°25’S

142°32’B), in the northern sector of Torres Strait. This small island of around

400 ha is dominated by Mt Cornwallis and mostly comprises a patchwork of

rocky slopes and vine thickets. A small settlement on the northeastern beach

supports the Dauan community, with a few outlying homes along a single

track that traverses the island from east to west along the northern base of the

mountain. An extensive area of mangroves fringes the northwestern sandy

flats at the base of Mt Cornwallis.

In April 2004, adults of an unidentified species of Tagiades Hiibner were

observed on Dauan I. but not collected. Subsequently, we found larvae in

distinctive shelters on climbing yam vines (Dioscorea sp.: Dioscoraceae)

growing under mango trees adjacent to vine thickets. Shelters were also

found on vines in the northwestern area of the island, where yams are

commonly grown as a garden crop. Larvae were collected and reared to

adults, which were found to belong to T. nestus (Fig. 1).

Discussion

Typical late instar larval shelters have very distinct lobes cut in the leaf edge

(Fig. 3), and larvae of T. nestus are very similar to those of 7. japetus (Stoll),

having a black heart-shaped head, a pale body covered with tiny white spots

and two large dorsal spots on the 9th abdominal segment (Fig. 2).

Adults of 7. nestus and T. japetus (Fig. 1) can be readily separated,

predominantly by the brown dorsal colour of the entire abdomen of T.

japetus, compared with the distinct white abdomen of T. nestus (Parsons

1998). In addition, the upperside hindwing pattern of 7. nestus differs from

that of T. japetus in having a more continuous black hindwing margin. The

156 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

ground colour in T. nestus is also more distinctly black than in T. japetus,

which has a more brownish hue. The size of the hyaline spots on the forewing

also differ between the two species.

In Torres Strait, we have previously recorded T. japetus janetta Butler from

Dauan, Moa and Darnley Is and it is interesting that the two species co-exist

on Dauan and possibly also on Darnley I. It is likely that further collecting on

other islands in the Torres Strait might reveal further populations of T. nestus

korela, especially given the prevalence of yam vines in gardens.

Figs 1-3. Tagiades spp. (1) Adults of T. japetus (left) and T. nestus (right) [scale bar =

40 mm]; (2) final instar larva of T. nestus; (3) third instar larval shelter of T. nestus.

Acknowledgement

We thank the Dauan Island Council for permission to undertake the survey.

References

BRABY, M.F. 2000. Butterflies of Australia: their identification, biology and distribution.

CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood; xxvii + 976 pp.

PARSONS, M. 1998. The butterflies of Papua New Guinea: their systematics and biology.

Academic Press, London; xvi + 736 pp, 162 pls.

WATERHOUSE, G.A. and LYELL, G. 1914. The butterflies of Australia. A monograph of the

Australian Rhopalocera. Angus and Robertson, Sydney; vi + 239 pp.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4): 157-160 157

NEW AND INTERESTING BUTTERFLY RECORDS

(LEPIDOPTERA) FROM ISLANDS OF THE TORRES STRAIT,

QUEENSLAND

C.E. MEYER!, S.S. BROWN? and R.P. WEIR?

110 Anne Clark Avenue, Nicholls, ACT 2913

219 Kimberley Drive, Bowral, NSW 2576

31 Longwood Avenue, Leanyer, NT 0812

Abstract

Zizula hylax dampierensis Rothschild is newly recorded from Dauan I. and Catopyrops ancyra

mysia (Waterhouse & Lyell) and Hypochrysops elgneri elgneri (Waterhouse & Lyell) are newly

recorded from Saibai I. A fourth female of Nothodanis schaeffera caesius (Grose-Smith) is

reported from Murray I. and notes are included on the immature stages of Hypolimnas antilope

(Cramer) from Murray I. and Arhopala philander gander Evans from Saibai I.

Introduction

The authors travelled throughout the Torres Strait in northern Queensland

during the period 5-24 April 2001, visiting Thursday, Murray, Darnley,

Saibai and Dauan Islands, and again during the period 25 April to 2 May

2002, visiting Thursday, Saibai and Dauan Islands. As a result, several new

and interesting records of butterflies were made. Identifications were done

using the reference works of Braby (2000) and Parsons (1998), plus material

in the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC), Canberra. Voucher

specimens are deposited in the authors’ collections.

Murray Island, 6-10 April 2001

NYMPHALIDAE

Hypolimnas antilope (Cramer)

Adults were common on Murray Island in early April. Males were

encountered perching on high vantage points, head downwards, along

roadsides, tracks and clearings throughout the island and displayed strong

territorial behaviour, attacking any intruder before returning to perch on the

same or adjacent vantage point. Females were encountered less frequently

and were often found perched on or around Pipturus argenteus (Urticaceae),

a known food plant for this butterfly in Papua New Guinea (Parsons 1998).

A single worn female placed in filtered sunlight in a plastic bag with cuttings

of P. argenteus deposited an estimated 200-250 eggs (Fig. 1). The eggs and

fresh cuttings were then transferred to an airtight container. The eggs were

very small, less than 0.5 mm in diameter, round and yellow in colour. All

hatched in 5-6 days. First instar larvae fed on the cuttings during the first day

but later crawled off the plant and died. This may indicate that either Pipturus

cuttings are somehow toxic to young larvae or the rearing conditions were

unsuitable, or this may not be the host plant in the Torres Strait. The larvae

showed no interest in cuttings of Asystasia sp. (Acanthaceae), placed in the

158 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

same container as the Pipturus. Asystasia spp. are known food plants for

many other species of Hypolimnas Hübner in Australia (Braby 2000).

LYCAENIDAE

Nothodanis schaeffera caesius (Grose-Smith)

A single female was taken on Murray Island in the company of Nacaduba

cyanea manto (Grose-Smith & Kirby), flying in dappled sunlight under the

rainforest canopy. Four females have now been recorded from the island,

with the other three collected in April 1989 by T.A. Lambkin and A.I. Knight

(Lambkin and Knight 1990, Braby 2000). Interestingly, a male has yet to be

collected from the island.

Dauan Island, 13-19 April 2001

LYCAENIDAE

Zizula hylax dampierensis Rothschild

Two males taken on Dauan Island, flying in a grassy glade adjacent to a small

rainwater channel, represent the first record of this species from the island.

Another male was collected in the same area during the subsequent visit in

2002. Within Australian limits, Braby (2000) recorded Z. hylax attenuata

(T.P. Lucas) from as far north as Prince of Wales Island. Parsons (1998)

recorded Z. h. dampierensis throughout mainland Papua New Guinea and on

most outlying islands, including Daru I., Western Province. Daru I. is

approximately 80 km NE of Dauan I., whereas Prince of Wales I. is some 140

km SSW of Dauan I. Specimens of Zizula hylax (Fabricius) from Dauan I. are

a deeper purple on the upperside than are specimens from mainland Australia

and they are therefore tentatively placed with subspecies Z. h. dampierensis,

due to the closer proximity of Daru I. to Dauan I.

Saibai Island, 19-20 April 2001

LYCAENIDAE

Catapyrops ancyra mysia (Waterhouse & Lyell)

Three pairs were taken flying on the verge of vine thicket near the cemetery

on Saibai Island. This butterfly has been recorded previously from nearby

Dauan I. (T.A. Lambkin pers. comm.), so it was not surprising to encounter it

on Saibai I.

Arhopala philander gander Evans

The identity of this species, formerly listed as Arhopala sp. Saibai (e.g. Braby

2000), was resolved by Lambkin and Knight (2005). A mature larva was

found on the inside of one of our netbags (CEM), following an unsuccessful

attempt to net an adult perched among Hibiscus tiliaceus (Malvaceae) on

Saibai Island. The larva did not appear to accept H. tiliaceus, Terminalia

catappa (Combretaceae) or Calophyllum inophyllum (Clusiaceae) as a host

plant, because there was no evidence of feeding scars on any of the cut plants

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 159

provided in the container during the week after capture and prior to pupation

on 26 April 2001. A female emerged in Canberra 24 days later, on 20 May

2001. The final instar larva was 25 mm long, with its markings and structure

resembling other Arhopala Boisduval larvae in the centaurus group in

Australia. However, it was principally orange in colour. The pupa was black,

differing from other Arhopala pupae in the group, which tend to be

translucent green in colour (Parsons 1998, Braby 2000, authors pers. obs.).

Pupal length was 19 mm, width 7.5 mm. Neither Lambkin and Knight (2005)

nor Parsons (1998) provided any life history details for this species.

Figs 1-2. (1) Hypolimnas antilope eggs on Pipturis argenteus from Murray Island.

(2) Hypochrysops elgneri elgneri female from Saibai Island: upper and undersides

(forewing length 19 mm).

160 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

Saibai Island, 25 April 2002

LYCAENIDAE

Hypochrysops elgneri elgneri (Waterhouse & Lyell)

A single female (Fig. 2) was collected adjacent to mangroves on Saibai Island

shortly before sunset. In colouration it appears midway between H. e. elgneri

from Papua New Guinea (Parsons 1998) and H. e. barnardi Waterhouse from

northern Queensland (Braby 2000). Sands and Fenner (1978) recorded H. e.

elgneri for the first time from Papua New Guinea from localities in Central

and Western provinces, and noted that both sexes collected close to Port

Moresby were very similar to those from Prince of Wales I., the type locality

for H. e. elgneri. On the upperside of the Saibai I. specimen, the orange-

brown central area of the forewing is dark and reduced, as in H. e. elgneri,

and on the underside the markings are well delineated and bold, as in H. e.

barnardi from Iron Range, Cape York Peninsula. An examination of

specimens (in ANIC) from Prince of Wales I. indicated that the Saibai I.

specimen fits best with H. e. elgneri, although it is smaller than specimens

from Rouku (Western Province, Papua New Guinea) in the Brandt Collection

(ANIC).

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mr Ron Day, Mrs Margaret Mau and Mr Terry Waia, the

respective chairpersons of Murray, Dauan and Saibai Island councils, for

permission to collect on the islands, Trevor Lambkin for his advice on

previous records and Mr James Bon, AQIS Officer on Murray Island, for

help with quarantine.

References

BRABY, M.F. 2000. Butterflies of Australia: their identification, biology and distribution.

CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne; xxvii + 976 pp.

LAMBKIN, T.A. and KNIGHT, A.I. 1990. Butterflies recorded from Murray Island, Torres

Strait, Queensland. Australian Entomological Magazine 17(4): 101-112.

LAMBKIN, T.A. and KNIGHT, A.I. 2005. New Australian butterfly records (Lepidoptera) from

Saibai and Dauan Islands, Torres Strait, Queensland. Australian Entomologist 32(2): 49-54.

PARSONS, M. [1998]. The butterflies of Papua New Guinea: their systematics and biology.

Academic Press, London; xvi + 736 pp, xxvi + 136 pls.

SANDS, D.P.A. and FENNER, T.L. 1978. New butterfly records from the New Guinea region.

Australian Entomological Magazine 4(6): 101-108.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4): 161-162 161

INLAND BREEDING RECORDS FOR TWO MISTLETOE

BUTTERFLIES (LEPIDOPTERA) FROM NORTHERN VICTORIA

MICHAEL F. BRABY

School of Botany and Zoology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200

Abstract

New inland distribution records and evidence of breeding are provided for Delias harpalyce

(Donovan) (Pieridae) and Ogyris abrota (Westwood) (Lycaenidae) from the Murray River near

Tocumwal in northern Victoria. Their early stages are associated with Muellerina eucalyptoides

(DC.) B.A. Barlow parasitising Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. in riverine tall woodland.

Introduction

Delias harpalyce (Donovan) and Ogyris abrota (Westwood) are restricted

mainly to the temperate areas of southeastern Australia (Common and

Waterhouse 1981), with the latter extending to upland areas in NE Qld

(Braby 2000). Both species breed predominantly in the foothills and montane

areas of the Great Dividing Range and nearby mountains, up to about 900 m,

as well as in coastal areas. They are ecologically dependant on mistletoes as

their larval food plants. In Victoria, Muellerina eucalyptoides (DC.) B.A.

Barlow (Loranthaceae) is the sole larval food plant of O. abrota and one of

several species used by D. harpalyce (Common and Waterhouse 1981, Braby

2000). The two butterfly species do not extend far inland on the slopes and

plains west or north of the Great Divide, especially O. abrota (Dunn and

Dunn 1991), In Victoria, individuals of D. harpalyce are occasionally

recorded from the mallee in the far northwest of the State (Gullan et al. 1996,

Museum Victoria 2002, F. Douglas pers. comm.), but these are believed to be

vagrants/migrants dispersing far beyond the breeding range (Braby 2000).

The northernmost limit of O. abrota in Victoria is 2 km SE of Harcourt (c. 25

km S of Bendigo) in the central area (Dunn 1983); the species otherwise is

not known from the northern or northwestern areas of the State (Gullan et al.

1996, Museum Victoria 2002). Here I document new breeding localities for

both species from the Murray River in inland northern Victoria.

Observations

Delias harpalyce (Pieridae)

Three males were recorded on the Murray River at Tocumwal, NSW, on 27

September 1987. The individuals were at rest, with wings closed and folded

over their backs, perched low down on the foliage of River Red Gum,

Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. growing on the bank of the river very close

to the town. They were in ‘fresh’ condition and had probably just emerged;

one male was collected and retained. Subsequently, on 24 December 1989,

several empty pupal cases were recorded nearby at Tocumwal Regional Park,

Vic, on Muellerina eucalyptoides parasitising E. camaldulensis. The

mistletoe clump, situated about 1.5 m above ground level, grew on the trunk

of the host tree. Tocumwal Regional Park lies directly opposite the township

of Tocumwal on the southern side of the Murray River.

162 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

Ogyris abrota (Lycaenidae)

Early stages were recorded at Tocumwal Regional Park, Vic. (35°48°58"S,

145°33°31”S; 110 m a.s.l.) on 2 March 2005. Numerous empty, white egg

shells and several empty, pale brown pupal cases were collected from a large

pendulous clump of Muellerina eucalyptoides, also growing low down (c. 3

m above ground level) and parasitising the trunk of a large E. camaldulensis.

Old larval feeding scars were also evident on the foliage. No other mistletoe

species were present on the host tree. The eggs were found singly or,

sometimes, in small groups on the adventitious roots of the mistletoe and on

the bark, especially the edges, of the host tree directly beneath or adjacent to

the roots of the mistletoe. The pupae were found under loose bark of the host

tree directly beneath the mistletoe and were well concealed. No live stages

were present, but the condition of the eggs and pupae suggested they were

possibly only one or two seasons old.

Discussion h

The records of early stages and other evidence from northern Victoria

provide new inland breeding records for Delias harpalyce and Ogyris abrota.

The occurrence of O. abrota near Tocumwal, in particular, provides a

substantial extension to the known range of this species in that State (c. 170

km NE of Harcourt). Both butterfly species were recorded breeding on the

same mistletoe species in riverine tall woodland dominated by Eucalyptus

camaldulensis, along the flood plain of the Murray River. It is highly

probable that this habitat provides suitable microclimatic conditions of higher

moisture and lower temperature to sustain breeding populations in the

otherwise hot, dry environment of the inland northern plains. Further field

studies are required to determine the extent to which both species extend

further downstream (inland) along the Murray River corridor. It is likely that

populations of these two species at Tocumwal are isolated from those further

south on the slopes and foothills of the Great Dividing Range, but may well

be connected with those further east near the headwaters of the Murray River

in Kosciuszko National Park, NSW and Alpine National Park, Vic.

References j

BRABY, M.F. 2000. Butterflies of Australia. their identification, biology and distribution. 2

vols. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne; xx + 976 pp.

COMMON, I.F.B. and WATERHOUSE, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Revised edition.

Angus and Robertson, Sydney; xiv + 682 pp.

DUNN, K.L. 1983. An inland distribution record for Ogyris abrota Westwood in Victoria

(Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Victorian Entomologist 13: 16-17.

DUNN, K.L. and DUNN, L.E. 1991. Review of Australian butterflies: distribution, life history

and taxonomy. Published privately, Melbourne; 660 pp.

GULLAN, P.K., CROSBY, D.F. and QUICK, W.N.B. 1996. Victorian butterfly database. CD-

ROM. Viridans Biological Databases, Melbourne.

MUSEUM VICTORIA. 2002. Bioinformatics. Australian butterflies - the Victorian fauna.

hitp:/www.museum.vic.gov.au/bio informatics/butter/index.htm

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4): 163-171 163

A NEW SUBSPECIES OF HESPERILLA CRYPSARGYRA (MEYRICK)

(LEPIDOPTERA: HESPERIIDAE) FROM SOUTHERN

QUEENSLAND AND A NEW STATUS FOR HESPERILLA HOPSONI

WATERHOUSE

STEPHEN J. JOHNSON' and PETER R. WILSON?

! Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Bank, Qld 4101

?OQueensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Enterprise St, Bundaberg, Old 4670

Abstract

Hesperilla crypsargyra binna subsp. n. is described and figured from an isolated population

within the Lamington National Park in southern Queensland. Characters are given to enable

separation from the closely related but geographically isolated H. c. crypsargyra (Meyrick). The

new geographical arrangement together with examination of genitalia and other characters

indicate that H. hopsoni Waterhouse stat. n. is specifically distinct from H. crypsargyra. The

immature stages of H. c. binna are recorded on Gahnia insignis S.T. Blake (Cyperaceae).

Introduction

Hesperilla crypsargyra (Meyrick) has a discontinuous distribution from

southern Queensland to western Victoria (Braby 2000). Nominotypical H. c.

crypsargyra occurs in central coastal New South Wales and two additional

subspecies have been described. H. c. hopsoni Waterhouse is a distinctive

montane population extending from Stanthorpe in southern Queensland

(Common and Waterhouse 1981) to the Barrington Tops (Waterhouse 1927)

and Mt Allyn (Muller 1991) in New South Wales. H. c. /esouefi Tindale was

proposed for a few isolated Victorian populations (Tindale 1953), even

though differences from the nominotypical population were minimal.

The discovery of additional, morphologically intermediate populations has

prompted some authors to question the validity of the separation of H. c.

lesouefi from H. c. crypsargyra (Dunn and Dunn 1991, Braby 2000), even

though the presence of intergrades does not invalidate subspecific status

under accepted definition (Torre-Bueno 1978).

During a visit by one of us (PRW) to Lamington National Park in southern

Queensland, in late November 2002 (Wilson 2004), numerous small dark

skippers were observed flying in an area of montane heath. These were

suspected to be H. crypsargyra. The area was revisited in November 2003

and specimens collected to confirm their identity. They were closest in

appearance to H. c. crypsargyra but separated from the nearest known

population of that subspecies by more than 500 km.

Examination of the southern Queensland material has revealed consistent

differences from H. c. crypsargyra and subspecific status is proposed here to

define this isolated population. It occurs approximately 120 km from the

northernmost population of H. c. hopsoni and closer examination of a range

of characters from both adult and immature stages has led to the conclusion

that H. hopsoni is specifically distinct from H. crypsargyra.

164 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

Hesperilla crypsargyra binna subsp. n.

(Figs 1-2, 7-8, 13, 17, 20)

Types. Holotype 0, QUEENSLAND: Daves Creek track, Lamington National Park,

28.221S, 153.206E, em. 9.xi.2004, S.J. Johnson (in Queensland Museum, Brisbane,

Reg. No. T99263). Paratypes: 6 O'0", same data as holotype but 15.xi.2003; 1 ?, em.

14.xi.2004 (in Queensland Museum); 23 070”, 2 99, same data as holotype but

15.xi.2003 (in Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville); 3 o'0", 3 99, 4 km SE

Binnaburra, 28.2217S, 153.2064E, 15.xi.2003, P.R. Wilson; 1 07, same data but em.

18.xi.2003, P.R. Wilson (in P.R. Wilson collection); 9 00", same data as holotype but

15.xi.2003 (in P.S. Valentine collection); 14 070", 1 9, Daves Creek Track, Binna

Burra N.P., 4.xi.2004; 10 d'o, 1 9, 20.xi.2004; 8 d'o, 4 99, 27.xi.2004, all C.G.

Miller (in C.G. Miller collection).

Description. Male (Figs 1, 7). Average wingspan 22.7 mm (n = 74).

Forewing upperside dark brown-black with slight yellow suffusion basally, a

prominent orange-yellow spot in cell, 3 subapical spots, a median band of 2

spots between M; and CuA, a thin, wavy sex brand extending from M; to

inner margin and a faint subterminal band. Forewing underside brown-black

with yellow costal streak, spots as above and a faint pale streak along inner

margin. Hindwing upperside dark brown-black with median band of 2

wedge-shaped spots between M; and CuA, and, rarely, an additional small

spot anterior to 1A+2A; termen chequered. Hindwing underside brown-black

with yellow suffusion along veins, a small wedge-shaped silver spot in cell,

an additional submedian silver spot anterior to Rs, a median band of 3

prominent silver spots joined by a silver stripe along 1A+2A to subterminal

band of 5 silver spots; termen chequered.

Female (Figs 2, 8). Average wingspan 24.4 mm (n = 12). Upperside similar

to male but termen more rounded, with additional median and post median

spots and subterminal band more pronounced. Underside similar to male.

Male genitalia (Fig. 17). Vinculum slightly sigmoid-shaped; tegumen sloping

posteriorly to rounded, hirsute, beak-like uncus, deflexed posteriorly; gnathos

with 2 oval sclerotised spinose patches; valva tapering to a point anteriorly

and slightly expanded distally; ampulla serrated and sloping posteriorly;

harpe strongly sclerotised with serrate upcurved tip lying flush with ampulla;

aedeagus expanded posteriorly and tapering to a narrow, rounded tip

anteriorly; juxta with lateral ovoid sclerotised bodies.

Etymology. Binna is the local aboriginal dialect word for the southern cliffs.

Comments. All populations of H. crypsargyra show variation in adult size but

adults of H. c. binna are more uniform and consistently smaller than those of

H. c. crypsargyra (Table 1). Average wingspan of H. c. binna is 22.7 mm (n

= 74) for males and 24.4 mm (n = 12) for females, compared with 25.42 mm

(n = 97) and 27.13 mm (n = 50) respectively for H. c. crypsargyra. The

postmedian band on the forewing upperside is reduced in H. c. binna, being

represented by three patches between Rs and M; and, in occasional

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) ve

specimens, with a vestigal patch anterior to CuA;, whereas all H. c

crypsargyra examined had 5-6 patches extending to CuA, or 1A+2A (see

Figs 1-4). On the hindwing underside all specimens of H. c. binna have an

uninterrupted silver stripe along the anal vein joining the median and

subterminal silver patches, whereas most specimens (84%) of H. c.

D this RR eped H. c. binna have much less yellow

scaling basally anterior to Sc+R; and Rs compared with H. c.

scaling baal p H. c. crypsargyra

Tindale (1953) proposed H. c. lesouefi on the basis of reduced size, darker

ground colour and reduced segments in the postmedian band of the hindwing.

Examination of a large series from throughout Victoria and southern New

South Wales has shown no differences from H. c. crypsargyra in the colour

of the forewings or in the number of segments in the hindwing postmedian

band (see Table 2). However, specimens from southern NSW and eastern

Victoria are consistently smaller than those from the Blue Mountains area

(see Table 1) and are better placed in H. c. lesouefi.

Table 1. Wingspan measurements of Hesperilla crypsargyra populations.

Location males n females n

D

Southern Qld 22.7 mm 74 24.41 mm 12

Blue Mtns, NSW 25.42 mm 97 27.13 mm 50

Victoria 23.66 mm 80 25.41 mm 62

Southern NSW 24.70 mm 10 26.25 mm 4

Ú

Table 2. Segments in hindwing postmedian band of H. crypsargyra populations.

LE

Taxon Range Average n

Southern Qld. 2-5 37 86

Blue Mtns, NSW 4-6 5.72 87

Victoria 4-6 5.85 142

Southern NSW 4-6 5.85 14

Host plant. The host plant at Lamington National Park is Gahnia insignis

S.T. Blake (Cyperaceae), growing in an area of montane heath overlying

rhyolite/trachyte pavement (Fig. 16). This is a fine, soft-leaved plant with a

scrambling habit. A search of the Queensland Herbarium database has shown

a restricted distribution in Queensland, occurring at only 4-5 sites in the

southeast and on Hinchinbrook Island near Ingham in the north. There are

records from Whian Whian State Forest and near Lismore in northern NSW

but no search for additional locations in that State has been undertaken.

Several large stands of G. insignis occur as an understorey plant in wet

eucalypt forest but not overlying rhyolite or trachyte rock. No adults or signs

166 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

of larval feeding have been found in these situations, despite some being

within 5 km of the Daves Creek site. We have produced a composite map of

known records of G. insignis together with vegetation and soil types and only

three sites showed host plant growing on rhyolite/trachyte rock pavement.

The remaining two of these sites are inaccessible but both lie within protected

areas and future surveys of these sites are recommended to search for

additional populations.

H. c. crypsargyra and H. c. lesouefi feed exclusively on G. microstachya and

H. hopsoni feeds on G. sieberiana and G. grandis (Braby 2000).

Biology. Voltinism and flight period remain unknown at this stage. Adults are

common in November but visits to the site in December 2002 (SJJ) and

March 2004 (C.G. Miller pers. comm.) failed to locate adults. A search for

immature stages has yielded only pupae in early November and early instar

larvae in late December, which further suggests that the species is univoltine

with a restricted flight period.

Hesperilla hopsoni Waterhouse, stat. n.

(Figs 5-6, 11-12, 15, 19, 22)

Hesperilla crypsargyra hopsoni Waterhouse, 1927: 282.

Material examined. 25 707, 25 99, (in Australian National Iinsect Collection,

Canberra, Museum of Tropical Queensland and Queensland Museum).

Description. An adequate description was given by Waterhouse (1927).

Comments. The historical site for H. hopsoni at Mt Norman, near Stanthorpe

in SE Qld, is 120 km from the Lamington Plateau location of H. c. binna,

although at a higher altitude. Specimens from this site have been confirmed

as H. hopsoni by Ted Edwards (pers. comm.), indicating that this population

is an extreme northern extension of the montane H. hopsoni and not an

extension of the Lamington National Park population of H. c. binna.

H. hopsoni is substantially larger than H. crypsargyra, with an average

wingspan of 30 mm in males and 32 mm in females, compared with 26.6 mm

and 30.1 mm for H. c. crypsargyra and 22.7 mm and 24.4 mm for H. c. binna

respectively. As noted by Waterhouse (1927), the underside forewing colour

in H. hopsoni is brown, compared with red-brown in H. c. crypsargyra, while

the spots are orange rather than yellow and there is a broad orange streak

along the upper edge of the cell. On the hindwing the veins are orange and

the silver spots are much larger.

The following differences are present in the male genitalia of the three taxa

(see Figs 17-19): the tegumen of H. hopsoni is shorter and has a more angular

dorsum than the others; in the valvae, the serrate ampulla of H. c. binna arises

gradually anteriorly, whereas those of H. c. crypsargyra and H. hopsoni arise

acutely; the spinose patches on the gnathos are smaller and more angular in

H. hopsoni and the ampulla of H. c. crypsargyra is more serrate.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 167

ao aT n a d

Figs 1-6. Hesperilla spp., uppersides. (1) H. crypsargyra binna subsp. n., holotype

male; (2) H. c. binna subsp. n., paratype female; (3) H. c. crypsargyra male; (4) H. c.

crypsargyra female; (5) H. hopsoni male; (6) H. hopsoni female.

168 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

Figs 7-12. Hesperilla spp., undersides. (7) H. crypsargyra binna subsp. n., holotype

male; (8) H. c. binna subsp. n., paratype female; (9) H. c. crypsargyra male; (10) H. c.

crypsargyra female; (11) H. hopsoni male; (12) H. hopsoni female.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 169

Figs 13-16. Pupal caps of Hesperilla spp. and host plant of H. c. binna subsp. n. (13-

15) Pupal caps: (13) H. crypsargyra binna subsp.n.; (14) H. c. crypsargyra; (15) H.

hopsoni. (16) Gahnia insignis growing in an area of exposed rhyolyte at Lamington

National Park, SE Qld.

The egg of H. c. crypsargyra has 27-29 vertical ribs (Grund 1998), whereas

that of H. hopsoni has 47 ribs (Braby 2000). H. c. crypsargyra and H. c.

binna each appear to be restricted to a single host plant with relatively small

leaves and have not adapted to widespread, larger-leaved forms used by H.

hopsoni and other Hesperilla Hewitson species. Pupal opercula have been

regarded as diagnostic within Hesperilla species (Grund 1998) and the

projections of H. c. binna are approximately half the length of those of H. c.

crypsargyra and H. hopsoni. The projections of the pupal operculum of H.

hopsoni are more divergent than those of H. c. crypsargyra (see Figs 13-15).

The cremaster of H. hopsoni has a deeper dorsal concavity and broader tip

than that of H. c. crypsargyra and that of H. c. binna is more elongated than

those of the other two taxa (see Figs 20-22).

170 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

Figs 17-22. Male genitalia and pupal cremasters of Hesperilla spp. (17-19) Male

genitalia: (17) H. crypsargyra binna subsp. n.; (18) H. c. crypsargyra; (19) H.

hopsoni. (20-22) Pupal cremasters: (20) H. c. binna subsp. n.; (21) H. c. crypsargyra;

(22) H. hopsoni.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 171

The numerous differences between the three taxa suggest that they have been

geographically and genetically isolated for sufficient time to permit

speciation to occur. However, the similar morphologies of H. c. binna and H.

c. crypsargyra indicate subspecific status. A more detailed understanding of

phylogenetic relationships must await genetic analyses.

Acknowledgements

We thank Geoff Thompson and Jeff Wright for assistance with photography,

Queensland National Parks and Wildlife service for permits to undertake

work in areas under their control, Ted Edwards, Peter Valentine, Grant Miller

and Steve Brown for providing access to specimens in their care and

Queensland Herbarium staff for identification of host plants.

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DUNN, K.L. and DUNN, L.E. 1991. Review of Australian butterflies: distribution, life history

and taxonomy. Part 2: Family Hesperiidae. Published privately; Melbourne; pp 197-335.

GRUND, R. 1998. The identification of Gahnia Forst & Forst. F (Cyperaceae) eating

Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera) using immature stages. Victorian Entomologist 28(2): 20-32.

MULLER, C.J. 1991. New distribution records for butterflies in New South Wales. Victorian

Entomologist 21: 79-80.

TINDALE, N.B. 1953. New Rhopalocera and a list of species from the Grampian Mountains,

western Victoria. Records of the South Australian Museum 11(1): 43-68.

TORRE-BUENO, J.R. DE LA 1978. A glossary of entomology. New York Entomological

Society, New York; 336 + 36 pp.

WATERHOUSE, G.A. 1927. Australian Hesperiidae. Part 1. Notes and descriptions of new

forms. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 52(3): 275-283.

WILSON, P. 2004. A new population of Hesperilla crypsargyra in southern Queensland. News

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2004 First descriptions of Coelometopini pupae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from Australia,

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antipredator adaptations. Systematic Entomology 29: 101-114.

BRABY, M.F.

2004 The complete field guide to butterflies of Australia. CSIRO Publishing; x + 340 pp.

2005 Provisional checklist of genera of the Pieridae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea). Zootaxa

832: 1-16.

EASTWOOD, R.

2004 Successive replacement of tending ant species at aggregations of scale insects

(Hemiptera: Margarodidae and Eriococcidae) on Eucalyptus in south-east Queensland.

Australian Journal of Entomology 43(1): 1-4.

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2004 Hemielissum evansi, a new genus and species of Breddiniolini (Hemiptera: Fulgoromor-

pha), being the first Australian record of the tribe, with a discussion of the taxonomic

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HUXHAM, K.A.

2004 A unique fruit fly monitoring and control system - Australia’s frontline of northern

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2003 Molecular systematics of birdwing butterflies (Papilionidae) inferred from

mitochondrial NDS gene. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 57(1): 17-24.

MOUND, L.A.

2004 Australian long-tailed gall thrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripinae, Leeuweniini), with

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2004 Seed-feeding species of Bruchophagus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae)

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2004 Nesting biology of an Australian resin bee (Megachile sp.; Hymenoptera:

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Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4): 173-180 173

THE PHYTOPHAGOUS INSECT FAUNA ASSOCIATED WITH

ACACIA NILOTICA SSP. INDICA (MIMOSACEAE) IN AUSTRALIA

W.A. PALMER|, M.P. VITELLI?? and G.P. DONNELLY

"Alan Fletcher Research Station, Queensland Department of Natural Resources & Mines,

PO Box 36, Sherwood, Qld 4075

?Tropical Weeds Research Centre, Queensland Department of Natural Resources & Mines,

PO Box 187, Charters Towers, Old 4820

3Present address: 26 King St, Charters Towers, Qld 4820

*Present address: 95 Strickland Terrace, Graceville, Qld 4075

Abstract

A survey of the phytophagous insect fauna associated with the exotic weed Acacia nilotica ssp.

indica (Benth.) Brenan was conducted throughout Queensland from 1979-89. Forty-two species,

many of which are also associated with native Acacia spp., were found on this plant. The more

important species included the wattle cicada Cicadetta oldfieldi (Distant), that may be implicated

in ‘dieback’ of A. nilotica, the seed-feeding bruchids Caryedon serratus (Olivier) and Bruchidius

sahlberghi Schilsky, the cerambycid twig girdlers Platyomopsis spp. and Ancita marginicollis

(Boisduval) and the termites Mastotermes darwiniensis Froggatt and Coptotermes sp. Two

exotic species released during the study period, B. sahlberghi in 1982 and the gracillariid

Cuphodes profluens (Meyrick) in 1983, have not impacted on the abundance of the host plant.

Introduction

Prickly acacia, Acacia nilotica ssp. indica (Benth.) Brenan, is one of the

worst woody weeds of northern Australia and is a ‘Weed of National

Significance’ (Thorp and Lynch 2000). It was introduced into Australia in the

1890s and used as a shade and fodder tree in the early 1900s. It now infests

over 7 million hectares of the Mitchell grass downs of western Queensland

(Mackey 1997) and has the potential to convert this area from a natural

grassland into a woody savannah.

Prickly acacia was recognised as a serious weed after a dramatic increase in

its abundance in the mid 1970s, caused by a series of wet years and a switch

in enterprises from sheep to cattle, and investigations commenced to find

biological control agents. As part of the biological control project, faunal

studies of the insects associated with A. nilotica have been undertaken in

Pakistan (Mohyuddin 1981), Kenya (Marohasy 1995) and South Africa (R.

Stals, unpublished). The significance of these and other studies in relation to

biological control and collecting technique has been discussed (Marohasy

1995, Palmer 1996). These initiatives led to a number of insects being

imported by the Alan Fletcher Research Station for further study and,

ultimately, to six species being released in Australia. The six insects were a

seed feeding bruchid beetle, Bruchidius sahlbergi Schilsky, released in 1982,

a tip boring gracillariid moth, Cuphodes profluens (Meyrick), released in

1983, a leaf feeding chrysomelid beetle, Homichloda barkeri (Jacoby),

released in 1996, two geometrid moths, Chiasmia inconspicua (Walker) and

C. assimilis (Walker), released in 1999, and a noctuid moth, Cometaster

pyrula (Hoppfer), released in 2003.

174 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

Before exotic agents are introduced in biological control projects, it is

desirable to ascertain the insect fauna (both native and exotic) that has

colonised the exotic plant (Harley and Forno 1992). One reason such studies

need to be undertaken early in a biological control project is to ensure that the

considerable effort and resources necessary to introduce an agent are not

wasted on a species that is already present. A second reason is that a faunal

study might indicate vacant ecological niches that could be exploited with

appropriate introductions. Faunal studies have been conducted in Australia

for the exotic leguminous weeds mimosa, Mimosa pigra L., which had been

colonised by 114 species (Wilson et al. 1990), and broom, Cytisus scoparius

L. (Link), which was colonised by nine species (Memmott et al. 2000).

The insect fauna associated with prickly acacia was not known, although the

fauna of the Australian acacias has been described in general terms. The

insect fauna associated with the Australian Acacia spp. is characterized by

lacking mutualistic ants, having numerous foliage-mining insects (all

Lepidoptera) on the phyllodinous species, having many gall-forming insects

from the Eriophyiidae, Cecidomyiidae, Hymenoptera and Thysanoptera,

having a number of curculionid but no bruchid seed feeders, and having a

rich psyllid fauna (New 1984).

A survey was therefore made of the insects associated with prickly acacia in

Australia, which began prior to the introduction of the first biological control

agents. The results of this and subsequent surveys made over the next decade,

by which time B. sahlbergi and C. profluens had been released, are reported

here.

Materials and methods

Various people in the department undertook the survey over nearly ten years.

It commenced in 1979 with a number of dedicated collecting trips to areas

infested with prickly acacia. Thereafter the survey was continued

Opportunistically over the next decade. In this manner, most areas in

Queensland infested with prickly acacia were surveyed, including both the

Mitchell grass downs (an area roughly bounded by Hughenden, Cloncurry,

Winton and Alpha) and the coastal area around Bowen, where severe

infestations of the tree also occur.

Insects were collected by visually inspecting the trees or by beating the

branches over an insect tray. Prickly acacia is sharply spined which precluded

the use of sweeping nets, which would otherwise have been a preferred

method of capture. When evidence of internal infestation was present, the

plant part was removed and placed in an emergence enclosure to allow the

capture of adults. Pods were also regularly collected to allow seed feeders to

emerge. Immatures were reared to maturity to obtain adults for identification.

Specimens of most species have been retained in the collections at the Alan

Fletcher Research Station and details of the collections have been entered

into a computer database (Palmer 1995).

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 175

All insect specimens were submitted to specialist taxonomists for

identification. In many instances, complete identification was not obtained.

Often it was not possible to determine whether the insect was actually

feeding on A. nilotica. We report here all the species belonging to known

phytophagous taxa with the exception of pollen and nectar gatherers and

adult Lepidoptera and Diptera. The list therefore undoubtedly includes some

species that are casual visitors to the plant.

Results

Some 42 phytophagous insect species in five orders and 24 families were

collected on prickly acacia with the Coleoptera (59% of species) and

Lepidoptera (24%) being well represented (Table 1).

Table 1: Phytophagous insects found on prickly acacia in Qld. (a) - an asterisk (*)

indicates the insect was endophagous; (b) - R = rare, O = occasional, C = common.

Species Life stage Plant Freq- Association

collected part uency with native

(a) (b) Acacia spp.

COLEOPTERA

Belidae

Belus semipunctatus (F.) adult tip O Yes

Bostrichidae

Bostrychopsis jesuita (F.) adult stem* C Yes

Xylobisca sp. adult stem* R

Xylobisca sp. 1 adult stem* R

Bruchidae

Bruchidius sahlbergi Schilsky all stages seed* C

Caryedon serratus (Olivier) all stages seed* G Yes

Buprestidae

unidentified sp. adult R

Cerambycidae

Ancita didyma Blackburn larva, adult stem* R Yes

Ancita marginicollis (Boisduval) larva, adult stem* G Yes

Ceresium sp. larva stem* R

Ceresium sp. 1 larva stem* R

Chlorophorus curtisi (L. & G.) adult flower R

Piesarthrius sp. larva stem* (8)

Platyomopsis humeralis (White) larva, adult stem* (8)

Platyomopsis sp. larva, adult stem* C

unidentified sp.

Chrysomelidae

Monolepta australis (Jacoby) adult leaf C

176 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

Species Life stage Plant

collected part

(a)

COLEOPTERA (cont.)

Curculionidae

Leptopius sp. adult tip

Leptopius sp. 1 adult tip

Leptopius sp. 2 adult

Lixus sp. adult flower

unidentified sp. adult

Rhipiceridae

Rhipicera neglecta Emden adult

HEMIPTERA

Coreidae

Mictis profana (F.) all stages tip

Lygaeidae

Oxycarenus luctuosus (Mont. & Sig.)

Scutelleridae

Coleotichus costatus (F.) adult pod

Cicadidae

Cicadetta oldfieldi (Distant) nymph, adult root

ISOPTERA

Mastotermitidae

Mastotermes darwiniensis all stages root,

Froggatt stem

Rhinotermitidae

Coptotermes sp. all stages stem

LEPIDOPTERA

Gelechiidae

Mesophleps palpigera larva seed

(Walsingham)

Geometridae

Eucyclodes sp. | larva pod

Zermizinga indocilisaria larva leaf

(Walker)

Oecophoridae

unidentified sp. larva stem*

Pieridae

Eurema hecabe (L.) larva leaf

Freq-

uency

(b)

SISA ID IÐ AR

On

Association

with native

Acacia spp.

Yes

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 177

Species Life stage Plant Freq- Association

collected part uency with native

(a) (b) Acacia spp.

LEPIDOPTERA (cont.)

Psychidae

unidentified sp. larva leaf C

Pterophoridae

unidentified sp. pod R

Pyralidae

unidentified sp. larva pod R

Tortricidae

Cryptophlebia ombrodelta larva pod*, O Yes

(Lower) seed

unidentified sp.

THYSANOPTERA

Aelothripidae

Desmothrips sp. adult flower R

Thripidae

Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom) adult flower R Yes

Thrips imaginis Bagnall all stages flower G Yes

The wattle cicada Cicadetta oldfieldi is well known as an associate of native

Acacia spp. and was found with prickly acacia. The nymphs feed on the roots

and emerge from the soil in late summer to shed their final exuviae while

attached to a tree trunk. Counts of emergence holes revealed densities as high

as 1 hole per 10 cm? around the bases of prickly acacia. The adults feed on

the tree and oviposit in new growth. This insect has been implicated in a

“dieback? of A. nilotica in Australia (Tomley 1995). Adults of a possible

parasite of cicada nymphs, Rhipicera neglecta (Coleoptera), have also been

collected in numbers from prickly acacia and the cicada burrows beneath the

trees.

Two bruchids, the imported Bruchidius sahlbergi and the cosmopolitan,

historically naturalized Caryedon serratus, are now commonly found in

prickly acacia pods and seeds throughout all areas infested with prickly

acacia. The two species can be distinguished by the shape and position of the

egg and by the emergence holes from seeds. Eggs of C. serratus are laid on

the seed or on the side of seed pods and are covered by a pearly white dome,

while those of B. sahlbergi are yellow and oviposited along the margin of

opened pods. Caryedon serratus leave the seed as prepupae through irregular,

small holes in the seed and spin cocoons outside the seed for pupation.

Bruchidius sahlbergi pupate inside the seed and adults emerge from a large

round hole. Both species are multivoltine and continuous breeders.

178 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

The longicorn beetles, Platyomopsis spp. and Ancita marginicollis, are twig

girdlers that were quite commonly encountered. Females chew three or more

ringbarks about 1 m from the distal end of branches and insert eggs under

flaps of bark near the girdling marks. Girdling results in the death of the

branch above the girdles allowing early larval instars to develop unhindered

by sap. Later larval feeding below the ringbarking results in the death of the

branch above the tunnelled section. The larvae of another longicorn, the

acacia borer Piesarthrius sp., feed in the sapwood and heartwood of the plant

before internally girdling the main stem just above ground level and pupating

in the stump.

Branches were attacked by larvae of an unidentified oecophorid wood moth

that bore holes into the heartwood in the fork of branches and feed on the

bark and sapwood, under a camouflage of chewed up wood and frass webbed

together.

At least two termites, the giant termite Mastotermes darwiniensis and the

smaller Coptotermes sp., attack sapwood and heartwood of mature trees.

Symptoms of attack are weakening of the tree, branches breaking off,

channels of mud throughout the trunk and branches, and loss of leaf cover.

The entire tree may fall over during a storm or windy weather.

Although not collected in the field, the cottony cushion scale, Icerya purchasi

Maskell, has been found on potted plants grown at the Alan Fletcher

Research Station and has become a laboratory pest.

Discussion

Exotic, introduced plants invariably have a smaller insect fauna associated

with them in their new habitat than they have in their native range (Goeden

1974) and this was also the case with prickly acacia. Some 42 species were

found on prickly acacia, whereas the phytophagous insect faunas known from

Acacia nilotica in Pakistan, India, Kenya and South Africa are now estimated

to be at least 69, 64, 116 and over 400 species respectively (W. Palmer,

unpublished).

Prickly acacia may well have been one case which did not conform to the

general hypothesis that introduced plants have a smaller insect fauna.

Australia has a rich flora in the Mimosaceae, particularly in the tribe

Acacieae. There are over 1000 endemic taxa in Acacia (Cowan 1998) and it

might have been anticipated that many insect species found on native

congeners would colonise prickly acacia. However, a large number of species

was not found on prickly acacia and insects were rarely particularly abundant

or damaging. The reason is probably that prickly acacia belongs to the

subgenus Acacia, which is represented by only nine endemic species, while

almost all of the Australian taxa belong to subgenus Phyllodineae (Maslin

2001).

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 179

A variety of insects colonised prickly acacia after its introduction nearly a

century ago. This assemblage includes species attacking the foliage, roots, the

trunk and branches and the reproductive parts of prickly acacia. As would be

anticipated, many of these insects are generalists associated with other

leguminous species.

With the possible exception of the cicada Cicadetta oldfieldi, there was little

indication that the insect fauna was causing any appreciable effect on the

plant populations although, when plants become stressed by drought or other

factors, the incidence of secondary attack by longicorn beetles and termites

increased. In considering the introduction of further biocontrol agents, it

appeared that all niches, with the possible exception of the seed feeders, were

underexploited and that it would be undesirable to exclude the agents of any

niche from future searches.

Of the six species introduced for biological control, only Bruchidius

sahlbergi, released in 1982, had clearly established and this insect was

regularly found during the latter part of the survey. However, it is now

considered to be having little impact (Radford et al. 2001). The gracillariid

Cuphodes profluens (Meyrick), released in 1983, was not seen during this

survey and is now thought not to have established. The other four species,

Homichloda barkeri, Chiasmia inconspicua, C. assimilis and Cometaster

pyrula, were released after the conclusion of the survey.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Bill Dorney, Manon Griffiths Hughes, Peter James, Peter

Jeffrey and Bruce Wilson, all of whom collected insects during the survey.

Expert identifications were made by Bryan Cantrell, Murdoch de Baar, John

Donaldson and the late Keith Houston of the then Queensland Department of

Primary Industries, and by J. Davidson, Marianne Horak, C. Letts, Laurence

Mound, Tom Weir and the late Elwood C. Zimmerman of the Australian

National Insect Collection.

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Carduus pycnocephalus, in southern California and southern Europe relative to biological weed

control. Environmental Entomology 3: 464-474.

HARLEY, K.L.S. and FORNO, I.W. 1992. Biological control of weeds: a handbook for

practitioners and students. Inkata Press, Melbourne; 74 pp.

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Brenan. Plant Protection Quarterly 12: 7-17.

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The invertebrate fauna on broom, Cytisus scopiarius, in two native and two exotic habitats. Acta

Oecologia 21: 213-222.

MOHYUDDIN, A.I. 1981. Phytophages associated with Acacia nilotica in Pakistan and

possibilities of their introduction into Australia. Pp 161-166, in: Del Fosse, E.S. (ed.), Fifth

International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds. CSIRO, Melbourne.

NEW, T.R. 1984. A biology of the Acacias. Oxford University Press, Melbourne; 153 pp.

PALMER, W.A. 1995. The use of computer databases during the foreign exploration phase of a

biological control programme. Pp 705-708, in: Delfosse, E.S. and Scott, R.R. (eds), Proceedings

of the VIII International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds. DSIR/CSIRO, Melbourne.

PALMER, W.A. 1996. Biological control of prickly acacia in Australia. Pp 239-241, in:

Shepherd, R.C.H. (ed.), Proceedings of the eleventh Australian Weeds Conference. Weeds

Society of Victoria, Melbourne.

RADFORD, I., NICHOLAS, D.M. and BROWN, J.R. 2001. Assessment of the biological

control impact of seed predators on the invasive shrub Acacia nilotica (prickly acacia) in

Australia. Biological Control 20: 261-268.

THORP, J.R. and LYNCH, R. 2000. The determination of weeds of National significance.

National Weeds Strategy Executive Committee.

TOMLEY, A. 1995. Die back of prickly acacia, with suggestions for further investigations. P 13,

in: March, N. (ed.), Exotic weeds and their control in north west Queensland. Queensland

Department of Lands, Mt Isa.

WILSON, C.G., FLANAGAN, G.J. and GILLETT, J.D. 1990. The phytophagous insect fauna of

the introduced shrub Mimosa pigra in northern Australia and its relevance to biological control.

Environmantal Entomology 19: 776-784.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4): 181-182 181.

CONFIRMATION OF APPIAS CELESTINA (BOISDUVAL)

(LEPIDOPTERA: PIERIDAE) IN AUSTRALIA

R.P. WEIR!, C.E. MEYER? and S.S. BROWN?

11 Longwood Avenue, Leanyer, NT 0812

?10 Anne Clark Avenue, Nicholls, ACT 2913

319 Kimberley Drive, Bowral, NSW 2576

Abstract

A single male Appias celestina (Boisduval) was collected at Iron Range, Queensland, in July

1999, confirming the existence of this species in Australia. It is not known if it is permanently

established on Cape York Peninsula.

Introduction

Appias celestina (Boisduval) occurs from Waigeo, Kai and Aru Is in eastern

Indonesia to Papua New Guinea, including its adjacent islands and the

Bismark Archipelago (Braby 2000, Edwards et al. 2001). Four undated

specimens, mostly in poor condition, were recorded from Cape York,

Queensland, by Braby (2000), which he suggested might be vagrants from

Papua New Guinea. Waterhouse and Lyell (1914) stated ‘It is with

considerable doubt that we include this species. We have records of only

three examples all of which are supposed to have come from Cape York:

none of them are dated but we have no reason to doubt any other of Miskin’s

records’. Waterhouse (1932) also alluded to H. Elgner residing on Cape York

for two years without encountering the species. However, in July 1999, a

single male (Figs 1-2), in excellent condition, was collected by one of us

(RPW) flying with A. ada (Stoll) at Iron Range, Cape York Peninsula.

Figs 1-2. Appias celestina, male. (1) upperside; (2) underside.

182 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

Discussion

The label data of the four previously known specimens are as follows: 1 C”,

Cape York, C.E.B., AN31 000884 (in Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Reg.

No. T100918); 1 9, 183, Cape York, AN31 00883 (in Queensland Museum,

Brisbane, Reg. No. T100919); 1 C” (in very poor condition), CAPE YORK,

[collectors name not decipherable], -/6/74, G.A. Waterhouse Collection,

KL15081 (in Australian Museum, Sydney); 1 0’, C. York, J.A. Kershaw,

LEP-14419, AU 139, Passed through C.W. Wyatt Theft-Coll. 1946-1947 (in

Museum of Victoria, Melbourne).

Collection dates for the three examples recorded by Waterhouse and Lyell

(1914) are unknown. The Australian Museum specimen was not recorded in

that work or in Waterhouse (1932) but appears to have been collected in June

1874. The two specimens in the Queensland Museum have Australian

National Insect Collection (ANIC) reference numbers (AN31 000883/884)

attached to their labels. The ANIC accession database records the following

data entered for these specimens: Location: Cape York (General) 11°30’S,

142°30°E (error > 25 km).

This location data cannot be relied upon, as it was entered as a general

location coordinate for Cape York (E.D. Edwards, pers. comm.). The

coordinates relate to what is now Heathlands National Park and, most

probably, the road junction of Bamaga and Captain Billy’s Landing roads,

approximately 140 km north of Iron Range. At the time when the specimens

were supposed to have been collected on Cape York, access to the peninsula

was essentially restricted to sea travel because of the poor quality of the roads

and inaccessible terrain. If the specimens were collected in Australia then the

most likely location was Somerset near Cape York, where the majority of

collectors of the time based themselves (E.D. Edwards, pers. comm.).

It is possible that A. celestina is breeding within the Iron Range area. The

paucity of records, however, indicates that the species is rare, although more

information is required before a quantitative assessment can be made.

References

BRABY, M.F. 2000. Butterflies of Australia: their identification, biology and distribution.

CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne; xxvii + 976 pp.

EDWARDS, E.D., NEWLAND, J. and REGAN, L. 2001. Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea,

Papilionoidea. /n: Wells, A. and Houston, W.W.K. (eds), Zoological Catalogue of Australia.

Vol. 31.6. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne; x + 465 pp.

PARSONS, M. [1998]. The butterflies of Papua New Guinea: their systematics and biology.

Academic Press, London; xvi + 736 pp, 162 pls.

WATERHOUSE, G.A. 1932. What butterfly is that? Angus and Robertson, Sydney; 291 pp, 32

pls.

WATERHOUSE, G.A. and LYELL, A. 1914. The butterflies of Australia, A monograph of the

Australian Rhopalocera. Angus and Robertson, Sydney; vi + 239 pp.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4): 183-188 183

BOOK REVIEW

Birdwing butterflies of the world (new and revised edition), by Bernard D’Abrera.

Hill House Publishers, Melbourne, 2003, cost ca $650.

This is the second edition of a Monograph of the birdwing butterflies (Ornithoptera,

Trogonoptera, Troides), first published in 1975. Since then, D’Abrera has produced a

stream of butterfly books that together seek to cover the butterfly fauna of the world.

This is an almost impossible task for one man, even with the outstanding collections

of The Natural History Museum, London (BMNH) at his fingertips, and his vision and

hard work in doing so is to be applauded. The books are renowned for superb colour

plates and rather minimalist text that many might regard as wildly eccentric.

Mr D’Abrera is unapologetic about his minimalist approach and, since he writes and

finances his own publications, why should he be otherwise. Indeed, the question of

text to accompany illustrations is deliberately kept to a minimum, since he believes (p.

303) that ‘Readers of my work will by now have got used to the idea that I use as few

words as possible, when the pictures I provide are good enough to convey the

information needed.’ Fair enough, so far as it goes, which is to say as far as

description of adults or illustrated early stages is concerned although, in view of the

massive literature available on this subject, one might wish for rather more padding

sometimes, as will become clear. Eccentricity largely (but not wholly) concerns the

question of creationist views, which D’Abrera promotes with some vehemence and, of

course, he is entitled to his opinion.

In his most recent books, D’Abrera’s personal attacks on colleagues have shown a

depressing increase and, before going any further, I should declare that I am on the

receiving end of such an attack myself in the book under review (pp 304-6). It is not

my intention to challenge this attack, which would be offensive were it not so bizarre,

since any interested reader with time on their hands can make their own objective

assessment by reference to the literature (Tennent 1997). A personal interest thus

declared, I confess to having been in turn both irritated and saddened by the gratuitous

rudeness that runs through this book. It is possible to feel some sympathy, for

D’Abrera clearly feels it necessary to respond to any criticism or comment with which

he disagrees, in a most personal and destructive manner, to the extent where no

perceived slight is too small to be vigorously attacked.

The book starts as it means to go on, with criticism of the publishers of the first

edition (D’Abrera 1975) and reference to ‘the fog of evolutionary pseudo-science’ (p.

ix) in the first paragraph of a preamble. This section goes on to give grudging

acknowledgement to the fact that, since the first edition of his own book, ‘there have

been several attempts by various authors to monograph the birdwings.’ With one

exception (Matsuka 2001), D’Abrera thinks little of the work of others, condemning

(p. ix) the ‘prolix, unlovely, and curiously stilted’ work of Haugum and Low (1978-

1985), to a degree where the book is almost as much a critique of those authors and

their work as it is a celebration of the birdwing butterflies. The work of Ohya (1983)

is said to be ‘beautifully produced, but taxonomically most peculiar’ (p. x), whilst that

of von Knötgen (1997) is ‘a largely philatelic work of poor scientific or historical

value’ (p. x). Although Matsuka’s superb birdwing book is said to be ‘deliciously

romantic and gorgeous’, it is also said that ‘as a serious systematic work ... it is not a

success’ (p. x). The preamble discusses the scope of the new edition and closes with

acknowledgements.

184 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

An introductory section contains some historical information concerning the study of

birdwing butterflies and quickly moves on to D’Abrera’s favourite topics, the

promotion of creationist ideals and corresponding vitriolic condemnation (as opposed

to balanced dismissal) of any form of evolutionism. Here, the author discards any

thought of evolutionary descent (‘Evolution is an anti-science’ [p. xvi]), but also

dismisses ‘specious theories of vast geological age’ (p. xv), giving the recent Mount

St. Helens eruption ‘where hundreds of feet of horizontal stratification of soils and

rock ... took place within the space of a few hours’ as an example proving ‘beyond the

shadow of a doubt’ that ‘successive geological “strata”? are in no way indicators of

geological age’ (p. xix). As already stated, anyone is entitled to an opinion, but the

space devoted to this pet subject, however eloquently presented, is seriously out of

place in a tome of this nature. Description of some ‘philosopho-scientific definitions’

is equally bizarre.

The main part of the book consists of some stunning habitat photographs and good

quality colour plates depicting many of the birdwing butterflies taken from the

collections of the BMNH which, although they could reasonably be considered

comprehensive many years ago, lack most, if not all, recently described ‘birdwing’

taxa. This is for good reason; since ca 1973 CITES and other restrictions have made

unlicensed collection of many birdwing butterflies unlawful. The Museum database

shows that few Ornithoptera bequests were received between 1975 (the most notable

was the collection of Andrew Low in 1985) and 1992, when a bequest from Alan

Sharman was registered. No Ornithoptera specimens have been registered in the

Museum since 1992. A search of The Zoological Record (1978 to mid-2003: available

to D’Abrera on-line at the BMNH) listed 133 entries dealing specifically with

Ornithoptera; 65 dealing with Troides, and 22 with Trogonoptera. Allowing for some

duplication, there have been some 170 papers devoted to these genera published

during the period. It is clear just from the titles that this combined literature

introduced about 50 new names, ranging from a new subgenus, through many

subspecies, to some infrasubspecific forms. Although many (but not all) of the new

names are included in the book under review, D’ Abrera appears to have made little or

no effort to photograph new material for this second edition. For example (p. 121), in

addition to nominotypical O. arfakensis, two races are accepted: O. a. occidentalis

Morita & Takenaka, 1998, ‘a remarkable race, strongly distinguished in the female’

and O. a. galatea Sugiyama, 2000, ‘a recent wonderful discovery of a small race.’

Neither of these races are illustrated and, although both are annotated ‘comb. nov.’,

there is no indication of the original combination. Of course, the reader could look at

the original descriptions of these two names, which are accompanied by good quality

colour illustrations (Morita and Takenaka 1998, Sugiyama 2000), but in a very

expensive book purporting to be a monograph, one might reasonably expect a little

more than the four and three lines respectively allocated to females of these taxa (not

one word is devoted to the characteristics of either male!). The reader might in any

event find some difficulty in finding the second reference, since the original source is

not cited. Lack of any illustration of the distinctive O. paradisea chrysanthemum

Kobayashi & Koiwaya, 1979, might be considered a significant omission.

It must surely have been relatively easy, in these modern days of instant

communication and e-mail attachments, to obtain pictures of additional taxa for

illustration, but D’Abrera has chosen not to do so; the reviewer contacted a Japanese

colleague, author of one new taxon, via e-mail and found that he was not approached.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 185

Another birdwing specialist, in the UK, who has several taxa not represented in the

BMNH, told the reviewer that he would have been delighted to lend specimens for

inclusion in this book, had he been asked. It can hardly be claimed that exclusion of

new taxa or relevant data is due to a lack of available space, since the blank spaces in

this book would easily accommodate all taxa not illustrated without any additional

printing costs (e.g. less than half the available space is utilised on pp 12/3, 74/5,

138/9, 278/9, 298/9; no more than one third of pp 240/1 is used, and text on many

other pages is minimal). One might expect the various works on birdwings by Parsons

(1992a-b, 1996a-c, 1998 etc.) to have been drawn upon, or even the fascinating details

of the discovery of the first female and the first male of O. victoriae by MacGillivray

and Woodford respectively (Tennent 1997, 2002) to have received more than a

passing mention. Towards the end of the volume (p. 300) is a list of 12 taxa, described

by a number of different authors between 1979 and 1998, which D’Abrera dismisses

without a word of explanation. One suspects he has not seen any of them.

It is interesting that D’Abrera now appears to acknowledge a possibility, long

accepted as fact by most authors, that “allotte? is a natural hybrid between O.

victoriae and O. priamus. He states that his butterfly collection has been sold since the

first edition of this book was published (specimens in the first edition noted as being

from his collection ‘have all long since been disbursed around the world’ [p. x]). A

male allottei illustrated on p. 36 (it has a whole page to itself), which ‘awaits deposit

in a suitable museum’ (p. 32), is therefore something of an enigma. This same

specimen was offered to at least two butterfly collectors in France and Australia for

sums between £10,000 and £20,000 in 1997; the fact that the BMNH, which has

provided D’Abrera with his livelihood for more than a quarter of a century, is not

considered a ‘suitable’ depository for this specimen, seems very strange indeed.

Perhaps the fact that it clearly has considerable commercial value is a factor.

One new taxon, Ornithoptera priamus wituensis, is described (p. 68) from the Witu

islands. The description of wituensis hinges on some minor features of colour, size

and maculation, the author having apparently forgotten his own portentous claim

earlier in the book (p. xv) that ‘unlike Jordan and others, I do not rely on spotting or

markings in general as a guide to differentiating between the various forms. One of

the first requirements in attempting to understand these butterflies is the necessity to

really grasp the reality of the immense variability of these maculations among

individuals of any given population.’ No opinion is offered here as to the validity of

wituensis, but this does illustrate a certain inconsistency in approach. Comparison

might be made with O. p. miokensis, which D’ Abrera treats (p. 74) as ‘O. priamus f.

loc. miokensis’ and of which he declares ‘Let me be quite clear, miokensis is a natural

hybrid between eastward-flying bornemanni and westward-flying urvillianus, both

meeting naturally on Mioko, and there’s an end of it.’ No science here then!

D’Abrera illustrates three males (one underside) of wituensis, including the holotype

(but see below), which ‘illustrate the variability of range [presumably the range of

variation] to be observed amongst the ten males in the [BMNH].’ One wonders why,

in view of the stated wide range of variation, D’Abrera chose not to illustrate the full

range, since there is room on the two pages concerned on which to place several

further specimens life sized; in fact, it would have been possible to include almost the

whole series of both sexes life sized if they had been ‘halved’! He can have no

aversion to including so many specimens of the same taxon, for he illustrates, over 11

pages, 14 males of O. p. urvillianus, many of which appear almost identical, including

186 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

two specimens photographed in life, one of which is, with the exception of the tip of

one antenna, wholly out of focus.

Examination of type material (10 0707, 10 99) of wituensis in the BMNH identified

some extremely sloppy work. One male specimen bears a label written in red biro,

marked ‘wituensis (BD’A) m/s holotype’, and is identified in the BMNH database

(specimen # 134356) as the holotype. No other specimen carries an individual label: a

similar hand-written drawer label, marked ‘wituensis BD’A 1994 m/s’, is placed

below the remainder of the series. Unfortunately, the specimen apparently labelled by

D’Abrera some 10 years ago as the holotype, is not the specimen identified as the

holotype (BMNH database # 134355, lacking one antenna since it was photographed)

in his book. Whilst we all have occasional lapses, D’Abrera obviously considers

placing type labels on taxa he has described as unnecessary. Not for the first time (cf

Tennent 2001, 2004), the reviewer has now placed suitable individual labels on the

specimens in order to avoid future confusion. For the record, D’Abrera correctly gives

data from the holotype as ‘Witu (French I.), June-August, 1925, coll. A. F. Eichhorn’,

and lists (p. 68) 9 male and 10 female paratypes ‘all with data as above’. This is not

true: 7 males (including the holotype) and 6 females, bear typed labels with the data

“Witu = French Is. June-August 25 (A. F. Eichhorn)’; 2 males and 3 females are

labelled ‘Witu = French Is. June 1925 (A. F. Eichhorn)’; 1 female has a hand-written

label marked only ‘French Insel’, and the remaining male bears an indecipherable

hand-written label which reads something like ‘Teena Sol’.

Deslisle (2001) raised a new subgenus (Zeunera) for Ornithoptera alexandrae; again

no opinion is offered here as to the validity of that action, but one might expect to see

a passing mention, if not a detailed discussion, in a monograph of the group published

two years later. On p. x, D’Abrera states ‘the work by Sumiyoshi (1989) ... is limited

by its narrow treatment of the Ornithoptera only, ignoring the other two genera that

make up the birdwings. Perhaps the author is planning to treat these genera in due

course.’ Aside from the faintly ludicrous suggestion that Sumiyoshi’s work was

incomplete because he chose not to incorporate additional genera (the term birdwings

has no taxonomic relevance) in his Ornithoptera work, something akin to criticising

Carpenter (1953) for not including the ‘other genera’ that make up the ‘milkweeds’ in

his treatment of Euploea, the late Mr Sumiyoshi did in fact deal with Troides and

Trogonoptera, published in the year before his death 10 years ago (Sumiyoshi 1994).

These few examples illustrate a remarkable lack of research in the production of this

volume; whether due to arrogance or incompetence (or a combination of both) is not

entirely clear.

The book is an extraordinary exercise in self-indulgence, often blinkered and largely

pompous. For example, D’Abrera’s opinion of his own book on butterflies of the

Australian Region (D’Abrera 1971), which he believes (p. 230) was ‘arguably the

most luxuriously and comprehensively produced regional work on butterflies

following the 2nd World War’, was a view not shared by a respected Australian

reviewer who found that ‘the text and several plate captions regrettably contain

numerous errors and misprints ... introduction abounds in inexcusable inaccuracies

and half truths ... the glossary wrongly or misleadingly defines a number of terms ...

within the main text there are many more errors and omissions, some of which are due

to the failure of the author to study the butterfly literature’ (Moulds 1972). More than

30 years later, similar errors, omissions and bizarre comments abound in the book

under review.

Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4) 187

Unwittingly, the curious (and sadly often rather ridiculous) tone of this book probably

does the evolutionist cause considerable favour (not that it needs help). However, the

book goes a long way beyond eccentricity and, whilst it might be customary to ignore

D’Abrera’s rambling and highly offensive outbursts, he must expect to be challenged

occasionally. Eccentricity is a wonderful thing, but it is no longer amusing when it

becomes venomous and destructive; he should also understand that whilst dead

victims are easy prey, live ones might occasionally find the time and have the

inclination to bite back. His attacks on the late Jan Haugum and the late Ray

Straatman are unworthy and cowardly; in particular, Jan Haugum was a generous man

with a very well developed sense of humour. His work was well researched and his

recent passing is a loss to entomology. One wonders how history will view D” Abrera.

Perfection is an elusive goal and it is just not possible to write a book without making

mistakes, which is why the review process, which hopefully reduces mistakes to a

minimum, is so important. Of course anyone who writes, publishes and markets their

own books is entitled to write whatever they want, but it might be considered to be to

any author’s advantage to arrange some external review, a process which not only

reduces errors but (in this case) might provide a steadying or cautionary influence on

some of the more offensive criticisms of others. In the opinion of the reviewer, the

poor standard of this work would be unlikely to attract the interest of any serious

publisher. D’Abrera gives his address (p. xi) as c/o the BMNH, London, although he

has actually never had any formal connection with the Entomology Department of the

Museum beyond that of a long-term visitor. One wonders whether, in a climate in

which science is increasingly fighting a rearguard action against fundamentalist

philosophies, that institution should be concerned at being associated, however

informally, with contentious religious issues presented in such an intolerant manner

or, for that matter, with such gratuitous rudeness. That this book is a work of art is

undisputed; but claim for its acceptance as a work of science is dubious. If D’Abrera

had been moved to put the same effort into researching butterflies as he has expended

on subjective, mean-spirited and rude criticisms of people with whose views he finds

fault, this superficial work would have been immeasurably enhanced. The long

gestation period leading to publication of a book allows ample opportunity for

modification and fine-tuning; D’Abrera presumably therefore actively seeks to offend.

This second edition adds little or nothing of interest to our knowledge of these

splendid butterflies. In the opinion of the reviewer, the book has no place on the shelf

of any serious lepidopterist, professional or amateur. Its very high price makes it

impractical as a coffee table attraction and it is difficult to see any use for it beyond

mere curiosity. D’Abrera clearly loves the butterflies he has chosen to deal with and

there is no doubt he has made a unique contribution to entomology over the years,

stimulating much interest and research. Conservation issues raised in this (and other)

books by the same author will rightly find favour in all quarters; indeed adoption of

these principles would undoubtedly make the world in general a better place. It is

equally true, in the opinion of the reviewer, that the entomological world would be a

nicer place without the pompous poison that flows so freely from the D” Abrera pen.

References

CARPENTER, G.D.H. 1953. The genus Euploea (Lep. Danaidae) in Micronesia, Melanesia,

Polynesia and Australia. A zoo-geographical study. Transactions of the Zoological Society of

London 28: 1-165.

D’ABRERA, B. 1971. Butterflies of the Australian Region. Lansdowne, Melbourne.

188 Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

D’ABRERA, B. 1975. Birdwing butterflies of the world. Lansdowne, Melbourne.

DESLISLE, G. 2001. Zuenera: a new subgenus for the genus Ornithoptera Bdl 1832 for the

species alexandrae Roths. 1907 (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae). Lambillionea 101(2, suppl. 1): 288-

321.

HAUGUM, J. and LOW, A.M. 1978-85. A monograph of the birdwing butterflies. The

systematics of Ornithoptera, Troides and related genera. 2 vols in 6 parts. Scandinavian Science

Press, Klampenborg.

MATSUKA, H. 2001. Natural history of birdwing butterflies. Matsuka Shuppan, Tokyo.

MORITA, S. and TAKENAKA, A. 1998. A new subspecies of Ornithoptera paradisea

(Staudinger, 1893) from Sorong, Irian Jaya, Indonesia (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Futao 29: 11-

12, 14-15.

MOULDS, M. 1972. Book review: Butterflies of the Australian Region. Journal of the

Australian Entomological Society 11(3): 264.

OHYA, T. 1983. Birdwing butterflies. Kodansha, Tokyo; 323 pp, 136 pl.

PARSONS, M.J. 1992a. The butterfly farming and trading industry in the Indo-Australian

Region and its role in tropical forest conservation. Tropical Lepidoptera 3(suppl. 1): 1-32.

PARSONS, M.J. 1992b. The world's largest butterfly endangered: the ecology, status and

conservation of Ornithoptera alexandrae (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Tropical Lepidoptera

3(suppl. 1): 33-60.

PARSONS, M.J. 1996a. Conservation of the birdwing butterflies (Ornithoptera and Troides,

Lepidoptera: Papilionidae): not hard if we try. In: Ae, S.A., Hirowatari, T., Ishii, M. and Brower,

L.P. (eds), Decline and conservation of butterflies in Japan (Proceedings - International

Symposium on Butterfly Conservation, Osaka, Japan, 1994) 3: 150-156.

PARSONS, M.J. 1996b. Gondwanan evolution of the troidine swallowtails (Lepidoptera:

Papilionidae): cladistic reappraisals using mainly immature stage characters, with focus on the

birdwings Ornithoptera Boisduval. Bulletin of the Kitakyushi Museum of Natural History 15: 13-

118.

PARSONS, M.J. 1996c. A phylogenetic reappraisal of the birdwing genus Ornithoptera

(Lepidoptera: Papilionidae: Troidini) and a new theory of its evolution in relation to Gondwanan

vicariance biogeography. Journal of Natural History 30: 1707-1736.

PARSONS, M.J, 1998. The butterflies of Papua New Guinea: their systematics and biology.

Academic Press, London.

SUGIYAMA, T. 2000. A new subspecies of Ornithoptera paradisea (Staudinger, 1893) from

Salawati, Indonesia (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Futao 35: 11-13.

SUMIYOSHI, K. 1994. Birdwing butterflies of the genera Trogonoptera and Troides

(Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Special Publications from the Osaka Museum of Natural History

26: 1-45; 36 pl.

TENNENT, W.J. 1997. The type locality of Ornithoptera victoriae Gray, 1856, and the

circumstances of the capture of the holotype female (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera). Archives of

Natural History 24(2): 163-173.

TENNENT, W.J. 2001. Three new Hypochrysops C & R Felder taxa from the Solomon Islands,

including a new species from the Santa Cruz Group (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Australian

Entomologist 28(3): 91-96.

TENNENT, W.J. 2002. Butterflies of the Solomon Islands: systematics and biogeography. Storm

Entomological Publications, Dereham, UK.

TENNENT, W.J. 2004. A new species of Pseudodipsas C & R Felder, from New Britain

(Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae). Futao 48: 2-3, 7-8.

von KNOTGEN, B. 1997. Ornithoptera. MGG Verlag.

John Tennent

Dereham, UK

THE

AUSTRALIAN

ENTOMOLOGIST

VOLUME 32

2005

Published by:

THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND

ii

THE AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGIST

The Australian Entomologist is a non-profit journal published in four parts

annually by the Entomological Society of Queensland. The journal is devoted to

entomology of the Australian region, including New Zealand, Papua New Guinea

and islands of the south-western Pacific. Articles are accepted from amateur and

professional entomologists. The journal is produced independently and

subscription is not included with membership of the Society.

The Editorial Panel

Editor: Dr D.L. Hancock

Assistant Editors: Dr C.J. Burwell

Queensland Museum

Dr G.B. Monteith

Queensland Museum

Editorial Co-ordinator Mr A. Allwood

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ISSN 1320-6133

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Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

THE AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGIST

Contents

Volume 32, 2005

BRABY, M.F.

Migration of two species of Pieridae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)

in southeastern Australia.

BRABY, M.F.

Inland breeding records for two mistletoe butterflies (Lepidoptera) from

northern Victoria.

EMERY, D.L., EMERY, S.J., EMERY, N.J. and POPPLE, L.W.

A phenological study of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in western

Sydney, New South Wales, with notes on plant associations

GOOLSBY, J.A. and KIRK, A.

Pseudococcus goodeniae Williams (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) and

its parasitoids in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

GOTTS, R.I.C. and GINN, S.G.

A new subspecies of Delias rileyi Joicey & Talbot (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

from West Papua, Indonesia.

HANCOCK, D.L.

A note on three unusual species of Phytalmiinae (Diptera: Tephritidae)

from Papua New Guinea.

HANCOCK, D.L. and DREW, R.A.I.

New genera, species and records of Adramini (Diptera: Tephritidae:

Trypetinae) from the South Pacific and southern Asia.

HUMPHREYS, G.S.

Variation in population density of cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in the

Sydney region: Psaltoda moerens (Germar), Thopha saccata (Fabricius)

and the ‘spreta’ form of Cyclochila australasiae (Donovan).

JOHNSON, S.J. and WILSON, P.R.

A new subspecies of Hesperilla crypsargyra (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera:

Hesperiidae) from southern Queensland and a new status for Hesperilla

hopsoni Waterhouse.

LAMBKIN, T.A.

Euploea alcathoe misenus Miskin (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in

Torres Strait, Queensland.

LAMBKIN, T.A. and KNIGHT, A.I.

New Australian butterfly records (Lepidoptera) from Saibai and Dauan

Islands, Torres Strait.

LAMBKIN, T.A., MEYER, C.E., BROWN, S.S., WEIR, R.P.,

DONALDSON, J.F. and KNIGHT, A.I.

A new species of Hypolycaena C. & R. Felder (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

from Australia and its relationship with H. phorbas (Fabricius).

ili

83

161

97

141

65

67

163

145

49

iv Australian Entomologist, 2005, 32 (4)

LANE, D.A.

Additional notes on the life history of Opodiphthera fervida (Jordan)

(Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). 93

LANE, D.A. and EDWARDS, E.D.

The status of Opodiphthera carnea (Sonthonnax) and Opodiphthera loranthi

(Lucas) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in northern and eastern Australia. 55

MAKINSON, J.R., GOOLSBY, J.A., MEYERDIRK, D.E., KIRK, A.A.

and BURWELL, C.J.

A new record and host association for the pigeonpea pod fly Melanagromyza

obtusa (Malloch) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) and notes on its parasitoids in the

Northern Territory, Australia. 79

MEYER, C.E., BROWN, S.S. and WEIR, R.P.

New and interesting butterfly records (Lepidoptera) from islands of the

Torres Strait, Queensland. 157

PALMER, W.A., VITELLI, M.P. and DONNELLY, G.P.

The phytophagous insect fauna associated with Acacia nilotica ssp. indica

(Mimosaceae) in Australia. 173

PURCELL, M.F. and GOOLSBY, J.A.

Herbivorous insects associated with the paperbark Melaleuca quinquemervia

and its allies: VI. Pergidae (Hymenoptera). 37

SMITHERS, C.N.

Psocoptera of Barren Grounds Nature Reserve, New South Wales. 135

THOMPSON, R.T.

New species and records of Apirocalus Pascoe (Coleoptera: Curculionidae:

Entiminae: Celeuthetini) from New Guinea. 111

VALENTINE, P.S. and JOHNSON, S.J.

The rediscovery of Tagiades nestus (C. Felder) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae:

Pyrginae) in Australia. 155

WEIR, R.P., MEYER, C.E. and BROWN, S.S.

Confirmation of Appias celestina (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in

Australia. 181

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 4,78, 134, 154

RECENT LITERATURE 36, 172

BOOK REVIEWS 96, 183

Publication dates: Part 1 (pp 1-48) 11 March 2005

Part 2 (pp 49-96) 29 June 2005

Part 3 (pp 97-144) 15 September 2005

Part 4 (pp 145-188) xx December 2005

ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTICES

Items for insertion should be sent to the editor who reserves the right to alter,

reject or charge for notices.

NOTES FOR AUTHORS

Manuscripts submitted for publication should, preferably, be type-written,

double spaced and in triplicate. Refer to recent issues for layout and style.

All papers will be forwarded to two referees and the editor reserves the right

to reject any paper considered unsuitable.

It is Magazine editorial policy that usage of taxonomic nomenclature will

comply with the mandatory provisions of the International Code of

Zoological Nomenclature.

Papers longer than ten printed pages will normally not be accepted.

Papers will be accepted only if a minimum of 100 reprints is purchased.

Manuscripts occupying less than one printed page may be accepted without

charge if no reprints are required. Charges are as follows: cost per printed

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reduced at the discretion of the Publications Committee.

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Address manuscripts to: The Editor

The Australian Entomologist

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Australia

Printed by ColourWise Reproductions, 300 Ann Street, Brisbane, 4000.

THE AUSTRALIAN

Entomologist

Volume 32, Part 4, 10 December 2005

CONTENTS

BRABY, M.F.

Inland breeding records for two mistletoe butterflies (Lepidoptera)

from northern Victoria.

JOHNSON, S.J. AND WILSON, P.R.

A new subspecies of Hesperilla crypsargyra (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)

from southern Queensland and a new status for Hesperilla bopsoni

LAMBKIN, T.A.

Euploea alcathoe misenus Miskin (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in

Torres Strait, Queensland.

MEYER, C.E., BROWN, S.S. AND WEIR, R.P.

New and interesting butterfly records (Lepidoptera) from islands of the

Torres Strait, Queensland.

PALMER, W.A., VITELLI, M.P. AND DONNELLY, G.P.

The phytophagous insect fauna associated with Acacia nilotica ssp.

indica (Mimosaceae) in Australia.

VALENTINE, P.S. AND JOHNSON, S.J.

The rediscovery of Tagiades nestus (C. Felder) (Lepidoptera:

Hesperiidae: Pyrginae) in Australia.

WEIR, R.P., MEYER, C.E. AND BROWN, S.S.

Confirmation of Appias celestina (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in Australia.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

RECENT ENTOMOLOGICAL LITERATURE

BOOK REVIEW:

Birdwing butterflies of the world. B. D’Abrera.

ISSN 1320 6133