Out of the firewood

I found this Decora Longicorn Beetle Amphirhoe decora on a window inside of the house and guess that the most likely reason for it being inside is that it came out of the firewood stored ready for our winter fires. This species is known to favour Acacia species and there are quite a few logs of black wattle in the stack. The larvae chew their way through the timber, when mature and pupate and emerge to find a mate.

This beetle is approximately 18mm in length. It is predominantly dark brown in various shades of red and has a white stripe over each of its two wing covers. Its femurs are the largest of all longicorn beetles. As is typical for longicorn beetles, its antennae are extremely long - three times the length of its body.(Wikipedia)

Not a sting in the tail

Checking the pool this morning I found a couple of Water Scorpions or Toe Biters Laccotrephes tristis   in the skimmer box. The pool is not usually their habitat but they seem to fly in at night thinking it is a dam or pond. They look to capture tadpoles, frogs and aquatic insects using their modified forelegs. Once they have secured their prey they bring it to their proboscis and inject an enzyme to liquefy the innards for a slurpee meal.

The long tail which is responsible for the scorpion name, is not a sting but is actually a siphon to breath air, as they wait for a meal to come by, although they can remain submerged for a considerable time. The Toe Biter name comes from those who have had the misfortune to have one of these bugs grab hold and pierce a toe or finger etc causing quite a bit of pain but nothing serious.

 

Square-tailed flyover

On our verandah getting a bit of cooling breeze when a large shadow preceded a young White-bellied Sea Eagle which passed directly overhead but by the time I got back with the camera it had gained height in the updraft and circled out of sight. However as luck would have it a Square-tailed Kite came gliding in on the breeze and gave me enough time for a couple of shots before disappearing over the treeline.

I have previously posted a photo taken from a distance which lacked details of the markings that are good indicators for this species.
 

Season's colours

Very Best Wishes for the Festive Season

Long legs on a wire

Had the camera taking photos of Honeyeaters when I noticed a Daddy-long-legs moving along the balustrade wire and I found the contrast between the multi strand wire and the delicate spider a good subject.

 The Daddy-long-legs Spider, Pholcus phalangioides, is found throughout Australia. It is a cosmopolitan species that originates from Europe and was introduced accidentally into Australia.

They are a regular feature inside the house where they usually end their life in the vacuum cleaner but at times we find them like this one outside where they are welcome to stay.