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What
Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax)Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
Eristalis tenax (and Apis mellifera in some images for comparison)
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Wandering Ghost Spiders (Genus Argoctenus)Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
Lycosid Wolf Spider
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Wrap-around Spiders (Genus Dolophones)Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
body length 3mm
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Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
Found under a decaying Wattie log (Taxandria juniperina) in a damp corner of our lower field.
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Southern Broad-nosed Spiny Ant (Polyrhachis femorata)Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
From our shade house this 8mm ant, but one not seen before.
This ant seemed to move between a state of overdrive action to one of playing dead (thanatosis).
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Nambungia balyartaObserver
lenvanderwaagDescription
Found in our trailer after fire wood was unloaded - this 8mm female, Nambungia balyarta which is endemic to south-west Western Australia.
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Genus RoselliniaObserver
lenvanderwaagDescription
Found on the underside of loose bark fon a 4 year old block of Warren River Cedar or Wattie (Taxandria juniperina) The balls are the size of pin-heads.
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Carpenter Ants, Typical Sugar Ants and Allies (Genus Camponotus)Observer
lenvanderwaagPhotos / Sounds
Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
Body length 10mm
Disturbed from under loose bark at the base of a eucalypt tree
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Guenee's Emerald (Chlorocoma dichloraria)Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
The caterpillar of the Double-fringed or Guenée's Emerald moth (Chlorocoma dichloraria) entered pupal stage 17 March. Previously it lived on tips of long leafed eucalyptus. The main characteristic of this caterpillar is its habit of remaining rigidly upright on a eucalyptus stem during the day. Emerged from the pupal case 8 April.
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Typical Weevil Wasps and Allies (Genus Cerceris)Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
subfamily Philanthinae
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Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
I found two "drinking" from the tiny 'cup' shaped flowers of leek that was going to seed in the garden.
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Venatrix pullastraObserver
lenvanderwaagDescription
This 13mm spider deserves recognition for having retained hold of her egg sac despite being caught up in her 'home' of dry mulch being forked into a wheelbarrow, then 'driven' to another location over rough ground, then being subjected to the mulch being forked out, and then clinging onto the wheelbarrow tray as the remnant material in the barrow is tipped out.
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Genus TrachymelaObserver
lenvanderwaagDescription
This 8mm long beetle was the only one of its species found under the loose bark of a eucalypt in Katanning.
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Genus DactylosternumObserver
lenvanderwaagDescription
This 5mm beetle was found in our compost bin.
These beetles belong in the beetle family known as the family Hydrophilidae. Despite beetles in this family being commonly known as water scavenger beetles, the subject of this post is not aquatic.
This beetle belongs in a Hydrophilidae subfamily of terrestrial insects, the Sphaeridiinae, that live in decaying matter.
Information from https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/.../cabicompendium.18141
This genus more often occurs near human habitation in manure and silage and frequently among domestic waste stored in bins, which is where it was found at our place. Adult beetles primarily feed on or obtaining nourishment from decaying organic matter but may also be partly predatory. Their larvae predate small insects and their larvae. Information from https://www.ukbeetles.co.uk/dactylosternum-abdominale
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Sac Spiders (Family Clubionidae)Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
This 6mm spider (minus one leg but only till the next molt) was in the wheelbarrow after I emptied a load of dried braken fern mulch for our revegetation efforts.
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Tribe HarpaliniObserver
lenvanderwaagDescription
This 10mm ground beetle was found under a pile of dried grass after clearing a new revegetation patch.
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Genus ElassoctenusObserver
lenvanderwaagDescription
This spider (body length 9mm) was found under a pile of dried grass after clearing a new revegetation patch. It was very fast moving and agile.
The genus contains only one species, Elassoctenus harpax, which is found in Western Australia. Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elassoctenus
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Syndesus macleayiObserver
lenvanderwaagDescription
Wood collecting for winter from around our place continues to unearth 'treasures'. In this case it is an almost perfect exoskeleton of a 22mm beetle.
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Spider Wasps (Family Pompilidae)Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
the 8mm long wasp with its prey disappeared down this hole with a diameter of approximately 4mm.
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Common Gumleaf Grasshopper (Goniaea australasiae)Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
Goniaea australasiae
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Cheirodes sardousObserver
lenvanderwaagDescription
There is a note on this 6mm long beetle at https://ellura.info/.../DSC00805E-Little-Sardinian-Beetle... "Mark (Hura) said "Introduced here (Australia) from Nthn Africa/Mediterranean. The first records of it in (Australia) are from West Australia in the 1920's and they have been recorded here in South Australia since the 1960's"
We (Brett & Marie Smith) also found a couple of records from Victoria in 1943. This implies it's been in SA longer than we thought. We'd expect them to travel thru SA from WA toward Victoria; unless it was a separate introduction. Interestingly these seem rare in their countries of origin."
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Observer
lenvanderwaagDescription
These were found in our compost bun and play a role in decomposing vegetable material.