Shining in the sun

Spangled Drongos are still around which is late in the season for them to be in our area but the days have been quite warm and insects are very plentiful.

They are residents in the tropical coastal areas and a bit further north than here but with climate change we may see them here year round.

 

A taste for Castor Oil

Found another moth on the verandah this morning and it didn't take long to identify it as the Castor Oil Looper Achaea janata, 

I had to disturb it to see if I could see the rear wings for any markings and there was just enough showing to confirm the ID.

The common name results from the caterpillars favourite food, the Castor Oil Plant although there are many more food plants that they have been found on.

When castor oil was in demand the caterpillars caused substantial damage in the plantations, however in Australia the castor oil plant is a recognised weed so the moth now maybe in favour 

They are widespread in Australia and also found in Indian and Pacific island countries as well as some SE Asian areas..

Highrise living

Termites are a major problem on Australia causing huge damage and costs to many home owners but not all of the 300 odd species are troublesome.

Many of the trees on the property have arboreal nests of termites and this species, Nasutitermes sp,   tend to feed on dead wood in the vicinity of the tree and also on the dead heart wood of the tree.

This nest is about 10m from the ground and the tunnels go to the nest and other feeding points on the tree. making an opening in the tunnel has the soldier termites, . swarming to deter intruders.

 

Targeted Brown

Another butterfly that I haven't posted before even though it is a reasonably frequent visitor is the Sword-grass Brown Tisiphone abeona and as the name suggests there is a relationship with with sword-grass species, Gahnia a tall clumping sedge with very sharp edges to the leaves. There are a number of Sword-grass species that the butterfly larvae feed on but the one we have growing on our property is Gahnia sieberana.

There are a number of variations of this butterfly and they range from South east Queensland through to south east South Australia. This form ranges from the mid-north coast to the south coast of New South Wales.

Not your common garden variety

A frequent visitor but I realised I hadn't posted a photo before, so here is today's critter.

 This is not the Garden Mantid but the False Garden Mantid Pseudomantis albofimbriata and is one of the most common mantids with widespread distribution in Australia.

He flies she doesn't

A fly in visit from a stick insect and I had a brief flash of brilliant violet colour when I disturbed it and the wings opened for a second. but I could not get a photo with the wings on display. The other identifying feature is a spur on the hind leg which is where the common name derives, Spur-legged Phasmid (or stick insect). Didymuria violescens gives more weight to the wing colour and the other common name Violet Stick Insect.

This one is a male, as only the male flies and has the spur on the legs, where as the female only has very small wings and stays put in the tree tops feeding on gum leaves and waiting for a mate to fly in.

They are found in Eucalyptus forests in Eastern Australia and at times are a problem  when found in large numbers in timber plantations.

Like Lychee

The young of the moth I found on the ceiling of our verandah this morning are partial to Lychee leaves, as well as those of Longan, Rambutan, Tamarillo and various other tropical fruit trees.

 The caterpillar which is quite colourful gave the common name to the moth, Conspicuous Looper, Oxyodes tricolor but the moth likes to hide its colours which are on the rear wings, half black and bright orange, that you can just see peeping through. The fore wings have a span of about 40mm and are quite variable in pattern and colour .

The range of the moth is through south and south east Asia and  coastal  Queensland and NSW in Australia. As their preferred food trees are tropical to sub tropical fruits we are at the southern end of the range.