PLANNING AND ORGANIZING COMMITTEE 2009

President:

Vice President:

Treasurer:

Secretary:

Newsletter:

Publicity & Library

Excursion Convenor:

Ross Kendall 07 3378 1187

John Moss 07 3245 2997

Rob MacSloy 07 3824 4348

Peter Hendry 07 3206 0048

Daphne Bowden (daphne.bowden1 @bigpond.com)07 3396 6334

Lois Hughes 07 3206 6229

Alisha Steward 07 3275 1186

PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION MEETINGS

A quarterly meeting is scheduled in order to plan club activities and the magazine.

See BOIC Programme.

CONTACT ADDRESS AND MEMBERSHIP DETAILS

PO Box 2113, Runcorn, Queensland 4113

Membership fees are $25 for individuals, schools and organizations.

AIMS OF ORGANIZATION

e To establish a network of people growing butterfly host plants;

e To hold information meetings about invertebrates;

e To organize excursions around the theme of invertebrates e.g. butterflies, native

bees, ants, dragonflies, beetles, freshwater habitats, and others;

e To promote the conservation of the invertebrate habitat;

e To promote the keeping of invertebrates as alternative pets;

e To promote research into invertebrates;

e To encourage the construction of invertebrate friendly habitats in urban areas.

MAGAZINE DEADLINES

If you want to submit an item for publication the following deadlines apply:

March issue — February 21° June issue — May 21°

September issue — August 21° December issue — November 21°

Macleay’s Spectre (Extatosoma tiaratum tiaratum) - Painting by Lois Hughes. Prints

of this painting may be available from the artist. Ph. 07 3206 6229

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 2

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Over half a century ago, one of my teachers quoted a (possibly unoriginal) saying,

which went “The more we know, the more we don’t know.” At the time, I probably

thought that he was playing with words but, while I cannot remember his name, I

have never forgotten the words of this seemingly paradoxical saying. But how true it

is that, as we acquire information and understanding of the world of invertebrates, so

too do we come to realise that there is so much more to learn. I am sure you will find

new information in this edition that will perhaps lead you to look for further

information to share with others in the future.

Thanks to all who have written articles for this edition of our magazine. Being more a

butterfly and moth person by inclination, I have always looked at stick insects as

rather ugly, ungainly creatures but have been persuaded that they have their own

particular attraction after reading the various contributions. I am sure you will also

find it a delight to read Andrew Atkins’ article on the boat-building caterpillar and

Densey Clyne’s account of the pursuit of forensic evidence on the activities of a

Mason Wasp. Then there 1s the “basket weaving” caterpillar and Cycads with the

“blues” and more.....

We have experienced an increasing number of requests to mount information displays

for various public events and I am sure that our displays do make a positive

contribution. Unfortunately, the task is carried out by a relatively small number of

members and we have been unable to meet all requests. Should you be able to spare a

day or two per year to help out, I would really like to hear from you.

Best wishes Ross

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At the Light Trap - Some notable Geometridae 2.0.0.0... cceesccccessececeeececeeeceeeeeceeeeeees 22

Book Review - The Complete Field Guide to Stick and Leaf Insects of Australia..... 25

Excursion Reports - Mt Cotton - 7" February 2009 .......cccccccccesscceseesssesceseeceeeeceeeees 28

Jak and Ginny Guyomar's Conservation Set-up - 14'" March'09 29

Report - B.C.C. CitySmart Neighbourhood Fair - 26" April 2009 wo... cceeeeeeeeeeeeee 31

Petters aid VOW ASSET oF ness ous ha uvete ventieen laaanege vorlghtan anusathvestiiens Pessnebenesiiteen Leseenteneieanieels 32

Mystery Insect - Pupal cage-like cocoon Of CYAN MEYIICKL .......ccc cece ccccte cc ceeteeeeete eens 33

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club 453 7 Page 3

CREATURE FEATURE

Spiny Stick-insect/Macleay’s Spectre (Extatosoma tiaratum

tiaratum) — Lois Hughes

“What is that?” my husband remarked while examining the leaves of our small

tropical apple tree.

I’ve come to expect the unexpected and unusual, especially when out and about on

our property but some creatures defy the imagination they are so awesomely put

together. The insect we had just discovered was one such creature. Had I not seen

one recently at our committee meeting I would never have believed such a fearsome

looking creature existed and certainly wouldn’t have been so delighted or even

considered handling it!

With abdomen curled scorpion-like over her back, was hanging a perfectly

camouflaged female Spiny Stick-insect. Two-toned green, just like the leaves, she

had what resembled torn leaves on her legs and parts of her body which was also

adorned with red thorny spines.

Some thorny spines were strategically positioned on her legs, a trap for the unwary

should she choose to suddenly defend herself by snapping her legs closed upon

intruding fingers. With only small leaf-like rudimentary wings and unable to fly, this

was really her only defence other than dropping to the ground and feigning death.

Her conical head resembled a push-bike rider’s helmet adorned with red spines.

Nearby we located a miniature version about 2 cm long, presumably her offspring.

Surprisingly, she showed no resistance as I lifted her gingerly onto my hand and then

transferred them both to one of the large coolite boxes with a mesh lid in which I

hand rear caterpillars, adding apple tree branches for food and support. I situated the

box atop the large insect enclosure

by the back door.

After handling them I detected an

unfamiliar odour on my hands, not

unpleasant but difficult to identify.

A lemony smell, perhaps with a hint

of honey, somewhat like squashed

Marsh Fly!

The very next afternoon we

discovered a male Spiny Stick-

insect beneath a leaf which was

overhanging the female’s box. I

was impressed by his ability to

Slender, brown, fully winged male Macleay’s Spectre

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 4

locate them. Was it the scent I had found on my hands that beckoned him?

Unlike the plump green body of

the female, his was a dark

mottled brown, slender with full

length wings which he fanned

out, revealing delicate mottling

when I took hold of him. His

head was similarly conical and

spined but with very long

antennae. His legs also

resembled torn leaves.

Introducing the male to the

females completed the family

and he lost no time 1n getting up

Claiming his prize. The male has found his perfect match close and personal and was

mating with the adult female next

morming. These events occurred from 6" December 2008.

I added Guava, Raspberry, Eucalyptus, Black Wattle and Banksia Rose to their diet

and they thrived, the adult female becoming extremely heavy as can be seen from the

cover illustration. An interesting observation was the colour of her frass. It ranged

from black to very dark brown through to light tan and dark grey through to pale

grey-green. In the past I have made dyes from vegetation to colour wool I had spun

and was surprised by the resultant colours. Green doesn’t necessarily produce green.

Could these plants produce the variety of colours, as dye, I had seen in her frass’?

The small green nymph shed her

final skin on the 14" January

2009 and was found mating on

the 19" February 2009. She was

given her own male companion

after a gift of one from a fellow

club member. She hasn’t grown

as large as the other adult and

Surprisingly is now a beautiful

creamy yellow on her extremities

with pale green and yellow on her

body.

“.

Colour change now mature, this nymph is yellow

The larger female is a prolific egg and green

producer. Her numerous small

oval-shaped eggs are a speckled brown with a distinctively shaped whitish mark

down one side and with a turret-like knob atop. These are just flicked to the ground

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 5

and are attracting ants. None of

their eggs have hatched as yet as

they can remain dormant for

between five and nineteen months.

I do have the pleasure of raising

these nymphs after a gift from a

friend. The greatest challenge was

in transferring them into their new

home as, like turbo-charged black

ants, they scurried 1n all directions,

tail curled over their backs, intent

on going anywhere else but into the

cage. Once enclosed, changing their leaves produced similar problems and it wasn’t

unusual to find them outside the enclosure and on the container of leaves atop the

cage left for such a purpose.

Nymph’s antics, displaying colour variation

Dark brown or black with tan head and whitish collar, they soon moult, displaying the

conical head, some the broader body with scalloped edges like the female - really cute

miniature adults. A couple are still

very dark with the remainder various

shades of pale or yellowish-brown,

with mottled legs.

The larger adult female “Spiny”

stopped eating and died on the 30"

March 2009, although she hadn’t

exhibited any of the signs of ageing

that a female Goliath did. I wondered

if internal parasites are a health

hazard for phasmids. The adult males

are still alive and well at the time of

writing, 15" May 2009.

Phasmid eggs — 1. Goliath (Eurycnema goliath) 2. I have many Spiny Stick-insect eggs

Children’s (Tropidoderus childrenii) 3. Macleay’s which I am willing to share with

Spectre (Extatosoma tiaratum) (S.E.QId.)

Image © Courtesy Queensland Museum, Jeff interested and committed people who

Wright will give them the care they require,

as well as some Goliath nymphs in

To Mr. & Mrs. Spiny on 23.5.09, a nymph of 5 various stages of growth.

months incubation. Head and thorax dark to

light tan. Abdomen black. A little ripper! Photos : Peter Hendry

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 6

PRESIDENT’S REPORT FOR AGM 4" APRIL 2009

A year ago we had begun to explore the issue of a name change for the Club’s

Newsletter. Many members will be aware that after a series of consultations and

discussions we finally decided on the new name and I again thank those who made

contributions and suggestions.

The publication of “Metamorphosis Australia” in colour has been very well received

and I assure you that problems with printing which led to some images being poorly

reproduced on paper have been addressed and we do not expect those problems to

reoccur. I again thank all those who have submitted articles for publication in the last

year and encourage members to continue submitting items of interest for publication

in the coming year. On a technical note, images are best sent as high-resolution JPG

files.

We have again been fortunate to receive a grant of $1600.00 from Brisbane City

Council to assist in meeting our printing costs and I wish to publicly thank them for

their generosity.

I am sometimes asked how many members there are in the Club. Those of you who

receive the membership directory in March will have an approximate idea of the

numbers. Currently we have 240 members. This is a 25% increase on last year’s

number.

There have been several successful outings during the year but I invite you to contact

us with further ideas at any time.

Our two big public functions are at IndigiScapes in June and the Society for Growing

Australian Plants show at the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens in September. These

provide us with the opportunity to make contact with the wider community and to

raise some funds mainly through the sale of books and plants. In the last year, we

also conducted several displays in conjunction with local councils.

I must thank members of the planning committee for their continuing support and

valuable contributions: Alicia for her happy disposition and the organization of

excursions; Daphne for the enormous task of publishing the magazine, her

maintenance of membership records, the sending and receiving of emails, potting of

hundreds of vines and her seemingly infinite reserves of patience; John for his careful

attention to scientific detail and accuracy; Lois for her wonderful artwork and

cheerful nature; Peter for his cheerful secretarial memos and moth articles; Rob for

his meticulous keeping of our financial records. I look forward to another successful

year.

Ross

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 wt Page 7

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Notes on Kirby’s Stick-insect; the master of camouflage?

Jack W. Hasenpusch: & Paul D. Brock:

Introduction

Very little is known about Kirby’s Stick-insect

Xeroderus kirbii Gray, 1835, one of the rarest of

Australian phasmids. This winged species 1s rather

distinctive, with lateral lobes on its abdominal

segments; they have a remarkable camouflage,

even compared with other stick insects. These

notes add a little to our knowledge of these insects.

Known information

Gray described this species from Australia, without

locality (type specimens can be seen at

http://phasmida.speciesfile.org go to search, taxon

and type: kirbu, then click on the photos).

Our new book ‘The Complete Field Guide to Stick

and Leaf Insects’ (by Brock & Hasenpusch, Aeroderus kirbii male from

CSIRO Publishing, 2009) summarises what is et

known, 1.e. this species is rarely found in rainforest, both coastal and inland, from

Rockhampton to north of Cooktown in northern Queensland, also occasionally in

south-east Queensland, for example: Coolum, Fraser Island, Gin Gin and Noosa

(Marcus Beach). From collecting data, a link with Melaleuca forest was expected.

> >

= “

<.- .: ian ~ Medium-sized, males are 60-70mm in body length,

: ‘4 females 85-97mm, rather mottled in colour. When

disturbed, a spectacular startle display reveals

erayish-brown hind wings, with reddish inner

margin. Up until the beginning of 2009, this species

has mainly been known from males occasionally

attracted to light, and a few specimens in collections,

mainly in Australian museums. Females appeared to

be remarkably rare, with the well known naturalist

Harry Frauca reporting in a newspaper in 1969 with

the headline ‘This stick insect has never been

recorded’. He figured an adult female (but found

both sexes), on a bloodwood tree [Corymbia] 1n the

Takilberan Range northwest of Gin Gin, and stated

Sasi dame hinds Tan ale tron ‘it 1s almost impossible to see as it rests on a tree

Garradunga trunk’. There is also a good illustration of a female

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 8

from Townsville on Swamp Box, Lophostemon suaveolens, see

http://gvcocks.homeip.net/Phasmatodea/Xeroderus_kirbu.htm .

New information

The first author’s sharp eyesight spotted a

female on 2" February 2009 on a tree trunk,

which has solved a mystery as to which phasmid

eggs had recently been collected in traps laid

underneath large Backhousia trees in his

rainforest plot at Garradunga, near Innisfail [an

area well known not only for recently described

phasmids, but also its varied and rich insect

fauna]. Regarded as a special little place in the

rainforest site, the enormous basket ferns in the

Seoncidorus dich ses. devsaliess trees would make ideal habitat for any egg

lateral xaeuis ensuring future generations. Musky Rat

Kangaroo burrows in the roots would also be a

haven for any eggs. From the egg traps, 1t is known

that at least some eggs of this species fall to the

eround and we probably have a cyclone to thank for

this rare specimen; 300mm of rain fell the previous

night, probably dislodging the female from the

canopy. Both sexes are almost totally flat on the

underside and the abdominal flanges look like little

bracket fungi growing in a row. Nearly always

found on tree trunks, the camouflage as shown in

the figures 1s quite remarkable. The trees mentioned

above all belong to the myrtle family Myrtaceae.

There are many recognised species 1n the family,

most of which are endemic to Australia and it 1s

likely that Xeroderus kirbii may feed on various Viet F

plants. The unusually shaped egg is figured for the Xeroderus kirbii female, close up

first time and will be described in a forthcoming from Garradunga

paper on the little known subfamily Xeroderinae,

along with eggs of related species. It 1s hoped that rearing this species will provide

further opportunity to study its behaviour.

Photos: Jack Hazenpusch

I Australian Insect Farm, PO Box 26, Garradunga, Nr. Innisfail, Queensland 4860,

Australia. E-mail: info@insectfarm.com.au

72 Greenways Road, Brockenhurst, Hampshire, SO42 7RN, U.K.

E-mail: pauldbrock@btinternet.com

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 9

Update on the Lord Howe Island Stick-insect (Dryococelus

australis) - Patrick Honan

The Lord Howe Island Stick-insect breeding programme continues at Melbourne Zoo

but with fewer individuals than the peak of 500 or more in the last couple of years.

They are being fed mostly Lord Howe Island Melaleuca (Melaleuca howeana) and

Tree Lucerne (Chamaecytisus prolifer), which are using the opportunity of reduced

insect numbers to recuperate for the coming winter. We've trialled about 75 other

species of host plants, with only five or six showing potential as alternative sources of

food, including Moreton Bay Figs (Ficus macrophylla), Roses (Rosa species) and

Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus). There are various degrees of success with food

plants, ranging from the best ones where stick insect mortality 1s low and growth 1s

rapid, to others (such as Lemon Trees (Citrus limon)) where few stick insects will

survive, as mortality may be more than 90% but growth is extremely slow. Plants

currently showing potential 1n food trials include a range of mainland Australian

melaleuca species as well as Guava (Psidium guajava).

The stick insects continue to be one of the most interesting but trickiest of insects to

breed and, being nocturnal, they are also quite tricky to display. A new exhibit was

officially opened by Jane Goodall at Melbourne Zoo late last year, but tweaking of

the display continues. We're also trialling a pilot program of sending the insects out to

schools, with mixed success at the moment - the students are thrilled by each birth

and devastated if the early instars don't survive.

In December last year, 20 stick insects

returned to Lord Howe Island from Melbourne

Zoo to live in a large enclosure within the

plant nursery, there to be viewed by locals and

tourists on the nursery's regular plant tour. To

commemorate the event, the local Member of

Parliament and CEO of the LHI Board put on

a celebration in which local rangers

and schoolchildren gave speeches about their

hopes for the future of the stick insects and the

island's environment. The ABC was there to

film the event and did several stories on the

insects and their fate - 1t was very pleasing to

see the insects being lauded by such a wide

range of people and to see invertebrates being

the impetus for large scale environmental

Pah

Lord Howe Island students and their restoration.

first encounters with the island's

original inhabitants Planning for the eventual return of the insects

_ to Lord Howe Island continues, with the rat

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 10

eradication programme currently scheduled for winter 2011. This will be one of the

largest eradication programmes ever undertaken in the world, but 1s essential if the

insects are to survive 1n their original habitat.

Photo : Patrick Honan

Ed. See earlier article in Issue 45 June 2007

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The Mysterious Cycad Blue Butterfly, 7heclinesthes onycha

(Hewitson [1865]) - John T. St. L. Moss

Background

This interesting butterfly, until 1978, was

confused with the similar 7heclinesthes

miskini, to the extent that their identities had

been reversed! Sibitani and Grund (1978)

recognized this error, corrected it and

described a further subspecies T. onycha

capricornia, which differed from the

nominate subspecies by “the paler, more

uniform, brownish ground colour, weakly

marked dark linings and strongly marked

white linings beneath and (with) more

heavily marked caudal spots”.

Theclinesthes miskini - male

However, Braby (2000) points out that the morphological differences between the

two subspecies are really only evident in the “summer” form. Both subspecies

exhibit “summer” and “winter” forms which he clearly illustrates in the colour plates.

To confuse the picture, as the two subspecies range overlaps in coastal central and

southern Queensland, there are intermediate forms!

In regard to this, Dunn and Dunn (1991) point out that Sibitani and Grund (1978)

‘considered Brisbane material to be transitional but with a greater affinity to T° o.

capricornia’’. Dunn and Dunn (1991) further state that “the transitional region

specified by Sibitani and Grund (1978) between these two subspecies appears

relatively large and it may prove more useful to treat these as local forms”. And to

further confuse the picture they point out that Sibitani and Grund “were unable to

determine to species many specimens of the onycha-miskini species group at the

ANIC (Australian National Insect Collection)”! They then conclude that the “two

species’ need “further taxonomic attention”! !

Braby (2000) appears to be in agreement when he says “the distributions of the two

subspecies are difficult to delineate, and in central and south-eastern Queensland

where their ranges meet there is possibly a cline”. He further states that “it 1s also

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 11

possible that the differences between the northern and southern populations of 7.

onycha are more strongly tied to ecological rather than geographical factors”.

Hostplant preference

Analysis of records of the two subspecies and their presumed host cycads from

specimens in collections (e.g. Queensland Museum, Qld Dept. of Primary Industries

etc.) by Forster and Machin (1994) indicated that the two subspecies may indeed be

separated on their hostplant preferences. From their tabulation it would appear that

the two subspecies are separated by preference for one or other cycad family, 1.e.

Zamiaceae (e.g. Macrozamia species) 1s utilized by 7. o. onycha and Cycadaceae (e.g.

Cycas species) by 7. 0. capricornia. One apparent exception to this (1.e. 7° o.

capricornia larva utilizing Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi at Cooloola was in fact the

nominate subspecies (T.A. Lambkin, pers. comm.). Braby (2000) in fact includes it

as T. o. onycha in his larval food plant listing for this species. Also, the Qld. Museum

specimen, supposedly of an adult 7. 0. capricornia, collected at Mt. Moffatt Central

Queensland by G. Monteith, was tabulated by Forster and Machin opposite

Macrozamia moorei, the only cycad known from this sandstone based area (Megan

Thomas, Qld. Herbarium (pers. comm.). At this time I have not seen the specimen,

the identity of which needs confirming.

I have personally collected T. o.

capricornia on Scawfell Island (55km

southeast of Mackay) where the only

cycad was Cycas media (see Batianoff,

1995), so there was no doubt as to what its

hostplant was. (Moss, 1995). In recent

years I have often come across T. o.

capricornia in open eucalypt forest near

the Perry River south west of Bundaberg.

The larvae (and the larvae of the reddish

orange chrysomelid beetle Lilioceris

nigripes) commonly defoliate new growth

of the uncommon and endangered local Cycad Blue (Lheclinesthes onycha ssp.

eycad Cycas megacarpa, but I have never capricornia) female on Cycas revoluta

found them on the far more common and widespread Macrozamia mountperryensis.

Strangely, the conclusion reached by Forster and Machin (1994), in discussing these

subspecies and the mutualistic chrysomelid beetle Lilioceris nigripes appears to be at

odds with their data. They state “despite the diversity in Australian hosts (Table 1),

there has been no apparent specialisation of the beetle on the butterfly with respect to

the different Australian cycads..”! I am reasonably confident in saying that, to date,

the larvae of presumed 7. 0. capricornia have not been found on Macrozamia nor

Lepidozamia and conversely T. 0. onycha larvae have not been found utilizing Cycas

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 12

species. Braby (2000) also concludes that the two subspecies are separable on their

cycad family host preference, but he also adds “further work 1s needed to determine

the status of these populations”.

Recent developments

I have laboured the above information deliberately because it 1s important and

relevant to recent observations that the butterfly “appears” to have altered its biology.

Since the summer of 2005 there has been a substantial increase 1n the numbers of this

butterfly in Brisbane and elsewhere in southeast Queensland.

For the first time gardeners, council staff, botanists and others are reporting damage

to the exotic Japanese cycad Cycas revoluta which 1s very popular and widely grown

in southeast Queensland. What 1s unusual 1s that C. revoluta has not previously been

reported as a hostplant for this butterfly. Furthermore other gymnosperms outside the

cycad families are reported as being attacked e.g. Don Sands (pers. comm.) reports

the butterfly larvae feeding on young foliage of cultivated Wollemi Pine (Wollemia

nobilis)!

Alan King (pers. comm.) reports that for the last 3 years in Townsville cycads have

also been “hammered” by the butterfly, 1n particular in the city’s lovely Palmetum,

where both Cycas media and C. revoluta are both being utilized. This observation 1s

relevant as it tends to negate one theory for the south east Queensland “invasion”

which supposes that the capricornia subspecies 1s moving into areas where only the

nominate subspecies used occur and where cycad damage (presumably Macrozamia

and Lepidozamia) has been kept to a minimum by the presence of natural predators

and parasites; the supposition :

being that the invading subspecies

had natural protection and/or its

own predators/parasites were

absent in the areas involved.

It is certainly puzzling as to why

the natural predators and parasites

(actually parasitoids) do not

appear, at this time, to be

affecting the butterfly’s

abundance. Have the parasite ~

numbers been kept down by some (Theclinesthes onycha ssp. capricornia)

unknown factor which may be Male Levit — ‘Pemale Kaght

environmentally determined e.g.

climate change effect or are the parasites present but the butterfly has developed some

added resistance? This latter theory has some substance as both Don Sands

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 13

(pers.comm.) and Alan King (pers. comm.) have reported seeing larvae with a

parasitoid load complete full metamorphosis.

I recently received a letter (12'" May’09) from Robert Ham in Cairns commenting that

“Summer of 2008/2009 is the first time I have noticed a lot of feeding on the hard-

leafed cycad (Cycas revoluta) both in my own garden and around the area.

Numerous adults were flying and larvae/pupae present.” This three year delay c.f. the

situation in Townsville and Brisbane is interesting and somewhat puzzling. The plot

thickens!

No doubt with further observation the story will continue to unfold. It would be

useful to follow up the suggestions of Braby and Dunn and Dunn in relation to further

taxonomic work presumably in the area of molecular studies (DNA, RNA etc.) which

has shown to be useful in elucidating the relationships of other lycaenid species

eroups. Any takers?

Acknowledgements

I thank Jak Guyomer, Robert Ham, Alan King, Trevor Lambkin, Dr Don Sands and

Megan Thomas for their observations and comments, Trevor Lambkin for reviewing

the manuscript and Daphne Bowden for her typing skills! Russel Denton provided the

excellent photographs.

References

1. Batianoff, G.N., 1995. Scawfell Island Vascular Plant Catalogue.

QueenslandNaturalist 33 (5-6) : 97-103.

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

distribution. 2 vols. CSIRO, Melbourne.

3. Dunn, K.L. and Dunn, L.E., 1991. Review of Australian Butterflies: distribution,

life history and taxonomy. Part 3, Lycaenidae. Pub. by the authors, Melbourne.

4. Forster, P.I. and Machin, P.J., 1994. Cycad — Host Plants for Lilioceris nigripes

(Fabricius) (Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae) and Theclinesthes onycha (Hewitson)

(Lepidoptera:Lycaenidae) Australian Entomologist 21 (3) : 99-102

5. Moss, J.T. St.L., 1995. Butterfly records from Scawfell Island Queensland, with a

note on the local form of Hesperilla malindeva Lower (Lepidoptera :

Hesperiidae) Queensland Naturalist 33 (5-6) : 124-130

6. Sibatani, A. and Grund, R.B., 1978. A revision of the Theclinesthes onycha

complex (Lepidoptera : Lycaenidae) 7rans. Lep. Soc. Japan 29 : 1-3

Photos : Russel Denton

ok 2K ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok

The Water-borne Voyages of the Orange Swit: ‘Avast me hearties,

amalia armada to starboard’! - Andrew Atkins

Skippers, or indeed other butterflies, are not normally associated with water dispersal,

other than across oceans in migratory flights. However there are a few recorded

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club 453 — Page 14

observations of the larvae of the skipper butterflies cutting their shelters from the

food plant, falling into waterways, and then drifting downstream (eg. Miiller and

Wood, 1999; Braby, 2000).

The practice of larvae cutting their final instar shelters to the ground 1s not

uncommon, but has mainly been observed in the monocotyledon-feeding (grasses,

sedges, bamboo, orchids, palms etc) skippers in the Hesperiinae subfamily, and in

Australia, particularly those recently classified within the Tribes Taractrocerini

(Grass-darts, Palm-darts, Sabera etc) (Quick, 1982, Wood, 1986) and Baorini (Grass-

swifts). The latter tribe includes the genus Parnara, which contains two species,

sometimes called “Rice-swifts’, both of which have larvae that commonly feed on

endemic and introduced rice-grasses (Leersia and Oryza). The genus occurs from

Australia and New Guinea, throughout SE Asia, and the Orient to India.

Parnara amalia (Orange or Hyaline Swift) 1s a locally common species 1n the warmer

regions of eastern Australia,

and is often found close to

swamps. Their larvae usually

eat Leersia hexandra. During a

collection trip to Stanage Bay,

Queensland (see Forbes, G.,

BOIC Newsletter, June 2008

edition) a significant colony of the Orange Swift was found near a coastal fresh water

dam and connecting swamp. Although the adults were scarce, numerous juveniles

were found in tube shelters made within the leaves and grass stems of L. hexandra

erowing in and around the SE a a

waterway and northern edge of the Sg

dam. Further investigation revealed

final instar larvae in small, oblong,

sealed pupal shelters lying loose at

the base of these plants, particularly

on, in or at the edge of the water.

Further out from the shore, some

metres away, several of these shelters were seen floating away, apparently released by

recent heavy rain and aided by water currents and a light breeze. A few of these were

retrieved (using a butterfly net and extension!) and found to contain pre-pupal larvae

and pupae suspended at the rear (cremaster) with silk. Each shelter was somewhat

boat-shaped (see illustration), and watertight, being securely held together with silk

and lined with a waxy secretion of white powder. They floated with about 40-50%

immersion. The orientation of the pupae within was not recorded.

Parnara amalia larva

P. amalia pupa

Initially, because of the variable form of each instar, it was thought that these larvae

may represent two or three species of Baorini or Taractrocerini, but all those reared to

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 15

adults were Orange Swifts. The young larvae were all greenish with variably marked

brown to black hairy heads, however the final instar was quite distinctive with four

pale, almost luminous, bluish-green oval ‘lumps’ above each proleg on either side of

the body (see illustration). These presumably are the wax-glands used to cover the

body and line the inside of the shelter. Apart from the wax-glands (not mentioned by

Braby, 2000) the life history is identical to that of P. bada (Grey Swift).

Is this water-borne pupation strategy a common occurrence? I remember several

years ago reading (source unrecorded) that a species in this genus (probably P. bada)

had been collected from floating pupal shelters 1n rice-paddies in Southeast Asia.

Also the larva of this same species has been observed to cut away its larval/pupal

shelter to drop into water and float away (Braby 2000). I have recently reared adults

of P. amalia and P. bada (and also the taractrocerine skipper Arrhenes marnas

[Swamp Darter]) on a pot-grown L. hexandra, initially all found together in wetlands

at Palmwoods (Sunshine Coast), but they were not tested for flotation of pupal

shelters. Maybe some readers (land-lubbers or sailors alike) might recall other

published material, or have observed this habit’? Undoubtedly the buoyant vessels

would provide short or even long-distant dispersal to other waterlogged areas (or

even out to sea), especially after flooding rains. Do those troublesome ‘pirates’, the

ducks, cormorants, coots, lily-trotters and herons, or frogs and water-dragons know

about this ready-made ‘seafood’ disguised in a neat grass sushi-style package?

Note: The new tribal classification referred to in the text follows the preliminary

DNA research of Warren et al., 2008, which placed all the world’s skipper genera in a

tentative phylogeny (family tree) in which several new tribes were described.

References

BRABY, M.F., 2000. Butterflies of Australia: Their Identification, Biology and

Distribution. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood (Vic.).

FORBES, G., 2008. Report on a field trip to Stanage, Central Coastal Queensland.

Newsletter of the Butterfly & Other Invertebrates Club Inc. 49: 25-26 (June

edition).

MULLER, C.J. and WOOD, G.A. The life history of Sabera fulginosa fulginosa

(Miskin) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) and additional hostplants for other members

of the genus 1n northern Australia. Australian Entomologist 26 (4): 111-114.

QUICK, W.N.B., 1982. Some notes on the early stages of Sabera dobboe autoleon

(Miskin) (Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae). Victorian Entomologist 12 (4): 44-45.

WARREN, A.D., OGAWA, J.R. & BROWER, A.V.Z., 2008. Phylogenetic

relationships of subfamilies and circumscription of the tribes in the family

Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea). Cladistics 24 (2008): 1-35.

WOOD, G.A., 1986. The life history of Sabera caesina albifascia (Miskin)

(Lepidoptera: Hesperiudae: Hesperiinae). Australian Entomological Magazine 12

(6): 112-113. Photos : Wesley Jenkinson

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club 45 3 7 Page 16

Artwork : Andrew Atkins

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 17

The Way of a Mason Wasp — My Vespid Vigil - Densey Clyne

I sit on my back verandah, camera dangling from my neck, waiting for my house

guest to return. I’ve waited for nearly two hours. The camera 1s on auto focus, the

ladder is 1n place and I am ready to leap into action. After 6 weeks of solid wasp

watching there 1s still much I need to find out about the big black and gold wasp

building her nest on the corner of my kitchen window.

=" - i — . : _

Sy eee ae =, When I first noticed her, this handsome

se - og ~ mason wasp had already made her first

cell. Its construction was unlike those of

the various mud-daubers that decorate my

verandah walls every summer. These are

mostly the elegant wasp-waisted

Sceliphron laetum who stocks her mud

nest with spiders. With my now obsolete

film camera, I had recorded her life story

many years earlier.

6 as But this wasp was new to me. No wasp

«waist, a sturdy block body with gold rings

and, I discovered later, some clear

differences in behaviour and architecture.

Her mud nest was bulkier than the mud-daubers’ and, most importantly, she finished

off each cell with a wide-mouthed funnel.

Adding funnel

For me the funnel was a clue to her identity as Abispa splendida, and I learned that

her prey was not spiders, but caterpillars. Probably quite a common wasp elsewhere,

but here at hand was a new life story for me to follow and photograph. And now I

had a new digital SLR camera whose multi functions I was only just grappling with.

I find it easy to photograph the wasp at her nest. Any quick movement upsets her but

once she’s at work I can climb the ladder and nose my camera lens close to her.

Leaving the nest, she checks me out as a movable part of the landscape then takes off

at high speed.

For a while her speed baffles me. Where is she going’? Arriving at the nest she flies

slowly with her mud ball, her contralto buzz alerting me. Leaving, she is hard to

follow but now with her third cell finished I need to find out where she gets her

building materials. I soon find out she has two destinations.

I have always assumed that mud wasps gather their mud directly from some wet spot,

having both observed and read about this. In her case I am wrong. I discover that she

is (1) making regular visits to my lily-pond and then (2) flying to a garden bed where

the soil is hard and very dry. I need to watch her at both places.

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 18

Over several days I sit very still at the

edge of the pond, camera at the ready,

counting my breaths. No time for stop

watches, this is a useful way of timing

the wasp’s coming and goings. Witha

buzz she zooms past me to land on a lily

pad, always a different one. She prefers

to drink from a puddle on a lily pad

rather than directly from the water. Her

visits are brief and most of the time she

sits too far away and with her back to

me. Never mind, a few successes and —

what a joy! — I can delete all the

failures.

Drinking at pond

Now, catching the wasp’s rapid flight from the pond and around the back of my

garden pavilion, I make a quick dash around the front of it to see her land on the dry

soil. Again I must wait at a distance :

until she starts work on the soil, but

close up I see something intriguing.

The wasp 1s turning the hard, dry soil

into mud with water from her crop!

Now using front feet and mandibles

she rolls the mud into a ball and

carries it under her ‘chin’ directly

back to the nest. So by making her

own wet clay, this potter is

independent of terrain and weather.

I’ve timed her regular round trip at 60 a a ae

breaths, which equals approximately 4

minutes, but there are other more irregular comings and goings. All this time I am

missing two major events — the stocking of a cell and the laying of an egg. In the

meantime, round about the time of the fourth cell, I find the wasp visiting the pond

for another reason. After each cell 1s finished and stocked, the wasp completely

dismantles the funnel. She doesn’t simply chop it up and drop the bits to the floor.

She moistens the rim with pond water, balls up the mud and recycles it on the outside

of the now bulky nest. That done, she also closes the cell.

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 19

Smoothing inside of funnel

Recycling clay funnel

But to go back a step. For the period of often

three or four days between finishing a funnel

and stocking the cell, the wasp intermittently

visited the nest for up to 5 minutes at a time.

There she would walk about rapidly palpating

the surface with her mandibles — perhaps

checking whether the clay was sufficiently

‘cured’? She continued to add more mud balls

to the surface of the whole nest, and unlike the

mud daubers, which smooth their mud balls

out, Abispa adds them almost entire so that the

nest surface has a bubbly appearance. By

contrast she kept the inside of the funnel quite

smooth. However, for most of those 3-4 days

(or 6 days during one rainy period) she was

absent from the nest, probably searching for

caterpillars.

It was important not to miss those important

events — the stocking with caterpillars and the egg-laying. So the third day after cell

number 5 was finished, I set up a chair close to the nest, with camera now on a tripod.

There would be no time to climb the ladder. To my joy (and relief) during a six hour

vigil, my busy little friend returned three times with a fat green caterpillar. In a flash,

she stuffed it through the funnel and into the cell and in a flash I caught her doing it —

after the third try!

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 20

As for the egg-laying, I realized the funnel would

hide this from sight. All I could expect was to

catch the wasp entering the funnel tail first and

disappearing backwards. At the time of writing

this I have failed to do so.

A question remains — why the funnel? Is it to hide

the egg-laying female from parasitoid wasps?

Earlier, only once, I had seen that scourge of mud-

daubers the metallic green Sti/bum near the nest. It

even alighted on the nest whose incumbent

appeared to take no notice, even when the intruder

poked its nose into the funnel. Free-loaders of the

insect world, these “cuckoo-wasps” make no nest

of their own but seize the moment while a cell is

being provisioned to lay their own egg inside. So

the parasitoid’s offspring get to eat the food caught

Inserting caterpillar and preserved by their unwitting hostess.

Well, it all balances out in the long run, otherwise the world might be taken over by

mud wasps. I am now waiting for my tireless friend to build her sixth cell and hope

that at least some of her daughters emerge safely next year to re-decorate my back

verandah.

Photos : Densey Clyne

TK OK KK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK

Where am I? — Ben Jacob

It was in the afternoon, on leaving our friend’s house, when my mum was picking

leaves for our orphaned possums, what she didn’t know was that she was giving a

leafy passenger a ride. When we got home my mum was giving the leaves to the

possums when a “green praying mantis” fell to the floor and scurried away under a

chair. But was it a praying mantis? The next day my brother Zac found that which

was astonishing! It was a leafy green Children’s Stick-insect (7ropidoderus

childrenii). He was worried that 1f he put the stick insect in the cage with a male we

had, things would go wrong. We eventually decided to call her Mia after a little girl

that lived across the road from us.

3 months passed, and she molted to adult form. When I had first taken an interest

in the wonders of the phasmid or humble stick insect, we obtained a male from the

Museum Inquiry Centre. One evening, I noticed the male was mating with my female

and things looked great!

4 months down the track, death fell upon the male and Mia soon followed.

Seasons passed. Then one morning one of Mia’s offspring hatched. I was thrilled.

Weeks later it was harder to keep them in their container, there were so many. When

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 21

the nymphs were older I was checking up on them in the morning as usual when I

noticed that one of the female nymphs was missing. I searched everywhere looking

for her. I was certain she was lost until I sprayed them with water and she moved. I

saw her, hanging down abdomen facing the ground, looking exactly like a leaf.

Months later we were given a pair of Spiny Leaf-insects (Extatosoma tiaratum) by

BOIC member and Museum Inquiry Centre staff, Katie Hiller. We decided to call the

two Prince and Queen. The pair lived for ages, Prince growing to adulthood way

quicker than Queen but, in winter, Queen was staring death in the face and I thought I

was going to lose her. When Queen was molting into her adult skin she fell 1n the

crowded cage and deformed the rest of her new body and soon thereafter died.

From then on I was left with 20 Tessellated Stick-insects (Anchiale

austrotessulata), collected from bushland behind our house, until 8 weeks ago when

Zac and I were each given 3 Spiny Leaf-insects from Katie and we are conducting

research into the color change and species range of the Spiny Leat-insect.

In the months in between the broods we raised, we picked up on some gentle

giants on a large tree beside Lois’ creek. The tree had an abundance of Tessellated

Stick-insects but when we were looking at the tree we noticed a large, dark looking

figure in the tree. We looked closely and it was a Titan Stick-insect (Acrophylla

titan). When my dad pulled down the branch that the Titan was on, I was able to

collect it in a container.

My experience is here for everyone to see, and just like Lois, I have still got quite

a bit to learn.

AT THE LIGHT TRAP

Some notable Geometridae - Peter Hendry

With around 1300 species in six subfamilies, the Australian Geometridae has many

notable species.

One small to medium species that stands out in a crowd is 7raminda aventiaria

(Guenée, 1857), synonymous with (Gnamptoloma aventiaria). With its angular

hindwings and concave cutouts just below the apex of the forewings, it never fails to

catch the eye when it presents itself on a light sheet. 7. aventiaria 1s a member of the

subfamily Sterrhinae and comes 1n a range of colours from straw coloured to dull red

and in shades of green. I once collected a larva, pointed out to me by my big brother,

hanging on a thread of silk reaching some six to eight meters from the canopy above.

Not knowing what species it was or being able to determine which tree it was actually

hanging from, I collected leaves of all the trees in the vicinity. These included a wattle,

eucalypts, Lophostemon and a Parsonsia vine. Fortunately it decided to pupate! As it

turns out they eat flowers and buds and have been recorded on the following Acacia

conferta, A. disparrima, A. leiocalyx (Eisen, 2003) and A. concurrens (Moss, 2001).

Don Herbison-Evans web site also lists A. decurrens, A. aulacocarpa, Pithecellobium

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club 453 =: Page 22

species and Rosa species. It pupated by suspending itself in some webbing. 7°. aventaria

has a distribution from northwest Australia to the Northern Territory and from Cape

York to northern New South Wales. It 1s also found overseas in India and Sri Lanka

through Southeast Asia to Australia (Common, 1990). It appears that it 1s on the wing

all year round as I have photographed it here at Sheldon, Redland City, in all but the

months of June, October and December and I have photographed it in October at

Bundaberg.

Colour forms of Traminda aventiaria

eat

T. aventiaria larva T. aventiaria pupa

Amblychia subrubida (Warren, 1896) subfamily Ennominae, certainly made me stand

up and take notice when I first encountered it on the window of a rainforest hideaway

in northern New South Wales. As the specific name implies it has orange-red patches

on the underside of the hind-wings and it was from this angle that I first viewed it. It

Amblychia subrubida

forms a less striking image when viewed from the top where it has patterns in shades

of grey and tan. I was unable to find anything on the biology of A. subrubida. It

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 23 |

occurs in New Guinea and New Caledonia and 1n rainforests in coastal eastern

Australia as far south as Kiama, New South Wales (Common, 1990).

The genus Thalaina, Walker, 1855, of which Australia has ten described species, 1s

also from the subfamily Ennominae. Known as satin moths they are classed as having

a southern distribution (Common,

1990). At the light trap I have only

encountered one species, the angled

satin moth, Thalaina angulosa Walker,

1865. This striking species, with its

satin white wings and orange red

markings outlined with black, has come

to light on two occasions. The first was

on the 6/4/2007 on a property south of

Tenterfield and the second two years

later and almost to the day, 10/4/2009,

on the same property. The larvae of 7. angulosa are listed on Don Herbison-Evans

web site as feeding on Acacia pycnantha and Cassia tomentella. It has a distribution

from inland southern Queensland and New South Wales, western Victoria, South

Australia and southwestern Western Australia (Common, 1990).

Thalaina angulosa

Niceteria macrocosma (Lower, 1899) another

member of the subfamily Ennominae, has come

to light on several occasions. It has appeared

here at Sheldon during the months of April and

May and also on my bush block west of

Bundaberg in May. On the property south of

Tenterfield it has appeared in January 2007 and

2009. The larva feeds on Eucalyptus and

Angophora and it ranges from the Atherton

Tableland, Queensland, to Victoria and South NaN aoc econ

Australia (Common, 1990).

Dysphania numana (Cramer, 1779), (aka D. fenestrata) subfamily Geometrinae, this

large and beautiful moth is known as the Four O’clock Moth because of its habit of

flying late in the afternoon. I first encountered it 76 km northwest of Mackay when it

came to light at ten past eleven on the night of the 19" October 2008! Another

specimen was seen flying the following morning around seven o’clock as we were

breaking camp!! The larva of D. numana 1s equally as stunning, being bright yellow

with a row of white centered black spots down each side and a double row of black

spots down the middle of its back. They feed on Carallia integerrima in northern

Queensland and C. brachiata at Byfield near Rockhampton (Common, 1990). Don

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 24

Herbison-Evans web site also lists

Melicope elleryana. It occurs in

Australia and New Guinea and shows

considerable geographical variation

(Common, 1990).

References: Dysphania numana

Eisen, T. 2003. ASGAP Acacia Study

Group Newsletter No 87

Common, I.F.B. 1990. Moths of Australia. Melbourne University Press

Moss, J. 2001. Butterfly & Other Invertebrates Club Inc. Newsletter, #22

Photos : Peter Hendry

BOOK REVIEW

“The Complete Field Guide to Stick and Leaf Insects of Australia”

by Paul Brock and Jack Hasenpusch (2009). Published by CSIRO.

Reviewed by Lots Hughes and Benjamin Jacob

ae WE x= To review this newly released and eagerly awaited field

rea tee suide on stick and leaf insects is a rather daunting task, but

STICK AND LEAF also one I consider to be a privilege. It was daunting because

INSECTS OF AUSTRALIA = had no prior knowledge of stick insects before encountering

ack Ww Han the female Goliath Stick-insect mid 2007 and its short time in

captivity with me and then the others in 2008, the result of

which appeared in our previous magazine. This review will

certainly not be from a scientific viewpoint. I will leave that

to others well qualified to evaluate its merits and they are

many.

My viewpoint is from someone with an eagerness to learn,

who is searching for answers, has a keen interest, has hand-reared a number of

species and also needs detailed information on which to base her art work. I now

realize that the majority of our members probably fit into one or more of these

categories.

I smiled as I read the word “complete” in the book title! These masters of disguise

may yet surprise us with other, as yet undiscovered species revealing themselves,

especially with the book to encourage more of us to go searching for these elusive

and fascinating creatures.

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 25

I found the entire book to be very interesting and helpful throughout, starting from

the foreword by David Rentz, who 1s also highly praised in the acknowledgements

section. David, by the way, is the notable author of “Grasshopper Country’’- “the

abundant orthopteroid insects of Australia”

A lovely illustration of the Titan Stick-insect and other insects (from Guerin 1835)

enlivens the preface and 1s accompanied by an overview by the authors and I

quote.....“The lack of knowledge of Australian phasmids inspired us to write this

field guide. We hope to encourage all those interested in these fascinating creatures

to identify them and help to conserve them.”... ““The layout of this book is designed

to be user friendly and avoid very technical terms. There are practical, well

illustrated sections for even the most experienced phasmid hunter on anatomy,

classification, collecting, photographing, rearing and studying these insects, as well as

concise illustrated notes on each species. In an attempt to simplify identification for

novice enthusiasts, the section on pages 33-38 illustrates species in selected genera

and includes a quick guide to the relevant sections of text. Most species are large and

conspicuous enough to identify without additional magnification, but a 10 x 20 hand

lens may be useful, particularly for eggs.”

The authors have more than fulfilled the above criteria they set for themselves. As

can be seen from the acknowledgements, they drew from a rich and widespread

source of both Australian and international authorities and institutions, being the

eminent, notable and dedicated who have contributed greatly to our knowledge and

understanding of our country’s rich and diverse plant and insect life, for which we

can all be most grateful.

The book, of 204 pages, is of a manageable size for use in the field, is generously

illustrated throughout, with helpful accompanying captions for each photo and is

divided into 4 chapters.

The Introduction — pp. 1-14

Habitat and Ecology — pp. 15-20

Collecting, preserving, photographing and rearing — pp. 21-32

4. Guide to Species — pp 33-148

UY NO —

This is followed by Appendix |. Keys to genera and species - pp. 149 -181

Appendix 2. Classification of phasmids - pp. 182 - 184

Appendix 3. Checklist of Australian phasmids - pp. 185 -191

A very helpful glossary of 4 pages is then followed by “References” and “More

About Phasmids” which list international organizations which cater to the interests of

people who study phasmids.

An “Index of Common Names” covering 3 pages follows and is the only section

which I feel could have been improved by the addition of page numbers, although this

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club 453 7 Page 26

has been adequately covered in the following “Index to Valid Scientific Names”

which 1s four pages long.

In the introduction detailed anatomical descriptions accompanied by a photo with key

parts of the body clearly marked as well as other line drawings are helpful features.

The addition of the plural names of body parts, where applicable, 1s also a welcome

addition, especially for novices like me.

Close-up photos of the Goliath as well as detailed information in “Appendix | — Keys

to genera” ... enabled me to more accurately depict this species in my latest painting,

so this book has already proved to be a valuable resource for me.

The dozens of photos throughout the book are fascinating. A couple of the

highlights, apart from the great male and female photos in the large “Guide to

Species” chapter, are the inclusion of many of the nymphs. This is helpful because of

the marked colour and shape changes they go through to reach maturity. The

depiction of the eggs of each species, where known, 1s very helpful. What an

amazing array of shapes, sizes and colours they come in. As a result of the photo of

the spermatophore shown in the mating pair of Cigar Stick-insects and the caption

beneath, I was able to identify the strange looking “thing” amongst the frass and eggs

on the bottom of the Spiny’s cage!

The authors’ style of writing in this book 1s very engaging, encouraging, easily

understood, humorous at times and very informative. Aimed at a wide audience, the

scientific is balanced by the inclusion of the practical and helpful. It’s not a stuffy

scientific tome of facts but 1s chocked full of information that only those who have

had hands on experience 1n the field and in rearing these insects in captivity would

know. It seeks to encourage others to go and do likewise and enjoy the pleasures and

challenges that such activity provides.

Congratulations on an excellent publication - a worthy addition to any nature lover’s

library at a price that won’t break the bank. Lois Hughes

Phasmids - a fascinating hobby, wonderful pets, and a knowledge base in a book.

From my perspective Paul and Jack did an amazing job on the book

“The Complete Field Guide to Stick and Leaf Insects of Australia” has given me

another way of looking at stick insects in general, and gave me the privilege of

reviewing the book for the club. When I received the book from Lois Hughes, I was

very eager to get into it and when I did, it expanded my horizons into phasmid

research and gave me new insights on how to do so.

The appendix and glossary are very helpful when describing physical appearances of

all the phasmids described 1n the book. The classification of phasmids section, before

the glossary, 1s a good and reliable source to refer to when classifying stick insects

and the describers (Gray, Stal etc).

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club 453 7 Page 27

In conclusion I think anyone reading this book will have a wonderful experience and

gain lots of knowledge on the subject. Benjamin Jacob (13 years old)

“The Complete Field Guide to Stick and Leaf Insects of Australia” is available

from the club for $40 plus $5 P&H or from club displays.

EXCURSION REPORTS

Mt. Cotton Excursion, 7" February 2009 — Lois Hughes

In the weeks leading up to the 7" February, we had received considerable rain in our

area, decreasing to showers a few days before, hot and humid, all conditions butterfly

populations respond favourably to.

After greeting and meeting some new members, renewing old acquaintances and

regular attendees, 13 of us briefly walked around the glorious gardens, lush and

colourful, where Zebra Blues were prolific, before moving in convoy up the steep and

winding road to the top of Mt. Cotton. The view was breathtaking and the breeze

refreshing, as we started our walk. Behind a fenced area we saw the endangered

shrub, Corchorus cunninghamii, indigenous to the area, the local population boosted

by plants raised from seed collected and propagated by Redland City voluntary

eroups to ensure this rare plant’s survival. We soon encountered a Dainty

Swallowtail and a Clearwing Swallowtail male and as we fanned out the youngsters,

Jade and Ben, energetically chased and captured, for close scrutiny and release (or

kept alive for further research) grasshoppers and mantids, moths and caterpillars, their

sharp eyes finding things we adults missed. Cicadas serenaded and dragonflies

darted, as we enjoyed sharing our wildlife encounter stories, admired the many

butterflies on the wing and dodged the Golden Orb spider’s web and various other

webs strung across our path or photographed interesting creatures. The Blue Triangle,

male Orchard Swallowtail, Monarchs and Glasswings drifted lazily around the

undergrowth while, a Pale Triangle, White Nymphs, a Lesser Wanderer, Albatross,

Gull, Jezabels and Small Blues zoomed past so quickly we could only glimpse them.

Two of my favourites put in an appearance. One is the Purple Crow and although its

host plant, the Burny Vine, 7rophis scandens, grows abundantly in the area, the

butterfly 1s now only occasionally seen. Sometimes mistaken for the Common Crow

( which we also saw) it has fewer white markings overall. With the rich dark brown

of its upper wings suffused with purplish-blue, it is always a delight to see. Another

favourite, with the burnt orange and brown of its upper wings flashing, the female

Australian Leafwing slowly covered the ground obviously searching for its host plant.

This Love Flower, Pseuderanthemum variable, (which we had seen at this site), has

attractive lilac flowers and variously coloured and patterned leaves making it a

worthwhile garden ground cover inclusion.

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club 453 ut Page 28

We found many small shiny red and black beetles on Clerodendrum tomentosum as

well as a larger pale orange and white spotted beetle feeding, along with its larvae, on

eucalypt leaves. Just as some of us were preparing to leave, a strikingly patterned

Joseph’s Coat Moth led us on a merry chase as we followed its flight around the tree

trunks hoping in vain it would again settle for a photograph.

A few members stayed on and had a picnic lunch at the table provided, drinking in

the view, and later taking a more leisurely stroll around the gardens below, as the rest

of us hurried to other destinations. A very enjoyable outing.

I i I Re i ie ie ie

A visit to Jak and Ginny Guyomar’s place at Gumdale 14" March

2009 - Ross Kendall

Jak’s ten acre property 1s well vegetated with the house set well back from the road

among the trees, although there is a safety margin to allow branches from magnificent

Scribbly Gums to fall and not demolish the house or part thereof!

We took nearly and hour to walk through part of the property and although only a

modest number of butterflies were seen on the day, Jak assured us that over the years

a great number of species have been observed in his garden and the surrounding

bushland. This undoubtedly reflects the

diversity of both local endemic plants and

native species from elsewhere. Among the

most memorable were: three species of

Senna, hostplants for the Migrant

butterflies; four species of Lomandras,

hostplants for the Trapezitine skippers;

Meladorum leichhardtii, hostplant for the

Fourbar Swordtail and Pale Triangle; two

Parsonsia species and Trophis scandens,

hostplants for the Common and Purple

Crows respectively; Native Wisteria

(Callerya megasperma), hostplant for both Small Green-banded Blue

the Common Pencilled Blue and Narrow

Banded Awl; Burny Bean (Mucuna gigantea), hostplant for both the Green Awl and

the White-banded Plane; Ghania aspera, the Large-fruited Sawsedge, hostplant for

various sedge skippers and last but not least several impressive Tagala vines

(Aristolochia acuminata) hostplant of the Birdwings of north Queensland and the

Clearwing Swallowtail (Cressida cressida) locally.

Butterflies species observed were: Common Crow (Euploea core), Lemon Migrant

(Catopsilia pomona), Yellow Migrant (C. gorgophone), Blue Triangle (Graphium

sarpedon), Pale Triangle (G. eurypylus), Evening Brown (Melanitis leda), Small

Green-banded Blue (Psychonotis caelius), Black Jezebel (Delias nigrina), Blue Tiger

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 29

(Tirumala hamata), Wide-band Grass-dart (Suniana sunias), Pale-orange Darter

(Telicota colon) and Brown Ringlet (Hypocysta metirius).

A larva of the Green Awl (Hasora discolor) was found on the leaf of the Burny Bean

(M. gigantea).

Over cups of tea and coffee with many delicious “nibbles” we saw Jak’s collection of

restored vintage cars and a “museum load” of mechanical memorabilia. Jak travelled

extensively overseas for many years and has managed to assemble quite a collection

of insects so we spent an enjoyable hour studying many of them. A few samples are

shown below. Photos : Hongming Kan

Part of Jak’s collection

Gumdale Conservation Setup — Jak Guyomar

Since members of the BOIC visited our 4 hectare property at Gumdale in March,

there has been interest in the Voluntary Conservation programmes that we have had

applied to our property. As we have had a long-term commitment to conservation,

just as many of you club members have, we investigated the possibilities to protect

the conservation values of our property.

The Municipal Councils of many areas have set up programmes to enable landowners

to apply for admission to these schemes 1n joint partnership. You just ask them to

send you the “blurb”. This consists of three levels according to the conservation

value of the property they are applied to: Level | is Land For Wildlife (LFW); Level

21s Voluntary Conservation Agreement (VCA); Level 3 1s Voluntary Conservation

Covenant (VCC).

The process 1s that you apply for LFW listing via your Local Council who will then

send qualified inspectors to evaluate the conservation value of your property. This 1s

done in consultation with the landowner and, 1f suitable, your property will be listed

with LFW and you sign a mutual agreement document. You will then receive support

for your conservation efforts and an annual cash grant, according to the area of the

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 30

land listed. There are at present some 351,000 hectares listed 1n Queensland under

this scheme.

If you wish to raise your property to the next level (VCA) and it is evaluated as of

significant conservation value, you again apply to the Local Council. Again an

annual cash grant and support is part of the VCA agreement.

Then there is the VCC level. Again application by the landowner 1s required. This

level of listing goes on your property deed and guarantees the conservation status of

your land in perpetuity. Also the annual grant rises. This depends on the area covered

by the Covenant and on the Local Council. 90% of our property, which 1s in the

Brisbane City Council’s area, is under a VCC and we receive an annual grant to the

value of 90% of our rates. Very helpful for us conservation minded OAPs on

relatively large properties who detest the dreaded developer!

The schemes have many get-togethers to disseminate mutual information and once a

year there is a plant handout of 20 to 40 local species. Then there is free access to the

Queensland Herbarium for plant identifications etc and to property management plans

for us easily confused people!

So 1f you feel this suits your BOIC philosophy, get in touch with your Local Council

and join us. They have given us support and advice to enable and motivate us to now

bring 90% of our weed infested “OF SIGNIFICANT CONSERVATION VALUE &

ENDANGERED ECOLOGICAL AREA” back to some semblance of “originality”.

Also we have found the conservation officers in the BCC are of like mind to

ourselves and very helpful. 90% of our property was infested with weeds, mainly

Ochna serrata, when we joined the LFW scheme 7 years ago. Now we have removed

approximately 90 % of that (sounds easy doesn’t it?). We would not have had the

incentive to work this hard without the motivation from the scheme as there was

always tomorrow. And the gain for butterflies? Well, for a start, we can now keep an

eye out for Eurema sp. on the Glycine plants which have come back.

REPORT

BSS Da te Fair, 26 April 2009 - Ross Kendall

——— . = | aes =: GiA The latest Brisbane City Council’s

a Oe ee ee ie , CitySmart Neighbourhood Fair was held

——w TH Bees’ |) — at Perrin Park, Taringa on Sunday 26"

April 2009 on a perfect autumn day.

| sv & wa = = *

e 7" =

Alisha Steward, Hongming Kan and I set

up an attractive BOIC display in a

marquee provided by the City Council

and were kept busy with a constant flow

of visitors to the site.

Part of the BOIC display

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 31

“Mer During the morning we had a visit from

haha

: J ~ pe ¥* the Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman and

ww 0 WW w : ;

pM he : the local Councillor, Jane Prentice. I took

ee a) ML

the opportunity to thank them on behalf of

the Club for the Council grant which helps

meet the cost of publication of

“Metamorphosis Australia” in colour and

presented them with a copy of our latest

issue.

Presentation of our magazine to Photos : Hongming Kan

Lord Mayor , Campbell Newman

LETTERS

Red Mite

A Red Mite, an Arachnida Charlectona sp.

was found on a leat of Pararistolochia

praevenosa. The mite is a natural enemy of

Ornithoptera richmondia, which sucks the

fluid out of the butterflies’ eggs. The body of

the mite was around 5mm long and its long

legs enabled it to move around very rapidly.

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i ‘ = ne * —_ :

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-——_

A very dead looking egg was also found and

under an endorsement on permit No. WISP00582002 issued to Dr. Don Sands on

behalf of the Richmond Birdwing Recovery Network, the dead egg was opened up. In

the egg was a desiccated larva. It was not very photogenic but some details of the

larva could be made out.

Reference:

Conservation of Birdwing Butterflies edited by Don Sands and Sue Scott. Published

in Australia by SciComEd Pty Ltd. November 2002

Photo: Hilton Selvey Hilton Selvey

YOU ASKED

On the 29/4/09 I was on a carp removal field trip upstream of Luscombe Weir on the

Albert River. During my lunch break I noticed an Australian Admiral (Vanessa itea )

Ovipositing on native stinging nettles Urtica incisa. | was able to approach quite

closely. Interestingly the butterfly also laid eggs on the base of the trunk of a Black

She-oak (Allocasuarina littoralis) immediately adjacent to the clump of stinging

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 32

nettles. Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera with me at the time. Is this a common

occurrence for admirals and other butterflies to lay on woody structures adjacent to

foodplants? I would be interested to hear of similar observations. It could be a useful

strategy when the foodplant is herbaceous or an annual. For example if the part of the

nettle on which the eggs were laid withered, died and blew away before the eggs

hatched, then the larvae may emerge well away from the foodplant and die. However

if the eggs were laid on a trunk adjacent to the clump of herbaceous foodplant, then it

is likely some food plants will still be nearby for the larvae to find when they emerge.

Michael Hutchison

Michael, your interesting observations are not new for Vanessa itea. Braby 2000 (p

582) reports observations by R.J. Powell (1967) of this species depositing eggs on

“nearby objects such as twigs and wooden fences”. Bob Miller (BOIC Newsletter

issue 22 Sept. 2001) also reported Cupha prosope (the Bordered Rustic) depositing

eggs on spiders’ webs adjacent or attached to the hostplant.

This habit is well known in the family Hesperiidae (Skippers etc.). I have often

noticed 7rapezites symmomus (Splendid Ochre) ovipositing on dead leaves, shed bark

etc. adjacent to their host plants (Lomandra species). This has been reported in

several publications including Braby 2000 (page 113), and Rob Macsloy (BOIC

Newsletter No. 21 June 2001 ) reported an amusing incident wherein a “Symmomus

Skipper” laid an egg on his wife’s “host pants” whilst she was standing near a

Lomandra longifolia in their home garden!

John Moss

WHAT INSECT IS THIS’?

The Mystery Photograph from

Ph Last Issue - Geoff Monteith*

Soe SONS On page 34 of the last issue (Issue 52) of

Metamorphosis Australia a mystery insect

structure 1s shown in a photograph by

John Moss (Fig 1). It is an oval, cage-like

structure, and through the bars is visible

an insect pupa. No readers were tempted

to guess its identity, so I will now tell a

little about this fascinating creature.

I've seen these strange little cages several

times over the years and they have

Fig. 1. Pupal cage-like cocoon of Cyana

meyricki built over two parallel scratch marks

on Eucalyptus tereticornis occasionally been sent into the

(Photo: John Moss) Queensland Museum by puzzled members

of the public. They are normally found

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club 453 7 Page 33

attached to a flat surface in a concealed place near dead wood, often under the loose

bark of an old dead tree. A couple of times they have had live pupae in them and we

have been able to rear out the moth responsible. One of these, from a pupa collected

near Moggill last October, is shown in Fig 2. This handsome species 1s Cyana

penne sehnoee oi and belongs to the subfamily Lithosinae of the family Arctiidae.

| = The species is figured in colour on

Plate 18 of Common (1990) under

the name Chionaema meyricki, but

Ted Edwards' more recent checklist

of the family (Edwards 1990) places

it in Cyana.

Close examination of the "cage"

shows that it is made of barbed insect

setae which have been cleverly

arranged in two rows of vertical

setae (which form the two sides of

the cage) held in place by several

Fig. 2. Newly-emerged adult of Cyana meyricki rows of horizontal setae. Every

(Photo: Jeff Wright, Queensland Museum) cross-junction of setae is held firmly

together by a small hitch of sticky caterpillar silk. The setae are very regularly spaced

so that most of the apertures of the cage are almost perfect squares. The setae are

curved into position to close both the mid-dorsal line and the ends of the cage. This

curvature means that the whole cage is under some tension and, 1f depressed with a

finger tip, it springs back into shape when released. The naked pupa hangs in the

middle of the enclosed cage, supported by several loops of silk which have

suspension lines which run to the bars of the cage. Amazingly, the last larval skin,

which would have been shed during the last pre-pupal wriggle, is always deposited

outside the cage. Because of these "escapologist" tricks I dubbed the species the

"Houdini Moth" when I exhibited it to the Entomological Society of Queensland last

year (Monteith, 2008).

Larvae have not been seen building

these cages, and have not been bred

through to be absolutely sure what the

larva is. The literature suggests that most

larvae of the Lithosiinae feed on algal

and fungal growth on the surface of

decaying wood, and this accords with

the situations where the pupal cages are

found. I have found arctiid larvae (Fig.

3)a couple of times in the same Fig. 3. Presumed larva of Cyana meyricki

situations as the pupal cages are found. (Photo: Geoff Thompson, Queensland Museum)

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 34

These have dense setae of exactly the same size, and with the same barbs, as those

seen in the "cages" so I am reasonably confidant that these are the larvae of Cyana

meyricki. The real mystery of our litthe Houdini Moth lies in comprehending just how

this hairy caterpillar removes those setae from its back, arranges them in the complex

structure of the cage, glues them together with hitches of silk, and then ends up

swinging in a hammock inside the cage. Readers might like to look at my longer

discussion of this in the ESQ News Bulletin which 1s also available online with more

colour photographs in the ESNSW's Circular (Monteith 2008).

So there's a challenge for BOIC members, find those larvae next summer and tell us

how they make that cage!

REFERENCES

Common, I.F.B. 1990. Moths of Australia. Melbourne University Press, 535 pp.

Monteith, G.B. 2008. The mystery of the arctiid moth, Cyana meyricki Rothschild, an

Insect Houdini. News Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Queensland

36(9): 236-243. (Republished in May 2009 with colour images in Jarsus,

Circular of the Entomological Society of New South Wales 586: 7-9.

viewable on-line at

http://www. entsocnsw.org.au/images/stories/media/tarsus%20586%20may%

202009.pdf )

Edwards, E.D. 1996. Arctiidae, pp 278-286. In Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. &

Rangsi, T.V. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on

Australian Lepidoptera 4:1-529.

*Queensland Museum, Box 3300, South Brisbane.Q.4101

OTHER GROUPS’ ACTIVITIES

BOIC member, Russel Denton, was awarded an “Australia Day 2009 Achievement

Award” for his voluntary work at Boondall Wetlands. Brisbane Lord Mayor,

Campbell Newman presented the award. Congratulations Russel.

BUTTERFLY AND OTHER INVERTEBRATES CLUB PROGRAMME

Planning and Management Meeting

What: Our planning meetings are informative and interesting. As well as

planning our activities we share lots of information. All members

are welcome as this activity is also a general meeting of members.

When: Saturday, 8" August , 2009 from 1.30 pm

Where: Ross Kendall’s home at 17 Eldon Street, Indooroopilly

R.S.V.P.: Ross on 3378 1187 or Daphne on 3396 6334

See enclosed flyer for information about the events at which BOIC will hold displays.

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 = Page 35

DISCLAIMER

The magazine seeks to be as scientifically accurate as possible but the views, opinions and

observations expressed are those of the authors. The magazine is a platform for people to

express their views and observations. These are not necessarily those of the BOIC. If

inaccuracies have inadvertently occurred and are brought to our attention we will seek to

correct them in future editions. The Editor reserves the right to refuse to print any matter

which is unsuitable, inappropriate or objectionable and to make nomenclature changes as

appropriate.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Producing this magazine 1s done with the efforts of:

e Those members who have sent in letters and articles

e Lois Hughes who provides illustrations including the cover

e Daphne Bowden who works on layout, production and distribution

e John Moss and Paul Brock for scientific referencing and proof reading of various articles

in this issue of the magazine

e Printing of this publication is proudly supported by

Brisbane City Council

We would like to thank all these people for their Rodi ii

contribution. BRISBANE CITY

Dedicated to a better Brishane

ARE YOU A MEMBER

Please check your mailing label for the date your membership is due for renewal. If your

membership is due, please renew as soon as possible. Membership fees are $25.00 for

individuals, schools and organizations. If you wish to pay electronically, the following

information will assist you: BSB: 484-799, Account No: 001227191, Account name: BOIC,

Bank: Suncorp, Reference: your membership no. and surname e.g. 234 Roberts.

Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club Inc.

PO Box 2113

RUNCORN Q. 4113

Next event — Planning and Management Meeting on 8"" August. See programme for

details.

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #53 — Page 36