THE AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGIST

ABN#: 15 875 103 670

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Cover: A male Narrow-banded Awl, Hasora khoda (Hesperiidae: Coeliadinae).

Occuring from New South Wales to central Queensland, this species flies at all times

of the day, but usually at dusk and early morning. The larvae feed on Wisteria and

Callerya (formerly Millettia). Awls are distributed from Africa and Madagascar to SE

Asia and Australia. Many species are migratory. Their origin is obscure but their close

relatives are the legume-feeding ‘tailed skippers’ (Eudaminae) of South America.

They are a basal group of butterflies probably linked to Gondwana. Illustration by

Andrew Atkins.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2): 49-50 49

NEW RECORDS OF HYPOLIMNAS BOLINA NERINA (FABRICIUS)

(LEPIDOPTERA: NYMPHALIDAE) FROM THE PILBARA REGION,

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

MYLES H.M. MENZ

Biota Environmental Sciences, PO Box 155, Leederville, WA 6903

Abstract

New observations of the varied eggfly Hypolimnas bolina nerina (Fabricius) from the Pilbara

region of Western Australia are presented, comprising a brief observation of a male from the

town of Tom Price and observation of fresh males from near the town of Pannawonica.

Introduction

In Australia, the varied eggfly, Hypolimnas bolina nerina (Fabricius), occurs

from the north-west of Western Australia, east through the tropical regions of

the Northern Territory and Queensland and south along the east coast as far

as Ballina, New South Wales (Braby 2000). It has also been recorded

sporadically as far south as Victoria, in the Australian Capital Territory and

westwards into South Australia and the Northern Territory (Braby 2000).

There are only a handful of published records from the Pilbara region of

Western Australia (Williams ef al. 1993, Williams and Tomlinson 1994,

Williams and Williams 2006, Ginn ef al. 2007). Previous records south of the

Kimberley region include Onslow (Common and Waterhouse 1981),

Exmouth (Williams eż al. 1993, Williams and Tomlinson 1994), Carnarvon

(Williams et al. 1993), a worn female from Karratha (Williams and Williams

2006), Mount Augustus National Park (Williams et al. 1993), Laverton

(Williams and Williams 2006) and Mount Robinson (Ginn et al. 2007).

New Pilbara records

At least three males of H. b. nerina were observed near an area of damp

herbland on a floodplain west of Pannawonica (21°38717”S, 116°19°23”B),

on 5 April 2006. The area of herbland was bordered by tall shrubs and was in

close proximity to a section of creek containing free water. Males were

observed perching between 1.5-2 m off the ground on outer branches of tall

shrubs of Acacia citrinoviridis Tindale & Maslin (Mimosaceae), as well as

making flights over the herbland at a similar height. One of the males was

photographed, allowing closer observation of wing condition. The specimen

was in fresh condition, showing no signs of wear or damage to the wings. In

the four months leading up to this observation there had been above average

rainfall in the region (ca 3 x average in February and March 2006).

In addition, a single male H. b. nerina was observed near some gardens in the

town of Tom Price (22°41°38”S, 117°47’16”E), on 6 September 2008.

Discussion

The male photographed was in good condition. This, along with the perching

behaviour is consistent with that of males holding territories waiting for

50 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

emergent females (Kemp 2001, Kemp and Rutowski 2001, Braby 2004).

However, it remains uncertain whether these (and other) Pilbara records

indicate the presence of an established breeding population in the region.

A broad range of food plants for H. b. nerina was summarised by Braby

(2004). These include Synedrella nodiflora Gaertn. (Asteraceae),

Alternanthera denticulata R.Br. (Amaranthaceae) and Sida rhombifolia L.

(Malvaceae). While conducting a botanical reléve of the herbland, it was

noticed that there was a high concentration of Alternanthera sp. present but

further observations are required to establish if this is a larval food plant for

the species in the Pilbara.

Acknowledgements

I thank Michi Maier, Paul Hoffman and Jodie Fraser for assisting with field

observations; Andrew Williams for providing access to reference material;

and Michael Braby for confirming identification, for comments and

discussion regarding the observations and for assisting with improvements to

an earlier draft of the manuscript. I also thank Pilbara Iron for funding the

fieldwork.

References

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

CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood; xx + 976 pp.

BRABY, M.F. 2004. The complete field guide to butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing,

Collingwood; 339 pp.

COMMON, LF.B. and WATERHOUSE, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Revised Edition.

Angus and Robertson, Sydney; xiv + 682 pp.

GINN, S.G., BRITTON, D.R. and BULBERT, M.W. 2007. New records of butterflies

(Lepidoptera) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with comments on the use of malaise

traps for monitoring. Australian Entomologist 34: 65-75.

KEMP, D.J. 2001. Investigating the consistency of mate-locating behavior in the territorial

butterfly Hypolimnas bolina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Journal of Insect Behaviour 14: 129-

147.

KEMP, D.J. and RUTOWSKI, L. 2001. Spatial and temporal patterns of territorial mate locating

behaviour in Hypolinnas bolina (L.) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Journal of Natural History

35: 1399-1411.

WILLIAMS, A.A.E. and TOMLINSON, A.G. 1994. Further distributional records and natural

history notes on butterflies from Western Australia. Victorian Entomologist 24: 122-124.

WILLIAMS, A.A.E. and WILLIAMS, M.R. 2006. Records of butterflies (Lepidoptera) from

inland and southern Western Australia. Victorian Entomologist 36: 53-58.

WILLIAMS, A.A.E., WILLIAMS, M.R., HAY, R.W. and TOMLINSON, A.G. 1993. Some

distributional records and natural history notes on butterflies from Western Australia. Victorian

Entomologist 23: 126-131.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2): 51-62 51

THE LIFE HISTORY AND BIOLOGY OF EUPLOEA ALCATHOE

ENASTRI FENNER (LEPIDOPTERA: NYMPHALIDAE) FROM

NORTHEASTERN ARNHEM LAND, NORTHERN TERRITORY,

AUSTRALIA

MICHAEL F. BRABY

Biodiversity Conservation Division, Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts

and Sport, PO Box 496, Palmerston, NT 0831 and School of Botany and Zoology, The Australian

National University, Canberra, ACT 0200

Abstract

The life history and general biology are described and illustrated for Euploea alcathoe enastri

Fenner, which is endemic to Gove Peninsula in northeastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.

The larval food plants include Parsonsia alboflavescens, Gymnanthera oblonga and Marsdenia

glandulifera (Apocynaceae) growing in relatively small patches of mixed paperbark tall open

forest with rainforest elements in the understorey, usually in juxtaposition to wet monsoon forest

(evergreen vine-forest), or in the ecotone between wet evergreen vine-forest and savanna

woodland or paperbark woodland (i.e. rainforest edge); both habitats are associated with

perennial groundwater seepages or springs in lowland coastal areas that may be flooded

seasonally. P. alboflavescens, which likewise is restricted to Gove Peninsula, appears to be the

preferred food plant. Adults appear to breed throughout the year and the life cycle from egg to

adult is completed in about four weeks during the dry season. The early stages are briefly

compared with those of E. a. misenus Miskin and E. core corinna (W.S. Macleay).

Introduction

The Gove Crow butterfly, Euploea alcathoe enastri Fenner, 1991 (Fig. 2), is

endemic to the Northern Territory, where it is restricted to Gove Peninsula of

northeastern Arnhem Land (Fenner 1991, 1992; Braby 2006), a remote and

relatively pristine area of the ‘Top End’ (Woinarski ef al. 2007). It is one of

three subspecies currently recognised from Australia and its adjacent islands

under the polytypic taxon E. alcathoe (Godart, [1819]) sensu lato, the others

being E. a. misenus Miskin, 1890, from Torres Strait and Æ. a. eichhorni

Staudinger, 1884, from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland (Braby 2000,

Lambkin 2001, 2005). There is some evidence from the early stages to

indicate that the most widely distributed subspecies, E. a. eichhorni, may

actually be specifically distinct from Æ. alcathoe (Lambkin 2001), although

Ackery and Vane-Wright (1984) were unable to find definite autapomorphies

to define either E. eichhorni or the species E. alcathoe. E. alcathoe itself is

most closely related to E. climena (Stoll, [1782]), another taxon which is

poorly defined morphologically (Ackery and Vane-Wright 1984).

The life history of E. alcathoe sensu stricto has been well documented for

subspecies Æ. a. misenus (Lambkin 2001), but the larval food plants, early

stages and general biology of E. a. enastri have not been recorded previously.

E. a. enastri males typically occur within or near the edge of patches of wet

monsoon forest and have been collected feeding at flowers of Leea rubra

Blume (Leeaceae) during the wet season, whereas females have been

observed outside the monsoon forest, up to 20 m from the edge, feeding on

Melaleuca flowers or seeking oviposition sites (Fenner 1991). For E. a.

52 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

misenus, the natural larval food plant in the northern Torres Strait Islands is

Gymnanthera oblonga (Burm.f.) P.S.Green (Lambkin 2001), but adults have

also been reared from pupae collected from the ornamental Oleander, Nerium

oleander L. (Johnson and Valentine 1997). G. oblonga and N. oleander both

belong to the milkweed family Apocynaceae, which now includes the

Asclepiadaceae (APG II 2003). For E. a. enastri, Fenner (1991) observed a

female apparently ovipositing on the young shoots of a vine, tentatively

identified as Tylophora benthamii Tsiang (Apocynaceae), growing in

rainforest edge about five metres above ground level. Subsequently, eggs,

assumed to be those of E. a. enastri, were found on the underside of leaves of

T. benthamii growing in swampland at the margin of monsoon forest at

Gurrumuru, NT, in April 2003 (R.P. Weir and C. Wilson, pers. comm.) but

the larvae failed to hatch. More recently, a female was observed ovipositing

on G. oblonga at Rocky Bay, NT, in August 2005 and the early stages were

subsequently reared to adult on this plant (L. Wilson, pers. comm.).

The purpose of this report is to document the life history and general biology

of E. a. enastri and to clarify its larval food plants and breeding habitat. I also

briefly compare the morphology of the early stages of E. a. enastri with those

of E. a. misenus and E. core corinna (W.S. Macleay, 1826) and comment on

the systematic relationships of the taxon within the Æ. a/cathoe complex.

Materials and methods

The following descriptions, illustrations and biological notes of the early

stages of E. a. enastri are based on material collected from Gove Peninsula,

NT. Most observations were made at a site near Yirrkala, Rocky Bay, in 2006

and 2007, with additional observations from sites at Gurrumuru, near Mt

Bonner and Dhurputjpi in 2007 and 2008. The early stages of E. a. enastri

were collected from the field and transported to Nhulunbuy or Darwin where

they were reared in captivity on G. oblonga or Parsonsia alboflavescens. In

addition, a small sample of females (n = 6) was collected from various

populations on Gove Peninsula (Gapuwiyak, Gurrumuru, Rocky Bay) during

the early dry season in June 2006 and August 2007 and dissected in the

laboratory to ascertain their reproductive condition.

Life history

Larval food plants. Parsonsia alboflavescens (Dennst.) Mabb. (Fig. 1),

Gymnanthera oblonga (Burm.f.) P.S.Green (Fig. 16), Marsdenia glandulifera

C.T. White (Apocynaceae).

Egg (Fig. 3). 1.8 mm long; pale yellow; elongate and barrel-shaped, with

apex somewhat flattened, and a series of approximately 20 longitudinal ribs

and finer transverse lines.

First instar larva (Figs 4, 5). 7 mm long; head shiny black; body initially

yellow on eclosion changing to semi-translucent orange-green after

consuming food, with a darker green middorsal line and pair of small dull

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 53

“= Caan `

Figs 1-15. Life history of Euploea alcathoe enastri from Gove Peninsula, NT: (1)

larval food plant Parsonsia alboflavescens (in left foreground) growing in seasonally

flooded mixed paperbark tall open forest with rainforest elements in the understorey,

Rocky Bay; (2) adult male, Gurrumuru; (3) egg; (4) first instar larva, newly eclosed;

(5) first instar larva, after feeding; (6) second instar larva, lateral view; (7) third instar

larva, dorsal view; (8) fourth instar larva, dorsolateral view; (9-12) final instar larva,

showing dorsal view, lateral view, anterior end depicting head and thoracic segments,

and posterior end depicting abdominal segments 5-10; (13-15) pupa, showing lateral,

dorsal and ventral views. Photos © M.F. Braby.

54 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

reddish-brown protuberances on mesothorax, metathorax and abdominal

segments 2 and 8.

Second instar larva (Fig. 6). 15 mm long; head shiny black; body orange-

brown to greenish-orange, with four pairs of short black fleshy dorsolateral

filaments, one on each of mesothorax, metathorax and abdominal segments 2

and 8; prothorax with a pair of small black dorsal spots.

Third instar larva (Fig. 7). 26 mm long; head black, with a faint white

transverse band; body orange, with four pairs of long black dorsolateral

fleshy filaments on mesothorax, metathorax, abdominal segment 2 and

abdominal segment 8; prothorax with two black subdorsal patches;

abdominal segments 1-7 each with a series of faint white and black transverse

bands; spiracles black.

Fourth instar larva (Fig. 8). 30 mm long; similar to fifth instar, but transverse

bands less well developed.

Fifth instar larva (Figs 9-12). 50-55 mm long; head black, with a white

transverse band, and a white inverted Y-shaped mark on adfrontal suture;

prothorax orange, with a black subdorsal patch; meso- and metathorax each

with two long black dorsolateral fleshy filaments (7-9 mm long), and a series

of narrow black transverse bands broadly edged with orange, the middle

orange transverse band white in lateral area; abdominal segments 1-7 each

with an alternating series of six black and five white transverse dorsal bands,

with the middle white transverse band extending to ventrolateral region,

white transverse bands frequently orange or suffused with orange in

middorsal area particularly on segments | and 2, a broad broken and irregular

orange lateral band, and a pair of black dorsolateral fleshy filaments on

segment 2; abdominal segment 8 orange, edged posteriorly with a narrow

white transverse band and then a black transverse band, and with a pair of

black dorsolateral fleshy filaments; abdominal segment 9 predominantly

orange, narrowly edged with black transverse bands; abdominal segment 10

orange, with anal plate black; ventral surface black; legs and prolegs black,

with basal area orange; spiracles black.

Pupa (Figs 13-15). 20-21 mm long, 9 mm wide; initially translucent pink, but

after 24 hrs changes to shining silver with dark brown markings on wing

cases and abdomen, or gold with pale brown markings on wing cases and

abdomen; antennae and cremaster brown; spiracles black.

Biology

Adults of both sexes of Euploea alacathoe enastri were recorded in a variety

of habitats on Gove Peninsula, including closed monsoon forest (i.e. wet

evergreen vine-forest); rainforest edge (i.e. the ecotone between wet

evergreen vine-forest and savanna woodland or paperbark woodland); mixed

paperbark tall open forest or woodland (dominated by Melaleuca

leucadendra (L.) L. or M. cajuputi Powell) with rainforest elements in the

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 55

understorey, usually in juxtaposition to wet evergreen vine-forest; and

paperbark woodland (dominated by Melaleuca spp.) with pandanus

(Pandanus spiralis R.Br.) in the understorey or mixed paperbark-pandanus

woodland (M.F. Braby unpublished data). However, the larval food plants

(Fig. 1) or early stages of E. a. enastri were found in only two of these

habitats: the seasonally flooded mixed paperbark tall open forest with

rainforest elements in the understorey, and rainforest edge that is less

seasonally inundated with water. In both habitats, the breeding areas

comprised relatively small patches of open forest or tall open forest

associated with perennial groundwater seepages or springs in lowland coastal

plains, usually surrounded by savanna woodland, paperbark woodland or

sometimes open grassland floodplain depending upon hydrology.

The early stages of E. a. enastri were found on three species of plants at four

locations on Gove Peninsula (Table 1). The main food plant, based on the

frequency of field records, appeared to be Parsonsia alboflavescens (78% of

all records) (Fig. 1), although the sample size was small (n = 9). Only single

observations were available for the two other species. Larvae were found to

readily consume Gymnanthera oblonga when reared in captivity regardless of

the initial food plant on which eggs or larvae were associated. Although only

eggs were found on Marsdenia glandulifera, there seemed little reason to

doubt the suitability of this plant given that it is native to Australia and the

general specialisation of Euploea Fabricius butterflies on vines in the

Apocynaceae.

Females laid their eggs singly on the upperside or underside of new, small

soft leaves growing near the apex of the larval food plant. Host suitability by

ovipositing females involved a slow, hovering flight around the foliage of the

food plant, followed by alighting on the upper surface of the leaves. This

behaviour would be repeated many times until a leaf was eventually found

suitable on which to deposit an egg. Such behaviour suggested that both

visual and tactile cues were used to determine host suitability. Following

hatching, the newly emerged larva consumed the chorion before proceeding

to notch the mid vein of the leaf or graze a small semi-circular section from

near the margin of an adjacent larger leaf. The first instar larva then

proceeded to eat whole sections of leaf tissue from the margin of the new soft

developing leaf on which the egg was initially laid. During development, the

early instar larvae ate in short bursts and, when not feeding or moulting,

retreated lower down on the vine to rest on the underside of a larger mature

leaf. Later instar larvae also ate in bursts on young but fully expanded leaves;

between meals, they remained on the underside of the same leaf being

consumed. In captivity, all larval instars were noted to consume only the

younger leaves and were reluctant to eat older leaves. Before consuming a

leaf, a fine silken trail was laid over the surface to aid in mobility. Larvae

were also observed to eat the cast larval skin after each moult. Prior to

pupation, the final instar larva spun a silken platform on the underside of a

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

Table 1. Summary of field observations on the larval food plants and early stages of

Euploea alcathoe enastri. LFP = larval food plant.

Larval food plant

Gymnanthera

oblonga

Marsdenia

glandulifera

Parsonsia

alboflavescens

Parsonsia

alboflavescens

Parsonsia

alboflavescens

Parsonsia

alboflavescens

Parsonsia

alboflavescens

Parsonsia

alboflavescens

Parsonsia

alboflavescens

Early stages

Female observed ovipositing on LFP in Aug.

2005; several adults reared in captivity on G.

oblonga.

2 eggs collected from underside of new soft

leaves of LFP on 3.ix.2007; | female reared

in captivity on G. oblonga (larva pupated

19.ix.2007; adult emerged 28.i1x.2007).

5 eggs and early instar larvae collected from

upper and underside of leaves of LFP on

22.111.2006; 2 adults reared in captivity on G.

oblonga.

Female observed ovipositing a single egg on

upperside of new soft leaf of large vine of

LFP at 1130 hrs on 3.vii.2006; a second

female observed ovipositing on a different

vine of LFP at 1215 hrs; a third female

inspected another vine of LFP for suitability

at 1230 hrs but did not oviposit; 1 male reared

in captivity on G. oblonga (egg hatched

5.vii.2006; larva pupated 21 .vii.2006; adult

emerged 31.vii.2006).

3 eggs collected from underside of new soft

leaves of LFP on 30.viii.2007; adults reared

in captivity on P. alboflavescens.

1 dead pupa collected suspended beneath leaf

of Horsfieldia australiana c. 1 m above

ground level and 2 m from large vine of LFP

on 31.viii.2007; 3 adult Euploea darchia

feeding from contents of pupa.

1 pupal exuvia collected from beneath broad

leaf of Carallia brachiata c. 1 m above

ground level, around which the LFP grew, on

31.viii.2007.

1 egg collected from underside of new soft

leaf of LFP on 20.vi.2007 and reared to instar

IV in captivity on P. alboflavescens (egg

hatched 22.vi.2007; larva moulted to instar II

24.vi.2007, instar III 26.vi.2007).

1 egg collected from underside of new soft

leaf of LFP comprising small vine growing on

forest floor on 2.x.2008; male reared in

captivity on P. alboflavescens (egg hatched

3.x.2008; larva pupated 18.x.2008; adult

emerged 26.x.2008).

Locality / observer

5 km SSE of Yirrkala,

Rocky Bay.

L. Wilson

5.5 km NW of Mt Bonner.

M.F. Braby, P. Wise &

B. Marika

5 km SSE of Yirrkala,

Rocky Bay.

M.F. Braby & L. Wilson

5 km SSE of Yirrkala,

Rocky Bay.

M.F. Braby

5 km SSE of Yirrkala,

Rocky Bay.

M.F. Braby, P. Wise &

B. Marika

5 km SSE of Yirrkala,

Rocky Bay.

M.F. Braby & P. Wise

5 km SSE of Yirrkala,

Rocky Bay.

M.F. Braby & P. Wise

Goromuru River, 1.5 km

WNW of Gurrumuru

outstation, Arnhem Bay.

M.F. Braby

5 km W of Dhurputjp1

outstation.

M.F. Braby & S. Gregg

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 57

leaf to which the pupa was attached by the cremaster and suspended upside

down. In the field, pupae were not detected on the larval food plant, but were

found on the underside of large leaves of two rainforest trees (non-larval food

plants) growing adjacent to P. alboflavescens (Table 1), which suggests that

larvae leave the food plant to pupate elsewhere. Final pupal colour appeared

to be dependent upon the background colour. In captivity, adults emerged

soon after dawn.

Males flew with a slow, gliding flight from around mid morning to mid

afternoon in sunny glades, from within a few metres of ground level to near

the canopy (10-30 m); during the cooler hours of the morning, late afternoon

or when conditions were overcast, they were usually observed at rest in shade

on the upper surface of large leaves. Both sexes were observed feeding avidly

from flowers from a range of plants, often high up in the canopy, particularly

Melaleuca spp. in the early dry season, but also Carallia brachiata (Lour.)

Merr. in late August-early September (during early to mid afternoon),

Marsdenia geminata (R.Br.) P.I.Forst. (Apocynaceae) in late September (at

1100-1130 hrs), Zxora timorensis Decne. (Rubiaceae) in late September (at

0920 hrs), and Vavaea australiana S.T.Blake (Myrsinaceae) in early October

(at 1615-1630 hrs). A pair was observed flying in copula in late August 2007

at 1350 hrs at a breeding site at Rocky Bay.

Adults were recorded during most months of the year except November and

January, two months that were not sampled in the present study. Limited

observations on ovipositing females, mating and the temporal occurrence of

the early stages (Table 1) indicated that breeding occurred from at least

March to October. However, unlike other danaines, such as Æ. core corinna,

E. sylvester pelor Doubleday, 1847 and E. darchia darchia (W.S. Macleay,

1826), with which it co-occurred, E. a. enastri did not form large

overwintering clusters during the dry season, although small numbers were

sometimes found aggregated in paperbark woodland close to the breeding

areas, but only during June and July. Of the sample of females collected

during the early dry season and dissected in the laboratory to assess their

reproductive status, four individuals (67%) had no chorinated eggs in the

oviduct but the ovaries contained eggs in various stages of development,

while two individuals (33%) had small numbers of eggs (1-2) present in the

oviduct. However, the body cavity of all individuals contained large amounts

of yellow fat bodies, and each specimen contained several large intact

spermatophores.

A male reared on G. oblonga in captivity at Darwin, from an egg laid in early

July 2006, completed its life cycle in 28 days, and another male reared on P.

alboflavescens in captivity at Darwin, from an egg collected in early October

2008, completed development in 23 days (excluding egg) (Table 1).

Similarly, a female reared on G. oblonga at Nhulunbuy, from an egg

collected in early September 2007, completed development in 25 days

58 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

(excluding egg) (Table 1). The overall duration of the early stages was as

follows: egg 2 days, larva 15-16 days (duration of instars: I 2 days, II 2 days,

III 1-2 days, IV 2 days, V 8 days), pupa 8-10 days. The longevity of adults

was not determined but, like other danaines, they are probably long-lived,

possibly up to six months or more (Ackery and Vane-Wright 1984).

Discussion

Observations made on Gove Peninsula indicate that Euploea alcathoe enastri

utilises at least three native larval food plants, of which one is shared with Æ.

a. misenus. Further work is needed to determine the relative frequency of

usage among these plants, and to confirm if Tylophora benthamii is also

used, but preliminary observations suggest that Parsonsia alboflavescens is

the preferred host. Within Australian limits, P. alboflavescens is restricted to

northeastern Arnhem Land, NT, where it grows as a scrambling vine or tall

climber with twining stems (Forster and Williams 1996); on Gove Peninsula

it was only found in rainforest edge (i.e. the ecotone between wet evergreen

vine-forest and paperbark woodland or savanna woodland) and the seasonally

flooded mixed paperbark tall open forest with rainforest elements in the

understorey where the vine frequently ascended the canopy via the trunks of

paperbarks, particularly in long-unburnt sites. In contrast, Marsdenia

glandulifera is endemic to northern and eastern Australia, occurring from the

Kimberley across the Top End to Cape York Peninsula, as well as in

southeastern Queensland, where it grows as a woody vine with white latex,

often in rainforest swamps (Forster et al. 1996). Gymnanthera oblonga is also

widely distributed and occurs in wider array of habitats throughout northern

Australia in flooded coastal areas, such as edges of mangroves and along

watercourses, where it grows as a tropical woody scrambler or liana (Forster

et al. 1996). T. benthamii, which closely resembles M. glandulifera, except is

characterised by yellow latex, is reasonably widespread in vine-forests in the

Top End and occurs patchily in coastal rainforest areas of Queensland; it also

grows as a woody liana (Forster ef al. 1996). Thus, of the four potential larval

food plants, one is restricted in range while the three others occur more

widely outside the natural range of E. a. enastri. This suggests that the

butterfly may be opportunistic, breeding on a suite of vines in the

Apocynaceae that are locally available. On the other hand, if P.

alboflavescens proves to be the primary food plant of E. a. enastri, then the

other species may serve to supplement the diet, particularly if new growth of

P. alboflavescens is temporally or spatially limited. If P. alboflavescens is

indeed the preferred larval food plant then the limited occurrence of this

species in the Top End may partly explain the restricted occurrence of the

butterfly to northeastern Arnhem Land.

Little information on the ecology, behaviour and reproductive biology of E.

a. enastri has previously been recorded, although some details have been

documented for the closely related E. a. misenus (Lambkin 2001). The life

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 59

cycle of E. a. misenus, from egg to adult, is completed in approximately four

weeks during March (Lambkin 2001), which agrees with observations made

on E. a. enastri in which the life cycle is also completed in about four weeks

during July-October. Limited observations on ovipositing females, mating

behaviour and the temporal occurrence of the early stages suggest that

breeding on Gove Peninsula occurs continuously from at least the late wet

season (March) to the mid dry season (October). Adults of several other

species of Euploea and Tirumala hamata (W.S. Macleay, 1826) are known to

migrate and/or aggregate in large numbers during the winter-dry season in

northern Australia (Monteith 1982, Kitching and Scheermeyer 1993,

Scheermeyer 1993, 1999). Many of these species, including Æ. sylvester

(Fabricius, 1793), E. tulliolus (Fabricius, 1793), E. core (Cramer, [1780])

(Fig. 17) and probably £. darchia, stop breeding during the dry season. It is

not known if breeding in Æ. alcathoe sensu stricto is also seasonal, or if

females enter reproductive diapause during the late dry season. However,

limited observations made on the reproductive condition of Æ. a. enastri

females and aggregation behaviour in non-breeding habitats during June-July,

suggest that reproductive activity declines with the onset of the cooler winter

dry season, but females do not stop breeding and enter reproductive diapause.

Further field observations and comparative data for the late dry season

(November-December) and early wet season (January-February), however,

are needed to confirm this supposition. Lambkin (2001) noted that adults of

E. a. misenus were most abundant during the wet season, from December to

May, and suggested that breeding for this subspecies is limited to this period.

He observed that the early instar larvae were dependent upon the young, soft

foliage of the larval food plant, which is seasonally available in the late wet

season. Although the climate is strongly monsoonal with most of the rain

falling between November and April, the dry season in northeastern Arnhem

Land is less pronounced and severe, being characterised by cooler and more

humid conditions compared with the rest of the Top End, Torres Strait and

northern Cape York Peninsula, so that the larval food plants continue to

produce new growth at this time. Hence, it is likely that Æ. a. enastri breeds

throughout the year.

Several species-groups of Euploea butterflies, including E. alcathoe sensu

lato, are taxonomically complex and morphological data from their early

stages may help elucidate their status and systematic relationships. The early

stages of E. a. enastri provides additional characters for comparison with

those reported for other subspecies in Australia, particularly Æ. a. misenus

(which is well known) from the Torres Strait Islands (Lambkin 2001) and Æ.

a. eichhorni (which is poorly known) from Cape York Peninsula (McCubbin

1971). The early stages of E. a. enastri are identical to the general

descriptions and illustrations given for E. a. misenus (Lambkin 2001) but

seem to differ from those of £. a. eichhorni. Several differences between the

final instar larvae of E. a. misenus and E. a. eichhorni were noted by

60 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

Figs 16-27. Life history of Euploea core corinna from the Top End, NT: (16) larval

food plant Gymnanthera oblonga (in left foreground) growing in paperbark woodland,

Adelaide River; (17) adult male, Darwin; (18) egg; (19) third instar larva, dorsal view;

(20-24) final instar larva, showing dorsolateral view, dorsal view, lateral view,

anterior end depicting head and thoracic segments, and posterior end depicting

abdominal segments 6-10; (25-27) pupa, showing lateral, dorsal and ventral views.

Photos figs 16, 18-27 © M.F. Braby, fig. 17 © A. Hope.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 61

Lambkin (2001), particularly in the body colour, pattern of transverse bands,

relative length of the black fleshy filaments on the metathorax and abdominal

segments 2 and 8, and presence of a white lateral band (which is absent in £.

alcathoe sensu stricto). This suggests that E. a. misenus may be more closely

related to E. a. enastri than to E. a. eichhorni, despite the fact that E. a.

misenus and E. a. eichhorni both occur in northern Queensland and are

separated geographically from Æ. a. enastri by the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The early stages of E. a. enastri are similar to those of E. core corinna (Figs

16-27) and, to some extent, E. sylvester pelor (Meyer 1997), two species

which breed on similar larval food plants in the same habitat as E. a. enastri

in northeastern Arnhem Land (M.F. Braby, unpublished data). While the

early stages of E. alcathoe sensu stricto and allied taxa, including E. c.

corinna, are very similar morphologically, Lambkin (2001) noted that the

final instar larva of E. a. misenus was characterised by an extensive orange

colouration, with the white markings less extensive or poorly developed. The

following comparative differences in the final instar larva and pupa of E. a.

enastri and E. c. corinna are provided to enable separation of the two species

in the field. The larva of E. c. corinna (Figs 20-24) has a narrow but

conspicuous white lateral band along the length of the body (sometimes this

band is broken into a series of spots — see Fig. 22), whereas in Æ. a. enastri

this band is absent. In Æ. a. enastri, the middle white transverse dorsal band,

of the five bands on each body segment (from the mesothorax to abdominal

segment 7), extends to the ventrolateral region, whereas in Æ. c. corinna this

band stops well before the broad orange lateral band. In Æ. c. corinna, the

pair of black fleshy filaments on the mesothorax, metathorax and abdominal

segments 2 and 8 arise from a white patch and/or the basal area of the

filaments is white (Figs 23, 24), whereas in Æ. a. enastri the basal area of the

filaments is generally pale orange and the filaments arise from an orange

patch on the segment (Figs 11, 12). The pupa of E. a. enastri is substantially

larger, with the brown markings often darker, than that of E. c. corinna (Figs

25-27).

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to L. Wilson, P. Wise, J. Dermer, G. Martin, R.P. Weir and C. Wilson

for biological information on the life history of the Gove Crow, and to P. Wise, I.

Morris, S. Gregg, L. Wilson and B. Marika for assistance with field work. The

Dhimurru Land Management Aboriginal Corporation, the Yirralka Laynhapuy

Rangers and Gapuwiyak Aboriginal Community kindly provided permission to access

traditional lands under their control. This work arose out of a recovery plan prepared

for the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage (now

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts).

References

ACKERY, P.A. and VANE-WRIGHT, R.I. 1984. Milkweed butterflies: their cladistics and

biology. British Museum (Natural History), London; x + 425 pp.

62 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

APG II. 2003. An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group: classification for the orders and

families of flowering plants: APG II. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 141: 399-436.

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

CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne; xx + 976 pp.

BRABY, M.F. 2006. National recovery plan for the Gove crow butterfly, Euploea alcathoe

enastri. Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts. A report prepared for the

Australian Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage, Darwin; 36 pp.

FENNER, T.L. 1991. A new subspecies of Euploea alcathoe (Godart) (Lepidoptera:

Nymphalidae) from the Northern Territory, Australia. Australian Entomological Magazine 18:

149-155.

FENNER, T.L. 1992. Correction and addendum. Australian Entomological Magazine 19: 93.

FORSTER, P.I., LIDDLE, D.J. and NICHOLAS, A. 1996. Asclepiadaceae. Pp 197-283, in:

Wilson, A. (ed.), Flora of Australia. Volume 28, Gentianales. CSIRO Australia, Melbourne.

FORSTER, P.I. and WILLIAMS, J.B. 1996. Apocynaceae. Pp 104-196, in: Wilson, A. (ed.),

Flora of Australia. Volume 28, Gentianales. CSIRO Australia, Melbourne.

JOHNSON, S.J. and VALENTINE, P.S. 1997. Further observations and records for butterflies

(Lepidoptera) in northern Australia. Australian Entomologist 24: 155-158.

KITCHING, R.L. and SCHEERMEYER, E. 1993. The comparative biology and ecology of the

Australian danaines. Pp 165-175, in: Malcolm, S.B. and Zalucki, M.P. (eds), The biology and

conservation of the monarch butterfly. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los

Angeles.

LAMBKIN, T.A. 2001. The life history of Euploea alcathoe monilifera (Moore) and its

relationship to E. a. eichhorni Staudinger (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae). Australian

Entomologist 28: 129-136.

LAMBKIN, T.A. 2005. Euploea alcathoe misenus Miskin (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Torres

Strait, Queensland. Australian Entomologist 32: 145-153.

McCUBBIN, C. 1971. Australian butterflies. Nelson, Melbourne; xxxii + 206 pp.

MEYER, C.E. 1997. Notes on the life history and variations in adult forms of Euploea sylvester

pelor Doubleday (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae). Australian Entomologist 24: 73-77.

MONTEITH, G.B. 1982. Dry season aggregations of insects in Australian monsoon forests.

Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 20: 533-543.

SCHEERMEYER, E. 1993. Overwintering of three Australian danaines: Tirumala hamata

hamata, Euploea tulliolus tulliolus, and E. core corinna. Pp 345-353, in: Malcolm, S.B. and

Zalucki, M.P. (eds), The biology and conservation of the monarch butterfly. Natural History

Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles.

SCHEERMEYER, E. 1999. The crows, Euploea species, with notes on the Blue Tiger, Tirumala

hamata (Nymphalidae: Danainae). Pp 191-216, in: Kitching, R.L., Scheermeyer, E., Jones, R.E.,

and Pierce, N.E. (eds), Biology of Australian butterflies. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera.

Volume 6. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.

WOINARSKI, J.C.Z., MACKEY, B., NIX, H.A. and TRAILL, B. 2007. The nature of northern

Australia: its natural values, ecological processes and future prospects. ANU E Press, Canberra;

viii + 128 pp.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2): 63-66 63

THE COMPLETE LIFE HISTORY OF CHARAXES LATONA

BUTLER (LEPIDOPTERA: NYMPHALIDAE) FROM CAPE YORK

PENINSULA, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

PETER S. VALENTINE! and STEPHEN J. JOHNSON?

'Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811

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

Abstract

The complete life history of Charaxes latona Butler is described from eggs reared from Iron

Range, Cape York Peninsula, Australia.

Introduction

Following its discovery in Australia in 1978 (Johnson and De Baar 1979),

Charaxes latona Butler, 1865 was recorded breeding on Cryptocarya

triplinervis and a final instar larva and the pupa were described by Wood

(1986). The species occurs throughout Papua New Guinea, where it is

recorded breeding on plants in several families (Parsons 1998), but no

descriptions have been published of the entire life history. During a trip to

Iron Range (Cape York Peninsula, northern Queensland) in November 1991,

we observed a female ovipositing on a C. triplinervis growing in the bed of

the Claudie River; however, the resultant larva died in the second instar

during a period of unseasonally hot weather in Townsville. In May 2008, we

again observed a female ovipositing twice, approximately 15 metres above

the ground in a tree growing along the levee of Gordon Creek. We were able

to recover both eggs by using an elevating work platform. They were

returned to Townsville and reared on wet cuttings of the plant.

Life history

Food plant. Cryptocarya triplinervis R. Br. (Lauraceae).

Egg (Figs 1-2). Hemispherical; diameter 3 mm; flattened apex with slightly

depressed smooth central micropyle. Deep yellow when first laid but

becoming cream with variable reddish brown dorsal area after 48 hours.

Between 24 to 28 fine ridges from micropyle to base.

First instar larva (Fig. 3). Length 4-6 mm. Body dull brownish yellow;

thoracic segments slightly darker. Head capsule reddish brown with blackish

dorsal and lateral margins and black patches anteriorly. Two pairs of slightly

recurved horns; lateral pair reddish brown with white tips and short spines

medially; dorsal pair blackish with faint white tips. Posterior segments

whitish and produced laterally into backwardly directed curved spines with

yellow tips. Body with dorsal and lateral lines of fine white setae.

Second instar larva (Fig. 4). Length 7-10 mm. Head capsule rugose, reddish

brown with dorsal area black. Lateral horns red-brown with white tips; dorsal

horns black with white tips and short lateral spines and a pair of basal lateral

and medial black pointed spines. Prothorax dark red-brown. Remainder of

64 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

thoracic and anterior abdominal segments green. Abdominal segment 3 with

large white crescent patch dorsally. Dorsolateral lines of faint white spots and

lateral and dorsolateral lines of small white setae. Posterior abdominal

segments yellowish with terminal segment produced into recurved whitish

horns.

Third instar larva (Fig. 5). Length 11-25 mm. Head capsule finely rugose,

green with grey or brown margin; eyespots black and mouthparts brown. Pair

of recurved pale brown lateral horns with yellow tips. Large black dorsal

horns with yellow tips and pointed spines laterally and medially. Short spines

with blunt black tips between larger recurved spines. Body green; each

segment with dense rows of faint yellow spots. Abdominal segment 3 with

large dorsal white crescent patch edged black infused with bright blue flecks.

Abdominal segments 5 and 7 with variable dorsolateral white spots edged

black with blue flecks. Terminal abdominal segment yellowish orange,

produced into inwardly curved, backwardly directed spines and dorsal

surface with a small white patch centrally and red-brown triangular areas

laterally. Each segment with pairs of short yellow spines forming a lateral

line. Prolegs and basal surface whitish.

Fourth instar larva (Fig. 6). Length 26-39 mm. Similar to third instar but

developing prominent pink suffusion within white crescent.

Final instar larva (Fig. 7). Length 40-60 mm. Similar to third instar but

terminal segment becoming darker with lateral triangular patches blackish

and central white area more extensive. Spiracles white and more prominent.

Pupa (Fig. 8). Length 25 mm. Smooth; dark green. Cremaster black with

white globules surrounding anal and genital scars. Variable white areas on

wing cases and at distal end.

Observations

The egg recovered in 1991 was laid on the upper surface of the leaf, whereas

those laid in 2008 were laid on the undersides of leaves. The newly hatched

larva consumed the eggshell. The later instar larvae were similar to the one

described by Wood (1986) but a final instar larva from Papua New Guinea,

illustrated by Parsons (1998), showed obvious white crescent patches on

abdominal segments 3 and 5. It is not known if the additional crescent patch

is a consistent difference between Australian and Papua New Guinean

populations. The length of the final instar larvae appears consistent with that

reported by Parsons (1998) but is substantially larger than the one reared by

Wood (1986), even though all produced males. It is possible that female

larvae may be larger.

The duration of the stages in Townsville between May and September was as

follows: egg 7 days; first instar 6 days; second instar 17-19 days; third instar

16-17 days; fourth instar 14 days; final instar 41-43 days; pupa 18 days.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 65

Figs 1-8. Life history stages of Charaxes latona. (1) freshly laid egg; (2) egg after 24

hours; (3) first instar larva; (4) second instar larva; (5) third instar larva; (6) fourth

instar larva; (7) fifth instar larva; (8) pupa.

66 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

To date, Cryptocarya triplinervis is the only plant known to be used by C.

latona in Australia. In recent years, during studies of the canopy through the

Claudie valley, we have commonly observed adult females flying in gaps in

the canopy along the levees of the Claudie River and Gordon Creek.

Cryptocarya triplinervis is a common plant along these levees and the large

number of female C. /atona observed may be a result of the local abundance

of the food plant. Further observations would be needed to identify any other

food plants in Australia.

Acknowledgements

We thank the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service for scientific permits

under which this work was conducted and Sean Walsh and Brett Lewis for

their assistance with fieldwork.

References

JOHNSON, S.J. and DE BAAR, M. 1979. First record of Charaxes latona Butler (Lepidoptera:

Nymphalidae) from Australia. Australian Entomological Magazine 6: 23-24.

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

Academic Press, London; xvi + 736 pp.

WOOD, G.A. 1986. Some early stages of Charaxes latona Butler (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae:

Charaxinae). Australian Entomological Magazine 12: 20-21.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2): 67-70 67

ADDITIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO A RECENT

CLASSIFICATION OF DACUS FABRICIUS (DIPTERA:

TEPHRITIDAE: DACINAE)

D.L. HANCOCK

PO Box 2464, Cairns, Qld 4870

Abstract

Twenty-nine newly described or recognised species of Afrotropical and Indo-Australian Dacus

Fabricius are placed within a classification proposed for all species. In addition, the Australian

species D. concolor Drew is placed as a new synonym of D. (Neodacus) salamander Drew &

Hancock, stat. rev., the African species D. chrysomphalus (Bezzi) is transferred from subgenus

Mictodacus Munro to the D. (Leptoxyda) eminus group and the Afrotropical scaber group is

transferred from subgenus Psilodacus Collart to subgenus Didacus Collart. Metidacus Munro,

Coccinodacus Munro and Andriadacus Munro are placed as new synonyms of Leptoxyda

Macquart. Saccodacus Munro is placed as a new synonym of Didacus and the scaber group is

regarded as a close ally of the Sri Lankan species D. (Didacus) keiseri (Hering).

Introduction

Two recent contributions on the classification of the widespread fruit fly

genus Dacus Fabricius (Hancock and Drew 2006, White 2006) agreed in

many respects but differed substantially in others. These differences largely

result from the different interpretation of three key features: the geographical

centre of origin of the genus, its primitive host plant group and the nature of

the yellow marking along the mesonotal suture in the ancestral species. These

were regarded, respectively, as Southeast Asia, Asclepiadaceae and broadly

connected to the notopleural callus by Hancock and Drew (2006), or as

Africa, Cucurbitaceae and an isolated spot by White (2006). Further evidence

is needed to determine which (if either) of these sets of assumptions is correct

and if the outgroup selections are appropriate. Contrary to White (2006), a

broadly connected sutural marking is present in several Indo-Australian

species of Bactrocera Macquart, in both the Bactrocera and Zeugodacus

groups of subgenera (e.g. B. (Bactrocera) mendosa (May), B. (Asiadacus)

brachycera (Bezzi) [= fuscans Wang], B. (Sinodacus) hochii (Zia), B. (S.)

binoyi Drew, B. (S.) transversa (Hardy), B. (S.) perpusilla (Drew), B.

(Zeugodacus) gavisa (Munro), B. (Z.) macrovittata Drew). The sutural

marking is also connected in the basal genus Monacrostichus Bezzi.

Discussion

With the loss of some species to synonymy (White 2006) and the addition of

newly described or recognised taxa from the Afrotropical Region (White

2006) and Bhutan (Drew ef al. 2007), the number of Dacus species now

recognised is 249 (177 Afrotropical and 72 Indo-Australian). Incorporation of

the new data provided by White (2006) maintained a high degree of stability

within the classification of Hancock and Drew (2006), except that biological

information requires the transfer of the scaber group from subgenus

Psilodacus Collart to subgenus Didacus Collart. In addition, the D. (Dacus)

venetatus and D. (Psilodacus) semisphaereus groups should, on

68 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

morphological evidence (White 2006), be combined with the D. (D.) eclipsis

and D. (P.) mulgens groups respectively.

One anomalous species that tests both classifications is D. chrysomphalus

(Bezzi). Placed in subgenus Mictodacus Munro by Hancock and Drew (2006)

and in subgenus Dacus by White (2006), it has the sutural yellow mark often

interrupted medially; hence this character could be interpreted either as

united with the notopleuron or isolated. Its host plant has been recorded as

Marsdenia abyssinica (Asclepiadaceae) (White 2006) and, although this

record has not yet been repeated, it is considered to be reliable. This, together

with the variable sutural mark, an apically expanded costal band that does not

cross vein M and several other morphological characters (e.g. structure of the

aedeagus and shape of the surstyli), suggests an affinity with species placed

in subgenus Leptoxyda Macquart. D. chrysomphalus is placed here within the

D. (Leptoxyda) eminus group; it retains supra-alar setae and three distinct

postsutural yellow vittae and keys to couplet 11 in Hancock and Drew

(2006). As a consequence of this transfer, recognition of subgenus Metidacus

Munro (= Coccinodacus Munro; = Andriadacus Munro) becomes untenable

and all three names are regarded here as new synonyms of Leptoxyda.

White (2006) noted that four species in the scaber group of Hancock and

Drew (2006), viz. D. apostata (Hering) [= retextus (Munro)], D. triater

Munro, D. phloginus (Munro) and D. rufoscutellatus (Hering), were bred

from the fruit of Zehneria (Cucurbitaceae). Thus they cannot remain in

subgenus Psilodacus sensu Hancock and Drew (2006) which, by definition,

includes no cucurbit-feeding species. White (2006) placed the above species,

together with D. nigriscutatus White, in subgenus Lophodacus Collart but

they lack the medial vitta on the scutum and breed in fruit rather than the

stamens of male flowers, both used as defining characters of Lophodacus by

Hancock and Drew (2006). They also lack the black face seen in all other

Lophodacus species except D. (L.) elegans (Munro) and are best placed in

subgenus Didacus sensu Hancock and Drew (2006). The host plant data, lack

of lure response and similarity in general appearance (including the small size

and lack of an anal streak) suggest a close relationship between the scaber

group and the Sri Lankan D. (Didacus) keiseri (Hering) but the relationships

of the Southeast Asian D. (D.) hainanus Wang & Zhao remain uncertain. As

a result of this transfer, Saccodacus Munro (with type species D. triater)

becomes a new synonym of Didacus Collart.

Other species included in the scaber group by Hancock and Drew (2006)

were retained in subgenus Psilodacus by White (2006), but the very similar

structure of the male aedeagus (with a centralised apicodorsal rod and large

apical membrane) suggests all members of the group belong in Didacus;

consequently, D. scaber Loew, D. basifasciatus (Hering) and D. namibiensis

Hancock & Drew are also transferred. The entirely yellow face and loss of all

or most of the microtrichia in cell br above cell bm distinguishes this group.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

Table 1. Placement of newly described, misplaced or previously unrecognised species

of Dacus according to the classification of Hancock and Drew (2006).

As currently listed or recently described

Indo-Australian taxa

D. (Mellesis) dorjii Drew & Romig *

D. (Mellesis) fletcheri Drew *

Bactrocera salamander (Drew & Hancock) *

Afrotropical taxa

D. (Dacus) apiculatus White *

D. (Dacus) limbipennis Macquart

D. (Dacus) madagascariensis White

D. (Dacus) deltatus White

D. (Dacus) segunii White *

D. (Ambitidacus) pulchralis White *

D. (Ambitidacus) katonae Bezzi

D. (Didacus) briani White

D. (Didacus) congoensis White

D. (Didacus) fissuratus White

D. (Didacus) nairobensis White

D. (Didacus) yemenensis White

D. (Didacus) copelandi White

D. (Didacus) elatus White

D. (Leptoxyda) kakamega White

D. (Leptoxyda) mediovittatus White *

D. (Leptoxyda) nigrolateris White

D. (Leptoxyda) parvimaculatus White

D. (Leptoxyda) arabicus White

D. (Leptoxyda) apectus White

D. (Leptoxyda) pleuralis Collart

D. (Lophodacus) nigriscutatus White

D. (Lophodacus) umehi White

D. (Mictodacus) chrysomphalus (Bezzi) |

D. (Neodacus) quilicii White *

D. (Psilodacus) gabonensis White

D. (Psilodacus) merzi White

D. (Psilodacus) okumuae White 2

D. (Psilodacus) scaber group *

Suggested placement

D. (Mellesis) siamensis group

D. (Neodacus) absonifacies group

D. (Dacus) eclipsis group

D. (Dacus) armatus group

D. (Dacus) fasciolatus group

D. (Psilodacus) brevistriga group

D. (Psilodacus) mulgens group

D. (Psilodacus) binotatus group

D. (Psilodacus) freidbergi group

D. (Psilodacus) macer group

D. (Leptoxyda) mirificus group

D. (Leptoxyda) eminus group

D. (Leptoxyda) obesus group

D. (Psilodacus) binotatus group

D. (Mictodacus) sphaeristicus group

D. (Didacus) scaber group

D. (Leptoxyda) umehi group

D. (Leptoxyda) eminus group

D. (Neodacus) xanthaspis group

D. (Dacus) purus group

D. (Didacus) ciliatus group

D. (Didacus) scaber group

* = collected in cue-lure traps; ' = bred from fruit of Marsdenia (Asclepiadaceae); +=

bred from fruit of Gerrardanthus (Cucurbitaceae); 3 = bred from fruit of Zehneria

(Cucurbitaceae).

The Australian Dacus (Neodacus) salamander Drew & Hancock, stat. rev. (=

concolor Drew, syn. n.) has fused abdominal tergites and a very weak

supernumerary lobe on the wing. Accordingly, it is transferred from

70 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

Bactrocera (Sinodacus) Zia to the D. (N.) absonifacies group. The

postpronotal lobes are either entirely yellow or anteriorly darkened and the

medial postsutural yellow vitta is a little variable in shape.

The 29 nominal species recently recognised or described by White (2006)

and Drew et al. (2007), plus the misplaced taxa discussed above, are listed in

Table 1, together with an indication of where they belong according to the

system of Hancock and Drew (2006). Several synonyms were proposed by

White (2006) but, apart from D. (Mictodacus) tubatus Munro (now regarded

as a synonym of D. (Leptoxyda) aspilus Bezzi), their subgeneric placements

remain unchanged. Species transferred here from subgenus Didacus to

subgenus Leptoxyda appear to belong in either the D. (L.) mirificus group (D.

yemenensis White, which has fuscous costal cells and a reduced anal stripe),

or the D. (L.) eminus group, close to D. carnesi (Munro) (with fulvous costal

cells and a distinct anal stripe). D. umehi White was included provisionally in

Lophodacus by White (2006); however, the presence of a slender medial vitta

plus a distinct anal stripe and no pecten suggest it is best placed as a

monotypic group within Leptoxyda, close to the herensis group.

In Hancock and Drew (2006: Appendix 2), character 32 for D. (Mellesis)

pedunculatus (Bezzi) and D. (Didacus) apostata (Hering) should read ‘0’

[pecten present], not ‘2’; characters 25-27 for D. (Didacus) namibiensis

should read ‘222’, not ‘333’; character 3 for D. (Leptoxyda) externellus

(Munro) should read ‘0’ [anterior notopleural seta present], not ‘1’; character

3 for D. (Psilodacus) elutissimus Bezzi should read ‘1’ [anterior notopleural

seta absent], not ‘0’; and characters for D. (P.) semisphaereus Becker should

read ‘0110 3-300 02022 11110 20100 0020? 600’. In White (2006: cd-rom

file D2), the record of D. scaber from ‘Kilimanjaro’ probably refers to a farm

in South Africa, not Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, whereas the record of ‘D.

humeralis’ from Mackay, Q[ueensland] refers to Bactrocera neohumeralis

(Hardy), a replacement name for ‘Dacus’ humeralis Perkins, not Bezzi.

Acknowledgements

I thank Kerrie Huxham and Sally Cowan (AQIS, Cairns) for initially

recognising the apparent D. salamander/D. concolor synonymy and bringing

it to my attention, and Prof. R. Drew (Griffith University) for confirming it.

References

DREW, R.A.I., ROMIG, M.C. and DORJI, C. 2007. Records of dacine fruit flies and new

species of Dacus (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Bhutan. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 55(1): 1-21.

HANCOCK, D.L. and DREW, R.A.I. 2006. A revised classification of subgenera and species

groups in Dacus Fabricius (Diptera, Tephritidae). Pp 167-205, in: Merz, B. (ed.), Phylogeny,

taxonomy, and biology of tephritoid flies (Diptera, Tephritoidea). Instrumenta Biodiversitatis

Vol. VII. Natural History Museum, Geneva; 274 pp.

WHITE, I.M. 2006. Taxonomy of the Dacina (Diptera: Tephritidae) of Africa and the Middle

East. African Entomology Memoir 2: [i-v], 1-156, cd-rom.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2): 71-78 71

A COMPARISON OF THE IMMATURE STAGES OF

HYPOCHRYSOPS APOLLO APOLLO MISKIN AND H. A. PHOEBUS

(WATERHOUSE) (LEPIDOPTERA: LYCAENIDAE)

P.R. SAMSON

BSES Limited, PMB 57, Mackay Mail Centre, Qld 4741 (Email: p.samson@bses.org.au)

Abstract

The immature stages and some life history details are described for the two subspecies of

Hypochrysops apollo Miskin that occur in Australia. Eggs of H. a. apollo and H. a. phoebus

(Waterhouse) were of similar size but those of H. a. apollo were pitted but otherwise smooth

whereas eggs of H. a. phoebus had conspicuous ridges and spines. First and second instar larvae

had the same basic patterns of setae but the setae of H. a. apollo were much shorter and more

thickened or flattened than those of H. a phoebus. First instars also differed in the development

of some of the glandular structures on the body. Larvae of both subspecies passed through at

least eight instars before pupation under artificial rearing conditions. There were differences in

oviposition site between subspecies, with eggs of H. a. apollo being laid closer to the leaves of

the food plant, and in first-instar duration, with larvae of H. a. phoebus moulting sooner to the

second instar, but these life history differences were confounded with differences in food plants

and rearing occasions.

Introduction

Hypochrysops apollo Miskin includes three subspecies, two of which occur

in Australia: H. a. apollo, distributed from Cooktown to Ingham, and H. a.

phoebus (Waterhouse), found north from the Rocky River in central Cape

York Peninsula to Papua New Guinea (Braby 2000). Adults can be

distinguished by colour and wing shape (Braby 2000).

Some aspects of the life history of H. apollo in Australia are well known and

were summarised by Braby (2000). Larvae feed on species of ant-plant

(Rubiaceae), including Myrmecodia beccarii in the southern parts of the

range (H. a. apollo) and M. tuberosa in far northern Queensland (H. a.

phoebus). Eggs are laid singly on the foodplant. Larvae live in the galleries

that occur naturally within the plant stems and tubers and cohabit with ants,

usually Philidris cordatus stewartii (Forel), which colonise the same galleries

in large numbers. The larvae feed on the internal tissues of the plant and

sometimes also on the leaves at night. Pupation occurs within the enlarged

galleries inside the plant, the pupa being attached by anal hooks and a central

girdle. The adult emerges through a hole made previously by the larva.

Braby (2000) gave a general description of large larvae and pupae without

reference to subspecies and noted that the egg was not described. Here I

describe the early stages of both Australian subspecies, with additional notes

on their life histories, and document significant differences between them.

General descriptions for both subspecies

Egg (Figs 1-2). Diameter 1.2-1.3 mm. A flattened sphere with sunken

micropyle, sculptured with pits or with ridges and spines depending on

subspecies; pale green or bluish green soon after oviposition.

72 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

Figs 1-4. Hypochrysops apollo. (1-2) eggs: (1) H. a. apollo; (2) H. a. phoebus. (3-4)

first instar larvae: (3) H. a. apollo; (4) H. a. phoebus. Conspicuous glands on Al of

first instar are indicated by arrows.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 73

Figs 5-7. Hypochrysops apollo. (5-6) second instar larvae: (5) H. a. apollo; (6) H. a.

phoebus. (7) H. a. phoebus, final instar larva.

74 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

First instar larva (Figs 3-4). Flattened with dorsal ridge and with middorsal

tubercles on mesothorax (T2) to abdominal segment 5 (A5); four pairs of

brown anterior setae on T1, two pairs on margin and two pairs slightly

posterior to margin; T2-T3 each with two pairs of similar erect pale brown

dorsal setae; Al-A6 each with two pairs of dorsal setae, pale brown on A1-

AS and dark brown on A6; numerous reclining setae on anal segments, the

ultimate pair longer and curved upwards; three pairs of lateral setae on each

of T1-A7; six pairs of posterior setae; fine ventrolateral setae, one pair per

segment; body greyish, green or yellowish green, a reddish brown dorsal

patch on A6-A7, sometimes with a reddish brown middorsal line on A1-A5,

head pale brown. One pair of conspicuous circular epidermal structures

(presumably glands) subdorsally or dorsolaterally on A1, subdorsally towards

rear of each of A2-A5, dorsolaterally on A6 and dorsally on anal segments.

Second instar larva (Figs 5-6). Flattened with dorsal ridge and with

middorsal tubercles on T2-A6; lateral margin deeply scalloped; T1 with three

setae, one pair subdorsal and a single median seta, from rear of prothoracic

plate; T2- or T3-A5 with short brown dorsal setae; tiny trumpet-shaped setae

on dorsal tubercles; trumpet-shaped or fine marginal setae; short fine

ventrolateral setae beneath scalloped margin; body greyish, darker dorsally,

sometimes with reddish dorsolateral mottling and white subdorsal line, a

reddish middorsal line on A1-A7, reddish lateral spots; prothoracic and anal

plates glossy; head pale brown. Tentacular organs (TOs) present.

Third instar larva. Flattened with dorsal ridge and with middorsal tubercles

on T2-A6; lateral margin deeply scalloped; one or two pairs of short dorsal

setae on T2-A5 or -A6; numerous tiny trumpet-shaped setae; greyish, pinkish

dorsally and dorsolaterally with cream lines subdorsally on T2-A5 and

dorsolaterally and laterally on T2-A6, sometimes with reddish lateral line;

prothoracic plate dark brown, anal plate pale brown with dark brown median

and lateral patches anteriorly, TOs brown, spiracles dark brown. Newcomer's

organ (NO) and TOs present.

Final instar larva (Fig. 7). Mottled pinkish brown and greyish cream, a

broken white middorsal line with a posterior dark pinkish brown middorsal

patch on each of T3-A6, an anterior dark pinkish brown patch on A7, a wavy

greyish dorsolateral line and cream lateral line; prothoracic plate with dark

brown spots dorsolaterally and on posterior margin, anal plate sunken,

pinkish with dark brown dorsolateral spots and sometimes with an anterior

“V’-shaped marking, TOs brown, head brown.

Pupa. Pale brown, sometimes with reddish brown abdomen, speckled with

dark brown; attached by anal hooks and central girdle.

Morphological differences between subspecies

The major differences between the immature stages of H. a. apollo and H. a.

Phoebus are listed in Table 1. These notes expand on the common details

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

given in the previous section. Eggs and larvae are clearly distinguishable

until at least the third larval instar. Eggs of H. a. apollo have much reduced

surface sculpturing, while early instar larvae have setae that are flattened or

thickened and much reduced in length. Late instar larvae and pupae of the

two subspecies are similar, although larvae of H. a. phoebus tend to be more

strongly marked with darker spiracles.

Table 1. Morphological differences between the immature stages of Hypochrysops

apollo apollo and H. a. phoebus.

Stage Character

Egg Sculpturing

First Anterior setae

instar

Dorsal setae

Lateral setae

Posterior setae

Conspicuous

epidermal

glands

Second Dorsal setae

instar

Fine marginal

setae

Prothoracic

plate

Third Dorsal setae

instar

H. a. apollo

Tiny pits in oblique rows,

without ridges or spines.

Flattened (on margin) or

thickened (posterior to

margin).

On T2-T3 thick; on Al-

A6 thick, inner anterior

pair erect, outer posterior

pair broad basally and

reclining.

Flattened, pale greenish

brown.

Five pairs flattened,

posterior median pair thin.

Dorsolateral on Al; all

glands similar in size.

On TI tiny, trumpet-

shaped with expanded

tips; on T3-A5 thick.

Absent.

Uniform colour.

Club-shaped, absent from

A6.

H. a. phoebus

Fine oblique ridges

forming four-sided cells,

with short spines at their

intersection.

Fine.

On T2-T3 long, fine; on

A1-A6 fine, inner anterior

pair long and outer

posterior pair shorter;

ultimate posterior pair on

anal segments very long.

Long, fine, branched, the

anterior pair on Al-A7

basally flattened; pale

brown.

Long, fine, posterior

median pair shorter.

Subdorsal on Al,

subdorsal glands on A2-

A5 smaller than others.

On T1-A5 fine.

Numerous.

Dark brown dorsal patch

posteriorly.

Fine.

76 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

Life history notes

Hypochrysops a. apollo

I observed or collected immature stages of this subspecies on Myrmecodia

beccarii attached to mangroves east of Innisfail, northern Queensland.

Unhatched eggs were present on 5 November 2003, 26 March 2004 and 1-3

November 2005. I found a total of 36 eggs, 13 unhatched and 23 hatched and,

of these, 19 were attached to small tubers, less than about 5 cm diameter,

which often grew at the base of larger plants. Sixteen eggs were attached to

leaves and 19 were close to a leaf base on stems or small tubers. Only one

egg was found on a large tuber distant from the leaves.

A first instar larva was found on 5 November 2003, on young leaves on a

small tuber of 2-3 cm diameter, with a hatched egg on the tuber. The larva

had been feeding on the very youngest leaf on the plant. First instars that

emerged in captivity also ate young leaves, chewing tiny circular holes or

eating scallops from the margins. Many continued feeding exposed on young

leaves throughout the instar but one, having fed on leaves for a day, entered

into a small tuber via one of the tuber openings and was subsequently found

inside the tuber as a second instar. First instars were seen to be palpated by

ants on occasions but were often unattended. Large larvae in captivity were

supplied small pieces of tuber and leaves and fed on both.

Days to hatching of 11 eggs collected in November ranged up to 7 (two

eggs), 8 (one egg) and 9 (one egg). Mean duration of the first instar was 5

days (4-6 days, n = 7). Only one larva was reared from egg to pupa, with a

larval duration of 111 days. The number of instars that this larva passed

through is uncertain, as at least one moult was not observed but, by

interpolation of expected instar durations, is believed to have been 10 or 11.

Hypochrysops a. phoebus

I observed or collected immature stages of H. a. phoebus from 24-29 May

2005 at two sites, near Punsand Bay and at Iron Range, Cape York Peninsula.

Food plants are believed to have been two species of Myrmecodia, M.

platytyrea near Punsand Bay and M. platytyrea and M. tuberosa near Iron

Range, based on their distributions and descriptions given in Huxley and Jebb

(1993), and a third very different ant-plant, consistent with Hydnophytum

moseleyanum (= H. papuanum) as illustrated by Williams (1987), in both

areas. However, no plants were collected for positive identification.

Of 14 unhatched eggs found on Myrmecodia spp., two were on the swollen

tuber base and the remainder were on the thick stems, often attached to

spines. Many hatched eggs were also found on Myrmecodia stems and tubers.

No eggs were found on the leaves. A hatched egg was also found near

Punsand Bay on the ant-plant tentatively identified as H. moseleyanum,

attached to a spine on the swollen tuber near the point of attachment of the

multiple stems.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 77

First instar larvae, when placed on a piece of Myrmecodia stem, ate tiny holes

in the fleshy green ‘spines’ around the rim of the shield-shaped structures

(clypeoli) surrounding each leaf base. However, feeding was minimal and the

duration of the stage was short (see below). Ants confined with the larvae

were not observed to interact with them at all. Large larvae ate both the

pieces of tuber and the leaves that were supplied as food.

Individuals collected as eggs in May were kept at ambient temperature in far

northern Queensland until mid-way through the second instar, when they

were transferred to a constant 26°C. The longest time to hatching of 11 eggs

was 7 days (three.eggs). All first instars moulted to the second in 3 days (n =

9). Three larvae were reared from egg to pupa, with durations of 72 days

(eight larval instars, male), 88 days (nine larval instars, female) and 89 days

(nine larval instars, died as pupa). The pupal stage occupied 15 and 17 days

for the two pupae that successfully produced adults.

Discussion

Larvae of H. apollo passed through at least eight larval instars; more than is

usual for most lycaenid larvae. However, larvae of two other species of

Hypochrysops C. & R. Felder, H. hippuris nebulosis Sands and H. elgneri

barnardi Waterhouse, have been recorded as passing through six and seven

larval instars, respectively (Samson 2002). Larvae of Paralucia aurifera

(Blanchard), in a related genus within the tribe Luciini, passed through five

or six instars if ants were present and six or seven instars if ants were absent

(Cushman et al.1994). I reared larvae of H. apollo without ants and the food

supplied to the larva of H. a. apollo in particular was occasionally of poor

quality; these factors could have led to an increase in the number of instars

(Cushman et al. 1994, Esperk et al. 2007).

Although the basic morphology of the early immature stages of H. a. apollo

and H. a. phoebus was similar, there were some marked differences. Eggs

were of similar size but those of H. a. apollo were pitted, whereas eggs of H.

a. phoebus had conspicuous ridges and spines. First and second instars had

the same basic patterns of setae but the setae of H. a. apollo were much

shorter and thickened or flattened, a difference which was still apparent but

less pronounced in the third instar. First instars also differed in the

development of some of the glandular structures on the body. Differences

between the subspecies were less obvious in later instars and final instar

larvae appeared morphologically similar.

I also recorded differences in oviposition site and first instar biology, but

these were confounded with differences in host plants and time of year.

According to the recorded distributions of Myrmecodia spp., M. beccarii is

the predominant species within the range of H. a. apollo, although M.

platytyrea is also found near Daintree and Mossman; M. beccarii does not

occur within the range of H. a. phoebus (Huxley and Jebb 1993, P.I. Forster

pers. comm.). I found eggs of H. a. apollo mainly on or near young leaves of

78 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

M. beccarii, often on juvenile plants, whereas most eggs of H. a. phoebus

were found on tubers or tuber stems. First instar larvae of H. a. phoebus fed

sparingly in captivity and moulted to the second instar sooner than larvae of

H. a. apollo. Simultaneous rearing of both subspecies on the same food plant

would be needed to see if these differences are real.

Eggs and early instar larvae of H. a. phoebus from Punsand Bay (10°44’S)

and Iron Range (12°44’S) were similar, these sites being near the northern

and southern limits of the subspecies’ range on the Australian mainland

(Cape York to the Rocky River: Braby 2000). Although the above

descriptions of the immature stages of H. a. apollo are all based on specimens

from near Innisfail (17°30’S), an egg I collected previously at Cooktown

(15°32’S), at the northern limit of this subspecies’ range, was noted to have

been pitted and without spines, while the first instar that emerged had short,

flattened setae similar to those described above (PRS unpubl. notes). Thus,

there is reason to believe that the descriptions recorded above are generally

applicable to populations referred to either H. a. apollo or H. a. phoebus on

the Australian mainland. H. a. phoebus also occurs on islands in the Torres

Strait and in Papua New Guinea (Braby 2000), but no immature specimens

have been examined from these localities. It would be of interest to examine

these and also to determine if H. apollo occurs on the east coast between

Silver Plains (13°46’S, near the Rocky River) and Cooktown, an area from

which there are also no voucher specimens of ant-plants in the Queensland

Herbarium (although there is at least one unvouchered record of M. beccarii

from Starcke, 15°04’S: P.I. Forster pers. comm.).

The marked differences reported above support the taxonomic separation of

H. a. apollo and H. a. phoebus to at least subspecific level and raise the

possibility that they might not be conspecific.

Acknowledgements

This work was conducted under permit supplied by the Environmental

Protection Agency/Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. I am grateful to

Peter Wilson for help in the field, Paul Forster for advice on ant-plants and

Steve Johnson for comments on the manuscript.

References

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

CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne; xxvii + 976 pp.

CUSHMAN, J.H., RASHBROOK, V.K. and BEATTIE, A.J. 1994. Assessing benefits to both

participants in a lycaenid-ant association. Ecology 75: 1031-1041.

ESPERK, T., TAMMARU, T. and NYLIN, S. 2007. Intraspecific variability in number of larval

instars in insects. Journal of Economic Entomology 100: 627-645.

HUXLEY, C.R. and JEBB, M.H.P. 1993. The tuberous epiphytes of the Rubiaceae 5: A revision

of the Myrmecodia. Blumea 37: 271-334.

WILLIAMS, K.A.W. 1987. Native plants of Queensland. Volume 3. K.A.W. Williams, North

Ipswich; 319 pp.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2): 79-83 79

SCROBIGER SPLENDIDUS (NEWMAN) (COLEOPTERA:

CLERIDAE) ASSOCIATED WITH HYLAEUS SP. (HYMENOPTERA:

COLLETIDAE) IN SOUTHEASTERN QUEENSLAND

JUSTIN S. BARTLETT

Entomology Collection, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, 80 Meiers

Road, Indooroopilly, Qld 4068 (Email: justin.bartlett@dpi.qld.gov.au)

Abstract

Scrobiger splendidus (Newman) was observed ovipositing on, and emerging from, the nest of a

native bee (Hylaeus sp.) at Indooroopilly, SE Queensland. Based on published accounts of a

North American clerid exhibiting similar behaviour, it is likely that S. splendidus is a predator of

Hylaeus spp. in Australia. This is the first evidence of apivorous habits for a native Australian

clerid beetle.

Introduction

Cleridae are a cosmopolitan family of mostly predatory beetles containing

over 3,600 species in roughly 300 genera (Gerstmeier 2000). While clerids

are perhaps most well known as predators of lignicolous insects within timber

and under bark, the prey range of the family is much broader and includes

locust eggs, gall insects, psyllids and aculeate Hymenoptera (Eliason and

Potter 2000, Linsley and MacSwain 1943, New 1978). This paper deals with

the predation of bees (Apoidea) by clerids.

Records of apivory among northern hemisphere Cleridae include: European

Trichodes Herbst (Clerinae) preying upon Anthophoridae, Megachilidae and

Apidae (Ceratina spp. and Apis mellifera Linnaeus); North American

Trichodes preying upon Megachilidae and Ceratina Latreille; and the North

American genus Lecontella Wolcott & Chapin (Tillinae) preying upon

Megachilidae (Linsley and MacSwain 1943, Mawdsley 2002). Apivory by

Australian Cleridae has not been reported previously.

Apivorous Cleridae employ one of two strategies to ensure that their larvae

gain access to the immature bees on which they feed. The first involves the

oviposition of a single egg on a flower from where the ‘phoretic’ early instar

larva is collected by a foraging bee, taken to the nest and sealed within a

larval cell where it feeds upon both pollen and bee larvae (Linsley and

MacSwain 1943). The second strategy involves oviposition directly on or in

the nest, as Trichodes ornatus Say was observed to do on the artificial nesting

boards of Megachile pacifica (Fabricius), a bee commonly employed to aid

pollination of commercial alfalfa in North America (Davies et al. 1979).

The above records indicate that apivorous clerid beetles have the potential to

attain pest status. This was certainly true for 7. ornatus which, prior to the

development of an effective bait (Davies ef al. 1983), was capable of severely

reducing the pollinating capacity of commercially employed populations of

M. pacifica, the economic impact of which was estimated at US$6 million for

the US state of Washington alone in 1977 (Davies et al. 1979).

80 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

Fig. 1. Scrobiger splendidus adult male habitus (length = 9 mm).

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 81

Material

Native bees were observed nesting in the corrugations of a large cardboard

box situated among insect breeding cages and other debris on a semi-open

deck adjoining the Queensland Forestry Sciences laboratory, Indooroopilly,

Queensland, in early November 1995 by M. De Baar (pers. comm.) who,

after repeated observations, also found clerids at the nesting sites of the bees.

Specimens collected from this nest included a native colletid bee and a

gasteruptiid bee parasite, respectively determined as species of Hylaeus

Fabricius (Colletidae) and Gasteruption Linnaeus (Gasteruptiidae) by I.D.

Naumann, plus four adult clerids determined by the present author as

Scrobiger splendidus (Newman) (Fig. 1). Label data associated with the

specimens are as follows: ‘Long Pocket, SE Qld, 3.xi.1995, M. De Baar;

large clerids ovipositing on, and small ones emerging from, bee nest in

corrugated cardboard’. Specimens are held in the Queensland Forestry Insect

Collection (QFIC) and in the collection of the author (JSBC).

The genus Scrobiger

According to Corporaal (1950), Scrobiger Spinola contains four Australian

and one New Caledonian species; however, cursory examination of type

specimens of all five species suggests synonymies that may reduce the genus

to three valid Australian species (J. Bartlett unpublished). Adults range from

approximately 8 mm to 16 mm in length. Larval and adult Scrobiger are

apparently predaceous on cerambycid beetle larvae (McKeown 1938). During

my own field collecting, I observed that these beetles are fast moving, volant,

diurnal flower-visiting predators with similar wasp-mimicking behaviour to

that of another Australian clerid, Trogodendron fasciculatum (Schreibers)

(Faithful 1994). Scrobiger splendidus has been collected from flowers of the

myrtaceous genera Eucalyptus (Brooks 1969, Wainer 1979), Angophora

(Hawkeswood 1981), Leptospermum (Matthews 1992) and Melaleuca

(specimen in author’s collection), plus Euroschinus (Anacardiaceae)

(specimen in Australian Museum, Sydney) and Xanthorrhoea

(Xanthorrhoeaceae) (specimen in South Australian Museum, Adelaide).

Discussion

Despite no larvae being collected directly from the nest, the above

observations indicate a likely association between S. splendidus and the

Hylaeus sp. analogous to that of T. ornatus and M. pacifica in North

America. In both cases the bees were nesting within artificial substrates

(corrugated cardboard and commercial nesting boards respectively) that were

possibly more exposed than a natural nest, hence allowing greater

accessibility to predators. A more exposed nest may simply represent a

‘shortcut’ for a predator that may instinctively oviposit in the vicinity of bees,

or on flowers visited by bees as in the case of Trichodes. Additionally, all

aforementioned plant genera visited by S. splendidus, with the exception of

Euroschinus, are also among those utilised by Hylaeus and other closely

82 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

related colletids as pollen and nectar sources (Armstrong 1979). The floral

associations shared between Scrobiger and Hylaeus suggest the possibility

that a predator/prey relationship could also exist between them via the first

mentioned oviposition strategy (i.e. ovipositing directly onto flowers).

According to the Australian Native Bee Research Centre (ANBRC 2006a, b),

the profile of Australian native bees as a sustainable alternative to Apis

mellifera for honey production and crop pollination has, in recent years,

grown among backyard gardeners, cottage industry honey producers and

progressive horticulturalists. Such a trend must naturally drive a need for

increased knowledge of pathogens, diseases and predators of the native

Australian apifauna. Regardless of whether Hylaeus spp., specifically, are of

commercial interest or not, there is evidence that Scrobiger contains species

that are likely predators of native bees in Australia. Yet it remains unclear

whether Scrobiger are specialist bee predators in the manner of Trichodes

and Lecontella, or are merely opportunists, exploiting the inhabitants of the

artificial nest. Discovery of S. splendidus eggs or immature stages would help

to clarify the specific nature of this association.

Acknowledgements

I thank Murdoch De Baar for bringing the clerid specimens to my attention.

The original draft manuscript benefited from the helpful suggestions of

Trevor Lambkin, Shaun Winterton, Steven Rice (all of the Queensland

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries), Murdoch De Baar and an

anonymous reviewer.

References

ANBRC. 2006a. Honey production with stingless native bees [web resource]. [Accessed

10/09/2007]. Aussie Bee - The Australian Native Bee Research Centre homepage,

hitp://www.zeta.org.au/~anbrc/honeyproduction.html

ANBRC. 2006b. Crop pollination with native bees [web resource]. [Accessed 10/09/2007].

Aussie Bee - The Australian Native Bee Research Centre homepage,

http://www.zeta.org.au/~anbrc/croppollination.html

ARMSTRONG, J.A. 1979. Biotic pollination mechanisms in the Australian flora — a review.

New Zealand Journal of Botany 17: 467-508.

BROOKS, J.G. 1969. North Queensland Coleoptera. Their food or host plants. Part IV. North

Queensland Naturalist 36(149): 3-5.

CORPORAAL, J.B. 1950. Coleopterorum Catalogus Supplementa. Pars 23: (Editio secunda).

Cleridae. Dr. W. Junk, ’s-Gravenhage.

DAVIES, H.G., EVES, J.D. and McDONOUGH, L.M. 1979. Trap and synthetic lure for the

checkered flower beetle, a serious predator of alfalfa leafcutting bees. Environmental

Entomology 8: 147-149.

DAVIES, H.G., GEORGE, D.A., MCDONOUGH, L.M., TAMAKI, G. and BURDITT, A.K. Jr.

1983. Checkered flower beetle (Coleoptera: Cleridae) attractant: development of an effective

bait. Journal of Economic Entomology 76: 674-675.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 83

ELIASON, E.A. and POTTER, D.A. 2000. Biology of Callirhytis cornigera (Hymenoptera:

Cynipidae) and the arthropod community inhabiting its galls. Environmental Entomology 29:

551-559.

FAITHFULL, I. 1994. Biology and distribution of Trogodendron fasciculatum (Schreibers)

(Coleoptera: Cleridae), a mimic of Fabriogenia sp. (Hymenoptera:. Pompilidae: Pepsinae).

Victorian Entomologist 24: 8-19.

GERSTMEIER, R. 2000. Aktueller Stand der Buntkafer-Forschung (Coleoptera, Cleridae,

Thanerocleridae). Entomologica Basiliensia 22: 169-178.

HAWKESWOOD, T.J. 1981. Insect pollination of Angophora woodsiana F.M: Bail.

(Myrtaceae) at Burbank, south-east Queensland. Victorian Naturalist 98: 120-129.

LINSLEY, E.G. and MacSWAIN, J.W. 1943. Observations on the life history of Trichodes

ornatus (Coleoptera, Cleridae), a larval predator in the nests of bees and wasps. Annals of the

Entomological Society of America 36: 589-601.

MATTHEWS, E.G. 1992. A guide to the genera of beetles of South Australia. Part 6. Polyphaga:

Lymexyloidea, Cleroidea and Cucujoidea. South Australian Museum Special Educational

Bulletin Series 9: 1-75.

MAWDSLEY, J.R. 2002. Comparative ecology of the genus Lecontella Wolcott and Chapin

(Coleoptera: Cleridae: Tillinae), with notes on chemically defended species of the beetle family

Cleridae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 104: 164-167.

McKEOWN, K.C. 1938. Notes on Australian Cerambycidae, IV. Records of the Australian

Museum 20: 200-216.

NEW, T.R. 1978. Notes on the biology of Lemidia subaenea (Coleoptera: Cleridae) on Acacia in

Victoria. Australian Entomological Magazine 5: 21-22.

WAINER, J.W. 1979. Coleoptera of Little Desert — Part 1. Victorian Entomologist 9: 42-43.

84 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

ADDITIONS TO A RECENT CHECKLIST OF THE FRUIT FLIES

(DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) OF NEW CALEDONIA

C. MILLE! and D.L. HANCOCK?

‘Institut Agronomique néo-Calédonien, Station de Recherches Fruitiéres de Pocquereux,

Laboratoire d’Entomologie Appliquée, BP 32, 98880 La Foa, New Caledonia

PO Box 2464, Cairns, Old 4870

Abstract

Euphranta marina Permkam & Hancock, Philophylla millei Han & Norrbom and Oedaspis

ouinensis Hancock are added to the most recent list of New Caledonian fruit flies.

Introduction

Twenty-seven named species of Tephritidae (fruit flies) were recorded from

New Caledonia by Mille (2008). This note records a further three species that

were either unnamed at the time or are newly recorded from the country.

Additions to New Caledonia species list

Euphranta marina Permkam & Hancock

Material examined. NEW CALEDONIA: 3 o'0", 3 99, Bourail Poé [Beach], (Creek

Salé), 21°36712.90"S, 165°22’24.80"E, 26.ii.-2.ii1.2008, S. Cazéres, bred ex

Avicennia marina (in SRFP, La Foa).

Comments. Described by Permkam and Hancock (1995) from coastal areas of

northern and eastern Australia, this mangrove-breeding species is known also

from southern Papua New Guinea. It is newly recorded from New Caledonia.

Philophylla millei Han & Norrbom

Comments. This species was described from the Sarraméa district by Han and

Norrbom (2008). It was previously reported as ‘Anastrephoides sp.’ by

Norrbom and Hancock (2004) and Mille (2008).

Oedaspis ouinensis Hancock

Comments. This species was described from Mount Ouin by Hancock (2008).

It was previously reported as ‘Oedaspis sp.’ by Mille (2008).

References

HAN, H.-Y. and NORRBOM, A.L. 2008. A new species of Philophylla Rondani (Diptera:

Tephritidae: Trypetini) from New Caledonia, recognized based on female postabdominal

structure and molecular sequence data. Zootaxa 1759: 43-50.

HANCOCK, D.L. 2008. A new species of Oedaspis Loew and new records of other fruit flies

(Insecta: Diptera: Tephritidae) from New Caledonia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 52(2):

203-206.

MILLE, C. 2008. Re-assessment of the fauna of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and their host

fruits in New Caledonia. Pp 251-259, in: Grandcolas, P. (ed.), Zoologia Neocaledonica 6.

Biodiversity studies in New Caledonia. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 197.

NORRBOM, A.L. and HANCOCK, D.L. 2004. New species and new records of Tephritidae

(Diptera) from New Caledonia. Bishop Museum Bulletin in Entomology 12: 67-77.

PERMKAM, S. and HANCOCK, D.L. 1995. Australian Trypetinae (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Invertebrate Taxonomy 9: 1047-1209.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2): 85-88 85

ZELOTYPIA STACYI SCOTT (LEPIDOPTERA: HEPIALIDAE)

— A CONSERVATION PERSPECTIVE

MURDOCH DE BAAR! and MICHAEL HOCKEY?

110 Hereford Street, Corinda, Qld 4075 (Email: debaar@powerup.com.au)

PO Box 176, Corinda, Qld 4075 (Email: michael.hockey@miju.com.au)

Abstract

The status of Ze/otypia stacyi Scott in Queensland is examined and its apparent rarity reviewed.

Additional biological notes are included.

Introduction

The bentwing swift moth, Ze/otypia stacyi Scott (Fig. 1), is the largest

Australian hepialid, with adult female wingspans stated to approach 200 mm

(Froggatt 1923), 225 mm (McKeown 1942) or 250 mm (Common 1990). The

last recorded New South Wales specimen is believed to have been collected

in 1966 (Chadwick 1983). In Queensland six specimens are known from

literature (Chadwick 1983, Anonymous 1985). Four of these were collected

over a hundred years ago, the remaining two more recently by the authors

and Judy Grimshaw. This would suggest extreme rarity. However, almost 20

more specimens are known to have been collected during a four year period

from 1978, in the Main Range area of southern Queensland (Hoffmans Falls

at Gambubal and Mt Develin: Chadwick 1990, D. Lane pers. comm.). In

central New South Wales, more unpublished collections occurred in the

1990s (C. Pratt pers. comm.).

Fig. 1. Zelotypia stacyi adult male and exuvium (pupal shell) collected near

Goomburra, Queensland.

86 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

Discussion

A male of Z. stacyi, with a wingspan of 160 mm, was collected near

Goomburra, Queensland by M. Hockey and M. De Baar on 21 March 1985

(Fig. 1). On a subsequent field trip to the same site on 1 April 1985, the

authors extracted a large larva measuring 70 mm and a pupal exuvium

measuring 88 mm from the trunks of Eucalyptus tereticornis; numerous exit

holes were noted. A pupal shell (damaged but measuring about 70 mm) was

extracted from a small Eucalyptus tereticornis (Myrtaceae) at Gambubal,

near Warwick, on 9 August 1985, again by M. Hockey and M. De Baar. We

have also noted exit holes east of Cunningham’s Gap in southern

Queensland, along the old Cunningham’s Gap road.

Tree trunk exit holes indicate that Z. stacyi is not as rare as has been assumed.

Based on the number of exit holes present in southern Queensland habitats

between Goomburra and Gambubal, it is surprising that specimens are not

seen more frequently. The larvae bore in branch stems and trunks, mainly of

Eucalyptus tereticornis, E. grandis and E. saligna, and may approach 130

mm in length. Froggatt (1923) noted that grey gums, Eucalyptus punctata,

were attacked in the Gosford district of New South Wales. Olliff (1887)

recorded one larva, bred to an adult, from ‘black apple tree’ [believed to be

Achras australis, now Planchonella australis (Sapotaceae)]. Larvae have also

been recorded occasionally damaging young trees of Eucalyptus grandis

grown for paper pulp in northern New South Wales (Common 1990).

According to the New South Wales Forest Commission, Z. stacyi is listed

among ‘the most damaging insects in eucalypt forests’ (Stone 1991).

Larval duration is probably at least three years, but possibly up to six years

(Froggatt 1923, Chadwick 1990). Adults have a limited emergence period,

mainly occurring between February and April, which is probably dependent

on specific weather conditions. Froggatt (1923) stated that larvae pupating in

December will emerge in March and the pupa is very active days before

emergence, pushing out the protective wad. Emergences generally occurred

around 3 pm [1500 h] during March in the Newcastle district of New South

Wales (Froggatt 1907). Chadwick (1990) summarised various authors’

statements about the late afternoon timing of emergences. Middleton (1941)

stated that emergences are almost always from 3.30-5.30 pm [1530-1730 h].

Adults are very secretive, are seldom observed and appear reluctant to fly to

light traps.

Our observations in the Goomburra and Mt Develin areas (Main Range,

southern Queensland) indicate that black cockatoos (Psittacidae:

Calyptorhynchus spp.) rip open Z. stacyi tunnels, causing some destruction in

localised patches, when populations of the moth are most active. Middleton

(1941) also noted that black cockatoos are destructive to immatures of this

moth.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 87

Zelotypia stacyi has been collected northwards from Cambewarra Mt north of

Nowra (Middleton 1941), the Newcastle district (Froggatt 1923), Gosford,

Taree, Tyringham via Dorrigo (Middleton 1941) and Tooloom Scrub [noted

in E.J. Dumigan collection] in New South Wales and from the Main Range

area from Goomburra to Gambubal (Anonymous 1985, M. Hockey and M.

De Baar collection data, D. Lane pers. comm.) in southeastern Queensland.

The type locality is Chatham near Manning R. and Taree, New South Wales

(Scott 1869). A female specimen, with a wingspan of 230 mm, was collected

at Binna Burra in the McPherson Range, SE Queensland on 10 March 1997,

after a period of rain (G.B. Monteith pers. comm.).

After observations over many field trips, we noted that larval-activity areas

shift over the larger region, thus giving a perception of population crashes if

research is maintained in a small area. This suggests that large areas of

untouched forest are needed to maintain healthy Z. stacyi populations, as is

the case in southern Queensland along the border ranges through to the Main

Range. Almost the entire area of the Queensland distribution of Z. stacyi lies

within large tracts of connecting State Forests and National Parks along the

border ranges and the Main Range, thus providing a relatively safe haven in

that State. However, this could be a threatening factor in some New South

Wales localities. The phenomenon of larval-activity area-shifts over the

larger region has been noted for another hepialid, Aenetus mirabilis

Rothschild, in northern Queensland by David Lane (pers. comm.).

More research is required before conclusions can be made about this moth

and its rarity. However, because larvae are trunk and occasionally branch

borers and adults are short lived and seldom observed, only occasionally

flying to weak light and emerging in the late afternoon during rain events and

mainly only during two or three months, research projects are consequently

difficult.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Geoff Monteith for Z. stacyi information from Binna Burra

and for reviewing the manuscript, and David Lane for discussions and

specimen label data.

References

ANONYMOUS. 1985. Regional News: Queensland: Forestry Department. News Bulletin of the

Australian Entomological Society 21(2): 43.

CHADWICK, C.E. 1983. Zelotypia stacyi Scott recorded from Queensland. News Bulletin of the

Entomological Society of Queensland 11(6): 87.

CHADWICK, C.E. 1990. A survey of Zelotypia stacyi Scott, 1869 (Lep., Hepialidae) 1865-

1985. Giornale Italiano Entomologia 4: 191-198.

COMMON, I.F.B. 1990. Moths of Australia. Melbourne University Press, Carlton; 535 pp.

FROGGATT, W.W. 1907. Australian insects. William Brooks & Co., Sydney.

FROGGATT, W.W. 1923. Forest insects of Australia. Government Printer, Sydney.

88 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

McKEOWN, K.C. 1942. Australian insects, an introductory handbook. Australian Zoological

Society, Sydney.

MIDDLETON, B.L. 1941. Notes on the bent-wing moth (Leto stacyi Scott). Australian

Naturalist 10: 270-272.

OLLIFF, A.S. 1887. Notes on Zelotypia stacyi and an account of a variety. Proceedings of the

Linnean Society of New South Wales 2(3): 467-470.

SCOTT, A.W. 1869. Description of a new species belonging to the family Hepialidae.

Transactions of the Entomological Society of New South Wales 2: 36-39.

STONE, C. 1991. Insect attack of eucalypt plantations and regrowth forests in New South Wales

— a discussion paper. Forestry Commission of New South Wales Forest Resources Series No. 17:

12 pp.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2): 89-95 89

BUFFEL GRASS (CENCHRUS CILIARIS L.) IS A HOST FOR THE

SUGARCANE WHITEFLY NEOMASKELLIA BERGI (SIGNORET)

(HEMIPTERA: ALEYRODIDAE) IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA

CHRISTOPHER M. PALMER

Biodiversity Conservation, Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment,

the Arts and Sport, PO Box 1120, Alice Springs, NT 0871

(Email: christopher.palmer@nt.gov.au)

Abstract

Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) is an introduced pasture plant that occurs over much of

central Australia. The effects of buffel grass on invertebrate diversity in Australia are largely

unknown. The sugarcane whitefly, Neomaskellia bergii (Signoret), was discovered infesting

buffel grass at several sites in Alice Springs during May and June 2008. The current study is the

first record of N. bergii in central Australia and the first time that buffel grass has been recorded

as a host plant for this species in this country.

Introduction

Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) (Poaceae) is a pasture plant native to

Africa, southern parts of Asia and India (Lazarides et al. 1997). Although

knowledge of the entry of this species into Australia is incomplete, what is

established is its accidental introduction into northwestern Western Australia

in the 1870s (Marriott 1955). This was followed by deliberate sowing

throughout Queensland and New South Wales from the 1920s to the 1960s

(Allen 1956, Flemons and Whalley 1958, Humphreys 1967) and in northern

parts of the Northern Territory in the 1950s and 1960s (Cameron et al. 1984).

The first recorded presence of buffel grass in central Australia was of a

specimen identified from Alice Springs (White 1930) and, following trials

(e.g. Winkworth 1963), plantings were conducted in this area throughout the

1960s and 1970s for pasture improvement, prevention of soil erosion and

dust control (Keetch 1981, Allan 1997). Buffel grass has spread widely from

these introduction points and now occurs across all land tenures in central

Australia (Puckey and Albrecht 2004). With this expansion there has been a

concomitant reduction in biodiversity and alteration of fire regimes. For

example, Franks (2002) and Jackson (2005) demonstrated that native plant

species richness was lower in C. ciliaris-dominated sites than in sites without

cover or with reduced cover of C. ciliaris in Queensland. The same result

occurred in Alice Springs (Clarke et al. 2005). In addition, Miller (2003)

found that buffel grass invasion in central Australia was significantly

correlated with increased fuel load and burn severity. Overseas studies have

also reported displacement of native vegetation and reduced plant and animal

species diversity in areas where buffel grass predominates (e.g. Flanders et

al. 2006).

While the effects of buffel grass on floral diversity and landscape ecology are

becoming increasingly understood, there is very little information on its

effects on invertebrate biodiversity in Australia and, especially, on the

90 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

identity and provenance of invertebrate species supported by buffel grass. In

May 2008, several populations of the sugarcane whitefly, Neomaskellia

bergii (Signoret), were discovered on uncultivated buffel grass plants

growing at one site in Alice Springs. Further surveys were conducted to

determine the extent of the distribution of N. bergii in Alice Springs.

133°50'0°E 133°52'0"E 133°54'0"E

23°40°0"S:

23°42'0°S.

wile L//

` MACDONNELL RANGES

23°44'0"S

23*46'0"S

AIRPORT

23°48'0"S

Fig. 1. Map of the Alice Springs area, showing the distribution (e) of the sugarcane

whitefly, Neomaskellia bergii, in June 2008.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 91

Results

Sampling revealed the presence of Neomaskellia bergii at fifteen sites in

Alice Springs (Fig. 1). Only three of the eighteen targeted sites did not yield

whitefly populations. All plants supporting whitefly populations were

uncultivated and grew close to a water source such as stormwater pipe drains

or, more commonly, in well-watered ornamental situations such as parks and

gardens. Each site comprised between one and thirty colonised plants.

All life history stages (adults, larvae, eggs) of N. bergii were usually present

on each leaf (Fig. 2), although occasionally single adults or adults with eggs

only were observed on leaves. All individuals were crowded on the ventral

surface of the leaf blade (Fig. 3), near the junction with the sheath. Most of

the whitefly populations were tended by ants from one or more of the genera

Camponotus Mayr, Iridomyrmex Mayr and Solenopsis Westwood. Whiteflies

were not observed on native grasses (Dicanthium, Enneapogon,

Enteropogon) growing adjacent to or among Cenchrus ciliaris plants

harbouring populations of N. bergii.

Discussion

Neomaskellia bergii is widely distributed throughout the Afrotropical,

Australian, Oriental and eastern Palaearctic regions (Mound and Halsey

1978). Outside Australia it is known from a wide variety of host plants

belonging to the family Poaceae, such as Bambusa sp. (bamboo), C. ciliaris,

Panicum maximum (guinea grass), Paspalum conjugatum (sourgrass),

Pennisetum spp., Saccharum officinarum (sugar cane), Setaria italica (Italian

millet, foxtail millet) and Sorghum spp (Mound and Halsey 1978).

In Australia, N. bergii has been known from coastal Queensland for almost

100 years, where it colonises Saccharum officinarum, Setaria palmifolia

(palm grass) and Sorghum bicolor (Carver and Reid 1996, Martin 1999).

Despite its long history in Queensland, circumstantial evidence suggests that

N. bergii is unlikely to be an Australian native, as none of the known host

species are native to Australia. This species was first collected from sugar

cane near Cairns in 1918 (Carver and Reid 1996) and may have been

introduced into Queensland soon after sugar cane was first cultivated in that

area.

Based on recent collection records, the distribution of N. bergii is expanding.

Locality data show that specimens were collected from sorghum in Quilpie,

southwestern Queensland in 1993 (the only other record from inland

Australia) and the species has more recently been collected from Paspalum

scrobiculatum (kodo millet, scrobic) in Darwin (Anon. 2001). The current

study provided the first record of N. bergii from central Australia and this is

the first time that buffel grass has been recorded as a host plant for this

species in Australia.

92 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

Figs 2-3. Colonies of sugarcane whitefly on buffel grass. (2) eggs, larvae and one

adult N. bergii on the leaf blade; scale bar = 1 mm. (3) typical clustering of adults,

larvae and eggs of N. bergii on the ventral surface of leaf blades; also visible are ants

from the genus Jridomyrmex tending whiteflies.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 93

As the sugarcane whitefly has been found at multiple sites, it has probably

been present in Alice Springs for some time. With such a large reservoir of

populations, other localities in central Australia are also likely to be colonised

by this species, but only where sufficient moisture can maintain growth of

buffel grass for prolonged periods of time, such as beside waterholes, creeks

and stormwater drains, as well as near human dwellings. Inadequate rainfall

in the arid zone means that such situations would be sparse; however, the

potential for N. bergii to colonise areas following periods of above average

rainfall is probably high.

Crowding under leaf blades and ant-attendance are distinctive features of

both species of Neomaskellia Quaintance & Baker (Martin 1999).. The

presence of all life history stages in most surveyed populations indicates that

the species is continually breeding on buffel grass.

The only other insect known to regularly utilise buffel grass as a host in

Australia is the buffel grass seed caterpillar, Mampava rhodoneura (Turner)

(Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), which also occurs in Queensland and which webs

together the plumes of seed coats before feeding on the seeds (Cantrell 1981).

In this way, seed yield can be significantly reduced (Cantrell 1981, Common

1990). Although N. bergii is usually considered to be a minor pest of

sugarcane, it has infested the Queensland crop in large numbers (Mungomery

1930) and populations in India have caused stunting and malformation of

Italian millet as well as the development of sooty mould (Vasantharaj and

Raghunath 1977). The current investigation has shown that, in this case,

buffel grass has had a negative effect on biodiversity by supporting a species

which is most likely introduced and which affects agricultural, horticultural

and natural environments. Buffel grass has also had negative effects on

invertebrate diversity in semi-arid regions of other countries, where

infestations have led to reduced abundance of arthropods in the U.S.A.

(Flanders et al. 2006) and likely alteration of ant community composition in

Mexico (Bestelmeyer and Schooley 1999).

Acknowledgements

I thank Tim Collins (Alice Springs Desert Park) for first noticing the

presence of whiteflies, for assisting with fieldwork and for his help with

Figures 2 and 3. Carly Steen (NT Parks and Wildlife Services, Alice Springs)

kindly produced much of Figure 1. Laurence Mound (CSIRO Entomology,

Canberra) reviewed the manuscript, for which I am grateful.

References

ALLAN, C. 1997. A brief history of buffel grass in central Australia. Alice Springs Rural Review

27(9): 2.

ALLEN, G.H. 1956. A new buffel grass for Queensland farmers. Queensland Agricultural

Journal 82(4): 187-188.

94 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

ANON. 2001. Technical Annual Report 2000/01. Technical Bulletin 295. Northern Territory

Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries and Mines, Darwin; 303 pp.

BESTELMEYER, B.T. and SCHOOLEY, R.L. 1999. The ants of the southern Sonoran desert:

community structure and the role of trees. Biodiversity and Conservation 8: 643-657.

CAMERON, A.G., MILLER, I.L., HARRISON, P.G. and FRITZ, R.J. 1984. A review of pasture

plant introduction in the 600-1500mm rainfall zone of the Northern Territory. Technical Bulletin

71. Northern Territory Department of Primary Production, Darwin; 81 pp.

CANTRELL, B. 1981. A new insect pest for Queensland. News Bulletin of the Entomological

Society of Queensland 9(4): 56-57.

CARVER, M. and REID, I.A. 1996. Aleyrodidae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) of Australia:

systematic catalogue, host plant spectra, distribution, natural enemies and biological control.

CSIRO Division of Entomology Technical Paper 37. CSIRO, Canberra; 55 pp.

CLARKE, P.J., LATZ, P.K. and ALBRECHT, D.E. 2005. Long-term changes in semi-arid

vegetation: invasion of an exotic perennial grass has larger effects than rainfall variability.

Journal of Vegetation Science 16: 237-248.

COMMON, LF.B. 1990. Moths of Australia. Melbourne University Press, Carlton; 535 pp.

FLANDERS, A.A., KUVLESKY, W.P., RUTHVEN, D.C., ZAIGLIN, R.E., BINGHAM, R.L.,

FULBRIGHT, T.E., HERNANDEZ, F. and BRENNAN, L.A. 2006. Effects of invasive exotic

grasses on south Texas rangeland breeding birds. The Auk 123(1): 171-182.

FLEMONS, K.F. and WHALLEY, R.D. 1958. Buffel grass Cenchrus ciliaris. Agricultural

Gazette of New South Wales 69(9): 449-460.

FRANKS, A.J. 2002. The ecological consequences of buffel grass Cenchrus ciliaris

establishment within remnant vegetation of Queensland. Pacific Conservation Biology 8: 99-

107.

HUMPHREYS, L.R. 1967. Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) in Australia. Tropical Grasslands

1(2): 123-134.

JACKSON, J. 2005. Is there a relationship between herbaceous species richness and buffel grass

(Cenchrus ciliaris)? Austral Ecology 30: 505-517.

KEETCH, R.I. 1981. Rangeland rehabilitation in central Australia. Conservation Commission

of the Northern Territory, Alice Springs; 32 pp.

LAZARIDES, M., COWLEY, K. and HOHNEN, P. 1997. CSIRO Handbook of Australian

weeds. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne; 264 pp.

MARRIOTT, S.J. 1955. Buffel grass. Journal of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science

27: 277-278.

MARTIN, J.H. 1999. The whitefly fauna of Australia (Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae): a

taxonomic account and identification guide. CSIRO Entomology Technical Paper 38. CSIRO,

Canberra; 197 pp.

MILLER, G. 2003. Ecological impacts of buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) invasion in central

Australia — does field evidence support a fire-invasion feedback? Honours thesis, University of

New South Wales, Sydney.

MOUND, L.A. and HALSEY, S.H. 1978. Whitefly of the World: a systematic catalogue of the

Aleyrodidae (Homoptera) with host plant and natural enemy data. British Museum (Natural

History) and John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK; 340 pp.

Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2) 95

MUNGOMERY, R.W. 1930. Report by assistant entomologist at Bundaberg and Mackay. 30th

Annual Report. Queensland Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations, Brisbane.

PUCKEY, H. and ALBRECHT, D. 2004. Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.): presenting the arid

Northern Territory experience to our South Australian neighbours. Plant Protection Quarterly

19(2): 69-72.

VASANTHARAJ, D.R. and RAGHUNATH, T.A.V.S. 1977. The occurrence of the sugarcane

whitefly Neomaskellia bergii Signoret on Italian millet. Entomologists Newsletter 7(7/8): 34.

WHITE, C.T. 1930. Answers to correspondents. Buffel grass. Queensland Agricultural Journal

34: 96-97.

WINKWORTH, R.E. 1963. The germination of buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) seed after burial

in a central Australian soil. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal

Husbandry 3: 326-328.

96 Australian Entomologist, 2009, 36 (2)

AN EXAMPLE OF INTERGENERIC PAIRING IN THE DANAINAE

(LEPIDOPTERA: NYMPHALIDAE)

R.S. MILLER! and C. PARKER?

'3 Somerset Close, Bentley Park, Old 4869

?12 Parklea Esplanade, Mountain Creek, Qld 4557

Abstract

An intergeneric pairing between Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus) and Tirumala hamata (W.S.

Macleay) is reported and illustrated from southeastern Queensland.

Observation

In late March 2005, while walking through the Great Sandy National Park

(Cooloola section) in southeastern Queensland, we observed and

photographed (Fig. 1) the danaine butterflies Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus)

and Tirumala hamata (W.S. Macleay) in copula. D. plexippus males are

known to mate aggressively and force copulation. The specimens were not

collected as a photograph was considered a higher priority; hence there was

no opportunity to determine whether any progeny might have resulted from

this intergeneric pairing.

Fig. 1. Danaus plexippus [male] and Tirumala hamata [presumed female] in copula at

Cooloola, Queensland.

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THE AUSTRALIAN

Entomologist

Volume 36, Part 2, 10 June 2009

CONTENTS

BARTLETT, J.S.

Scrobiger splendidus (Newman) (Coleoptera: Cleridae) associated with

Hylaeus sp. (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) in southeastern Queensland.

BRABY, M.F.

The life history and biology of Fuploea alcathoe enastri Fenner

(Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) from northeastern Arnhem Land, Northern

Territory, Australia.

DE BAAR, M. AND HOCKEY, M.

Zelotypia stacyi Scott (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) - a conservation

perspective.

HANCOCK, D.L.

Additions and amendments to a recent classification of Dacus Fabricius

(Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae).

MEMZ, M.H.N.

New records of Hypolimnas bolina nerina (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera:

Nymphalidae) from the Pilbara region, Western Australia.

MILLE, C. AND HANCOCK, D.L.

Additions to a recent checklist of the fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) of

New Caledonia.

MILLER, R.S. AND PARKER, C.

An example of intergeneric pairing in the Danainae (Lepidoptera:

Nymphalidae).

PALMER, C.M.

Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) is a host for the sugarcane whitefly

Neomaskellia bergii (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae in central

Australia.

SAMSON, P.R.

A comparison of the immature stages of Hypochrysops apollo apollo and

H. a. phoebus (Waterhouse) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae).

VALENTINE, P.S. AND JOHNSON, S.J.

The complete life history of Charaxes Jatona Butler (Lepidoptera:

Nymphalidae) from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. 63

ISSN 1320 6133 ENTO