amberbc's Journal

The annual Australian Moth Marathon in Memory of Victor Fazio III started Friday 16 Jan and continues until midnight Sunday 25 Jan 2026.

Vic Fazio was one of the titans of Australian moths (Lepidoptera) on iNaturalist, having identified over 130,000 Australian moth observations. He sadly passed away in 2022. Every year since he is remembered through this event.

Over a 10 day period the project encourages us to all go out, put up a moth sheet with a light at night or explore your backyard or local park for caterpillars and moths.

Project link to see all moth observations: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/2026-moth-marathon-in-memory-of-victor-fazio-iii

Project link for other orders: https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/2026-other-orders-in-memory-of-victor-fazio-iii

So far I have been using a DIY light trap in my backyard from Northam, as well as testing a Ryobi UV Bug Zapper which I cover with a mesh bag so that it is non-lethal to our insect friends and place next to a white sheet.

DIY HOME MOTH LIGHT TRAP
My light trap was made following recommendations from the Entomological Society of Victoria, and is as follows:

Gecko UV Replacement Insect control lamp (Bunnings): https://www.bunnings.com.au/gecko-50w-insect-control-replacement-uv-lamp_p3340304

Light plug with switch (Dick smith): https://www.dicksmith.com.au/da/buy/aim-e27-cable-cord-with-switch-au-plug-pendant-lamp-base-light-bulb-holder-socket-e27cablecord-black-1pc-356158/?utm_campaign=postsaleorderconfirm&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dse

White table cloth (Kmart) + Clothes rack (Kmart)

A lerp is a structure of crystallized honeydew produced by nymphs of psyllid bugs as a protective cover. There are over 300 species of lerp forming psyllids in Australia. Sugary lerps are highly valued as a bush tucker, particularly for gifts and trading, and are eaten by possums and birds such as pardalotes and honeyeaters,

Insect honeydew is also theorised to be the "manna", or "mana", described in the Bible and Quran as a miraculous, white, flaky substance God provided as food for the Israelites during their 40-year journey in the desert after they fled Egypt. As mana scale 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎 is a species of mealybug found in the Middle East and southern Europe. Mana scale feeds on tamarisk trees and exudes a sweet edible substance that dries into a sugary substance.

The word lerp does not refer to an insect, it refers to the protective covering made from honeydew or wax under which the insect, a psyllid, lives. Lerp is derived from the Aboriginal Australian Wemba Wemba word 'lerep'.

Lerps are as diverse as the individual species that build them, but generally come in two forms: those with a high wax content and those with a high sugar content. Sugary lerps are bush tucker, eaten as confectionery, and collected as prized items for gifts or trade.

𝐋𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫
Compared to the food available to us today, parts of our native Australian bushland had fewer high energy sugar sources, so sweet foods like native bee honey, flower nectar, sugar ants and psyllid lerps were treasured finds. They are seasonal, region specific and take cultural knowledge to find. Honey and lerps were particularly valuable as they can be stored and preserved well without refrigeration.

Faast et al (2023) writes “Lerps feature in Aboriginal calendars, ceremonies, mythology and cosmology, all of which have embedded biocultural knowledge about the time and place for optimal collection”

The lerp exudations can be collected in a container or stored as a dry ball for later use, or eaten on the spot by simply pulling the leaf through the teeth. Recently, there has been interest in using lerps in the restaurant industry as part of the commercialization of traditional Aboriginal foods. Controversial Masterchef judge Jock Zonfrillo’s Adelaide restaurant Orana served desserts and dishes that included lerps in place of refined sugar, although he stated they were a difficult ingredient to find in large quantities.

The psyllid that builds the lerp belongs to the order Hemiptera “True bugs”. It is a sap sucking insect feeding from plants, much like an aphid or a mealy bug. Not all psyllids species make lerps. The shapes of the lerps they construct are often used to differentiate between species.

𝐋𝐞𝐫𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐯𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬
Scale insects are a different insect family to psyllids and are often confused. Both are bugs that make a waxy or armoured shield attached to their bodies and can be associated with ants.
However, Scale insects (family: Coccoidea) attach themselves firmly to stems, leaves, or roots and cover their bodies with a waxy or armoured shield. Once settled, many species barely move again. They excrete honeydew and can be pests of native vegetation, horticulture, and crops.

Lerp-forming psyllids (subfamily: Spondyliaspidinae) look more like tiny cicadas or jumping plant lice. Their protective cover, the lerp, is made from crystallised sugars and waxes excreted by the juvenile nymphs. Unlike scale insects, the nymph periodically leaves the lerp to moult before returning underneath it. Lerps can be species specific in shape: dome shaped, peaked, scalloped, or fan shaped

𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐬: 𝐋𝐞𝐫𝐩 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬
Some lerps are guarded and tended to by ants. Ant–psyllid associations are a classic example of mutualism involving sap-feeding insects and tending ants, similar to the better known ant–aphid interactions. Psyllids feed on plant sap, primarily from Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, and other Myrtaceae. While feeding, psyllids excrete honeydew, which is rich in sugars. Ants are attracted to this honeydew and will deliberately tend psyllid nymphs and adults to harvest it.

Ants aggressively defend psyllids from natural enemies such as lacewings, ladybirds, parasitoid wasps, and spiders. Ant-tended lerp forming psyllid colonies often have higher survival and reproduction thanks to their ant "body guards".

𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬
Several Eucalyptus species are recorded as sources of sugar lerps traditionally collected and eaten. These include Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Red Gum), Eucalyptus dumosa (White Mallee), Eucalyptus odorata (Peppermint Gum), Eucalyptus oleosa (Red Mallee), and Eucalyptus viminalis (Manna Gum), each noted specifically for producing sugar lerps. Additionally, Eucalyptus camaldulensis is also associated with edible seed, and Eucalyptus dumosa with edible root material.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐬...
These insects are important to many Indigenous groups, yet Western science knows surprisingly little about their taxonomy, biology, and ecology (Laast et al., 2023). Lerps are one of the least studied traditional sweet foods in Australia, with little known about lerp-forming psyllid species diversity, incomplete taxonomy, poorly described lerp chemistry and much more to be learned from traditional knowledge holders.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡-𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦. 𝐼𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠. 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘𝑠. 𝐴𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙.

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬
Clarke, P. A. (1998). Early Aboriginal plant foods in southern South Australia. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of Australia, 22

Faast, R., Clarke, P. A., Taylor, G. S., Salagaras, R. L., & Weinstein, P. (2023). Indigenous Use of Lerps in Australia: So Much More than a Sweet Treat. Journal of Ethnobiology, 40(3), 328-347

Farr, J. (n.d.). Lerps, bugs and gum-leaves. Landscope. Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM), Western Australia. ISSN 0815-4465.

Phillips, C. (1992). Lerps insects (No. 6). Government of South Australia, Primary Industries and Resources

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My personal top observations of 2025. I will add in information about why each one was special.

This post showcases observations I have made of mistletoe species, insects observed in association with mistletoes and some interesting information I found out about them.

Australia is home to more species of mistletoe than anywhere else in the world. We have over 90 different species, with around 65 only found in Australia.

Kissing under the mistletoe, a romantic Christmas tradition, is thought to be linked to Norse folklore and ancient Greek mythology.

These parasitic plants are said to have healing properties, the ability to connect with the dead and to protect people from bad spirits.

European mistletoe, 𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑙𝑏𝑢𝑚, with its white berries and yellow-green leaves, is the mistletoe species and plant parasite people are most familiar with.

Dr Russell Barrett from the Botanic Gardens of Sydney has a keen interest in mistletoes and has collaborated with international researchers to understand more about the origin of these parasitic sapsuckers.

Using DNA technology and plant fossil records, Dr Barrett's team found that the origin of mistletoe is in fact Australia, or at least the part of Australia that was attached to the ancient supercontent Gondwana.

Also finding that the oldest mistletoe species surviving today is one of the largest, 𝑁𝑢𝑦𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑎 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎, the Western Australian Christmas Tree or Moodjar.

Possibly thanks to management over tens of thousands of years by Noongar people, due to the important sacred status and uses of this species.

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐞𝐬: 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 & 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫
The loss of mistletoes from native vegetation may seem to some observers to be a good thing because parasites are, by their nature, an extra burden for their host plants. Nevertheless, mistletoes seldom kill their hosts, it would be fatal to them as well, and there are many animals that take advantage of the nectar and fruit from mistletoes which are usually in bloom or fruiting at a different time of year to the host.

Mistletoes are keystone species as they provide food for birds and butterflies, which in turn pollinate other plants which then disperse seeds whose mature plants contribute to nutrient recycling and provide the host for the next generation of mistletoes. Most have red flowers and red berries, thought to be an evolutionary trait to attract birds.

Indeed, one group of animals is very much dependent upon mistletoes for their survival, the butterflies. The leaves of many Australian mistletoe are the preferred food of caterpillars of at least one of two groups of often colourful butterfly, the Azures and the Jezebels.

Wireleaf mistletoe, 𝐴𝑚𝑦𝑒𝑚𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑖, is commonly seen around Northam during Christmas time, usually growing on many Acacia tree species along rivers and roadsides. Showing red or orange flowers around December and January, and light pink fruit from around March and April.
Buloke mistletoe 𝐴𝑚𝑦𝑒𝑚𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑙𝑙𝑎, is less common and can be found only on Australian pine or She-oak trees (Casuarina).

In Victoria, Buloke mistletoe is classified as Critically Endangered because its numbers are significantly below what they would have been at the time of European settlement and the majority of the records are from roadsides, paddocks, other private land and public land not managed for conservation.

WA’s Buloke mistletoe subspecies has a similar story, however is not classified as endangered.
Eight species of Native mistletoe are listed as Priority 1 or 2 and are only found in WA from five or less locations.

Mistletoes are also very soft-stemmed. This means they are very fire sensitive and they act as an important indicator for the condition of country. That is, when the country was last burnt.

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬
B.A.Barlow. Amyema, in (ed.), Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra

Botanic Gardens of Sydney. Mistletoe: a festive & freaky parasite
Paul Gullan, Viridans Biological Databases, Rare Plants of Victoria, Amyema linophylla

Heathcote, Angela. “Australia is the Real Home of Mistletoe.” Australian Geographic, 20 Nov. 2018

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑠ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦. 𝐼𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠. 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘𝑠. 𝐴𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙.

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