Fiddler Beetle

December 21, 2015Animalsbackyard, beetle, insect, NativeJoe Lipson

Eupoecila australasiae

I was working in the yard when Jess called me over to see a beetle she’d found. I was a bit reluctant to stop work but she convinced me “c’mon dad, you’ll love it!” She was right. With a quick search this beetle was simple to identify as a Fiddler Beetle.

Fiddler beetle of Eastern Australia. This one’s name is Lightning McFiddler

Fiddler Beetles are native to Australia, they are found all the way up and down the east coast. The first thing you notice about them is their appearance, they are black with a striking pattern of yellow or green markings that look like they have been applied as part of a carefully thought out tribal design. The one Jess found had green markings. Not sure if it was male or female, often in nature the males are more visually striking than the ladies but I couldn’t find any sources that distinguished between the two in appearance. Fiddler beetles live in heathland, eucalypt forest and suburban parks and yards. They lay their eggs in rotting logs or damp soil. After hatching the grubs eat wood until they are ready to emerge as adult beetles in the early summer.

The Fiddler beetle gets it’s name from the fiddle like pattern on it’s back

They have a tiger stripe pattern on the underside. It was just playing dead here, it perked up again after I stopped trying to move it.

Resources and references

Cycad grows new leaves

December 13, 2015PlantsbackyardJoe Lipson

Stop the presses right. Hah, well I still think this is pretty cool. The last time the cycad sprouted new leaves was almost 4 years ago.

Cycads are ancient plants that in some ways resemble palms or tree ferns. They have tough evergreen leaves that grow in a fan like arrangement from a single central trunk. Cycads are slow growing and can live for a long time, up to 1000 years. They are thought to have been much more widespread in the ancient past 100’s of millions of years ago, today they are still found around the world in tropical and subtropical climates.

The new shoots emerge at the top of the plant like a ring of spears from the central ball of coralloid roots. They grow very rapidly, up to 20cm per day for the first week after they emerge. As the spears emerge the leaves are each individually coiled up tight in intricate spirals. At first the leaves are very soft and flexible, and the undersides are covered with a film of fine hair/fur. Once they unroll the hair is lost and the leaves become stiff and hard.

New generation of leaves sprouting from the cycad. Last time this happened was 4 years ago.

I’m not sure what is behind the strategy of waiting years then growing all the leaves at once. Not long after the last time the leaves grew there was a scorcher of a day that burnt some of the new leaves leaving them dead and brown. That cant be good when new leaf growth is years away.

New cycad leaves unrolling. The new leaves are soft and flexible.

Close up of the new leaves. they are furry on the undersides

Gum Tree Shield Bug ( AKA Stink Bug )

November 24, 2015Animalsgum tree shield bug, insect, shield bugJoe Lipson

Theseus modestus

It took 4 years for me to finally work out what my “Unknown Bug” is! Finding the Cotton Harlequin Bug was what lead me to it. I recognized that they look quite similar in structure and shape. This gave me some more terms to search for ( shield bug ) and I finally got a match!

So it’s with belated pride I’d like to introduce to you, the “Gum Tree Shield Bug” otherwise known as a “Stink Bug”!

A nymph Gum Tree Shield Bug. The pattern on their back reminds me of an Aboriginal painting

The bugs that I found appear to be in the nymph stage. The nymphs spend most of their time under the bark while the adults roam about on the outside of the tree and are better camouflaged. The patterns on the nymphs is captivating, it looks like an Aboriginal painting come to life.

Gum Tree Shield Bugs are found all over Australia in open forests or woodlands. They get their Stink Bug label from their ability to secrete a smelly corrosive substance as a defence against predators. Glad I avoided that.

A cluster of nymph Gum Tree Shield bugs. The nymphs are said to spend most of their time under the bark, I’m not sure how common it is to see them out like this.

Resources and references

Cotton Harlequin Bug

November 22, 2015Animalscotton harlequin bug, Hibiscus Harlequin Bug, insect, jewel bugJoe Lipson

Tectocoris diophthalmus

A few weeks ago we visited friends in their new highrise apartment in town. It was an awesome place, typical modern apartments, all fitted out with parking and facilities including a great indoor pool that we had a lot of fun in with the kids. They were on the 30th floor ( I think ) very high up anyway. It was the last place I would have expected to see some interesting wildlife but while Jess and I were out on the balcony scaring ourselves with the hight ( ok, mostly me being scared ) I spotted a strikingly coloured bug crawling on the tiles. I gave it to Jess, we both marveled at it and took some photos. I’ve found it hard to identify bugs in the past and didn’t expect to be able to work out what this one is, but by luck someone had found exactly the same creature and sent in a photo to the North Shore Times where it was identified by the Australian Museum as a “Cotton Harlequin Bug”!

The Cotton Harlequin bug is a true bug in the jewel bug family. They are found Northern and eastern Australia; New Guinea, some Pacific islands and are common in the summer months. They suck sap from hibiscus plants and related species and are also considered a minor pest for cultivated cotton.

The individual we found is a male, their colouring is reported to be quite variable but it seems common for them to be red with striking metallic blue markings as we found. The females are orange with smaller metallic blue markings. I think another case of the males being prettier than the females!