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.

What 24 Mega Pixels Can Do

On a recent trip up the road to the mixed eucalypt-acacia woodlands I was wandering about at night with my camera and saw a familiar site. A pyralid male was signaling. I am familiar with sound-producing pyralids because of the encounter with Syntonrarcha iriastis Meyrick. This moth has been observed and written about by Gwynne and Edwards (see below) from observations made in Kings Park, Perth.

I have picked up stridulating moths with the mini bat detector on a number of occasions. This time I was far away from my detector but thought the moth must be producing sound, so took a photo and collected the male. It turns out that it is Symmoracma minoralis (Snellen), another pyralid. It also has been extensively studied by Heller and Krahe from observations made in Malaysia. This moth ranges from northern Australia to Sri Lanka.

The purpose of this blog is not to go into detail about the sound production of this moth but to relate how wonderful digital photography can be. Details of sound production and its function in moths can be garnered from the paper above and the one below.

S. minoralis stridulating in the field at night.

 The same photo enlarged showing the genitalia, opened and revealing the stridulatory apparatus.

 The same photo more greatly enlarged showing the genitalia. The ribs are not part of a file-scraper system. According to the hypothesis of Heller and Krahe, the system produces sound as a tymbal through muscular contractions with the white opening acting as a sound chamber. Contractions cause the sound! The other moth, S. iriastis, seems to produce sound in a similar fashion but has very different structures to do it.

 S. minoralis, the moth pinned and with the genitalia retracted. A rather plain moth with a fantastic biology.

The power of mega pixels!

Literature
Gwynne, D. t., Edwards, E. D. 1986. Ultrasound production by genital stridulation in Syntonarcha iriastis Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Pyalidae): Long distance signalling by male moths? Journal of the Linnaean Society, 88: 363-376.

Bug Blog

A certain professor and a colleague have been calling for "more bugs" on the blog so here goes. Firstly for the non-entomological types, especially the North Americans, all insects are not "bugs" but all bugs are insects.

Simply put, a bug is an insect that has sucking, not chewing, mouthparts and has gradual metamorphosis. When winged, the forewing is divided, half is membranous, the other half is hardened.
They are members of the order Hemiptera (in the olde sense!)

So here goes, tropical bugs.

 Coreidae: Sciophyrella australicus

 Largidae: Physopelta gutta

 Alydidae: Riptortus sp.

 Undetermined bug with newly hatched bug-lings

 Reduviidae: Harptacorinae: Euagorus dorycus  feeding on another bug

 Reduviidae: Pristhesancus plagipennis sharing caterpillar food with ants

 Note the beakwork

 After feeding, the ants continue the mop up.

 Tessaratomidae: Cumare pallida. Tessaratomids are bugs that look after their eggs an young. See the detailed study by Monteith below for details. A very interesting group in Australia.

Tessaratomidae: Lyramorpha parens. We have dealt with this one before. 

 Tessaratomidae: Lyramorpha parens guarding young.

 Probably Pentatomidae: Bromocoris souefi, a nymph but it could be a pentatomid as well.

Reduviidae: Harpactacorinae, undetermined genus, perhaps Helonotus

Pyrrhocoridae: Dindymus sp mating

 Pyrrhocoridae: Dindymus sp. Slight different colour morph.

 >Pentatomidae: nymph on Grass Tree, Xanthorrhoea  at night

 Pentatomidae: Poecilometis eximus mating on Grass Tree


Thanks to Tom Weir and G. Cassis for help with the identifications. Any errors are not theirs.

Literature

Monteith, G. B. 2006. Maternal Care in Australian oncomerine shield bugs (Insecta, Heteroptera, Tessaratomidae). Denisia 19, zugliech Kataloge der OO, Landesmuseen Neue Serie 50: 1135-1152.

Night Walk On The Mt Lewis Road

It's autumn in the tropics. This means reduced rainfall and slightly cooler temperatures. The thing that impresses me is how quickly the season changes and the effect it has on the biota. It seems like in a matter of a couple of weeks, numbers crash and species disappear from the scene.

A walk on the lowers slopes of Mt Lewis, near Julatten, yielded a few insects, but in general, there was not much about.

 Allacta australiensis Roth: Ectobiidae; Pseudophyllodromiinae. This blattodean is found only on tree trunks. It lives in cracks in the bark during the day and emerges at night. It occurs from Cooktown south to the Babinda region including the Atherton Tableland.

 Beybienkoa fuscofemurifera Roth: Ectobiidae; Blattellinae. This species has a rather restricted known distribution with specimens from the Daintree Region and Mt Lewis.

Anaplecta calosoma Shelford): Ectobiidae; Anaplectinae. This is a small roach, measuring a little over 5 mm in length. Misidentified in the first instance. I'm surprised no one picked up on this!

 Amusurgus minmirri Otte and Alexander: Gryllidae: Trigonidiinae; Trigonidiini. Two members of the same genus found on weedy vegetation on the road after dark. Normally they spend the day in leaf litter.

 Amusurgus tinka Otte and Alexander: Gryllidae; Trigonidiinae; Trigonidiini.

 Trigonidium sp. Gryllidae; Trigonidiinae; Trigonidiini.  This may represent a new species

 Mjobergella sp. Gryllidae; Landrevinae; Landrevini. Lives on the forest floor.

Genus? Gryllacrididae. Note the checkered patach at the base of the fore wings.

The Raspberry Sawfly, Philomastix macleaii, on its host. For more on Sawflies, have a look.

 The business end of a Click Beetle, Elateridae

 A Rove Beete, Actinus macleayi, Staphylinidae; Staphylininae

 Head shot

 A Darkling Beetle, Tenebrionidae, probably Promethisis sp.

An anthelid moth before it's a moth!

It Must Be Snake Season

We have seen more snakes in the past few weeks than at anytime during the summer. It is a rather warm autumn but this seems unusual to me.

The Green Tree Snake, Dendrolaphis punctulata, can reach 2m in length. This fellow was less than that, about 80cm in length; It is a diurnal snake and feeds on frogs, small reptiles and some mice. It's an egg layer and is harmless, though a bit feisty when annoyed. It is one of the few members of the Colubridae that we have. Most of the baddies are in the Elapidae.

Even during the day you must be careful where you place your hands!