A Welcome Find

It is not everyone's cup of tea to be wondering in the dark of a winter's night in the forests of Davies Creek in Dinden National Park. But it can pay dividends.

Such a foray on a windy, cool night resulted in the discovery of a nymph of the Balsam Beast, Anthophiloptera dryas Rentz and Clyne. I have written of this before and the other member, Zaprochilus mongabarra Rentz,  of this endemic subfamily of katydids (Tettigoniidae) that occur in the northern tropics.

This discovery of A. dryas in a stand of mixed eucalypts, acacia and Casuarina on a winter's night was welcome. But it is not too surprising because all of the Zaprochilinae are winter and spring-occurring katydids. All feed on flowers, pollen and nectar. This nymph was having a go at the pollen on the many grasses that grow as the understorey of the forest. It has a few moults to go before it is an adult. But it had better hurry so that it can fly and escape the peril of the "control burn" which is inevitable in this National Park. Incidentally, this is the westernmost known locality record for this species. It is not known from the forests on the Atherton Tableland but should be sought there.

The prognathous mouthparts are a characteristic of this subfamily. This supposedly enables the katydid to penetrate deep into a flower and retrieve nectar. Note the small sword-like structure emerging from the tip of the abdomen. This is the developing ovipositor and that tells us the katydid has a couple of moults to go before it is an adult. This should happen in late August.

Disappointing

There is a mixed open forest habitat we visit regularly for moth and orthopteroid photography. It is unfenced and on ground that would not seem to support anything else. it is sandy soil that is always wet. There is an abundance of grass cover, mixed wiry native grasses and a number of introduced ones. There is a pungent herb that grows to about 1.2 m and, of course, scattered Lantana.

Buck Richardson photo

The locality, north of Mareeba. Dominant trees are Callitris, Melaleuca with a few scattered Eucalyptus.

You can imagine our surprise and dismay to find virtually every tree "ring-barked". This is a technique used in the Australian bush to kill trees cheaply and thoroughly. One can understand the importance of clearing the bush but it is sad when one sees it as graphically as it is here. If you look to the bottom of this photo, you will see a female cricket laying its eggs in the loose bark. More on this in a later blog.

 A single cut is all that is needed in smaller trees to disable and eventually kill them.

 Two cuts assure eventual death.

 We noted that larger trees were cut and given a dose of a poison of some sort.

All of the Paperbarks are festooned with little orchids, Dendrobium canaliculatum. These plants will flower in the next several months for the last time. Once their host tree dies, they are doomed as it will topple over ending the life of the orchid. In this small patch there are hundreds and hundreds of these plants, some growing on their hosts within a few centimetres of the ground. A very disappointing development.

Planthoppers: There's Beauty In Things Small

Most gardeners think of leafhoppers and planthoppers as insects to be kept out of their gardens. Australia is blessed with an abundance of species in many families. When viewed up close their intricacy in shape and colour can be appreciated. The great majority of species have no interest in garden plants and are tied to certain hosts. Many have associations with other insects. As with many Australian insects, large numbers of species remain to be described and documented. Several have been dealt with in this blog from time to time but an array of species makes the point stressed above. I am grateful to Dr Murray Fletcher for his help in identifications. Further information and identification can be made from the AustralianPlanthopper website.

 Ishidaella anemolua (Kirkaldy), Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae: Cicadellini

Lophops saccharida (Kirkaldy), Lophopidae

Rentinus sp., Fulgoridae: Amyclinae

Unknown genus Derbidae: Otiocerinae; Zoraidini

Eurymeoloides punctata (Signoret): Cicadellidae; Eurymelinae; Eurymelini

Conoguinula coeruleopennis (Fabricius), Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae: Cicadellini 

Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae Unknown genus. Group needs work!

Euryaulax carnifex (Fabricius), Sugarcane Froghopper, Cercopidae; Cercopinae

Hasta hastata Kirkaldy, Dictyopharidae; Dictyopharinae

Hasta beak

 Olonia sp. Eurybrachidae: Platybrachinae; Platybrachini

 Olonia sp. Eurybrachidae: Platybrachinae; Platybrachini

Olonia sp. Eurybrachidae: Platybrachinae; Platybrachini, nymph

Olonia sp. Eurybrachidae: Platybrachinae; Platybrachini being tended by ants. Sugary exudates of the hopper are fed upon by these Camponotus sp. ants.

 Rhotidoides sp., Cicadellidae: Tartessinae: Thymbrini 

Be Careful!

Gary Wilson photo

This fellow was photographed about 1 km from the Cairns CBD but on the other side of the inlet. One must take care when wandering along seashores and especially along creek and river margins in the tropics of Australia.

Out And About

It is the Dry Season (tropical winter) and things are a bit slow but there is still some activity. Here are a few rather recent items that may be interest.

The Cast-net spider Deinopsis, family Deinopidae, Deinopsis sp., is a favourite. This spider constructs a net that it throws over an unsuspecting victim.

Oncopera sp is usually a harbinger of cold weather. It is a hepialid-not one of the most attractive of the family but a nice moth to have around.

One of the native Australian Dung beetles, Temnoplectron politulum. This is one of several species encountered in rainforests after dark. They perch on leaf surfaces awaiting the the "call" of fresh dung from native nocturnal mammals.

The Calephorops, Calephorops viridis Sjostedt, Acrididae: Acridinae; Acridini is at home in short grass or along the margins of disturbed habitats. It is often found along the shore of marine situations where it seems to be associated with stiff grasses like saltgrass, Distichilis. It can often be found living on the margins of athletic fields. It is a noisy grasshopper and produces a buzzing flight that lasts for less than half a second. It is much smaller than the related Froggattina australis (Walker), males averaging about 15 mm in length. Here it is perching on a grass blade.

The Spotted Spur-throated Locust, Austracris basalis (Walker), Acrididae: Catantopinae; Cyrtacanthacridinae is one of several grasshoppers that overwinter in the adult stage in the tropics. Others can overwinter as eggs or as developing nymphs. Adults like this one are usually in "reproductive diapause", that means they do not mate nor do they lay eggs at this time. The pots on the tegmina (forewings) are often distinctive of this species. The genus Austracris contains more than six species within Australia and in the Indo-Malayan and Pacific region and is in need of revision.

Head and thorax (pronotum) of the specimen above. The stripe below the eye seems distinctive of the genus.

The Light-brown Sharptail, Stenocatantops vitripennis (Sjostedt), Acrididae: Catantopinae; Catantopini; Catantopina (quite a name!) is another species that overwinters and as adult. It will produce several generations over the course of the year. It is common in the tropics from coast to coast where it lives in dry grass. It is quick to take flight when disturbed.

Dorsal view of above.

OOPS!

An Unexpected Visitor

The other day an unexpected visitor appeared on the ground in mid afternoon. It is Morelia spilota, one of the six subspecies or races of the Carpet Python. Now which one is the one in the garden. Well is could be the Jungle Carpet Python, M. s. cheynei or the Coastal Carpet Python, M. s. mcdowelli.

This one seems to have characters of both subspecies or races. This is probably because this individual is hybrid between the two. But since they are the same species, they share the same genetics. If the two races overlap, then a blending of characteristics should result in the offspring. In any case, this fellow appeared in the daylight and was very unexpected. I  almost stepped right on the poor thing.

 The snake was not disturbed by my presence. But it was on the hunt, searching on the ground and in shrubbery.

It checked out this small tree and eventually came to ground and disappeared into the bush. This python is fond of taking up residence in attics and rooftops. It feeds on mice, various mammals and birds. Sometimes pets are taken and if the pet was wearing a flea collar, the snake could be in trouble and die from the expericens

 And that's the end of the tail (tale) of the Python. Moral: Always watch where you step in the rainforest.

One of the locals who watched the entire proceedings But he had no worries. The python would not be interested in this Boyd's Forest Dragon.


Thanks to both Michael Cermak and Alan Henderson for comments and icentifications.

The Cassowaries

I guess it is time to report on the progress of the local cassowaries for this year.

 The local pair had two chicks. This photo is early in their development when they were just coming out of the "stripey" phase.

 A few weeks later they are teenagers.

 But then about 3-4 weeks ago, the parents started pairing and they bubs were deserted, left on their own to find their food and shelter without the aid of the parents. This seemed weeks or months early. Usually the chicks are fairly large when the male begins driving them off. We have had a rather warm autumn and maybe this has confused the internal clocks that govern their activities. The bubs now come and go on their own but seem much more hungry than they would be if Pops was looking after them. They have to learn where the fruiting trees are in the forest and where to look for new sources.

The sounds Cassowary chicks produce are distinctive. They have several different calls. These were presented on this blog some time ago.

 Several months ago a deep gash just above the male's left heel. We have no idea how he received this injury. We felt that it could become infected and that would be it for him. But it was the rainy season and the cut healed nicely. There was a rumour that one of the neighbours spray the wound with an antiseptic---something I would never attempt even with a fairly friendly birds like Mr Cassowary. The wound has healed and is now a bulging blister-like tubercle on his left heel.

 Mr Cassowary taking a well deserved rest in the sun.

 Cassowaries can be recognised by the appearance of the casque- the horny but hollow projection in the top of the head.

With a little study, the minute differences can be seen and one can learn to recognise individual birds.