Now It Is Small White Moths

 We have recently had literally a plague of small black carabid beetles, Gnathaphanus philippensis (Chevrolat), attracted to lights at localities along the coast from Port Douglas south to Innisfail. I did a post about these beetles in 2011, see:  https://bunyipco.blogspot.com/search?q=Gnathaphanus. It seems that they appear in huge numbers every 11 years or so. The beetle is not an Australian native but occurs naturally in south Asia. They are exceptionally abundant and cause concern to businesses because ther beetles are attracted to lights at night. They do not seem to cause any damage. It is their numbers that concern the general public.

Gnathaphanus philippensis (Chevrolat)

In the past few days a small moth has appeared in considerable numbers around lights in Kuranda. It is in the family Erebidae (formerly Arctiidae), subfamily Arctiinae. It is Chamaita barnardi (Lucas). As far as I know, the larvae have not been discovered. The moths may be associated with the flowers of the tree, Elaeocarpus bancroftii, the Kuranda Quandong.  The trees are in heavy flower at the moment. Male moths measure about 5.0 mm in length while the females are slightly larger at 6.5 mm.

A group of Chamaita barnardi on a Heliconia leaf.

A worn individual illustrating the translucent wings with the colours largely faded.

The brown colour markings are largely faded.

Front-on view showing the antennae with the hairy basal segments. This individual is less worn than the others.

The Cassowaries return

 Remember to click on the image to enlarge

After a lengthy absence it was a surprise to see Mr & Mrs Cassowary in our driveway browsing palm fruits. We had not see either for over a month. The male had not brought off any chicks last year so we are hoping.....

The female is much larger than the male and has a much larger casque. The female is the bird at the top of the photo.

The casque is hollow and becomes chipped with time. The colours are spectacular at this time of year.

And then this fellow has appeared in the past few weeks. He wanders in daily and walks right up to the front door and just stands there until he tires. He\'d be in serious trouble if the adults happened to see him. And we would be in serious trouble if they were to trap him on our porch.

Be very cautious!