Moths 2

Hercules Moth: male top, female below.



Donuca rubropicta (Butler)

Hypsidia erythropsalis (Rothchild): Head-on view top, dorsal view below.

More on moths

One of the icons of the northeastern Australian rainforests is the Hercules Moth, Coscinocera hercules, one of the world’s largest moths. Females are larger than the males, often attaining more than 20 cm across and have shorter tails. Males are usually darker than the females. These moths seem to be most active on cooler nights. Adults do not feed. They, like many other moths, survive for a few days on fats stored during the caterpillar stage. Males are more commonly found at lights. If they are recognised in the morning, the Butcherbirds finish them off. Females lay about 200+ large eggs on a variety of trees, both native and introduced. Size of the adult moths varies, probably based on the quality of the food they have eaten.


The family Oecophoridae is probably the most diverse family of moths in Australia. The larvae seem to be leaf litter feeders and occur in regions outside of the rainforests. The most common families in the rainforests seem to be the Noctuidae and the Geometridae. The oecophorids are present but in numbers less than encountered elsewhere. Perhaps, that is because leaf litter is more promptly processed in the rainforests. In the eucalypt woodlands where oecophorids predominate, leaf litter is deep and not so quickly processed. Who knows? Donuca rubropicta (Butler) is a beautiful noctuid moth that frequently comes to lights. It seems to combine cryptic, disruptive and startle colour patterns.

Hypsidia moths have been bandied about from the Noctuidae to the Pyralidae but are now placed in the Drepanidae, the Hook—tip moths. H. erythropsalis Rothchild is a common visitor to lights in the Kuranda rainforest. But it really does not have hook-tipped wings! Maybe it is still misplaced in the Drepanidae. But as I have noted previously, though common, it is one of those moths that I have never encountered during the day. It must be distasteful as birds avoid eating the moths from the light sheet.

Moths

One of the many colour phases of Syntherata janetta (White) (Saturniidae)

Moths
“Australia has somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 species of moths (a number comparable to the number of flowering plants)….” A quote from the recent book by Zborowski & Edwards (2007). So it’s not too bold to suggest that there might be 1,000 species living in the rainforests and associated woodlands around Kuranda. In fact, there may be many more than that! I have been collecting moths for the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, Canberra, every night for more than 4 years and not a night goes by that I don’t find one or more species that I had not seen before. They are so diverse in size, colour pattern, habitus and behaviour that one local artist has adopted them as an artform. His mothology site mothology is well worth a look. All the moths he uses in his art are from the Kuranda environs. Remarkable!

This is the first in a series of blogs on the moths of Kuranda.

The majority of moths are active at night. You see very few of them during the day. Most of the moths I find I have never seen in nature-only at the light sheet. Their diurnal activities, if any, are not known. It is assumed that most sit motionless to avoid predation. The wide range of colour patterns suggests a variety of strategies. Brightly coloured, often reddish or orange, moths are usually distasteful to birds and lizards. That this advertising strategy works is seen each morning on the light sheet. The moths are often the only ones that birds and lizards have left there.

The larvae (caterpillars) of most moths have not been seen. Some of the more prominent species Hawk and Silk Moths have large and obvious caterpillars and they are common if you find the appropriate host plants. But the great majority of caterpillars are hidden and have never been seen.

Some moths are seasonal, others can be found at most times of the year. And there are some that are vagrants. That is they are just flying through and are attracted by the light. The group of moths above illustrates what one might expect on a night in the rainy season. They are mostly noctuids feeding on fruit in the bird feeder. The largest moth is Ischyja neocherina, one of the fruit moths that causes damage in orchrds due ot its feeding activities which allow fungi to damage the developing fruit.

Reference

Zborowski, P., Edwards, E. D. 2007. A Guide To Australian Moths. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.

Australia’s Bird-of-Paradise

Australia’s
Bird-of-Paradise

Victoria’s Riflebird, Ptiloris victoriae, (named for Queen Victoria) is one of three Riflebirds occurring in Australia. They are so named because it is said the “call”, such as it is, sounds like a discharging rifle. To me it sounds more like a loud squawk of the Spotted Catbird. The birds are primarily fruit-eaters and visit the bird feeder often where they eat bananas, raisins and other fruits in season. The decurved beak is used to pry insects from tight places. Adult males are spectacular with their black iridescent plumage that glistens metallic green and blue when they fly. The feathers produce a peculiar sound when they fly reminiscent of the crumpling of cellophane. Their courtship displays are elaborate as are those of their northern cousins and they sometimes display in the vegetation adjacent to the feeder. The birds are not monogamous. The nest is a small bowl and is often decorated with snake skins. Females and subadult males are brown streaked. These photos were taken at our feeder by noted wildlife photographer Gary Wilson.
Reference
Everett, M. 1987. Birds of Paradise. Chartwell Books, Secausus, New Jersey (Reprinted). 144 Pp.

Tree Runners

In most parts of Australia one or more species of mantid can be found on tree trunks. They are cryptic with colours and patterns which aids in ambushing small prey. These mantids are extremely fast and dart to the opposite side of the tree or branch when discovered. Egg cases (oothecae) are deposited in cracks in the bark.

The top photo is a nymph of the genus Ciulfina, a commonly encountered genus with many species in the Australian tropics. They usually perch head downwards with the body flat against the tree not casting a shadow. This one is ready for a quick escape. The late John Balderson discovered that males exhibit asymmetrical genitalia, with some males oriented one way and others that have a mirror image of this complex. After dark these mantids move from tree to tree over the adjacent vegetation as in the second photo.

The bottom photo is Calofulcinia oxynota La Greca, a delicate rainforest species. Males are long-winged and frequently show up at lights. Females are flightless and live on mossy rocks.

Have you Ever Met A Stalk-eyed Fly?

Stalk-eyed flies (family Platystomatidae) are common visitors to the bird-feeder during the rainy season where they are attracted to fruit. Several species are involved. Males have characteristically-shaped heads that are used in ritualistic mating displays. They have an unusual gait and are very easily approached.

Reference

McAlpine, D. K. 1972. The Australian Platystomatidae with a revision of five genera. The Australian Museum, Memoir 15. Pp.1-256

Boyd’s Forest Dragon
Boyd’s Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus boydii) is one of the true gems of the rainforest. Males are larger than females and can attain 50 cm in length. When alarmed, like other dragons, it can become bipedal, that is, is can run on its hind legs like a little dinosaur. This lizard is not commonly seen because it spends a lot of time in the canopy where it searches for insects and other invertebrates. Most people discover the dragons basking in the sun. However, at our place we normally see them at night where they sleep. This Dragon was first spotted sleeping on a large ginger frond in March during the rainy season (we had 1000 mm of rain in March!). After a few weeks, it disappeared but reappeared again on the same ginger frond in early July.

The Queensland Palm Katydid

The Queensland Palm Katydid (Segestidea queenslandica Rentz) is a large insect with females (the larger of the sexes) measuring around 9 cm (3.5 inches) from the head to the tip of the forewings. Males are a bit smaller. They are known from rainforests around Cairns and Kuranda and the Daintree River area of far north Queensland where they are relatively common. So it is rather surprising that the species was unnamed in the scientific literature until recently (see Rentz, below). The fact that such a large insect, one of the largest of Australian katydids, can go unnamed for such a long time is an example of just how poorly studied the Australian insect fauna really is. I had known about the existence of the insect since the early 1980’s and had been collecting information on its biology and distribution since those early collections.

This katydid is peculiar in some respects. Males are very rare. in fact, only one is known. Females are fairly common and many rainforest folk are well aware of the species. Study of captive females reveals that the species is http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1420-9101.2001.00254.xfacultatively parthenogenetic, that is, females can produce eggs that hatch without the mother ever having been mated. The species has been raised through several generations in the Museum of Victoria, Melbourne, without any males ever being produced.

Another oddity associated with this species is its food. It feeds only on palm leaves. It has mandibles that are unique and appear to be modified for this purpose. Other members of the genus occur throughout the Pacific and some cause major economic damage to Coconut Palms. This species feeds on a variety of palms and because of its size and appearance is an excellent zoo animal and easy to raise in captivity.

Females need to descend from their perches in palms to deposit eggs in the ground. This is when they are easily seen and subject to predation. Eggs hatch in late autumn and the juveniles (nymphs) seek small palms for feeding. Lawyer Palms (Calamus spp.) are usually chosen because the leaves are tender and there is an abundance of seedlings in the rainforest. The nymphs are protectively coloured (see photo) and resemble bird droppings with their white, mottled pattern. As they mature they ascend palms and change their colour to mottled brown and after the final moult, the adult dark brown colour is achieved.

The Queensland Palm Katydid recently was featured on the TV show Totally_Wild where its biology and habits were noted.

Reference

Rentz, D. C. F., Su, Y. N., Ueshima, N. 2006. Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: The Mecopodine Katydids Part 2 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Mecopodinae; Sexavaini) Queensland Palm Katydid. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 132(3): 229-241.