Musings!

During a morning patrol of the shadehouse, I discovered this small mosquito, Tripteroides sp. (kindly identified by Dr Scott Ritchie) feeding on the sap of the flower stem of a Sophorolaeliacattleya orchid.

You can see from the photo the mozzie has its beak in the flower. This is probably one way that viruses can be spread from pant to plant. The Mosquito family, Culicidae, has many members that feed on plant sap. They are often quite colourful.

This handsome weevil, Enteles vicinus Faust, is the first of its kind seen around here. It reminds one of "New Guinea weevils" many of which are large and colourful. Relatives of this species are associated with bananas.