PLANNING AND ORGANIZING COMMITTEE 2017

President: Ross Kendall 07 3378 1187

Vice President: Richard Zietek 07 3390 1950

Treasurer: Rob MacSloy 07 3824 4348

Secretary: Dawn Franzmann QO7 3325 3573

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

Field Trip Co-ordinator: Paul Klicin 0411 031 406

Committee Member: John Moss 07 3245 2997

PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION MEETINGS

A quarterly meeting is scheduled 1n 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 THE ORGANIZATION

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

e To hold information meetings about invertebrates;

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 wish to submit an item for publication the following deadlines apply:

March issue — February 1* June issue — May 1°

September issue — August 1° December issue — November 1°

All articles should be submitted directly to the Editor daphne.bowden1l(@bigpond.com

ALL MATERIAL IN THIS MAGAZINE IS COPYRIGHT TO BOIC AND THE

AUTHORS, ARTISTS, AND PHOTOGRAPHERS INVOLVED.

COVER PAINTING

Euploea corinna (Common Australian Crow) ¢ - Painting by Andrew Atkins, March-

April 2017 - watercolour and gouache on watercolour board

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 2

FROM THE PRESIDENT

This edition of our magazine 1s a bumper one being the largest one yet. This is due, of

course, to the wonderful support of so many contributors who sent a wide range of

articles. I would like to list them all here but will leave you to discover them as you read.

However, having said that, I will mention one of them, Bob Miller. Bob 1s a very long

time member of the club and he contributed many articles in its early days. Having battled

illness now for many years, it 1s wonderful that he has been able to send us his story on the

Tawny Coster.

A number of club members visited the Bribie Island Butterfly House 1n late March to see

the progress of this wonderful project and were deeply impressed by the planning and

work that had been completed. There was already quite a number of butterfly species

happily flying in the attractive butterfly enclosure. Soon the establishment will be open to

the public. I am sure that there will be repeated visits by a large range of individuals and

eroups. Full marks must be awarded to Ray and Delphine Archer for steering and

supporting the project, which has had amazing involvement of and by the local

community. The BOIC management committee has resolved to make a cash contribution

of $2000.00 to assist in the final stages of completion.

Due to amendments of the relevant government legislation, it is necessary for the club to

make some minor changes to its constitution. The committee 1s working on these and will

take a final draft to a general meeting in August. If you would like to see the proposed

new constitution, please email me at admin@butterflyencounters.com.au.

Best wishes, Ross

Creature Feature - Raising Common Crow (Euploea corinna) Caterpillars ................cccee ees 4

Common Crow raised on Frangipani (Report on findings and observations) ...............c..0086+ 6

President's: Report for the 2017 AGM) ......ccccecstevevevstevsrsstevebelnsbesbesertetevebety beveteineinutcarinatiens 12

New Distribution Records for Polyommatine butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

in Australia, including biological notes. Part II — Nacaduba and Prosotas...............4+. 14

The most important midge in the world and other mMides...............cccccccesseccceseceeeeceeeeeeceees 23

Tree-nymphs (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae).................ceecccceeseccceesecceeeeeceeeeeeceeees 24

Some Notes on the Biology of Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), and

Some Problems with Rhytiphora Taxonomy ..........cccccccccsssecccsecccesccccesececeneceeaecceaeeces 26

Life history notes on the Evening Brown, Melanitis leda bankia (Fabricius, 1775)........... 30

A new aphid arrival - the Asian Woolly Hackberry Aphid (Shivaphis celti).............000000... 35

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Book Review: < Te yokaiie Ia pines 2.23.02... bevetane tee tenerenedunedeuedenhdvadaradecidane teneasghvagiocgesginlays 4]

Reports - Australian Native Bees — A talk by Erica Siegel at the AGM on 1.4.17 ............. 42

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 3

CREATURE FEATURE

Raising Common Crow (Euploea corinna) Caterpillars — Paul Klicin

Last issue we explored raising the Monarch butterfly caterpillar along with my own

personal experience with raising them.

Another fairly common butterfly is the Common Crow. Its distribution is quite

widespread and abundant across Australia.

> ¢

els -

aU EL AL MELT

Common Crow distribution within Australia

They are another very easy caterpillar to

Source: Braby. The Complete Field Guide to y y y P

Datierfiies af Aaveieelia raise and kids find them interesting.

The larval food plant list for this caterpillar 1s quite extensive and Braby (2016)

reports over 50 species of food plants (in the Apocynaceae and Moraceae families).

You should not have too much trouble locating food for this caterpillar. Some

common food plants you will often find growing 1n gardens are the Oleander (Nerium

oleander) and the Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina). Also quite commonly found in

local bushland is the Monkey Rope vine (Parsonsia straminea). It 1s a favourite host

plant of the Common Crow and one where you will often find tiny yellow eggs

recently laid on the tips of fresh leaf growth. These butterflies will often be seen

flying about these vines looking for a place to lay their eggs. These are easy to collect

if you decide to and usually the caterpillar hatches within a few days of the eggs being

laid. Make sure you have a fresh supply of new growth ready for when these tiny

caterpillars hatch. A careful scan of these vines will often reveal a mature caterpillar

or two. Being another voracious eater like the Monarch caterpillar, these caterpillars

are also fast growing. For an extensive list of host plants for this butterfly and many

others please refer to ‘Butterfly Host Plants of South-east Queensland and Northern

New South Wales’. This book is available for about $12 from the Butterfly and Other

Invertebrates Club.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 4

Common Crow butterfly chrysalises

A unique feature of the Common Crow caterpillar is its shiny silver and sometimes

gold chrysalis. In the background of the photo on the right is a just freshly formed

pupa which has not yet turned that distinctive silver colour.

Newly emerged Common Crow butterfly

Butterflies emerge quite quickly from the chrysalis. If you want to witness this, and

you leave the room for even a minute, you will probably miss 1t!

It doesn’t take long for the butterfly’s wings to unfold and dry out.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 5

The next step, of course, 1s to release your newly emerged butterfly. Butterflies are

not always ready to fly off straight away and depending on how long you have had

them in your enclosure will depend on how ready they are to take flight.

Should you decide to raise these caterpillars please send in your photos with a short

story on your experiences as we would love to hear from you.

Common Crow raised on Frangipani (Report on findings and

observations) — Paul Klicin

I have recently completed some interesting findings regareing, a host plant for the

Common Crow that 1s presently not :

listed in the current 3™ Edition of the

‘Butterfly Host Plants of South-east

Queensland and Northern New South

Wales’ booklet.

About 12 months ago I was walking

past a flowering Frangipani (Plumeria

rubra) in my front garden and spotted a

rather mature Common Crow caterpillar

feeding on a leaf. Apart from the

Monarch and Orchard Swallowtail, at

this point in time, I was quite ignorant

about the different varieties of host

plant that different butterflies use. I

contacted former, and now current, club

President, Ross Kendall to quiz him

about my find. If memory serves me

correctly, Ross asked me if I was sure

that I had identified the plant correctly

as the Frangipani was not regarded as a

host plant for the Common Crow. If I

had indeed correctly identified the plant

and the caterpillar was able to complete Frangipani (Plumeria rubra)

its life cycle and go all the way through to

become a butterfly, this may be something worth writing about in the future as a new

host plant. As I was new to butterflies and their host plants, I began to doubt myself

as obviously the Frangipani was not listed in any printed sources that I could find. I

pondered upon this for a short time before doing some research online and as it turned

out, I had 1n fact identified the Frangipani plant correctly.

While it was not totally unheard of to find Common Crow caterpillars feeding on the

Frangipani plant, the tales often told by others were that due to the sap of the

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 6

Frangipani being poisonous, more often than not the caterpillars would either die or

the butterfly would fail to emerge from the chrysalis having died during

metamorphosis.

As this was an unusual find, I removed the caterpillar from the Frangipani plant and

decided to hand raise it. Perhaps I was lucky on this occasion but the caterpillar

eventually pupated and emerged as a healthy butterfly. Considering that the

Frangipani belongs to the Apocynaceae family (scientific classification) as reported in

Braby’s ‘The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia’ (2016) of being in the

family of host plant to the Common Crow, I guess this should not come as a complete

surprise.

After my first success in raising this caterpillar on Frangipani, I decided to prove this

again but this time for a full life cycle. However, it was now coming into winter and

the Frangipani dropped all its leaves so I would have to wait until Spring.

Once the warm weather returned and my Frangipani was covered in leaves again I

visited some local bushland and collected 4 egg specimens of the Common Crow

butterfly that had been laid on some Monkey Rope vine.

The 4 Common

Crow butterfly

eggs were left

attached to the

leaf of the

Monkey Rope

vine and taped

down onto a

Frangipani leaf

to prevent the

original host

plant leaf from

curling up when

dried out. This

was more for

the purpose of

being able to

observe the eggs

easily. Within 2 days the first caterpillar hatched from its egg (top of frame circled in

red). The 2 eggs together circled in yellow hatched a day later. The 4" sole egg failed

to hatch.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 7

I noticed that whilst the Common Crow caterpillars appeared to grow more slowly

than normal they had no problem feeding on the Frangipani leaf.

Notice how the early instar caterpillar avoids

eating the secondary or lateral vein of the leaf that

contains the poisonous sap of the Frangipani leaf.

As the caterpillars grew larger they appeared to

become less discerning regarding this practice and

appeared more capable of devouring the

secondary leaf vein whenever they felt like it (see

later photos).

One morning, during the process of hand raising these caterpillars, I noticed a

considerable size difference of one of the three caterpillars. Two had grown

significantly larger overnight while the third caterpillar was still quite small. The

following day the small caterpillar

died leaving two caterpillars from

the original four eggs collected.

| | | Aske sa ERT

An interesting observation I made = Aare eS eae

res ia ~ 7

_-, F ¥ -- a Z : d

was how the caterpillar chewed a

hole in the secondary vein of the nin alg we

leaf to stem the flow of the Nace) 2 nis ee; Megas

poisonous sap. These chew holes a . aan

shown in the photograph are very

fresh and have just been made by

the caterpillar. It will now make its

way over to the edge of the leat to

begin feeding without the fear of

being poisoned. A very clever

caterpillar, indeed!

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 8

A good image of the strategically

placed caterpillar chew marks

designed to stem the flow of the

Frangipani’s poisonous sap.

_—

Slee, -

> \ \\ is " ’ :

The Common Crow caterpillars continued

to happily feed on Frangipani leaf.

I was surprised when not long after this photograph was taken the smaller of the two

caterpillars decided to pupate while the other larger caterpillar continued to feed for

another two days before pupating.

TATATACALATATACALALACASASASATACATACAS

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 9

Raised on Frangipani leaf, Common

Crow caterpillar test subject number

one prepares to pupate. Two days

later its mate did the same albeit with

a significant size difference.

The moment of truth had arrived.

Will the Common Crow butterflies

emerge after being hand raised on

Frangipani leaves or will they die

before completing their life cycle as

often previously reported?

The first Common Crow butterfly

showing its colours 1s about to

emerge.

First Common Crow butterfly test subject hand

raised on Frangipani leaves.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 10

Second Common

Crow test subject

hand raised on

Frangipani leaves

approximately 30

minutes before the

butterfly emerged

(left) and newly

emerged butterfly.

Conclusion

Although the Common Crow caterpillars did not

appear to grow to their full potential 1n size before

pupating, as well as appearing to grow more

slowly than what I have previously witnessed

when raising them on other popular host plants, it cannot be ascertained with certainty

that the reason for this was due to them being fed on Frangipani leaves or whether this

was due to other environmental factors. Further research would need to be carried out

by raising an uncontrolled group of

caterpillars on, for example, Oleander

leaves and to compare this group with

a control group of caterpillars raised

simultaneously on Frangipani leaves

to see 1f there are any observable

differences in growth speed and size

under identical environmental

conditions.

Following this, I believe the next

logical step would be to attempt to

raise Common Crow butterfly larvae

on other Frangipani species such as P.

obtusa, P. alba, and P. pudica.

In conclusion, I successfully raised

Common Crow butterfly (Euploea

corinna) larvae on Frangipani (P.

rubra) on two separate occasions and

based on my findings and observations

contained within this report I believe,

with certainty, that Frangipani (P.

rubra) should be classified as a host

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 11

Ready for release

plant for the Common Crow butterfly and should be recorded as such.*

It is my intention to petition to have the Frangipani (P. rubra) included as one of the

listed host plants of the Common Crow butterfly (E. corinna) in any future updated

reprints of “The Butterfly Host Plants of South-east Queensland and Northern New

South Wales’ book and any other Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club (BOIC)

hosted digital media.

Next Issue: Raising Orchard Swallowtail caterpillars

If you have more questions or to see more please go to

https://www.facebook.com/butterfliesandcaterpillars/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/18761909741 1/

Reference

Braby, M., 2016. The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia. Second Edition. CSIRO

Publishing.

Photos Paul Klicin

* Ed: Braby, 2000 in Butterflies of Australia Their Identification, Biology and

Distribution Vol 2, notes several examples of eggs being laid and larvae found on

Plumeria acutifolia (a variety of P. rubra) with some dying in early instar but several

completing development to adulthood.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT FOR THE 2017 AGM

You will be aware that, due to unforeseen circumstances, members of the BOIC

committee elected me to the position of club president in December 2016. I have

resumed this role with a determination that the good work of the club will continue

and that the stated aims of the club will be pursued with renewed vigour.

I thank Frank Jordan for his all too brief contribution during 2016 and wish him well

in his future endeavours.

Our Vice-President for 2016, Alisha, has always been a cheerful participant in our

activities and a steadying influence during the past year. We will miss her smiling

face. We have witnessed the joy that she and Jon and have experienced 1n the

parenting of Stanley and wish them further happiness with the imminent arrival of the

fourth member of their family.

Lois has decided to “retire” from our committee. All of us thank her for her wonderful

contribution of beautiful paintings and drawings over the years, for her informative

reports and the often-entertaining articles about invertebrates in her garden.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 12

Two years ago I wrote: “The success of our magazine is a wonderful reflection of the

interest and dedication of the many contributors. Many subscribers to the more

“professional” publications now acknowledge the quality of the articles.” This

statement holds true today.

I also wrote: “Much of the success of our club has come from the quiet dedication of

Daphne over all the years.” 1 know that I have used the term “sheet anchor” in

relation to Daphne’s role in the past. Again, these statements hold true today. She

maintains communication with a wide range of people from members and non-

members, to authors and publishers — and our printer! The magazine arrives in the

mail as the final product of consultation, compilation, proofreading, checking each

member’s subscription status, preparation of labels and envelopes, filling those

envelopes and getting them off in the mail.

Rob continues his long-serving work as the club’s treasurer and we are truly grateful

for his professional management of the club’s financial records.

Paul Klicin took on the role of excursion convenor a year ago and his enthusiastic

promotion of field trips has added new life to our activities. He assures us that he has

trips already planned for a full year into the future!

The long awaited publication of the club’s mistletoe book took place in April last year

following almost ten years of work by John and myself. In the book, we have

acknowledged the contribution of many others who helped bring the project to

fruition. The book has been critically acclaimed and has sold well — all costs have

been recovered and the club is “well in the black”.

Almost all copies of the third edition of the host plant book, which was published in

November 2010, have been sold and there is rather an urgent need to get a fourth

edition under way.

It is important that more members become involved in the club activities both to share

ideas and to help out at our various functions. All future quarterly planning meetings

will be open to all members.

The past year has not been a good one for public displays. As these can be a

significant way of getting information about the club out to a wide range of people, I

would hope that we would achieve much more in the coming year.

Best wishes, Ross

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 13

ITEMS OF INTEREST

New Distribution Records for Polyommatine butterflies

(Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in Australia, including biological notes.

Part Il — Nacaduba and Prosotas — Kelvyn L. Dunn

Summary

This paper lists ten new and important locations in northern and eastern Australia for

four species of butterflies from two genera: Nacaduba Moore, 1881 and Prosotas

H.H. Druce, 1891 (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae). These species

comprise Nacaduba kurava (Moore 1858) (White-banded Line-blue), V. biocellata

(C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865) (Two-spotted Line-blue), Prosotas nora (C. Felder

1860) (Long-tailed Line-blue), and P. dubiosa (Semper 1879) (Purple Line-blue).

Notes linked to selected records offer insight into the ecological circumstances and

the significance of the sites to the species’ broader distributions.

Introduction

Since 2001, I have sought to expand knowledge of butterflies in the more remote

parts of Australia based on the belief that there remains much to learn about their

spatial distribution across the continent. That focus has covered the smaller species of

the family Lycaenidae, including those belonging to the genera Nacaduba and

Prosotas, which are often less obvious in the field compared with the larger species of

lycaenid butterflies. An experienced eye will help recognise potential haunts of these

genera where the site-tenacious males may patrol, and where a knowledge of the local

food plants, about which adults of both sexes often congregate or inspect, may

enhance the chances of finding them. Seeking out flowering trees, for example, has

long been conventional wisdom amongst those who have studied butterflies and other

nectar-feeding insects, and these resources, where found, will increase the tally of

species seen with less reliance placed on serendipity. The species covered in this part

comprise NV. kurava (White-banded Line-blue) (Fig. 1), NV. biocellata (Two-spotted

Line-blue) (Fig. 2), P. nora (Long-tailed Line-blue) (Fig. 3), and P. dubiosa (Purple

Line-blue) (Fig. 4); the illustrations show the adults of each species in the field but

those shown are not necessarily from the sites concerned (see captions for details).

This paper records the results for these species from four field trips (from Victoria) to

southern and central Cape York Peninsula (January 2001 & 2002), and to western

Queensland (October and November 2011) and to the Gulf Country (September to

November 2012). The spelling of scientific names aligns with Braby (2000), the main

source used for this distribution-focused study.

Methods

The first part of this series on polyommatine butterflies outlined the means used for

routine data gathering (see Dunn 2017 a); it also discussed the criteria used to

underpin the validity of identifications. The examination of specimens in the hand

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 14

was the favoured approach. The means used to measure distances was outlined 1n an

earlier piece (See Dunn 2016 and relevant references therein).

Results

The table lists four species from ten new locations (arranged from north to south)

across northeastern Australia. All sites fall outside (or if not, then very close to) the

boundaries defined or inferred by Braby (2000) for the species concerned and so are

new on that criterion. A superscript indicates that field notes offer additional insight

into particular records. These notes are anecdotal and may include references to

encounters by other workers in the last decade or so, where their published new

locations fall close to those listed in this report. Some may be augmented by one or

more historic references where deemed informative. In addition to explaining the

importance of particular sites in the table, these notes often discuss the ecological

circumstances.

Table: New locations for Polyommatine butterflies from beyond their known

ranges in Australia

Species/Location State Geocode Date Format

Nacaduba kurava

Little Laura River crossing, Qld 15°32’S, 144°21’E 11 Jan 2001 Obs.

12 km WNW of Laura

N. biocellata

13 km W of Camooweal, at NT 19°55’S, 137°SWE 19 Oct 2012 Voucher

NT border signage

Camooweal (township) Qid =: 19°55’S, 138°07’E 20 Oct 2012. ~— Rel. ***’

Walker Creek crossing, Qld 17°28°S, 141°1 VE 14 Oct 2012 Voucher

28km by road NNE of

Normanton

Prosotas nora

Mt White summit, near Qld 13°58’°S, 143°12’E 06 Jan 2002 Rel.

Coen, CYP

P. dubiosa

Walker Creek crossing, Old 17°28’°S, 141°1VE 14 Oct 2012 Voucher

28km by road NNE of

Normanton

Torrens Creek, in township Qld 20°46°S, 145°01V’E 28 Oct 2012 Voucher °°?

garden

| km NE of Emerald, at Qld 23°31’S, 148° 10°E 10 Nov 2011 Obs. *°***

caravan park

Mt Scoria, along the base Qld —.24°32’S, 150°36’E 07 Nov 2012 Rel. **"*"

walking trail at 24°32.0’S

150°35.0°E

Carnarvon Gorge at lodge, Qld 25°04’S, 148°1S’°E 12 Nov 2011 Obs. ***>

in garden

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 15

Key to Table:

Note 1. Many males of NV. biocellata were seen flying about the base of a wattle at

Camooweal; the tree, which was shrubby in growth form and left

unidentified, was situated in a drainage zone in the residential area close to

the centre of the township. I netted and inspected two adults to confirm their

identifications and then released them. The males were patrolling the leaf

litter in shade directly below the tree; they were active during sunny

conditions in mid-morning (watched between 0940-0950 h AEST), at which

time the temperature was 32°C (five degrees below the maximum reached

that day), and which was tempered by a light northeasterly breeze at that

time. There were no adults flying about or perching on the foliage (that I

noticed); the latter is the more usual behaviour of the butterfly, at least at

other times of the day (Braby 2000, Dunn 2001, Orr & Kitching 2010, Braby

2016). It was likely that this was the beginning of a mid-spring brood at

Camooweal, with males being newly emerged and having preceded the

emergence of the females; in protandrous species, if this 1s an example, the

appearance of the sexes is offset by a few days. ‘Protandry’, as used in

entomology, is “the tendency for males to emerge before females” which

gives them more opportunity to mate compared with those individuals that

emerge later; “it is common in insects with discrete, non-overlapping

generations in which females mate once only soon after emergence” (Bulmer

1983: 314). Braby (2000: 788) has noted from his own experience, or from

that of others, that “males have been observed fluttering close to the ground

beneath A. aneura trees” and he remarked later, that this behaviour occurs in

the morning (Braby 2016). Grund and Hunt (2001) detailed a similar event

during an autumn brood of the butterfly, one involving hundreds of males

flying close to the ground below host plants 1n the far north of South

Australia, again during the morning. Dunn (2001) reported an earlier

encounter with a late winter brood in central Australia, where uncountable

numbers of males were behaving similarly, once again during the morning.

Dunn associated that phenomenon in the NT with the arid inland of the

species’ range, having not seen or heard of similar behaviour in the coastal

regions. On each of these occasions, the males were almost certainly seeking

out females that may have been newly emerged from pupae, as suggested by

Grund and Hunt (2001) for the event they had observed. More recently,

Braby (2015a) described males behaving likewise beneath several host trees

in northern WA, again this event took place during mid-morning;

importantly, he confirmed that the behaviour had ceased by early afternoon

(temporal evidence that earlier observers had not sought out). It has been

long known that the larvae pupate 1n ant-galleries in the soil, or under stones

and pieces of bark, or on fallen leaves and other debris near the base of the

host plants (Waterhouse 1932, Fisher 1978, Braby 2000); hence, one might

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 16

anticipate the presence of emerging females in those places in season.

Supportively, Braby (2000: 788) remarked that F. Douglas and J. Noelker

had once found “numerous freshly emerged females” beneath a host plant

that had just finished flowering.

Note 2. Three males of P. dubiosa were seen feeding at flowers of Tridax

procumbens (Asteraceae) growing near a water tank 1n a vacant residential

block in the main street (at 20°46°10”S, 145°01’°16”E). The event occurred

in early afternoon, between 1255 and 1400 h AEST (the duration of the

visit). Dunn (2015) included this butterfly in a list of seven species seen

feeding at these flowers at that site, and this record, which 1s spatially

important, is now discussed in terms of its likely origin. Atkins et al. (2003)

had earlier sampled extensively in the White Mountains National Park (to the

north of the township of Torrens Creek). That survey, which had covered the

Burra Range and the Warang Homestead area, including the nearby gorges,

did not find evidence of this butterfly in 2000. Given this report of apparent

absence more than a decade earlier, 1t 1s possible that the butterfly has since

expanded inland to Torrens Creek, perhaps via the nursery trade. Indeed,

personal survey of a number of sites along the Flinders Highway in 2011 and

2012, which included township gardens as well as areas of native vegetation,

produced no other evidence of it. Alternatively, a small population in

Torrens Creek may have established as a rare event of range expansion

linked to the consecutive wetter-than-usual seasons that coincided with the

survey. Supportively, a number of unusual range expansions for butterflies

and moths occurred between 2010 and 2012 in southern and eastern

Australia; those reports (listed chronologically) by Anonymous (2011),

Dunn (201 1a, b), Halsey (2011), Dunn and Field (2012), Faithfull and Dunn

(2012), Morton (2012), Hewish and Hewish (2013), Dunn (2014), Haywood

(2014), and Dunn (2015) discussed examples. The Torrens Creek encounter

may also be linked to that same phenomenon; hence, an expansion event

may have seen colonisation in the residential area after one or more female

vagrants chanced upon garden-grown larval hosts in an earlier season. The

larvae of P. dubiosa feed on the flowers and buds of at least ten species of

Acacia, and one or more species of at least 14 other genera of plants in

Australia (Braby 2016). This indicates a moderate number of host choices

are available to the species; undoubtedly, some of these plants decorate

residential gardens in the tropics, and other hosts likely exist that are still

unreported at this time.

Note 3. Males of P. dubiosa were prolific near the entrance of the caravan park, just

to the north of Twine St. (via Opal St.). They were, however, very localised

about a single large Golden Dewdrops (Duranta sp. probably erecta;

Verbenaceae), a species of flowering shrub native to central and South

America, which was situated 1n a shady area opposite the office. The males

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repeatedly patrolled the mauve flowers of this shrub, about two metres above

eround, in mid-morning between 0930 and 1000 h (the duration of the

inspection). The adults were seen at very close range, enabling their

identification with certainty. A broader inspection revealed none elsewhere

in the caravan park gardens, despite the presence of a number of flowering

Golden Dewdrops 1n open areas of the premises. It 1s possible that the

butterfly has recently expanded inland to Emerald, assisted by the nursery

trade, as the species was not found 1n the broader region such as in areas of

native vegetation along riverbanks or in the botanic gardens, which were

similarly shaded to that section of the caravan park. Alternatively, the

species may have expanded farther inland during the wetter-than-usual

seasons from 2010 to 2012 (see Note 2 for discussion). The record from

Emerald now stands as a western boundary one in central Queensland (cf.

Braby 2016); at the time of the encounter the species was known no farther

west than the Expedition Range (Atkins 1974), which, at that latitude,

provided the western limit on the range-fill map by Braby (2000). Another

population of the butterfly was found to the east in the Leichhardt Tree

Memorial Park 1n Comet, two days earlier, on the 8"" of November. These

adults were active in late morning between 1100 and 1200 h (the duration of

the visit) at which time a number of specimens were netted and examined;

this was because most were perched several metres above ground and could

not be inspected closely to see how many species might be represented.

Here, 1n parkland, the adults were patrolling a foraging site where females

visited from time to time, but the tree’s flowers and buds might serve as

larval food as well; an older adult (seemingly a female) 1s shown perched on

one of the buds (Fig. 4). The flowering tree, which was an isolated planting

far away from others, appears to be an Archidendron sp., and most likely

either A. /ucyi or A. ramiflorum (Mimosaceae), both of which have dense

heads and white flowers (J.T. Moss pers. comm.); these are often planted as

street, park or garden trees in the tropics as they are quite spectacular.

Note 4. Mount Scoria, SE by S of Biloela, 1s an inland location in the Gladstone

region of central Queensland, where on the coastal plains to the east, the

species occurs in Deepwater National Park and its environs (Moss ef al.

1993), that being one of the few locations recorded for the butterfly in the

region (Dunn & Dunn database). Mt Scoria stands as a western boundary

record for P. dubiosa based on the range-fill map by Braby (2000). However,

that location 1s now more or less within that broader inland distribution, that

Braby (2016) has since proposed and for which the underpinning sources at

that latitude are unknown. The Mt Scoria Conservation Park lies about 90

km W of Bulburin National Park where Moss and Jenkinson (2014) reported

the species based on sampling in April 2011 (which was also during that

period of unusual seasonality between 2010 and 2012). Curiously, those

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same authors did not record the species farther inland in the Boyne Valley, at

the Kroombit Tops National Park (about 40 km ENE of Mt Scoria), where

the species would be expected to occur on probability.

Note 5. One hour and 45 minutes spent near the entrance to Carnarvon National Park,

in the parkland-gardens of the Wilderness Lodge/restaurant including

occasional meandering in the woodland just in the front of the lodge gardens,

revealed at least 14 species on the wing during late morning and early

afternoon that day. Among those species in the garden proper, I noticed a

single adult Prosotas flying in a shady area near palms. A patient wait saw it

perch on foliage (about one to two metres above ground), which allowed a

close inspection. The prominent underside patterns, the elliptical, tornal spot

on the hindwing and its anural state (untailed compared to 1ts congeners and

similar looking species) enabled its recognition to species with certainty. I

left the adult P. dubiosa unsexed in my field diary; it was not examined in

the hand and I could not inspect the upper side without 1t opening its wings

(which it chose not to do). I had supposed that species was a resident of the

nearby National Park and so was unaware, at the time, that the species was

out of area (or at least unrecorded). Its presence in the Carnarvon Gorge

district has probably been overlooked because of the limited survey in the

region and because most of the area is a high-level conservation reserve,

although Monteith and Yeates (1988), who surveyed at a dozen sites, did not

record any Prosotas species from within the Mount Moffatt and Carnarvon

National Parks. Alternatively, its presence at the lodge may be due to garden

shrubs (and/or the nursery trade and/or vagrancy events leading to

colonisation) and thus it could be absent from the nearby wilderness where

surveys have been done. This new location, a remote outlier site, 1s about

170 km SSW of Blackdown Tableland, Expedition Range and about 170 km

S of Emerald.

Discussion

Each of the records 1s from a location that falls either beyond or near the boundaries

of the species’ distributions, as interpreted from the range-fill maps provided by

Braby (2000); that work provides a compendium of distributional knowledge and

baseline information on the species involved which readers can seek 1f required. Dunn

(2017b) considered the revised synoptic maps by Braby (2016) as less rigorous but

recognised that they are useful to interpret areas where the species probably occur.

Dunn (2017b: 2) recommended that “their usage should accompany the evidence-

based original work of 2000 when comparing and discussing new distribution and

important boundary records that make those distributions evidence-based.”

Nacaduba biocellata stands as one species whose current range-fill map 1s worthy of

scrutiny because of the major change in its distribution between that provided by

Braby (2000) and the revision by Braby (2016). The presence of this butterfly at

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Camooweal and in the broader region (including at the border in the NT, and Walkers

Creek crossing, near Normanton, as listed in the table) is likely to be unexceptional

distribution. Indeed, Franklin (2007) recorded N. biocellata at three sites to north of

Camooweal, which, when taken together with these records, indicate that the species

is almost certainly widespread across the Gulf Country; it clearly extends inland, via

the Camooweal region, to central Australia, from where it 1s well known (cf. Braby

2000). Braby (2015b) has since sampled at four sites 1n the Normanton region,

including at the Walker Creek crossing; his survey during May 2013 did not record

this species so it may not be common in the area or, perhaps, 1s only seasonally

present. The fine sites recorded herein add detail to the portrayal of that species’

wider distribution as indicated in Braby (2016) and help support that new map for the

area dealing with northwestern Queensland.

The incomplete knowledge of butterfly distributions, such as that of N. biocellata and

others, 1n the inland of northern Australia, stems from a lack of exploration by insect

collectors across the seasons (see Dunn & Dunn 2006), and that data paucity would

explain most of these new spatial records. The reports of Prosotas dubiosa from

gardens and parklands in the townships of Torrens Creek and Emerald, and in the

lodge garden near Carnarvon Gorge would appear exceptional to this. These records

from gardens may have their origins in vagrancy events associated with the wetter-

than-usual seasons that took place 1n eastern Australia during 2010-2012, or they may

have arisen through the dispersal of host plants by the nursery trade, or both. None of

those records listed would appear to link into range creep associated with longer-term

climate changes. In closing, the locations for the species tabled add to our

understanding of the spatial distribution of these smaller butterflies across northern

and eastern Australia; additional survey in inland areas will help strengthen

knowledge of these and other species of polyommatine butterflies.

Acknowledgements

John T. Moss (Qld.) kindly proofread the manuscript and offered probable

identifications for the flowers in two photos.

References:

Anonymous (via editor) 2011. Recent Observations. Victorian Entomologist 41(2): 29.

Atkins, A.F. 1974. Butterflies of Expedition Range, central Queensland. Victorian

Entomologist 4(1): 9-14.

Atkins, A.F., Edwards, E.D., Braby, M.F., Johnson, S.J. & Valentine, P.S. 2003. The butterflies

of White Mountains National Park, northern Queensland, and adjoining localities. /n

Comben, L., Westacott, T. & Berg, K. (eds). White Mountains Study Report.

Geography Monograph Series No. 9. (pp.7-10). The Royal Geographic Society of

Queensland Inc. Brisbane. iv+146pp.

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

CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood Vic.

Braby, M.F. 2015a. New larval food plant associations for some butterflies and diurnal moths

(Lepidoptera) from the Northern Territory and Kimberley, Australia. Part Il. Records

of the Western Australian Museum 30: 74-97.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 20

Braby, M.F. 2015b. New distribution records for some butterflies from the Gulf of Carpentaria,

northern Queensland. Northern Territory Naturalist 26: 67-75.

Braby, M.F. 2016. The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia. second edition.

CSIRO Publishing, Clayton South, Vic.

Bulmer, M.G. 1983. Models for the evolution of protandry in insects. Theoretical Population

Biology 23(3): 314-322.

Dunn, K.L. 2001. Courtship behavior in three Queensland butterflies. Victorian Entomologist

31(6): 92-96.

Dunn, K.L. 201 1a. An update on some unusual butterfly records from Victoria during the 2010-

2011 season. Victorian Entomologist 41(3): 54-57, 45 (& corrigenda 41: 84).

Dunn, K.L. 2011b. A new state record — Delias argenthona Fabricius in Victoria — with

commentary on Graphium sarpedon (Linnaeus), another butterfly reported from the

state in 2011. Victorian Entomologist 41(4): 82-84.

Dunn, K.L. 2014. New distribution records for Sulphur and White butterflies (Lepidoptera:

Pieridae) in inland and outback Australia. Metamorphosis Australia, Magazine of the

Butterfly & Other Invertebrates Club 75: 14-25 (& corrigenda: Replacement table 76:

32-34).

Dunn, K.L. 2015. New distribution records for hesperiine butterflies (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae:

Hesperiinae) in Australia. Metamorphosis Australia, Magazine of the Butterfly &

Other Invertebrates Club 77: 17-32.

Dunn, K.L. 2016. New distribution records for thecline butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in

Australia. Part | — Jalmenus, Hypochrysops, Hypolycaena and Rapala.

Metamorphosis Australia, Magazine of the Butterfly & Other Invertebrates Club 81:

21-34 (& corrigenda 82: 30).

Dunn, K.L. 2017a. New distribution records for polyommatine butterflies (Lepidoptera:

Lycaenidae) in Australia, including biological notes. Part I — Zizeeria and Famegana.

Metamorphosis Australia, Magazine of the Butterfly & Other Invertebrates Club 84:

12-21.

Dunn, K.L. 2017b. New and important distribution records for Candalides butterflies in

Australia, with observations on their biology and adult food plants. North

Queensland Naturalist 47: 1-5.

Dunn, K.L. & Dunn, L.E. 2006. Review of Australian butterflies — 1991. Annotated Version.

(CD-ROM). Published by the authors, Melbourne, Australia.

Dunn, K.L & Field, R.P. 2012. Two new records of skipper butterflies from the Murray Valley

in SE Australia. Victorian Entomologist 42(2): 26-28.

Faithfull, 1.G. & Dunn, K.L. 2012. Papilio demoleus L. (Lepidoptera) in Victoria, November

2010 to March 2011: southward migration and northerly return migration. Victorian

Entomologist 42(6): 122-131 (& corrigenda 43(1): 23).

Fisher, R.H. 1978. Butterflies of South Australia. Govt. Printer South Aust.

Franklin, D.C. 2007. Dry season observations of butterflies in the “Gulf country” of the

Northern Territory and far north-west Queensland. Northern Territory Naturalist 19:

9-14.

Grund, R. & Hunt, L. 2001. Some new butterfly observations for the far north and pastoral

regions of South Australia. Victorian Entomologist 31(5): 75-82

Halsey, M. 2011. Some unusual moth records for NE Victoria. Victorian Entomologist 41(6):

129,

Haywood, B. 2014. Unusual butterfly observations for south-east South Australia from 2010 to

2012. Victorian Entomologist 44(1 ): 16-20.

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Hewish, M & Hewish D. 2013. Recent records of Small Grass-yellows Eurema smilax in the

Bacchus Marsh-Geelong region. Victorian Entomologist 43(3): 65-66.

Monteith, G.B. & Yeates, D.K. 1988. The butterflies of Mount Moffatt and Carnarvon National

Parks, Queensland. Queensland Naturalist 28: 14-22

Morton, T. 2012. Reported Under Observations Continued: Butterfly/moth activity around

Castlemaine 2011/2012. Victorian Entomologist 42(3): 56.

Moss, J.T. & Jenkinson, W.J. 2014. The butterflies of Kroombit Tops and Bulburin National

Parks, Boyne Valley, Central Coastal Queensland. Queensland Naturalist 52(1-3).:

32-47.

Moss, J.T., Woodall, P.F. & Monteith, G.B. 1993. Butterfly records from Deepwater and

Eurimbula National Parks, central coastal Queensland. Queensland Naturalist 32(3-

4): 60-63.

Orr, A. & Kitching, R. 2010. The butterflies of Australia. Jacana Books, Allen & Unwin,

Crows Nest NSW.

Waterhouse, G.A. 1932. What butterfly is that? Angus & Robertson, Sydney.

Fig. 1. N. kurava male underside — IndigiScapes nursery campus (reserve), Capalaba, Qld.

Fig. 2. N. biocellata (sex undet.) underside — 2 km NW of River Heads, Qld. feeding at a

Kunzea sp. (Myrtaceae).

Fig. 3. P. nora male under side — near Wrights Lookout, Kuranda, Qld.

Fig. 4. P. dubiosa (sex undet.) underside — Comet, Qld. (mentioned in the text).

Photos by Kelvyn Dunn

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The most important midge in the world and other midges — Bernie

Franzmann

We know about biting midges — those little insects that bite us when we are on

holidays at the coast.

But there are a few other kinds of midges. All midges are flies (Order Diptera).

The ones at the coast are called biting midges or sand flies and are 1n the

Ceratopogonidae family. A member of this family, a Forcipomia sp. is the most

important midge in the whole wide world, and is vital for the survival of the human

race. It 1s the only pollinator of the cocoa plant and so without it, we would not have

chocolate, and how could we survive without chocolate!

Another midge family, Simulidae, are also known as sand flies or black flies. These

Ones are most common and irritating after floods 1n inland rivers in Queensland.

The little black moth-like insects, about as big as a match head, we sometimes see in

the bathroom are moth midges (F. Psychodidae). They breed in the drain pipes.

The midges most commonly seen are those in the family Chironomidae. There are

more than 200 species in Australia. They look like mosquitoes but they don’t suck

blood. I find the easiest way to tell that they are not mosquitoes, apart from them not

sucking on you, is that they have long front legs and mosquitoes have long back legs.

But of course, there are exceptions to this.

F. Cecidomylidae — gall midges. This is a large family in Australia with more than

100 species. The larvae of most species live in galls in living plants — hence the name.

I studied one of these insects for about 15 years — the sorghum midge Stenodiplosis

sorghicola.

This tiny midge (it’s about half the size of a mosquito) is the most devastating pest of

sorghum in Australia and indeed many other countries. It attacks sorghum in North

and South America, India, and across sub-Saharan Africa, where sorghum is a staple

food.

I could fill up the whole magazine about this insect but I thought you might be

interested 1n two aspects of its biology.

1° aspect - At the onset of winter the larvae, after developing on the sorghum grain,

enter a state of hibernation which 1s called diapause. They fall to the ground as the

plants die, and stay in hibernation for the winter months. They do not pupate until

they are wet by spring rains. After they are wet they pupate and emerge as adults

about two weeks later.

Now if you take these diapausing larvae, in the winter, before they get wet, and put

them in a dry place, they can stay alive for many years. After being kept dry for up to

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5-6 years, 1f they are wet they will emerge as healthy adults about two weeks later. I

think that’s amazing.

2" aspect - Female sorghum midges

that don’t mate don’t lay any eggs and

so have no progeny. “So what?” you

say. Well, thousands of wasp species

(Hymenoptera) produce offspring if

they don’t mate. In most of these

cases, the progeny from unfertilized

eggs are male.

On the other hand, mated female

sorghum midges produce either male

or female offspring. Again,“so what?”

A Well, what I mean is that they produce

unisexual progeny 1.e. either all male

or all female and never a mixture.

If that’s not amazing, I think at least it’s interesting.

A sorghum midge laying eggs in a sorghum flower.

ie i a Se i ie ie

Tree-nymphs (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae) — Peter Hendry

I first encountered the genus /dea,

commonly known as Tree-nymphs, in

the collection of the late Jim Pickering

now in my care. It would be many years

later, on a recent trip to the Butterfly

Park and Insect Kingdom on Santosa

Island, Singapore, that I would finally

see live specimens of these magnificent

butterflies. The Tree Nymphs have a

beauty of their own based on size (up to

160mm) and their simplicity in design, the wings being mostly patterned in shades of

black and white.

The genus /dea was raised by Fabricius, 1807 in Karl [lliger’s Magazin fiir

Insektenkunde (Magazine for Insects) Vol. 6. In it he placed Linnaeus's species

Papilio idea, named in 1763, making it the type species, now /dea Idea. The genus

contains twelve species most of which have several subspecies, 1n particular, [dea

leuconoe has twenty three subspecies. The /dea belong within the Subtribe: Euploeina

of the Tribe: Danaini, and from here we can see they are closely related to the Crows,

Euploea and like the Crows, the males have hair pencils.

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While the Crows have a single pair of hair

pencils the /dea have two pairs. Anyone who

has held a male Common Crow, Euploea

corinna, by the wings would no doubt have

noticed it curl its abdomen and display its

yellow bunch of hair pencils. These hair pencils

are used to release pheromones during

courtship, they also release a poisonous

substance used to protect it from predators.

Like all butterflies that use poisons for

protection mostly extracted from host plants,

they attract mimics. In the case of J. /euconoe,

it has a remarkable mimic in the form of

Graphium idaeoides a non-poisonous species of

butterfly in the family Papilionidae which is endemic to the Philippines.

Of the twelve species of /dea. most occur 1n Southeast Asia, while the Malabar tree-

nymph, /. malabarica, 1s endemic to India and the Ceylon tree-nymph, /. iasonia, 1s

endemic to Sri Lanka. The larva feed on plants in the family Apocynaceae including

Parsonsia and Aganosma spp, 1n particular, Aganosma cymosa, a tree which grows to

ten meters and is used by several species. Their flight 1s slow and weak, they often

just glide giving rise to another common name, Paper Kites.

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enclosure. The species at the Singapore butterfly park 1s [. /euconoe and one that 1s

held in many butterfly parks throughout the world. There were several adults on the

wing and many more emerging 1n the nursery.

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’

BORNEO

Fig.l [dea leuconoe Fig. ‘sy

Fig.2 I. leuconoe underside

Fig.3 [. leuconoe emerging

Fig.4 Distribution map of /. leuconoe - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea_ leuconoe

Fig.5 Graphium idaeoides a mimic to I. leucine as illustrated by William C. Hewitson tn ///ustrations of

New Species of Exotic Butterflies. C1877

Thanks to The Biodiversity Heritage Library: http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ and the

Smithsonian Libraries for access to ///ustrations of New Species of Exotic Butterflies Vol 6

Photos 1-3 Peter Hendry

KREKEKRARKREER

Some Notes on the Biology of Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera:

Cerambycidae), and Some Problems with Rhytiphora Taxonomy —

Alexander A. Davies’ and Trevor A. Lambkin*

"5 Kitching Street, Chapel Hill, Old

(Email: 031271@atc.qld.edu.au)

“10 Gregory Street, Taringa, Old 4068

(Email: t.lambkin@hotmail.com)

Introduction

The family of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae: Coleoptera) is one of the largest

cosmopolitan groups of beetles. Slipinski and Escalona (2013) indicated that there are

approximately 33,000 described species worldwide with the greatest diversity being

in subtropical and tropical regions with the group being particularly diverse in Asia

and South America. In Australia, there are around 1400 described species (Slipinsk1

and Escalona 2013) and these comprise the three major subfamilies of Cerambycinae,

Lamuinae and Prioninae. Adult longhorn beetles are good fliers and are often attracted

to lights. Many are nectar and foliage feeders and some feed on the bark of trees

(Lawrence and Britton 1991, p 672). The larvae are phytophagous and feed on rotting

wood of trees, roots or may even form galls (Lawrence and Britton 1991, p 672).

One of the largest Cerambycine subfamilies is Lamiinae (with 536 described species)

(Slipinski and Escalona 2016) which comprises large flightless desert dwellers such

as Microtragus White and Athemistus Pascoe, species that attack fig trees, for

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example, Rosenbergia megalocephala Van de Poll 1886, and the acacia feeders,

Ancita Thomson and Rhytiphora Audinet-Serville. Australia’s largest beetles,

Batocera spp Dejean are in the subfamily Lamuinae.

One of the largest genera within the Lamiinae is Rhytiphora which currently has 206

described species (Slipinski and Escalona 2013). The genus Rhytiphora 1s found in

the Mascarene Islands, Pacific Islands, East Asia, India, Melanesia, Moluccas, New

Guinea and Australia (Slipinski and Escalona 2013). Until recently the genus Penthea

Dejean was included in the Rhytiphora until Slipinski and Escalona (2013)

synonymised Penthea into Rhytiphora. They mainly based this on all male

Rhytiphora possessing setose sex patches on the second abdominal ventrite (Figs 1,

2). The females lack these sex patches (Figs 3, 4). Species of Rhytiphora have

relatively short and robust antennae, roughly the length of the body in males and

shorter in the females (Moore 1996) (Figs 1-4). The larvae are predominantly Acacia

borers. Despite some hostplant relationships of the larvae of Lamunae being known

(Slipinski and Escalona 2013, Lawrence and Britton 1991) little 1s published on the

hosts of the adults (Slipinski and Escalona 2013).

In this paper, we report on a medium sized, black and white Rhytiphora sp. that we

tentatively refer to here as nr solida (Pascoe) 1863 collected on Acacia at Mt. Cotton

in south eastern Queensland, and we compare it to R. vermicularia (Donovan) 1805.

In addition, we report on the behaviour of the adults.

Field Observations

Two longhorn beetles (13 and 1°) (Figs 1-5) were collected from the stems of young

plants about a metre high of Acacia implexa (Benth) (Fabaceae) (Figs 6, 7)

(Queensland Museum 2003) in undisturbed open dry Eucalypt forest at Mt. Cotton. In

captivity, adults fed on the epidermis and cambium of small stems of the host plant

(Fig. 8) which eventually killed the stems. When disturbed, adults either dropped to

the ground feigning death or were observed to wrap their legs and clamp their

mandibles around the stems presumably to avoid being dislodged by predators (Fig.

9). Adults survived well fed in small collapsible mesh cages, on Acacia for at least

three weeks, prior to being preserved for the taxonomic study.

Rhytiphora species nr solida (Pascoe) 1863

Specimens examined: QUEENSLAND: 14, 19, Mt. Cotton, Qld, 27° 36' 42" S 153°

12' 42" E, 18.11.2016, A.A. Davies & T.A. Lambkin (A.A. Davies colln.).

R. vermicularia (Donovan) 1805

Specimens examined: QUEENSLAND: 1°, Dunmore, via Dalby, Qld, 23.x1i.1980,

M. De Baar, 1°, Kingaroy, Qld, 23.1.1987, A.I. Knight, 12, Dunmore S.F., N. of

Cecil Plains, Qld, 20.x1.1987, T.A. Lambkin, (all A.A. Davies colln.).

BEDS Pe De be PE De be Pe be pe he be be Pe be Pe bd pg

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 27

Taxonomy

The two species R. solida and R. vermicularia are similar, being predominantly black

with white pubescent tracery (Moore 1996) particularly on the dorsal surface, e.g.

Figs 1-5. On the ventral surface, they are more patterned with white on black (e.g.

Figs 2, 4). Our two specimens resemble more the type specimen of R. solida as

illustrated in Slipinski and Escalona (2013), 1n the degree of unpatterned white tracery

on the black background colour of the cuticle, than specimens in the collection of the

Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dutton Park, Brisbane, identified as R.

vermicularia (J.S. Bartlett, pers. comm.) (Figs 10, 11), which have the white tracery

more patterned and denser. Unfortunately, Slipinski and Escalona (2013) didn’t

examine the type for RX. vermicularia and this has made our comparison of the two

species difficult, and until more material is examined we have tentatively assigned the

Mt. Cotton specimens to R. nr solida.

Acknowledgements

We thank Justin Bartlett of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dutton Park,

Queensland for his review of our Rhytiphora specimens and the specimens in his care

in the DAF collection. Appreciation is given to L. Hughes of Mt. Cotton, Qld for

allowing access to her property.

References:

LAWRENCE, J.F. and BRITTON, E.B. 1991.

Coleoptera. In: The Insects of Australia: A

textbook for students and research

workers-CSIRO, Vol. Il. Melbourne

University Press, Carlton, Victoria; pp.

543-1137.

MOORE, B.P. 1996. Beetles of South-eastern

Australia. Fascicle, 12 pp. October 1996:

181-226.

QUEENSLAND MUSEUM. 2003. Wild

plants of greater Brisbane: a Queensland

Museum guide. Published by the

Queensland; i-x1i + 372 pp.

SLIPINSKI, A. and ESCALONA H.E. 2013.

Australian Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera:

Cerambycidae), Vol. 2 Subfamily Lamiinae,

ABRS, Canberra, CSIRO Publishing,

Melbourne; 1-xviil, 484 pp.

SLIPINSKI, A. and ESCALONA H.E. 2016.

Australian Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera:

Cerambycidae), Vol. 2 Subfamily

Cerambycinae, ABRS, Canberra, CSIRO

Publishing, Melbourne; 1-xxvi, 613 pp.

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Figs 1-4. Rhytiphora species nr solida. All figures not to scale [lengths, in mm, in square

brackets]. (1, 2) 3, Mt. Cotton, Qld, 18.i.2016 [20 mm], (1) habitus, dorsal, (2) habitus, ventral;

(3, 4) 2, Mt Cotton, Qld, 18.i1.2016 [22 mm], (3) habitus, dorsal, (4) habitus, ventral.

Figs 5-7. (5) Rhytiphora species nr solida (ink drawing, A.A. Davies); (6, 7) Acacia implexa,

(6) juvenile foliage, (7) mature plant.

Figs 8, 9. Rhytiphora species nr solida, Mt. Cotton, Qld: (8) stripping epidermis from stems of

Acacia implexa, (9) wrapping legs around and clamping stems with mandibles of A. implexa.

Figs 10, 11. Rhytiphora vermicularia: (10) habitus dorsal, Dunmore S.F., Qld, 20.x1.1987 [26

mm], (11) habitus dorsal, Kingaroy, Qld, 23.1.1987 [24 mm].

Illustrations by Alexander Davis

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Life history notes on the Evening Brown, Melanitis leda bankia

(Fabricius, 1775) Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) — Wesley Jenkinson

The Evening Brown is encountered from

coastal areas across to regions west of the

Great Dividing Range from north-eastern

Queensland to north-eastern New South

Wales and occasionally further south. The

species 1s also present in northern areas of

Western Australia and the Northern

Territory.

The species 1s encountered in a wide

variety of habitats and favours moist

gullies where tall grasses are established,

~ 7 mm § as well as in suburban gardens. Adults are

-_ BN ac Se | often found resting amongst dead leaves

— _ and grass beneath large mango trees when

decaying fruit 1s present on the ground. During favourable seasons the adults can be

very common during the late wet season.

At dawn and particularly dusk the adults become active with a rather strong erratic

flight. During these periods the males can be observed perching on low vegetation or

erass blades defending territories by frequently chasing off rival males.

Typically during daylight hours, adults settle with wings closed amongst tall grass

and leaf litter in shady areas. When disturbed during sunny periods of the day they fly

rapidly for several metres and resettle in a sheltered shady position.

BEDS PERS DE DE PS Pe Re Pe Pe he be he bs pe be bd Pe

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 30

Unlike the majority of butterflies, the adults feed

from fallen rotting fruit and tree sap rather than

flowers. During May 2012 near the Perry River

west of Bundaberg in south-east Queensland,

J. Moss and myself observed several adults

apparently feeding on dried Lantana camara

flowers. This was around midday in warm

conditions with a light cloud cover. The adults

feeding on the dried flowers were thought to be

imbibing a chemical residue produced by the

plant.

As illustrated in Braby 2000, there are two

seasonal forms being a ‘wet’ season and a ‘dry’

season form. The underside of the dry season

form 1s remarkably variable while the underside

of the wet season shows little variation. The sexes are quite similar in appearance. To

separate the sexes of wet season adults, 1n comparison to the males, the females have

a much larger indent (virtually absent in the male) along the forewing termen and the

two white spots within the black patch on the upperside of the forewing are larger.

These markings are also surrounded with a more conspicuous patch of yellowish

orange.

One of the adults presumably

imbibing chemicals from a dried

Lantana camara flower.

The dry season adults are more difficult to sex. In comparison to the males of this

form, the females have a slightly broader indent along the forewing termen, the two

white spots within the black patch on the upperside of the forewing are marginally

larger, and the abdomen is slightly wider. The orange on the upperside forewings of

the male is also generally a slightly darker, richer colour.

Melanitis leda bankia (Evening Brown) Wet Season Form

Images left to right: male, female,

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 31

Melanitis leda bankia (Evening Brown) Wet Season Form

Images left to right: male underside, female underside

Dry season forms are larger than those of the wet season; wingspans for the pictured

wet season form males and females are 55mm and 60mm respectively and similarly

the dry season form males and females are 65mm and 75mm.

Melanitis leda bankia (Evening Brown) Dry Season Form

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

BE PS PE DE DT be Pa RT bd be Pe be bd be Pe bd be Pe be

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 32

Dry season form underside colour variations

In January 2008 a female was collected at Beaudesert 1n south-eastern Queensland

and kept in captivity. She laid a cluster of fifteen eggs and was then released. These

eggs were laid on the underside of a leaf of the exotic host grass Green Panic

(Megathyrsus maximus, formerly Panicum maximum), a known host plant. The larvae

were subsequently raised on this host.

This species utilises a large range of native and exotic broad-leaved grasses in the

Poaceae family.

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off spherical, approximately 1.4 mm

wide x 1.2 mm high

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 33

First instar larvae consumed the eggshells soon after emergence and rested in clusters

below a leat midrib near where they were feeding. They fed from the edge of the leaf

to the midrib. The later instar larvae chewed across the leaf midrib and were observed

feeding during daylight hours. A fine pad of silk was spun on the underside of the

leaves on which they rested when not feeding. Some larvae attained a length of 50mm

which is quite large considering the size of the adult body. In the wild, the later instar

larvae are usually found resting and ie: SONETLY:

| The bright ereen pupae

measuring up to a length of

21mm were located below stems

of the host plant. They were

attached with silk by the

cremaster with the head hanging

downwards.

The total time from egg to adult

varied between 39 days to 56

days. The first adult to emerge

had egg duration of 5 days, larval

duration 22 days and pupal

duration of 12 days.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 34

Within the new boundary of the Scenic Rim Regional Shire south of Brisbane, I have

adult records for all months of the year. In south-eastern Queensland, the wet season

form 1s more abundant from December to March and the dry season form 1s

sometimes very common during April and May just after the wet season. Individuals

of either form can appear throughout the year.

Acknowledgement: I would like to thank John Moss for commenting on the

manuscript.

Reference:

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

vol 2. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.

Photos Wesley Jenkinson

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A new aphid arrival - the Asian Woolly Hackberry Aphid

(Shivaphis celti) — Peter Macqueen 12/2/17

Australia has over 160 species of aphis both native and many introduced species.

New introductions are often known crop pests so receive significant attention to their

management. A relatively new aphid introduction to Australia 1s the Asian Woolly

Hackberry Aphid (Shivaphis celti) that has arrived and spread relatively unnoticed,

although many readers have probably

encountered its honey dew on, or under,

the prolifically weedy Celtis tree, Celtis

sinensis. It has rapidly become a feature

of Celtis trees, leaving them having

copious amounts of sooty mould over the

foliage and large numbers of the white

fluffy aphids under the leaves (Fig.1).

Fig.1 Typical sooty mould and yellowing as a

result of Shivaphis celti infestation

The Asian Woolly Hackberry Aphid is a

small aphid 2-3mm long and covered with a

copious white waxy covering. As many

aphids will do, it produces a large quantity

of honeydew that is excreted on and below

the host plant. As the Celtis 1s deciduous

the aphid overwinters as eggs on the stem

and then reproduces parthenogenically

through the summer months to build populations (Fig. 2).

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 35

Fig.2 Shivaphis celti on Celtis leaf

It was first recorded in Sydney in 2013 (Ridgeway), on blackberry plants from its

native China, and rapidly spread from that known introduction into trees in Southern

Queensland within 2 years. Upon arrival in Australia, the Consultative Committee on

Emergency Plant Pests did not regard it as an emergency plant pest to warrant any

formal control measures (Ridgeway and Burgess-Buxton 2014).

It has a relatively recent history of introduction and rapid spread in the USA also. It

was introduced to South Eastern USA in the 1990’s and California and Texas a

decade later where there is little damage to its host plant, C. sinensis. (Bartlett, 2005).

This remarkably rapid spread was undoubtedly hastened by the wide spread dispersal

of C. sinensis 1n waterways and urban areas along Eastern Australia. The fruit of the

Celtis are relished by cockatoos and other birds, so the movement of birds has had a

significant role in the insect’s dispersal.

The implications of the presence of this Chinese insect are difficult to quantify. No

steps were taken to manage it upon arrival as it feeds on the exotic C. sinensis, but has

not had a sufficient impact, despite numbers, to be regarded as a biological control

agent. It may, however, encourage the removal of Celtis trees due to the messy honey

dew they produce.

Observations in a range of areas have indicated that, like many aphids, it is very host

specific although there are related host plants, being recorded on a range of Celtis

species (Halbert and Choate, 2014). Widely grown related susceptible genera could

include members of the Ulmaceae, Celtis australis, and native Celtis species.

Shivaphis has not been observed on C. australis possibly because of the rough nature

of the leaf surface.

It will be interesting to observe its effects on exotic species and to monitor for it on

native species.

Bibliography:

Bartlett, T., 2005, Species Shivaphis celti - Asian Woolly Hackberry Aphid.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/18904 viewed 30/5/16

Halbert, S.E., and Choate, P.M, 2014, Asian Woolly Hackberry Aphid, Shivaphis celti Das

(Insecta: Hemiptera: Aphididae) University of Florida

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237589075 Asian Woolly Hackberry Aphid Shiva

phis_celti Das Insecta Hemiptera Aphididael (Accessed 30/5/16)

Lawson, A, 2014, Asian Woolly Hackberry Aphid Center for Invasive Species Research,

Univerity of California, Riverside. http://cisr.ucr.edu/hackberry.html (accessed

11/2/17)

Ridgeway, P and Burgess-Buxton, A, 2014, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde — recently introduced

pathogens of invasive flora may threaten endangered native species.

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary Business/Committees/Senate/Environment and Commu

nications/biosecurity/Additional Documents (Accessed 30/5/16)

Photos Peter Macqueen

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 36

They have finally arrived! — Bob Miller

One of the more common questions I was being asked by butterfly enthusiasts when

they visited me in Cairns was “Do you think The Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore)

will ever get to Cairns and 1f so, when do you think it will happen?”

Well, we don’t have to guess any longer. I saw my first one (a female) 1n the front

yard on the March 27". The next one I saw was also a female, at the same place, but

on the next day.

This one I captured and put her in my breeding cage, in the hope she would lay some

eggs which I could then raise to adulthood and get the life-cycle photos. Having

captured this one, I then needed to find the foodplant for her to lay on. I drove to near

the Cairns airport, where there is a lot of different vegetation. On the way there, they

were hitting the car in numbers, only exceeded by those of the Caper Whites and Blue

Tigers that had migrated earlier.

After getting out of the car, I noticed the adults were feeding on low-growing weed

flowers and so picked up another four with just my fingers, all females.

I spent a good couple of hours looking for one of the right foodplants for them to lay

on but without success. That afternoon, I went to the local boat ramp, where I was

successful. Whilst there, a female A. terpsicore landed on the Passiflora beside me

and commenced laying eggs. She ended up laying seventy six of them, taking about

twenty minutes to complete the task.

These all hatched on the night of April 2°. They then commenced eating and eating

and eating, typical of Acraea larvae. They grew to full size and pupated on anything

that was horizontal on April 16'", eventually emerging as adults on April 23".

Apart from the eggs that the A. terpsicore layed, the local A. andromacha were also

laying eggs on the same plants. I found another five batches of eggs and wondered

how they were all going to survive on the foodplants available.

That question was answered when they were about half grown. The Green ants found

them and took every last one! Without that happening, I’m sure they would have run

out of foodplant and died anyway.

The last report I have heard was that they have already passed through Kelso in

Townsville, still heading South.

What will happen if they get down past the southern limit of the Green ants’?

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 37

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 38

| & 2 Acraea terpiscore eggs 3 & 4 A. terpiscore larvae

5 & 6 A. terpiscore pupae 7 & 8 A. terpiscore female

9 & 10 A. terpiscore male

Photos Bob Miller

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The Scarlet Jezebel (Delias argenthona) — Hongming Kan

Commonly known as Jezebel butterflies, genus Delias is a group of beautiful

butterflies with stunning combinations of colours of red, yellow, black and white. I

remember clearly the first time when I spotted a Black Jezebel resting on a leaf in

Karawatha forest I was so impressed by the intricate colour patterns on its wings that

I couldn’t help wondering if God had doodled on them.

In Butterfly Lovers, one of the most famous ancient Chinese folktales, after the

tragic death of two young lovers their spirits turned into beautiful Red-Based Jezebel

butterflies (Delias pastithoe) and rushed out of the grave to stay together forever.

One day in October 2016, Ross told me he discovered eggs and larvae of the Scarlet

Jezebel on mistletoe, knowing that I was very keen on photographing them. Except

for the common Black Jezebel butterflies, I had never had a chance to see other live

Jezebels before. A few days later, we returned to the park together where Ross had

made the discovery. There were three low hanging mistletoes (Amyema miquelit)

srowing on gum trees and Ross had been checking on them for years but had not

found anything until this year.

The eggs were laid together haphazardly in

clusters on the mistletoe leaves. The egg of

the Scarlet Jezebel is actually quite

beautiful. Oval in shape, it has a corolla-like

structure on one end and a flat bottom on

the other. White ridge lines can be seen

clearly running vertically along the surface

of the egg, connecting the corolla and the

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 39

flat bottom. In some eggs, the little black heads of the larvae were clearly visible,

meaning the larvae would soon hatch.

Unlike other butterfly larvae I had seen before, the early instars of Scarlet Jezebel

were gregarious. They seemed to enjoy the company of one another.

Being a seasoned butterfly breeder, Ross told me Scarlet Jezebel larvae don’t seem to

do well on the cuttings of the leaves and the best way to raise them is to leave them

on the host plant enclosed by a sleeve in order to keep them safe from parasites and

that was exactly what we did for them.

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20 days later, when we returned, most of the larvae had reached final instars and a lot

of them had already pupated. Just like the early instars, the late instars were also

eregarious, sharing food and resting together on the leaves. Judging by the big sizes

of the larvae, we knew they were very healthy and would metamorphose into big

butterflies.

Not only did they eat and rest together,

but also pupated together in groups.

I took some pupae home to photograph

the adults. One week later, the beautiful

butterflies emerged.

Photos Hongming Kan

BEDS PE DS De De Ps Pe Re bd Pe DT be Oe Pd Pe be bd Pd

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 40

BOOK REVIEW

Evoking Happiness

The Language of Butterflies from around the

World Vol.1 — Makoto Nakae — Softcover 80pp

P 3 140 x140 x 9mm — Privately published — Reviewed by

At « Alan Hyman — available through BOIC and selected

Evoking Happiness outlets $1 2 approx, This book was first published in

Japanese in mid-2016.

The Language of Butterflies

from around the World

Makoto Nakae has carried out scientific and field-based entomological work 1n more

than 30 countries, described two new subspecies of Asian Papilionidae, donated his

butterfly collection to a Japanese museum and has two university degrees. It 1s

therefore somewhat of a surprise that he has chosen to compile this attractive but

somewhat enigmatic little book which defies classification. The cover’s title and

whimsical butterfly illustration are more reminiscent of styles found in the ‘Religion

and Philosophy’ or ‘Self-help’ sections of a bookshop and the butterfly depictions

(photographs of set specimens) would not be out of place in a lepidopteran field

cuide. Yet the book belongs to none of these categories, or to be more precise, it

draws on elements from all of them with its own individual twist. In all, 36 species

(33 butterflies and 3 moths) are featured,

mostly trom the Asia and Pacific regions :

with a sprinkling from South America and ip iod apbaprenee

Africa.

It would seem that the book’s prime

purpose is to suggest the emotion or

impression that the initial contact with

each butterfly would spontaneously evoke

in the observer. The layout follows a simple template with two facing pages allocated

to each species. The left-hand page has the emotive caption as the heading with the

butterfly image immediately below (there is no indication of scale) followed by the

English name, locality, and area of distribution. The right-hand page features the

scientific name, a one or two line comment on the species plus a captioned location

photograph and country flag. Interestingly, at the top there is a ‘Birth Butterfly’

notation — an astrological reference to the zodiac whose signs and dates change in

sequence every few pages to complete a calendar year. There are also some

anomalies and typographical quirks but ironically these all add a certain naive charm.

Some species have captions whose inspirations are fairly obvious. For example, the

black and green Philippine Banded Peacock (Papilio daedalus) has the endowed title

‘Dignified appearance’ and the locality, distribution and landscape photo all seem

relevant (even if the associated comment 1s a little basic). However, the Cypris

Morpho (Morpho cypris) has as its evocation ‘We are meant to be together’. The

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 41

locality is given as Bogota, Colombia; its distribution, Colombia; and in the

comments ‘....it lives in the mining areas of Colombia’ yet the landscape photo 1s of

farmers drying cocoa leaves by a Peruvian roadside. Maybe the ‘locality’ specified is

where the individual specimens illustrated were each captured and the location photos

often not so much definitive habitats as regional ‘atmospheric’ images. The only

specifically Australian species depicted is the Joseph’s Coat Moth (Agarista agricola)

whose emotive caption ‘Flaming passion in the heart’ 1s somewhat let down by the

dull, obscure red on the hind wings and location photo featuring a south Queensland

termite mound.

In any event, the book 1s what it is. The work would benefit greatly from an

introduction to briefly explain its purpose (maybe this will be incorporated into the

implied second volume). Apart from a quote in French (with presumably the Japanese

equivalent beneath) plus a pen and ink Swallowtail sketch, it launches directly into its

content. Also, as the author’s impressions of the various butterflies’ characteristics

are personal and hence highly subjective, 1t would be useful to designate a space on

the page where the reader could add his or her own instinctive interpretative feelings,

thus involving the individual personally and intimately in the spirit of the book. From

a sales perspective, possibly the most effective display location would be at the cash

terminal where the book would say ‘buy me as well’, making an attractive small gift

for anyone unfamiliar with butterflies and introducing a lighter, more ‘philosophical’

alternative to the disciplined and technical field guides available. The book would

also make a unique addition to such places as magazine tables 1n dental surgeries,

medical centres or in post-operative circumstances where patients could relax with

this as a refreshing and uncomplicated therapeutic diversion. If happiness truly could

be evoked in these often stressful conditions, the book’s aim will surely have been

realised.

REPORTS

Australian Native Bees — A talk by Erica Siegel at the AGM on 1"

April 2017 — Bernie Franzmann

This is one reason I joined the club; to hear talks like this one. Thank you, Erica.

As acareer entomologist, I thought I knew a fair bit about the Australian insect fauna,

but Erica taught me a new appreciation of our native bees.

She told us about: blue-banded bees, teddy bear bees, leaf cutter bees, cuckoo bees,

resin bees, carpenter bees, reed bees, masked bees and Homalictus bees.

Now, Erica is not an entomologist but has been described as “A Fauna Enthusiast.”

Her interest in bees started about 2009 when she observed blue banded bees. Now she

is an expert on native bees. She is perhaps particularly noted for her excellent photos.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 42

Many of her photos grace the pages of the latest publications on bees in Australia,

including, The Australian Native Bee Book and The Australian Beekeeping Manual.

There is not enough space here to tell you all she told us, so I will tell you some of the

things that I did not know before, or found most interesting.

e Solitary bees have stings but are docile because they don’t have to defend a

hive.

e Many bee nests are attacked by cuckoo bees. They act in much the same way

as cuckoo birds. The blue banded bees are attacked by the neon cuckoo bee,

which has striking vivid patterns.

e Greenhouse tomato growers have been trying to get approval to bring

bumble bees from Tasmania to the mainland, to be used as pollinators. Erica

told us that blue banded bees, which are common in Brisbane, might be just

as good as pollinators.

e Leaf cutter bees, which make those distinctive circular patches in the leaves,

can cut the sections 1n less than two seconds. I always imagined them

enawing away for at least a couple of minutes.

e One species of carpenter bee feed their newly emerged adult progeny for

some time.

e Most bees have special structures on their bodies to carry pollen but masked

bees don’t and so they swallow the pollen to carry it.

Native bees must be pretty common. Erica has seen 26 species 1n her garden in

Redland City, Qld.

Erica has amassed an enormous amount of information from research and observation

from only the past few years, and she imparted some of this to us 1n an interesting

talk, made easy to understand with her amazing photos.

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Trip Report Sunday 9™ April 2017 — Keith Treschman

Pleasant conditions heralded the morning start of the field trip for 5 club members.

Permission was obtained for entry to the sporting grounds at Fig Tree Pocket of

Brisbane Girls Grammar School in Brisbane. The area is flanked by Cubberla Creek

along which the School has embarked on environmental improvements. As exotic

plant species are being removed in stages, native specimens are taking their place.

Volunteer students, usually numbering about 60, perform plantings 3 times each year.

Since May 2014, 4000 plants and shrubs have been established, with species selected

for their attracting qualities for birds and butterflies.

Protected noticeboards display 2 posters of 223 birds that could potentially be seen in

the area and a poster of 82 butterfly species. These have been produced as individual

cards by students in their computer studies.

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 43

A structure in 2 parts 3m tall has been

erected where intended canopy trees have

been planted along with 72 Pararistolochia

praevenosa vines to provide habitat for

Ornithoptera richmondia (Richmond

Birdwing). With the hot weather and a

recent flood, about half the vines have

survived and a reasonable proportion of the

trees.

Species sighted on the morning were Structure for planting to attract

Graphium sarpedon (Blue Triangle), Richmond Birdwing

Phaedyma shepherdi (White-banded

Plane), Papilio aegeus (Orchard Swallowtail), Nacaduba berenice (Large Purple

Line-blue), Euploea core (Common Crow), Catopsilia pomona (Lemon Migrant),

Acraea andromacha (Glasswing), Catopsilia pyranthe (White Migrant), Junonia

villida (Meadow Argus).

Photo Keith Treshman

Gaede SS

with Peter Hendry

It’s the 28/04/2017 and the weather is cooling with a reported minimum of 10°. The

shining sun is being enjoyed by the small blue butterflies known a Zebra Blues

(Leptotes plinius). They are in numbers around my exotic Plumbago auriculata.

Though I also grow the native Plumbago zeylanica, P. auriculata 1s a larger plant and

much more floriferous which is great for the Zebra Blue as the larvae feed on the buds

and flowers. There are several eggs on the budding flower spikes (Fig. 3) though one

impatient female could not wait for the spike to develop (Fig. 4). I could find no sign

of larvae. Because of the cooling weather, the eggs can lay dormant until 1t warms up.

Also enjoying the flowers are some very small native bees (Fig, 5), probably Trigona

spp.

-§

pa ba ba ba a BB BBB

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 44

Fig. 1 Male Zebra Blue (Leptotes plinius).

Fig 2 Female Zebra Blue

Fig. 3 Eggs

Fig. 4 Ovipositing

Fig. 5 Native bee

Photos Peter Hendry

ae » .

A wasp with Beauveria bassiana, a type of

entomopathogenic fungus. Someone may be

able to add some details. Peter Macqueen

Ed.: I contacted www.fungimap.org.au who

confirmed that it was Beauveria

(Cordyceps) bassiana (the white fluffy

mycelium). They asked if we knew the species

of wasp. Can anyone advise?

7“

Photo Peter Macqueen Regarding the fungus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauveria bassiana says-

BEDS PE DS PE De be Pa Re be Pe be be Oe bs Pe be bd Pd

Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 45

“Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that grows naturally in soils throughout the world and acts as a

parasite on various arthropod species, causing white muscardine disease; it thus belongs to the

entomopathogenic fung1. It is being used as a biological insecticide to control a number of pests

such as termites, thrips, whiteflies, aphids and different beetles. Its use in the control of

bedbugs and malaria-transmitting mosquitos 1s under investigation.”

ok a 2k oe ake 2k ok ok ok

At last, we caught these Tailed Emperors on

camera! We want to show everyone.

Cheers ....... Glenis & George Gibson

Also from the Gibsons

On April 2" at roughly 10 am, I had a brief

visit from a Green Spotted Triangle. It settled

on the Micromelum minutum for a few

seconds then it was gone. It was a very green

colour, 'verdant' in the artist's world. I believe

the wind must have brought it in. I hope I see

it again.

only occurred in the Tropics, and possibly the fact that

it was observed between Bundaberg and Gladstone at

that time was related to the recent cyclone, I asked

Garry Sankowsky. He replied, “In 1974 when the

monsoon trough went down as far as Brisbane the

Green Spotted Triangle and Blue Banded Egegefly made

a push south. The Green Spotted got as far as

Eurimbulah (north of Bundaberg) and the Blue Banded

got to Byron Bay. The climate is not much different

Image from Garry’s CD “Garden on from Yeppoon down to Bundaberg and there is a huge

the Wing” amount of suitable habitat all along the coast with

endless host plants. They have probably been ticking

over in that area or the above average temperatures this season may have enticed them to move

from Yeppoon. I don't think the cyclone had anything to do with it as the winds were blowing

the opposite way (south to north). The Green Spotted does push out at times. Twice I have seen

them at the 40 Mile Scrub, west of Mt Garnet but they do not breed there permanently. Usually

with these moves, a few years with normal and below normal temperatures finishes them off.

Also, I don't think the cyclone had anything to do with the Acraea terpsicore invasion. They hit

Queensland from Torres Strait to south of Townsville and were on the Torres Strait months

before the cyclone. Good rains in the inland would have made the Hybanthus plants proliferate

and, as usual with a one off brood, there were very few parasites and the survival rate was sky

high. This happens with Glasswings in WA and they defoliate all the Adenia vines. Next

generation the parasites catch up. If they migrate they then beat the parasites by moving to a

new area, like the Caper White does.”

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 46

ERRATA

The following errors as corrected pertain to the Daisy Hill Field Trip, as reported in

our last magazine [issue #84].

pp 32 & 33 Passiflora aurentia (should be P. aurantia)

pp 33 & 37 Imperata cylindrical (should be I. cylindrica)

p 37 Capparis spinosa (should be Capparis arborea)

BUTTERFLY AND OTHER INVERTEBRATES CLUB PROGRAMME

Ridge Track, Goomburra section of Main Range National Park

When: 10am 15" July 2017

Where: The Ridge Track, Goomburra section of Main Range National Park

How to get there: Follow the Cunningham Highway past Cunningham’s Gap to

Gladfield (Driver Reviver stop) and turn right into Allora-Goomburra Road.

Turn right into Inverramsay Road at Goomburra. This becomes The Forestry

Reserve Road at the end of which 1s the Manna Gum Camping area.

The Walk: Class 4, 5 km return. Walk starting from Manna Gum Camping Area

Amenities: Toilets, picnic areas.

What you may expect to see: Macleay’s Swallowtail butterfly, Albert’s Lyrebird and

other birds and butterflies.

Other info: The first section of the Ridge Track is very steep and contains sections of

slippery shale. Allow 15 to 20 min to walk Ikm. This time is calculated for

people of average fitness and bushwalking experience and who are wearing

correct footwear.

RSVP: Phone Paul Klicin on 0411 031 406 or email him at paulez2@hotmail.com

Planning and General Meeting

What: Our quarterly planning meetings are informative and interesting and we

welcome members to contribute to discussion. This meeting will be followed

by a presentation by Rob Whyte, co-author of A Field Guide to Spiders of

Australia, the most comprehensive book on Australian spiders ever published.

When: 10am Saturday 12™ August, 2017

Where: Downfall Creek Bushland Centre, 815 Rode Rd., McDowall

What to bring: Enthusiasm is welcome. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided

Decker Park, Twenty Fifth Ave, Brighton QLD 4017

When: 10am 26™ August, 2017

Where: Cnr Twenty-fitth Ave & Flinders Parade Brighton

How to get there: Turn right onto the Hornibrook Highway just before the

Hornibrook Bridge to Redcliffe. The park is immediately to the left on 25"

Avenue.

Amenities: Toilets, Picnic tables.

What you may expect to see: Many varieties of Mistletoe on Casuarina.

RSVP: Phone Paul Klicin on 0411 031 406 or email him at paulez2@hotmail.com

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 47

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

plattorm 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 1s done with the efforts of:

e Those members who have sent in letters and articles

e Andrew Atkins who provided the cover painting

e Daphne Bowden who works on layout, production, and distribution

e John Moss, Kelvyn Dunn, Bernie Franzmann and Ross Kendall for scientific

referencing and proof-reading of various articles in this issue of the magazine

ARE YOU A MEMBER’

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

your membership 1s due, please renew as soon as possible. Annual 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.

Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club Inc.

PO Box 2113

RUNCORN Q. 4113

Next event: Ridge Track, Goomburra section of Main Range National Park

15" July 2017 — see Programme for details

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Magazine of the Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club #85 — Page 48