PLANNING AND ORGANIZING COMMITTEE 2014

President: Ross Kendall 07 3378 1187

Vice President: John Moss 07 3245 2997

Treasurer: Rob MacSloy 07 3824 4348

Secretary: Richard Zietek 07 3390 1950

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

Publicity and Library: Lois Hughes 07 3206 6229

Excursion Convenor: Alisha Steward 07 3275 1186

Committee Member: Marie-Louise Johnson 0422 970 184

PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION MEETINGS

A quarterly meeting 1s 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 $30 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;

To promote the conservation of the invertebrate habitat;

To promote the keeping of invertebrates as alternative pets;

To promote research into invertebrates;

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 Ist June issue — May Ist

September issue — August Ist December issue — November Ist

COVER PAINTING

Solitary bees on Eucalyptus sp.— painting by Lois Hughes. Prints available.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 2

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Once again we present the results of an enormous amount of dedicated observation

and research and I thank the many people who have contributed to this edition of our

magazine. I will single out and give special thanks to one person who does not seek

recognition but would rather work quietly to share his observations with others. This

is Wesley Jenkinson who has written life history notes on butterfly species for every

edition since September 2009. Thank you, Wes.

The club was invited to maintain a display in the Horticultural Section of the Brisbane

Exhibition from August 8" to August 17" this year. We have accepted this invitation,

as this is a great opportunity to carry our message to the wider community. Your

committee 1s actively planning the display. We are required to have two persons “on

duty” at all times and the club will have four entry passes each day. The need for

volunteers is great. If you can help for even a half day, I would be very pleased to

hear from you.

Considerable work is being done in designing our special 20-year commemorative

calendar featuring Lois’s cover paintings to be mailed to each member in September.

Already there have been orders for extra copies that will cost around $10.00 each.

Should you require these, perhaps for Christmas gifts, we will need your order by the

end of July, as printing will be done in early August.

This is a special message to only one member! On May 14" you paid $30.00 into the

BOIC bank account by direct deposit but omitted your details. Rob would like to hear

from you.

Best wishes Ross

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 3

CREATURE FEATURE

Getting a Buzz Out of Bees — Lois Hughes

An introduction to our native solitary bees

For the scientifically minded, the following is a general description of bees.

Bees belong to the insect order Hymenoptera, sub-order Apocrita, super-family

Apoidea, and have three body parts; head, thorax and abdomen.

The mobile head has two large compound eyes and three simple eyes, called ocelli, on

top of the head. They have mouthparts designed for cutting or chewing, sucking or

lapping, or both and in some species have an elongated and retractable rostrum or

proboscis for nectar feeding.

The thorax, made up of the pro-, meso- and metathorax, bears the legs and wings and

is connected to the hind section or metasoma. Most bees have branched, electrostatic

hairs covering their bodies, which give them a furry appearance. However, some bee

species look like wasps and have very little hair at all. Some species have specialised

hairs on their hind legs in which they carry pollen. Pollen carrying hairs may be

developed on various other areas of the body. Some species have them under the

abdomen as well as on the hind legs.

A pair of membranous wings is held together by minute hooks and are well developed

for vigorous and long distance flying.

Bees, unlike wasps, are vegetarian and feed their larvae pollen (for protein) and nectar

(for carbohydrates) collected from flowers.

They can be described as either social or solitary. The introduced honey bee, Apis

mellifera, and the honey they produce in their hives, is the social bee we are most

familiar with. Another example of social bees 1s our stingless bees, Tetragonula

(formerly 7rigona) which construct spiral-shaped combs and Austroplebeia, which

construct irregular clusters of spherical brood cells.

The majority of our native bees are solitary 1n their Sty, each caring for their own

young, the task often performed by the

female alone. They are unique in their

choice of nesting sites, and in the

following series of articles we will

discover many of their intriguing habits.

The Blue-banded Bee, in the genus

Amegilla, 1s the first in this series, but

Further Reading

http://australianmuseum.net.au/Bees-Suborder-A pocrita

http://animals.pawnation.com/blue-banded-bee-7543 .html

Hogendoorn, K. S., Coventry, S.A. and Keller, M.A. Foraging behaviour of Blue-

banded bees, University of Adelaide

http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/89/22/4 1/PDF/hal-0089224 1 .pdf

http://museum.wa.gov.au/research/collections/terrestrial-zoology/entomology-insect-

collection/entomology-factsheets/native-bees

http://www.beesbusiness.com.au/ - Artificial bee homes

http://permaculturenoosa.com.au - go to: Howto - Instructions for a Bug Hotel

Ed.: Erica has many invertebrate images for sale. Visit her website www.ozbirds-wildlife.com

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 9

Blue-banded Bee, male (above and above right)

showing facial markings

(right) female, showing extended and open

proboscis

Photos Erica Siegel

PRESIDENT’S REPORT TO AGM 2014

The Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club was founded in October 1994 so this yer

we reach the twenty-year milestone of our existence. For almost all of these years

John has been Vice President, Rob has managed our financial records as Treasurer,

Daphne has served tirelessly as our Magazine Editor and Lois has served as Publicity

Officer. Daphne and Rob have worked very efficiently to manage the database of our

membership with Daphne having countless contacts from both members and others

over membership fees and general enquiries. The success of our old Newsletter and

our current Magazine is mostly due to Daphne’s patient liaison with authors, her

meticulous attention to detail and her skill in combining the articles and images into

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 10

each attractive edition. Lois has produced a prodigious range of wonderful artwork

over the years and we are often amazed, as she seems to reach a new level with her

paintings.

I thank the other committee members Alisha and Richard for their support in the past

year.

A handful of Brisbane enthusiasts formed the club in 1994. By 1997 there were thirty

members. Currently we have over two hundred members. The majority of these

members do not live in the Brisbane area but support the Club through their

subscriptions while a number contribute through their expertise or through the

submission of articles for publication. This is a vital part of our success.

To mark the completion of twenty years of club activities, each member will receive a

complimentary calendar next September. This unique publication will feature thirteen

of Lois’s paintings printed on A4 sized pages.

I know that quite a number of members give talks on habitat restoration or “bringing

back the butterflies” and are active in their local areas. These activities are a vital part

of the club’s ethos and I thank those who carry out this vital work.

Over the past year we have participated in a number of shows or displays. This has

allowed us to communicate with and to inform the wider public though discussion and

the sale of books and posters. We have accepted an invitation to participate in the

Royal Queensland Show or “Ekka” from August 8" to 17" this year. This is quite a

task as we will mount and man a fulltime display in the horticultural pavilion during

that period. Volunteers are required!

A new version of the club’s website went on line last September. We were able to

retain the original background design of our earlier websites but improved its

functionality. It 1s still a work 1n progress with much potential material to be added.

We look forward to another rewarding year. Ross Kendall

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Aristolochia acuminata and the Richmond Birdwing -

Garry Sankowsky

For ten years I lived on Mt Tamborine where my wife and I operated the Tamborine

Mountain Butterfly Farm. Mt Tamborine is prime Richmond Birdwing country and

we had the Birdwings breeding in our garden all the time as well as breeding large

numbers for the flight cage and sale of specimens and pupae.

There has been a lot of hype going around claiming that Aristolochia acuminata

(Tagala Pipevine) is not suitable for this species. In all this time I rarely used

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 11

Pararistolochia praevenosa for one simple reason — it 1s far too slow growing and

takes years to develop into a large vine. I can only imagine that the huge vines that

are growing on the mountain are many hundreds of years old.

The species I mainly used were A. acuminata and an Aristolochia species from

Rabaul that has huge soft leaves, as big as a dinner plate. It 1s the host plant of

Ornithoptera urvillianus. 1 also used A. indica which has naturalised near Darwin.

Pararistolochia praevenosa

Photo Ross Kendall

The problem with the soft leaved species

of Aristolochia 1s the situation in which

they are grown. When Birdwing eggs are

laid on the younger leaves (and this

includes Cairns as well as Richmond

Birdwings) the leaf reacts to the glue that

holds the egg in place which causes it to

weep juices onto the egg. These juices

_ then often go mouldy and the resulting

mould kills the egg. This is simply the

plant fighting back. Because of this

Birdwings have evolved the habit of

mostly not laying their eggs directly on

the host plant but on the leaves of the

plant over which the Aristolochia 1s

erowing. I have seen both O. richmondia

and O. euphorion eggs up to a metre

away from the host leaves, and this is ina

straight line meaning the tiny larva has to

go much further before it finds the plant.

This problem is not limited to

A. acuminata and other soft leaved

species as many eggs laid on the soft

new growth of P. praevenosa suffer the same fate. Below 1s a Cairns Birdwing egg

that was laid on P. praevenosa and killed by fungus.

Photo Garry Sankowsky

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The solution is very simple, you should never grow

Birdwing host plants on a trellis/fence in the open as a

monoculture. I never recommend trellis growing of

Aristolochia unless they are harvested very regularly to

feed larvae in a laboratory situation. If there are

several layers of foliage the vines usually become

infected with mealy bug and the leaves excluded from

good light die.

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 12

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Ornithoptera richmondia male Ornithoptera richmondia female

Photos Ross Kendall

The best way to grow the vines in the garden is to let 1t climb up through a tree and

you will find the Birdwings lay most of their eggs on the tree foliage. The only way

you can overcome the problem of a trellis is to plant at least two species of vines, one

being something other than Aristolochia. A Passion Fruit vine 1s good as you can get

some fruit and the second plant is not wasted. For best results you should have about

three times more other plant than Aristolochia.

Claims that O. richmondia \arvae do not

develop well on A. acuminata are complete

rubbish and I would guess that most breeders

use nothing else. A local breeder of

O. richmondia has always used A. acuminata.

A. indica 1s better than A. acuminata for both

QO. richmondia and O. euphorion simply

because it 1s more nutritional and the larvae

develop to maturity by consuming less than

half the amount of foliage. The main problem

with A. indica is that it is somewhat cold

sensitive and while some people in Brisbane

have had success with it others have not.

I have even seen a claim that A. acuminata

kills the pupae of O. richmondia. This is even

more fanciful — probably a pupa died from a

virus and a post-mortem fungus developed. 25 ea

a Aristolochia acuminata

Again if you do not have a monoculture of Photos Dennis Bell

Aristolochia the larvae will not pupate on the

host plant. This is also a natural survival technique. Birdwing larvae almost always

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 13

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leave the host plant to moult and pupate if the foliage of another plant is nearby. I

have seen a moulting Cairns Birdwing larvae three metres from the Aristolochia.

By all means plant P. praevenosa in the wild to encourage the spread of the

Richmond Birdwing but 1f you want a result in your garden 1n less than about five

years plant A. acuminata.

Birdwings and South American Aristolochias

In the seventies we found that the Burleigh Heads National Park was infested with

Dutchman's Pipevine Aristolochia elegans, a plant toxic to the Birdwing larvae.

Moves were made at the time to get the Parks people to undertake an eradication

program but to no avail. I assume the problem still exists. I have found that if a

Birdwing larva finds the flower of A. elegans it will continue to search for flowers and

can actually survive on these. Near Mt Maroon and in the Goodnight Scrub, where

there is a massive A. elegans problem in a these dry vine scrubs, Clearwing

Swallowtail (Cressida cressida) larvae survive on the seedlings and are quite prolific

there.

I have been doing some experiments with A. odoratissima and have found that Cairns

Birdwing larvae can survive on the flowers, seedlings and coppice shoots (when a big

vine 1s cut off low down). This plant has infested some coastal rainforests 1n north

Queensland and spreads just as fast as A. elegans. Even though hundreds 1f not

thousands of Birdwing eggs are wasted on these exotic vines the butterfly still

survives 1n these localities. In Burleigh Heads P. praevenosa is very common and

enough larvae find these vines to keep the population going. Of course they would do

much better if the A. elegans vines were exterminated.

Se i ie i i

Life history notes on the Short-tailed Line-blue, Prosotas felderi

iia 1874) Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae - Wesley Jenkinson

This small, beautifully coloured endemic butterfly

previously also known as the Small-tailed or Felder’s

Line-blue 1s encountered from Miriam Vale (De Baar

and Hockey, in Braby 2000) along the coastal and

subcoastal regions, including the Great Dividing

Range in Queensland southwards into New South

Wales. This species occurs in a wide variety of

habitats including subtropical, littoral and dry

rainforest, dry vine scrub, open forest and woodland.

It can be also found in suburban gardens in south-

eastern Queensland where the host plants are growing.

Short-tailed Line-blue, Prosotas

felderi, female

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 14

Adult flight is fast and they typically settle on outer foliage of trees, shrubs and low

increasing herbs where they bask in sunshine. Both sexes are readily attracted to a

wide range of small native and introduced flowers. While feeding, the wings remain

closed and occasionally the hindwings are slightly alternated up and down. During

extremely hot days the adults can be observed imbibing moisture from the ground.

The males are territorial and quickly chase away other males and other small

lycaenids flying through their territory and they do not appear to show hilltopping

behaviour.

The sexes can be most easily determined by the upperside coloration with the male

being dull lilac and the female having bright blue metallic scales with black and dull

white markings along the hindwing subtornal area.

Within Queensland, the adults show some wing marking variation and seasonal

differences. While the male upperside shows little variation in the tone of the lilac, the

| ;, female upperside shows significant variation in the

extent of the metallic blue scaling. In comparison to

female ‘winter’ specimens, many ‘summer’ specimens

have the blue scales much reduced or virtually absent.

The underside markings of both sexes also show

seasonal variation, particularly winter specimens

showing a much reduced black subtornal spot and

darker brown ground colour. Although the hindwing

tail is almost absent in the male, some individual

females have longer hindwing tails than others (as

female pictured at left).

Female with long hindwing tails

Within the known distribution range, the adults could be confused with several small

lycaenids particularly P. dubiosa and Nacaduba berenice. In comparison to P. felderi,

P. dubiosa \acks a short tail on the hindwing at vein CuA2, the male forewings are

generally more rounded and the bands on the underside are usually less defined.

N. berenice 1s usually larger in size and has a much longer tail on the hindwing at vein

CuA2.

Prosotas felderi (Short-tailed Line-blue) ‘Winter’ form

Images left to right: male, female, male underside, female underside

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 15

Prosotas felderi (Short-tailed Line-blue) ‘Summer’ form

Images left to right: male, female, male underside, female underside

Average wingspans for the pictured adult specimens are: males 20mm and females

22mm. Larvae feed on flower buds, flowers and occasionally soft fresh leaf buds of

plants in several families including Sapindaceae, Mimosaceae and Proteaceae.

Ovipositing females typically fly slowly throughout the host tree branches and settle

on fresh flower buds or leaf buds in a sheltered position. They typically walk around

for a short period searching for a suitable ‘site’. During ovipositing, the wings may be

slightly open with the hindwings slightly alternating up and down. On warm to hot

sunny days I have observed egg laying between mid morning and mid afternoon and

during winter around midday at a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius.

In June 2008, an egg was collected and raised to an adult in captivity on Brisbane

Wattle (Acacia fimbriata).

This very tiny freshly laid egg was pale green when laid, later

changing to white, mandarin shaped, approximately 0.4 mm wide x

0.3 mm high, smooth with very fine pitting.

After the first instar larva emerged the eggshell was not consumed.

Fieshby laid eee The highly camouflaged larva was observed feeding openly during

the day on fresh flower buds of the host tree. In natural conditions

the larvae are sometimes attended by small black ants.

This larva attained a length of 11mm and completed 5 instars as pictured.

1“ instar larva 2" instar larva 3" instar larva

th instar larva th instar larva

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 16

The pupa, measuring 7mm in length was attached with silk by the cremaster and a

central girdle. A larva previously raised on a Tuckeroo tree (Cupaniopsis

anacardioides) was located between two leaves of the host plant.

Pupa (mage on Cupaniopsis anacardioides )

Egg duration was 6 days, larval duration was 38 i ase in Prosotas

days while pupal duration was 18 days. felderi, male

Within the new boundary of the Scenic Rim Regional Shire south of Brisbane it 1s

locally common. I have records of the adults being present during all months, being

less numerous during November and December. At this location there could

possibly be three or four generations per year.

References:

Braby, M.F. 2000. Butterflies of Australia — Their Identification, Biology and

Distribution. vol 2. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.

Moss, J.T. 2010. Butterfly Host Plants of south-east Queensland and northern New

South Wales. 3“ edition, BOIC.

Photos Wesley Jenkinson

I i Se i i ie a

Unusual Egg Laying Strategies of Some Lepidoptera -

Garry Sankowsky

Anyone who has observed Birdwings laying eggs has probably wondered “When is

she actually going to lay an egg?” It is a bit like watching grass grow. What I think

she is doing 1s mapping the location of the Aristolochia vine amongst the foliage of

the plants over which the vine is scrambling. This of course would mean that the

butterfly has some sort of intelligence, and I am sure they have. I have been breeding

butterflies for more than forty years and observing them for longer than that and have

noticed that females soon learn what their host plant looks like. Beginners test every

plant when they get near the host plant but experienced ones go straight to it or to

something that looks very similar. For instance if the host plant has red new growth

they will zip around testing all the plants that match.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 17

Birdwings usually lay their eggs from 30 to 50 cm from the vine but at times up to

1 m or even more. I have never observed these eggs hatching to see how many tiny

larvae actually find the plant. Who has the time? This laying away from the vine is a

good survival strategy because the eggs will then not be accidentally eaten by the

other larvae. For Birdwings it is double insurance as most Aristolochia vines react to

the glue on the egg and exude sap that encourages mould to grow, so killing the egg.

When my wife and I had the butterfly farm at Mt Tamborine I noticed Australian

Rustic (Cupha prosope) butterflies often laid their eggs in spider webs that were on

the host plant. These were mostly webs that were not occupied by spiders but not

always so. When the larvae hatch they drop on a silken thread till they hit the plant

then crawl up to the new growth to start feeding.

As well as 1n spider web they also lay

on dead twigs of the plant and on dead

leaves on the ground around the base of

the plant.

The Australian Vagrant (Vagrans

egista) has identical laying habits and

seems to lay even more eggs at ground

level than the Rustic does.

The image on the far left

shows a female feeling

for the web and the small

image immediately to the left shows the

egg laid on the web.

= As well as laying on the web and off

== the plant the larvae of both the Rustic

_ and Vagrant often use their own web to

si N ea ae hang from at night. This probably

3 apes ae protects them from roaming predators.

Australian Vagrant feeling for spider web to lay on

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 18

The adjacent image

shows Australian Vagrant

eggs laid beneath a small

Xylosma plant. Neither

the Rustic nor the

Vagrant lay on the new

erowth as the larvae of

both these species can eat

only the very soft new

erowth of the plant and

would be eaten by the

other larger larvae.

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Australian Fritillary eggs laid on small

stones near the Violet plant.

When I was breeding Fritillary butterflies

(Argyreus hyperbius) at Tolga I noticed they

often laid their eggs on the ground beside the

Violet, as in the image above.

The prize goes to the Zodiac Moth for the

most way-out egg laying habits. In the late

sixties we used to come to north Queensland

butterfly hunting each year in about May and

stay with friends at McDonnell Creek (near

Babinda). At that time the host of the Zodiac Australian Vagrant larva at night

Moth was not known and we were always hanging from silk thread.

searching for larvae. One year we observed a

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 19

female laying eggs on a Nephrolepis fern. This is a robust fern that often forms large

colonies in the rainforest. We thought we had finally cracked it and collected eggs

and the fern. When the eggs hatched the larvae were not interested in the fern and

spent five days racing around the container till they finally died.

The Zodiac host plant in this area is Omphalea queenslandica, a huge vine that

spreads across the canopy of the rainforest. The stem of the vine was probably

erowing near the ferns but the nearest foliage could have been twenty metres or more

above, and of course the tiny larvae would have to find this stem first before they

could climb to the foliage.

In our garden at Tolga we have a tree of Omphalea celata growing in an open area

with a few small plants underneath. The Zodiac Moths that come to this plant lay

most of their eggs on the small plants that grow underneath.

The above 1s a typical batch of Zodiac Moth eggs. The image on the right 1s a wide

view of a batch laid on a seedling Homalanthus which was growing under the

Omphalea.

The following image shows the layout of the Omphalea tree and the seedlings

erowing underneath. From my observations very few of the larvae ever find the host

plant. Sometimes there are six to ten batches hatching but the majority die without

ever getting to the Omphalea. From time to time the female will lay single eggs on

the host plant and then the survival rate is very high.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 20

Like the Rustic and Vagrant

they also lay in spider webs.

The eggs pictured below

were laid on a spider web

stretching between a branch

of the Omphalea tree and the

ground.

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Zodiac Moths

Photos Garry Sankowsky

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 21

What Moth Is That? — Peter Hendry

While it sounds like the title of a tome illustrated by Neville Cayley, it 1s in fact a

question I am often asked. Since I joined BOIC, thinking I would catch up on my

youthful interest in butterflies, I have become fascinated with their cousins the moths.

For some reason this has led to me being regarded as the resident expert. This 1s far

from true, for an estimated number of 22,000 Australian species, 1t would take a

lifetime to become an expert and I only have a few years experience behind me.

Our president, Ross, has asked me to put down on paper how I would go about

identifying a moth. First up, I must confess to knowing some real experts with whom

to confer but that is a privilege I do not take lightly, so instead of being an annoyance

to anyone, I enjoy the challenge of trying to find out on my own. Besides how else

can one learn?

An abbreviated classification of moths shows us they belong to the insect order

Lepidoptera which 1s then divided into super families, families, subfamilies, in some

cases tribes, then genera, species and sometimes subspecies. The Lepidoptera

contains both butterflies and moths, the butterflies constituting just 6 families.

Getting started: First it would be nice to place the moth 1n question to family. To this

end the book A Guide To Australian Moths by Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards is

recommended. This book covers 65 of the 85 odd families of Australian moths

including all the major ones. Another great reference is Ian Common's Moths of

Australia, now out of print, though available as an E-Book. With a little work you

should soon be able to recognize members of families such as the large Emperor

Moths (Saturniudae) or Hawk Moths (Sphingidae).

Next: Once you believe you know what family your specimen belongs to you need

something to compare it to. To that end the web now plays a major part with many

sites full of images for comparison. The most reliable being that by CSIRO

Ecosystem Sciences - Australian Moths Online

http://www1.ala.org.au/gallery2/main.php. However the most complete site is the

Canadian Lepidoptera Barcode of Life: Australia

http://www. lepbarcoding.org/australia/progress reports.php’?region=1 &lvl=order&t

ype=Lepidoptera, though the quality of the images 1s much poorer. Other sites of note

are, Caterpillars (and Butterflies and Moths) of Australia by Don Herbison-Evans &

Stella Crossley http://lepidoptera. butterflyhouse.com.au/, Donald Hobern's Flicker

pages http://www. flickr.com/photos/dhobern/collections/72157607366497058/, Buck

Richardsons's moth identification pages

http://www. leapfrogoz.com.au/LeapFrogOz/Moth Identification.html

and the Atlas of Living Australia site http://www.ala.org.au/

From here all you can do 1s look through the family you believe your moth belongs to.

It becomes a matter of experience, soon some moths will become immediately

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 22

recognizable as belonging to a certain family even subfamily or genus which will cut

your search time.

Problems with images: It must be noted that using images 1s not the best way to

identify moths. Often the best identifying part may be the markings on the hind wing

which may not be exposed. Some images can show false colours, though colour is

generally not reliable due to many species occurring 1n varying colour forms. Size 1s

another problem. A good macro lens can produce an image of a very small moth that

looks like a monster. The wings of moths in the Noctuidae are mostly rather thicker

or denser than those of the Geometridae. This can be hard to tell from an image.

Other more esoterical aspects, like wing venation, spurs on the legs and palps may not

be visible.

Traps: There are many traps along the way, not all web sites are correct, so compare

your moth with as many images as possible from as many sites as have it. There are

many similar looking moths, sometimes in the same genus, sometimes in a

completely different family. There are still many moths with no images to compare

and others are not even named, so the best you may be able to do 1s place it to family

or genus.

Distribution: It may be of some help to check the distribution, if you have identified

a moth from northern New South Wales that has only previously been recorded from

north-west Western Australia, your identification 1s likely to be wrong. The Barcode

of Life and Atlas of Living Australia websites along with Ian Common’s Moths of

Australia are your best bet for obtaining a distribution. Note that in many cases these

distributions are only from a few samples and may not be reliable. I have had a

positive identification put on a moth, located eight hundred kilometers south of its

previous recorded location.

More help: Thanks to the internet many of the original descriptions can now be found

on line. The biodiversity heritage library website, http://biodiversitylibrary.org/, has

amassed a huge collection of natural history works from several institutions

throughout the world. The Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia 1996, Nielsen,

Edwards and Rangsi, 1s of immense help here as it gives the author of each species

and the year it was named which can be compared against a list of literature to find

the publication, and even the page number, it was named in. Without a copy of the

"Checklist", the biodiversity heritage library website can be searched directly by

species name, though the current name of many species, is not that which they were

named under. The Atlas of Living Australia web site includes links to many of the

original books and journals but 1s still limited 1n the number of species it covers.

The problem with many of the original descriptions 1s their limited description and the

fact they may be in Latin, French, German or even ancient German script. All of

which can be worked around by websites that help with translations, though limited

due to the scientific language used. There are even websites that will help with that

ancient German script but your effort may only be rewarded with a description that

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 23

reads, black wings with white spots. If you spend time searching the original

descriptions you soon realize which authors present a useful description that will help

with your pursuit.

If all else fails: You can join The BowerBird Website, http:/www.bowerbird.org.au,

a citizen science website that allows you to upload your image and have it identified

by someone in the know.

IS IS 2 FS OS SIS IS FI OK OK

Kelvyn Dunn (a member from Victoria) and Alan Hyman (of Bundanoon) spent an

afternoon in Morton National Park (Bundanoon section) in December 2013 for a spot

of butterfly watching. Alan has recorded 56 species in the local area and on that visit

to Echo Point a Trapezites phigalioides was seen which added another to his

tally! Kelvyn’s sighting of the above skipper brings Bundanoon one species closer to

Stephen Brown’s total of 65 for Mt. Gibraltar, 25 km to the north-east!

The photo was taken at the Currabunda Wetland, just inside the town precincts, after

our visit to the Park. Photos Kelvyn Dunn

IS IS IS IS Ok Oi OS OK OK OK

Tube Spittle Bugs — Ross Kendall

Publication of the story of Tube

Spittle Bugs in our 70" edition of

September 2013, prompted our

long-time member and gifted artist

Grace Lithgow to send copies of

drawings she made in the 1990’s.

These drawings accompanied a

1996 article in “Urimbirra” which

is the newsletter of the Chinchilla

Field Naturalists Club and I thank

Grace for allowing us to reproduce

them here.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 24

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NEW HOST PLANT RECORD

Hymenia perspectalis (Hiibner, 1796) possible new host plant-

Peter Hendry

I received the following, with the accompanying images from Glenn Leiper

"Hi Peter,

I was at a friend's place at Capalaba yesterday and she’s finishing off landscaping

her new place. All native plants of various sorts. One plant, a salt bush of some sort

(I’ll have to go to Neilsens Nursery to find out what it is), is getting quickly stripped

by caterpillars. We looked hard but couldn't see any. But when we touched some of

the branches, a cloud of small moths appeared.

They re only around 10 mm from wing tip to wing tip, maybe 12 mm at very most if I

stretched the wings out. I brought one home in a zip-lock bag, and got a couple of

poor shots tonight. Thought it might be of interest if you knew what it was, and then I

can let you know the host plant (if that’s of any interest?).

Regards, Glenn Leiper."

Hymenia perspectalis — under Hymenia perspectalis — upper

Recognizing the moth as a member of the Crambidae family I was able to supply

Glenn with a name, Hymenia perspectalis (Hiibner, 1796). Glenn replied with the

host plant and the following information. "The plant that the moth was using as a

host plant is Rhagodia spinescens. It’s a saltbush found out on the Darling Downs.

There are other Rhagodia species throughout Old, and one species in the south-east

.... Rhagodia hastata. There’s a good chance the moth might use other plants in the

saltbush family (Chenopodiaceae) as hosts too."

A check in Common (1990) showed Glenn's premonition to be correct. Known as the

beet webworm H. perspectalis is a pest of beetroot and silver beet, both

Chenopodiaceae. Common, lists another Chenopodiaceae, Chenopodium

macrospermum, as well as the following host plants, cockscomb (Celosia) and

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 25

Amaranthus both (Amaranthaceae) and the introduced weed Trianthema

portulacastrum (Aizoaceae).

Common, gives the distributation for H. perspectalis as the warmer areas of the world

and in Australia over most of the Continent, although it is much more common north

of Perth in the west and north of Sydney in the east.

I have searched the web but found no record of H. perspectalis feeding on salt bush,

so I believe Glenn's record to be a new host plant record.

Reference:

Common, I.F.B. 1990. Moths of Australia, Melb Univ Press.

Photos Glenn Leiper

EXCURSION REPORT

Club Excursion to Aub Podlich’s Property at Obum Obum -

Ross Kendall

On February 1“ and 2", the oft-postponed (due to dry weather) Club excursion to

Aub’s patch of vine scrub finally occurred. Our host met us at his picnic area near a

small dam - GPS location 27° 54’ 48” S 152° 38’ 46” E - and led visitors along tracks

through the scrub.

What impressed me was the great age of

many of the trees and vines. A list of the

plants of the area compiled by Aub and

members of the Fassifern Field Naturalists

Over many years is attached. While the area

had yet to be blessed with rain after the

prolonged dry spell we still recorded 14

butterfly species on the wing. A list of all

recorded butterflies is also attached.

—°

es - t

. Ancient Corky Milk Vine (Secamone

Aub has written: “Our 43 acre Obum Scrub elliptica) — Photo Ross Kendall

on Obum Obum Hill (a name meaning "hard

stone") is a low-growing remnant of the once vast Fassifern Scrub. Because it is

based on volcanic rock, softwood species (Peanut Tree, Crows Ash, Foambark, Scrub

Wilga, etc.) predominate, with numerous vines and a scattering of Brigalow. It has

never been cleared, but has been logged and has suffered greatly from 120 years of

cattle and now exotic vines such as asparagus, cat's claw, madeira, and siratro. Early

European settlers here were required to clear the scrubs in order to secure full title to

their land. Nevertheless some, notably the Germans, left a few acres standing on each

farm to be used as a resource, hence the fragments that remain. Despite its degraded

state, like all the remaining fragments of Fassifern and Dugandan Scrubs, it is a

valuable but rare ecosystem, habitat in our case for 54 butterfly species (our favourite

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 26

is the Four-barred Swordtail), hundreds of moth species, 135 species of birds and

about 15 species of frog.

_ —_— Under the previous tree-clearing laws, most

of the Fassifern Scrubs were protected as an

endangered ecosystem. Under the present

State Government the laws have changed to

allow landowners to clear without a permit,

(which means without the new $2,500 fee)

unless rare plants are found in the scrub. On

the whole, Fassifern people do protect their

scrubs, and predictably will continue to do

so. Where a landowner wants to raze a

scrub, you can be sure there won't be too

many rare trees "found". (The best known

"special" tree in the Fassifern Scrubs is the

Boonah Tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis tomentella )

classified as ‘vulnerable’ and only found in

this district. Our scrub has at least 200

specimens of them.”

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On Saturday afternoon, we were joined by

members of the Fassifern Field Naturalists

Club who enjoyed an evening barbecue.

Bitter Bark (A/stonia constricta) They were particularly interested in the

Photo Marie-Louise Johnson

setting up and operation by Wes Jenkinson

and Richard Zietek of UV lights above

white sheets. A good range of moths

arrived but beetle visitors were in short

supply. Wes has supplied us with a

combined list of over 100 moth species

from 17 families from a similar “light

trap” in December 2013 and that on

February 1°. As this is quite lengthy

and would take up several pages if

published here, we will be happy to send

a copy to any reader who wants one.

Norm Jenkinson, Wes Jenkinson and Marie-Louise I thank Aub sincerely for his generous

at the light sheet - Photo Barry Jahncke ho spitality and assistance and must

congratulate and thank Wes for the

enormous task of identifying all those moths and sending images. I also thank Barry

Jahncke and Marie-Louise Johnson for their photos.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 27

Plants of Obum

TREES AND SHRUBS

Abutilon auritum

Abutilon oxycarpum

Acacia concurrens

Acacia fasciculifera - Rosewood Wattle

Acacia harpophylla - Brigalow

Acacia maidenii - Black Wattle

Acacia salicina - Sally Wattle

Acalypha eremorum

Acronychia pauciflora - Soft Acronychia

Alchornia ilicifolia - Native Holly

Alphitonia excela - Soapwood/Red Ash

Alectryon conatus

Alectryon diversifolius -Scrub Boonaree

Alectryon tomentosus -Hairy Alectryon

Alstonia constricta - Bitter Bark

Alyxia ruscifolia - Chain Fruit

Aphananthe philippeninsis - Rough-leaved

Elm

Atalaya salicifolia - Brush Whitewood

Brachychiton discolor - Lacebark

Brachychiton rupestris - Bottle Tree

Bridelia leichhardtii - Small-leaved Brush

Ironbark

Bursaria incana - Prickly Pine

Capparis arborea - Native Pomegranate

Capparis sarmentosa

Carissa ovata - Currant/Sloe Bush

Cassia tomentella - Velvet Cassia

Croton insularis - Silver Croton

Cupaniopsis parvifolia - Small-leaved

Tuckeroo

Cupaniopsis tomentella - Boonah Tuckeroo

Cyclophyllum coprosmoides - Coast

Canthium

Dendrocnide photinophylla - Shiny-leaved

Stinger

Denhamia pittosporoides -Veiny Denhamia

Diosporos fasciculosa - Grey Ebony

Diospyros geminata - Queensland Ebony

Dodonaea viscosa - Sticky Hopbush

Drypetes deplanchei -Yellow Tulip

Elaeodendron australe - Red Olive Plum

Elattystachys xylocarpa -White Tamarind

Ehretia membranifolia - Koda

Erythrina vespertilio - Batswing Coral

Everistia vacciniifolia var. nervosa -

Small-leaved Canthium

Excoecaria dallachyana -Brush Poison

Tree

Exocarpus latifolius -Broad-leaved Cherry

Eucalyptus crebra - Narrow-leaved

Ironbark

Eucalyptus melanophioia - Silver-leaved

Ironbark

Eucalyptus tereticornis - Qld Blue Gum

Ficus obliqua - Small-leaved Fig

Ficus platypoda - Rock Fig

Flindersia australis - Crows Ash

Flindersia collina - Leopard Ash

Geijera Ssalicifolia var. latifolia -

Broad-leaved Scrub Wilga

Gossia bidwillii - Pythonwood

Grewia latifolia - Dogs Balls

Jagera pseudorhus - Foambark

Mallotus claoxyloides - Green Kamala

Mallotus philippensis - Red Kamala

Maytenus bilocularis - Orangebark

Maytenus disperma

Melia azedarach - White Cedar

Micromelum minutum - Lime Berry

Myrsine variabile - Muttonwood

Notalea microcarpa - Velvet Mock-Olive

Owenia venosa - Rose Apple

Pavetta australiensis - Butterfly Bush

Pentaceras austral - Bastard Crows Ash

Petalostygma pubescens - Quinine Tree

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 28

Pittosporum angustifolium -

Weeping Pittosporum/Native Apricot

Pittosporum revolutum -Y ellow

Pittosporum

Pittosporum rhombifolium -

Diamond-leaved Pittosporum

Pittosporum viscidum - Black-fruited

Thornbush

Pouteria cotinifolia - Small-leaved

Coondoo

Pouteria pohlmanniana -Y ellow Boxwood

Psydrax odorata forma buxifolia - Stiff

Canthium

Psydrax odorata forma odorata -

Shiny-leaved/Scented Canthium

Senna gaudichaudii - Climbing Senna

Siphonodon australis - lvorywood

Solanum stelligerum - Star Nightshade

Spartothamnella juncia - Square Stemmed

Broom

Sterculia quadrifida - Peanut Tree

Trema tomentosa var viridis -Native Peach

Turraea pubescens - Native Witch Hazel

Vitex lignum-vitae - Satinwood — Premna

Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum - ‘Thorny

Yellowwood

VINES/SCRAMBLERS

Austrosteensia blackii - Blood Vine

Cudrania cochinensis - Cockspur

Cayratia acris - Hairy Water Vine

Clamatocissus opaca - syn. Cissus opaca

Eustrephus latifolius - Wombat Berry

Geitonoplesium cymosum -Scrambling Lily

Hoya australis - Hoya

Jasminum didymium - Native Jasmine

Jasminum simplicifolium - Native Jasmine

Malaisia (Trophis) scandens -Burney Vine

BEDS PE DS PF OE bs PE DT De Pe bs Pe be pe Pe bd Pe bg

Pandorea pandorana - Wonga Vine

Melodurum leichhardtii - Zig Zag Vine

Secamone elliptica - Corky Vine

Tinospora smilacina - (Heart-shaped

leaves, red-orange fruit, poison)

GRASSES, SEDGES, ETC

Ancistrachne uncinulata - Hookey Grass

Gymnostachys anceps - Settler’s Flax

Juncus usitatus - Common Rush

Lomandra longifolia - Matrush

Oplismenus aemulus - Creeping Shade

Grass

Stipa ramocissima

Typha orientalis - Bullrush

HERBS, WILDFLOWERS, ORCHIDS

Dendrobium teretifolium - Pencil Orchid

Dockrilla linguiformis - Tick Orchid

Tropilis aemula (syn. Dendrobium

aemulum) - Ironbark Orchid

Kinadia trigonos ssp stellulata - Saltbush

Mentha diemenica - Native Mint

Plumbago zeylanica - Native Plumbago

Pseuderanthemum variabile - Love Flower

Wahlenbergia gracilis - Blue Bell

FERNS

Adiantum aethiopicum - Maidenhair

Azolla pinnata - Duckweed

Cheilanthes sieberi - Rock Fern

Pellaea paradoxa

Pyrrosia rupestris - Rock Felt Fern

MISTLETOE

Amyema congener ssp congener on Geijera

salicifolia

EXOTICS/PEST SPECIES

Anredera cordifolia - Madeira Vine

Asparagus africanus (3 species)

Baccharis halimofolia - Groundsel

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 29

Bidens pilosa - Cobbler Pegs

Book-leaf Pine

Bougainvillea - Bougainvillea

Bryophyllum - Mother of Millions

Celtis - Chinese Elm

Eucalyptus torelliana - Cadaghi

Fireweed

Green Cestrum

Jacaranda

Lantana camara

Creeping Lantana

Leucena

Obum butterflies - * denotes butterflies

sighted in February 2014

Australian Admiral (Vanessa itea)

Banded Grass-skipper (7oxidia parvulus)

Black-ringed Ochre (7rapezites petalia)

Blue Tiger (Tirumala hamata) *

Blue Triangle (Graphium sarpedon)

Bright Cornelian (Deudorix diovis)

Brown Ringlet (Hypocysta metirius)

Caper Gull (Cepora perimale)

Caper White (Belenois java)

Chalk White (Zlodina parthia)*

Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio

demoleus)

Clearwing Swallowtail (Cressida cressida)

Common Aeroplane (Phaedyma

shepherdi)*

Common Albatros (Appias paulina)*

Common Brown (Heteronympha

merope)

Common Crow (Luploea core) *

Common Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina)

Common Grass Blue (Zizina labradus)*

Common Grass Yellow (Eurema

hecabe)

Common Migrant (Catopsilia pyranthe)

Dark Cerulean (Jamides phaseli)

Dingy Grass-skipper (7oxidia peron)

Dingy Ringlet (Hypocysta pseudirius)

Evening Brown (Melanitis leda)

Macfadyena unguis-cati - Cats Claw

Ragweed

Salvia coccinea - Red Salvia

Scotch Thistle

Schinus molle - Pepperina

Solanum sp. - Wild Tobacco

Solanum braziliensis

Xanthium spinosum - Bathurst Burr

Zinnia

Introduced grasses, many, incl. Rhodes

Grass, Paspalum, Green Panic, African

Pigeon Grass, Fodder Tree, 1n shed area

Four-barred Swordtail (Protographium

leosthenes) *

Fuscous Swallowtail (Papilio fuscus)

Glasswing (Acraea andromacha)

Hairy Line-blue (Erysichton lineata)

Lemon Migrant (Catopsilia pomona)

Lesser Wanderer (Danaus chrysippus

petilia)*

Meadow Argus (Junonia villida)

Monarch (Danaus plexippus)*

Orange Ringlet (Hypocysta adiante)

Orchard Swallowtail (Papilio aegeus)*

Pale Triangle (Graphium eurypylus)

Pale-orange Darter (Telicota colon)

Pink Grass-yellow (Eurema herla)

Plumbago Blue (Leptotes plinius)

Saltbush Blue (Theclinesthes serpentata)

Scarlet Jezebel (Delias argenthona)

Short-tailed Line-blue (Prosotas felderi)*

Small Grass Yellow (Eurema smilax)

Small Green-banded Blue (Psychonotis

caelius)

Small Purple Line-blue (Prosatas dubiosa)

Tailed Emperor (Polyura sempronius)

Tailed Pea-blue (Lampides boeticus)

Yellow Migrant (Catopsilia gorgophone)*

Yellow-spotted Jezebel (Delias nysa)

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 30

Moths photographed at Obum Obum

Digama marmorea Thalatha guttalis Radinocera maculosus

Agamana sarmentosa Achaea janata

Grammoes sp. nr. diagarmma Bastilla sp?

Acosmeryx* anceus

Cardamyla didymalis

Photos Wesley Jenkinson

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 31

LETTERS

Hi Daphne,

Thought the members of BOIC would like an update on my investigation into the

National Geographic BUGS magazines with bugs 1n Perspex, that has been on sale in

newsagents for many months. As you know I give positive feedback where possible,

as with the book review on "Bugs of the Ocean" by Kerry Swanson. Kerry explained

in the Introduction that the book was about microscopic life in the ocean and the word

"bugs" did not refer to the scientific definition of " insects with biting and sucking

mouthparts" but to the more general view of "tiny living things that move around".

I would like to be able to give a similar positive review of the National Geographic

magazine series called "Real-Life Bugs & Insects" but after an investigation I have

found that it is just a money making enterprise with many errors in the magazines,

according to one of their own staff members. She points out to issue 17 and 18 as

examples and states that now these 16-page issues, selling at $12.95 per copy, are up

to issue 87. We became suspicious after Issue 13, which was not the correct bug in

perspex, and decided to call it quits after spending $200. I wanted something for

students.

Issue 8 was titled Spectacular Cicadas but the bug 1n perspex was a Chinese Lantern

Bug from a different Superfamily. Their website is based in the UK but perhaps the

collecting is done in China. By the time they reached Issue 23 even the staff of the

local newsagency said "We know a mosquito when we see one and this looks more

like a beetle". If anyone else has been caught out by this series I would be interested

to hear your feedback, since all of the subject matter 1s Arthropoda and most are from

the Insecta or Arachnida.

Regards,

Dennis - dennistafe@yahoo.com

IS IS SIS FS 2 OS OK OK OK OK

Erratum: - Peter Hendry

In the article The genus Grammodes (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae; Catocalinae) published

in Metamorphosis Australia, Issue 62 (September 2011), pp. 19-21, the name

G. comma should read G. cooma.

I am indebted to Don Herbison-Evans for pointing out my error.

i Se i ie ie a

Captured in Flight!

After visiting a friend’s four acre property here in Toowoomba, there was a pleasant

Surprise waiting for me when I returned to my car.

Attached to the white paintwork of our Volkswagon was a Longhorn beetle, which I

duly caught and placed into a plastic container. Next day, when inspecting the beetle,

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 32

it was obvious that this specimen was not happy being imprisoned as it was chewing a

hole in the lid! I placed the beetle into our freezer for several minutes so I could

photograph it without it taking flight (so I thought) (Fig. 1). Yes! It required more

time in the freezer, which I gave it.

Several photos later (Fig. 2) the specimen was given a painless death, and sent to Dr.

Adam Slipinski at Echo Systems Sciences in Canberra for identification. Thanks to

Adam he identified the Coleoptera as a species of Acalolepta. |= Ron May

Photos Ron May

Fig. 1

OK OK OK Oi Oi OK FS OS 2S OK

Ed.: There 1s a question about bees and myrtle rust in the “You Asked” section and I

asked IndigiScapes 1f they had an image which I could include. They obligingly did

so and also sent the following note which I thought would be of interest.

“Good afternoon Daphne,

Please find attached photographs of

Myrtle Rust as requested. Strangely

enough we were just commenting a few

weeks back that we’ve not seen very

much of it this year, probably due to the

drier summer we had this year. It really

seems to thrive in the wet and warm

conditions, like most fungal diseases.

Please note that it 1s considered to be

: well established in south-east Queensland

now and you are now under no legal obligation to report or control it. That said, it is

a good idea to control it 1f you have persistent infections as these can become the

source of future infections in your garden. Unfortunately the best control is often the

removal of the host plant 1f the infection is severe, as some species are particularly

susceptible and the fungicide rotation required to control is not without its safety

issues and biological impacts.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 33

For further information on species that are affected by Myrtle Rust, Pd recommend

checking the Qld Government fact sheet:

http://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/agriculture/land-management/health-pests-

weeds-diseases/weeds-and-diseases/identify-myrtle-rust/plants-affected-myrtle-rust

I hope this is of some help, please feel free to give me a call should you need to know

more.

Kind regards,

Travis Green

Extension Officer | Community Bushcare

Environment & Education | Redland City Council”

Photo courtesy of IndigiScapes

YOU ASKED

4 , Y, The thing in the attached photos

- was found on a dead twig in a gum tree.

Is ita case or bagmoth? It was found on

_ my property in the Southern Highlands

of NSW, SSE of Canberra at about 840m

above sea level. It is about 20mm in

length and I'm now keeping it in

"captivity" to see what happens.

Cheers, John Mansfield

TK OK OK ok Oi OK FS 8 OK

Y, Strangely, I observed European Honey bees as well as some unidentified

native bees very busily collecting Myrtle Rust from the leaves of a badly affected tree.

, Could bees be spreading it? Is ita

suitable food or pollen substitute for

feeding their young? Does this only

occur if there is a shortage of pollen due

to dry weather as was the case during

January 2014? In the past I had observed

bees collecting Pollard (a finely milled

wheat product) from the storage drums

we kept our horse feed in. They were

persistent and it became difficult to avoid

incorporating them into the mixed feed,

an unpleasant surprise for an unsuspecting horse!

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 34

Also, 1s there any common connection between the Great Carpenter bee, the Green

Carpenter bee, the Teddy Bear bee and the Blue-banded bee’? Lois Hughes

Photo courtesy of IndigiScapes

A Honeybees are known to collect it as are other insects and rusts are highly

transportable. The most common dispersal mechanism 1s via wind but they may also

attract bees who work the spores on leaves. The spores can also be spread via

contaminated clothing, infected plant material and insect movement.

It is probably stored as a source of protein to feed young bees (brood) but I can find

no literature to support this theory.

Honeybees are known to collect alternative substances as a substitute for propolis (bee

glue), nectar and pollen. Some of the more newsworthy include wet paint and road

tar, as a substitute for propolis. A blue coloured confectionary waste was substituted

for nectar. A beekeeper in France found blue honey in his hive and traced it back to a

confectionary manufacturing plant disposal bin. So it is most likely rusts are collected

as a pollen substitute. I once kept bees in a water treatment plant (read sewerage! )

apparently they were very attracted to the peas and carrots.... . | had some of the

biggest healthiest bees I have ever seen, say no more!

To answer your second question - Yes they do share a common connection in that

they are all "Buzz Pollinators" All four species mentioned in “Getting a Buzz”

vigorously vibrate their flight muscles to produce sound waves which cause the

anthers of certain species of flower to release their pollen.

http://australianmuseum.net.au/image/Great-Carpenter-Bee-sonication-Corinne-

Jordan/#sthash.oa6E2LXf.dput Corinne Jordan

oe i Se i i i

Hi Daphne.

I’ve attached a photo of an interesting

weevil found on a Pomaderris species

near Proston last week.

A small group of us “plant nuts” were

exploring the roadside remnants of the

area on deep red soil, probably of

basaltic origin.

Maurie Tucker was the one with the

keen eye who spotted it, and I

managed to get a couple of quick

shots before it flew off.

I didn’t realise their flight was that good. Regards, Glenn Leiper

Ed.: Can anyone provide an identification?

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 35

& Y, Here's another curious insect to

ponder over. A beetle in a fairisle jumper (!)

except Adam Slipinski, CSIRO's beetle

expert, doesn't know what it is. Do you?

Cheers and thanks, John Mansfield

TK OK OK 2 ok OK FS OK OK

9. Was wondering 1f Lepidozmia

peroffskvana has been listed as a host plant

for the Cycad blue butterfly? I have done a

web search and looked through all my books

but I can not see it listed. Last year they laid

on my small plant I have at home but did not

feed. This year they laid and proceeded to

feed on the newest leaf material, I tried

looking for pupae but couldn't find any. I have a photo of the leaf that had the larvae

on it but it was taken a couple of weeks after the larvae left but you can still see the

eaten leaf segments. If anyone has any information related to this it would be great to

hear. I also posted a similar post on the Facebook page to see if anyone else has heard

as well. Thank you Mark Korner

ITEMS OF INTEREST (CONTD.)

Plague Soldier Beetles m | / V8 Va

(Chauliognathus lugubris)

Revisited — Ross Kendall

In early January this year, while visiting

the Tenterfield area in northern NSW, I

noticed hundreds of green and gold

beetles on Mt MacKenzie (29° 05’ 03” S,

151° 58’ 04” E). Later that day, I

observed the same beetles at Basket

Swamp (28° 53’ 44” S, 152° 09’ 58” E).

The beetles were clustered on the leaves

of Eucalypts in their tens of thousands.

Reproduced below 1s an article from the

BOIC Newsletter (# 13 published in June

1999).

Soldier Beetle:

Around Christmas last year we noticed masses of small beetles clinging together in

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 36

clumps all over several bushes and a couple of trees. Almost like a swarm of bees,

they were hanging like fruit from every twig. This infestation gradually tapered off

until by the end of January they were no longer to be found. These creatures, about

15 millimetres long and narrow, just over 3 mm. wide, had dark olive wing-cases, an

orange body and black heads.

After much searching, an illustration of these creatures was found, naming them

Plague Soldier Beetles. Their appearance occurred about three weeks after a severe

bushfire in the district (Ravensbourne) and it may be possible that the stimulus of the

fire caused them all to appear simultaneously. After many enquiries amongst the

locals, some long-term residents of the area seemed to remember seeing them, but

many years ago. Somewhere towards the end of May I started to see what seemed

like small black grubs on the ground over a considerable area, but by and large not too

far from where the beetles were seen. Not linking the two events at first, I was

nonetheless intrigued to see that some, which were on a meat-ants nest, were totally

ignored by the ants. They all looked freshly dead, but on reflection, may have just

been lying "doggo".

I have seen them in more and more areas since then, up to 1 kilometre away. Some I

collected nearly two weeks ago had reduced a freshly-fallen leaf to a skeleton in a

couple of hours. These I showed to John Moss, who immediately searched his

literature on beetles and it appears that these are definitely the larval form of those

Soldier Beetles.

From the Family Cantharidae; the larva are said to be carnivorous, but not a lot is

known about their life cycle. Perhaps they are omnivorous? Why did they appear so

suddenly? Hundreds of thousands of adults, and now, probably millions of young

(about 500 or more were collected in less than one square metre). What are their

predators? Did they fly into this area or were they there all along? So conspicuous

and yet nobody had seen them for many years! Yet another of Nature's many

mysteries. Jim Johnston

As Jim comments, I searched the books and the Internet J a a

following the appearance of these beetles. My experience had

been with a related family, the Lycidae (Flower Beetles) and to a /

lesser extent Lampyridae (Fireflies). All three families are

relatively poorly represented in Australia and were once

considered to be a single family, the Malacodermidae.

ae tee

In Australia, Soldier Beetles occur mostly 1n coastal areas. They

are small to medium sized (3-20 mm long), soft-bodied, y $£.

elongate and usually coloured in various combinations of red, Bf ) \

yellow, brown and bluish-black. In some species the wings and

wing covers (elytra) only partially cover the abdomen and others

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 37

Fig. 1 - Soldier Beetle

extend the whole length (fig. 1 - after F. Nanniaga, C.S.I.R.O.).

Overseas, especially in the USA, Soldier Beetles are more 1n evidence and the

following extract from Iowa Insect Information Service (by Donald Lewis,

Department of Entomology, Iowa State University) is quite informative.

"Soldier beetles are a common outdoor insect that can be abundant accidental

invaders as either larvae or adults. Soldier beetles are nicknamed leatherwings

because of their soft, clothlike wing covers, which when brightly colored are

reminiscent of uniforms. The beetles are elongate, soft-bodied and about 1/2" long.

Colors vary from yellow to red with brown or black wings or trim. Soldier beetles

resemble lightning bugs but do not have light-producing organs."

"Soldier beetle larvae are long, slender and worm-like. The sides of the body appear

rippled or scalloped because of indentations within each body segment (see fig. 2).

The body is covered with tiny dense bristles and appears velvety. Color is dark brown

to gray. The larvae usually spend the winter in

damp soil and debris or under loose bark. They are

particularly abundant as accidental invaders inside

the house in the fall when they are searching for ;

protected locations in which to spend the winter." Fig 2. - Soldier Beetle larva

"Both adults and larvae are predacious and feed on other insects. The adults eat

caterpillars, aphids, and other soft-bodied insects and can be important predators. As

they lie in wait for prey on flowers such as goldenrod they may feed on nectar and

pollen but they do no damage to the plants."

"Since soldier beetles are beneficial and harmless it is unnecessary to control them.

Larvae that enter a house in the fall are only a nuisance. Entry can be prevented by

weather-stripping, caulking and other measures that seal likely points of entry.

Spraying of either the exterior perimeter or the interior has little if any benefit.

Soldier beetles already inside the house need only be swept or picked up and

discarded."

It is not known with certainty what the Australian species feed on, although there is

no doubt the larvae we observed certainly ate the leaf material. Barry Moore

(Fascicle No. 9 of "A Guide to the Beetles of South-eastern Australia") says -

"Both adult and larval cantharids are, at least in part, predacious, but little 1s known of

the feeding habits of the local species." Hawkeswood (Beetles of Australia, Angus &

Robertson, 1987) comments "Many species feed as adults on nectar from native plants

- the larvae are said to be carnivorous feeding upon smaller invertebrates."

CSIRO's authoritative Insects of Australia Volume II 1991, says in part.

"Adult cantharids are active during daylight and are sometimes found in large

numbers on flowers and vegetation." (Jim's observations confirm this.) "They are

known to attack other insects, but they may feed as well on pollen, nectar and fresh

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 38

foliage." "Larvae are common in soil and leaf litter where they are usually general

predators. Some Holarctic species, however, are known to be phytophagous" (plant

eating!), which would indicate that this may be true of at least the species we

observed. John Moss”

References:

There is an informative website: http://csironewsblog.com/2012/1 1/08/insect-of-the-

week-the-plague-soldier-beetle-isnt-nearly-as-bad-as-it-sounds which even has a short

video clip at the end of it.

Also http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-blog/jan-2012/plague-soldier-beetles/1s

enjoyable to read through, plus

http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_beetles/PlagueSoldierBeetle.htm and

http://australianmuseum.net.au/Plague-Soldier-Beetle

BUTTERFLY AND OTHER INVERTEBRATES CLUB PROGRAMME

Planning and General Meeting

What: A talk by John Moss on some of the insects in his extensive collection will

follow our quarterly planning meeting.

When: Saturday 2" August 2014 from 10am

Where: John’s place at Capalaba — address provided on RSVP

Who: All members are welcome.

RSVP: Ross Kendall on 07 3378 1187, 0402 254 370 ross@butterflyencounters.com.au

BOIC Display at the Brisbane Exhibition

What: The club will maintain a display for the duration of the “Ekka’”’. Apart from

books and posters, we will also have “live” invertebrates and a continuous

slide show.

Two members will be in constant attendance.

When: From Friday 8" August to Sunday 17" August

Where: In the Horticultural Pavilion, Brisbane Exhibition Grounds

Who: Everyone is welcome to drop by.

BOIC Display at Kumbartcho Festival

What: The club will maintain a display manned by Ross Kendall and Richard

Zietek.

When: On Sunday 31° August 2014 from 10am to 3pm

Where: Kumbartcho, 15 Bunya Pine Court, Eatons Hill

Who: Members from the northside of Brisbane are especially welcome to drop by.

The Society for Growing Australian Plants Spring Flower Show

What: SGAP always has a spectacular display of native flowers and sponsor the

sales of a wide range of native plants at very reasonable prices. Our club will

maintain a display and have butterfly host plants for sale.

When: On Saturday October 11" and Sunday October 12"

Where: The auditorium at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens

Who: All members are welcome to drop by 1f within range.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 39

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, both

amateur and professional, to express their views and observations about invertebrates. These

are not necessarily those of the BOIC. The manuscripts are submitted for comment to

entomologists or people working in the area of the topic being discussed. 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 is done with the efforts of:

e Those members who have sent in letters and articles

Lois Hughes who provided the cover painting

Daphne Bowden who works on layout, production and distribution

John Moss, Dr Megan Halcroft and Dr Anne Dollin 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 contribution. Ppedicated to a hetter 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 $30.00 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 number and surname e.g. 234 Roberts.

BRISBANE CITY

Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club Inc.

PO Box 2113

RUNCORN Q. 4113

Next event — Planning and General Meeting - Saturday 2" August 2014 from

10am — See programme for details

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #73 — Page 40