| It's possible 20 different species can look identical (needing dissection to differentiate); as such many id's here don't go to species level |
| Stat' | Notes | Thumbnails: 615. 172 native species listed, with 146 from Ellura |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | |||||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Giant Cockroach Blaberidae | Clear Rimmed Native Cockroach Calolampra sp | Na ema | The 1st two specimens were recorded on the same day at Ellura. Notice the 3rd specimen (Adelaide Hills) has more transparent edges, and a black streak down the side. All 3 specimens have different ventral patterns on their abdomen. We're not sure if these are different species or variations on the same species. Also notice the white face markings, these are not reflections but white pigment About 21mm long | |||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Giant Cockroach Blaberidae | Bark Cockroach Laxta sp | Na ema | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Cockroach Blattidae | Oriental Cockroach Blatta Orientalis | If a | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Cockroach Blattidae | Shining Cockroach Drymaplaneta communis | Na ema | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Cockroach Blattidae | Tortoise Cockroach Euzosteria cf subreflexa | Na em | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Cockroach Blattidae | Black Cockroach Platyzosteria sp | Na em | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Cockroach Blattidae | Small Cockroach Temnelytra sp | Na em | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Cockroach Blattidae | White-banded Cockroach Zonioploca cf latizona | Na em | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Cockroach Blattidae | Desert Mid-lined Cockroach Zonioploca medilinea | Na em | Thank you David Rentz for confirming the identification of this species David says in his book "A distinctive species: No other has a single midline stripe". This is the 1st record for this species in South Australia on the ALA website (www.ala.org.au). | |||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Wood Cockroach Ectobiidae | Brown Balta Cockroach Balta sp | Na em | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Wood Cockroach Ectobiidae | Western Ectoneura Cockroach Ectoneura tepperi | Na em | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Wood Cockroach Ectobiidae | Small Golden Cockroach Ellipsidion sp | Na em | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Wood Cockroach Ectobiidae | The Coulon Paratemnopteryx couloniana | Na ema |
About 22mm long | |||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Wood Cockroach Ectobiidae | Desert Para Cockroach Paratemnopteryx sp | Na a | ||||
| Cockroaches Blattodea | Termite Termitoidae | Termite Termitoidae sp | Na ema |
These have now been placed in the Cockroach order Blattodea. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Belid Weevil Belidae | Spotted Belid Weevil Rhinotia sp ES1 | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Belid Weevil Belidae | Red Belid Weevil Rhinotia sp ES2 | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Belid Weevil Belidae | Hairy Belid Weevil Rhinotia sp ES3 | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Belid Weevil Belidae | Sutural Belid Weevil Rhinotia suturalis | Na ema | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Large Auger Beetle Bostrichidae | Twig Borer Beetle Bostrychopsis jesuita | Na em | A cylindrical black beetle. About 13mm long, with a downward pointing face (reminiscent of a broad-nosed weevil). Distinctive 2 rows of horns on it's pronotum. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Jewel Beetle Buprestidae | Giant Jewel Beetle Temognatha heros | Na em | Thank you Martin Lagerwey for confirming the identification of this species | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Soldier Beetle Cantharidae | Soldier Beetle Chauliognathus sp ES1 | Na em | Possibly granulatus | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Soldier Beetle Cantharidae | Soldier Beetle Chauliognathus sp ES2 | Na em | Notice the differences between the 2 species. This one has broken black bands around the abdomen, the black marking on the back of the shield is quite different and it has orange legs (not black). This one also has orange head, not black. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Soldier Beetle Cantharidae | Soldier Beetle Chauliognathus sp ES3 | Na em | Possibly granulatus | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Striped Ground Beetle Amblytelus sp ES1 | Na em | Notice the long sparse hairs on the elytra (wing covers), pronotum (back/thorax shield) & head ... well on most of it's body actually; almost like spines rather than hairs. They also have an unusual spur on their front legs. Beetles often have spines coming out of their legs, but beetles in this tribe (Amblytelini) have an indent in the leg and a hook; as can be seen in the photos. About 10-11mm long (head & body). | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Brown Ground Beetle Amblytelus sp ES2 | Na em | Notice the long sparse hairs on most of it's body; almost like spines rather than hairs. They also have an unusual spur on their front legs. Beetles often have spines coming out of their legs, but beetles in this tribe (Amblytelini) have an indent in the leg and a hook; as can be seen in the photos. This one is a bit larger at about 13mm long (head & body) | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Crossed Ground Beetle Amblytelus sp ES3? | Na em | Notice the long sparse hairs on most of it's body; almost like spines rather than hairs. They also have an unusual spur on their front legs. Beetles often have spines coming out of their legs, but beetles in this tribe (Amblytelini) have an indent in the leg and a hook; as can be seen in the photo. This specimen has a smaller pronotum (back shield), which may make it a different species (perhaps Dystrichothorax?) | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Ant-nest Beetle Arthropterus sp | Na em |
A very distinctive honey brown beetle with very wide, thin, antennae. It also has wide thin legs and elytra (wing covers) that are shorter than the body. The are 3 pairs of protrusions around it's mouth; pincer like mandibles followed by increasingly larger adaptions (the Maxillary Palps & Labial Palps). While not seen very often, they are probably a lot more common than the low number sightings suggest. They live in ant nests excreting chemicals that trick the ants into thinking they are queens. As such, the ants actually raise their offspring, all the while the beetle is feasting on the ants. They are scientifically interesting due to the rapid rate in which they can adapt to new species of ants. Due to the complex nature of ant pheromones, etc, we can guess that there is a separate species of Arthropterus for each species of ant. Due to the size of this one, we can guess it's a parasite of Inch ants (Myrmecia sp). | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Green Sheen Ground Beetle Carenum sp ES2 | Na em | Normally we find so much of our wildlife is tiny. It makes sence that to survive in our harsh semi-arid environment "tiny" means less resources required to thrive. AND THEN we get a whopper like this! A staggeringly large beetle at about 32mm long! That's 8, yes folks EIGHT, times bigger than the Bulbous Antennae Clerid Beetle we just published .... | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Blue Ground Beetle Carenum speciosum | Na em | We found two of these dead near the caravan when we arrived one day. Both looked identical, but quite different sizes. One being about 25mm long, with the smaller one (shown here) at about 20mm. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Ground Beetle Chlaenius darlingensis | Na m | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Australasian Panagaeitid Ground Beetle Craspedophorus australasiae | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Tiger Beetle Distipsidera cf sp | Na m | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Bombardier Beetle Pheropsophus verticalis | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Scarititid Ground Beetle Scaraphites sp | Na em | What first grabbed our attention to this black beetle was the bright green line all around it's circumference. As it turns out, it's whole body reflects green, but the lip around it's edge makes it look like a green line. At first we thought it was a huge ant as it was moving pretty quickly across our camp ground. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ground Beetle Carabidae | Google-eyed Ground Beetle Scopodes sp | Na em |
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| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Acacia Longhorn Beetle Ancita sp | Na a |
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| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Slender Mallee Longhorn Beetle Aposites sp | Na em |
These two specimens were found on the same night at the outside light. Thinking they were the same, didn't photograph the second specimen as rigorously. They are probably 2 different species. The antennae length suggests both are males (ie extends beyond the elytra). The body length compared with wings & their antennae joint near the base are different. They also have slightly different markings on the thorax. Best guess is that one might be A. niger & the other A. lanaticollis. However, the few on-line photo's disagree visually, so at this stage will go with the one genus. Both are about 26mm long. Specimen 1 has antennae length of about 26mm & S2 about 28mm | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Callitris Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae sp? | Na em |
Thank you Greg Baker (SARDI) for helping with the identification of this species Thank you Andy Szito (WA DPIRD) for helping with the identification of this species We were inspecting a recently fallen, dead, callitris tree. Marie noticed a grub inside a broken twig. Given callitris has natural invert inhibitors (often used for fence posts as it's not prone to termite attack), we were surprised. We prized it out and were *VERY* concerned it looked a lot like European House Borer (Hylotrupes bajulus); or EHB for short. We posted on the Amateur Entomology Australia facebook group and Andy Szito (WA DPIRD) suggested we contact Greg Baker at SARDI. We sent it off to Greg for confirmation, who then sent it off to Andy for DNA testing. Fortunately it wasn't EHB. It didn't match any known species in the DNA database, but was "most likely another Cerambycidae spp". This specimen was about 13mm long. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Braconid Mimic Longhorn Hesthesis sp | Na em |
Similar Species: Red Braconid Wasp  | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Desert Longhorn Microtragus mormon | Na em | Almost spider like with very long legs and antennae. Note the odd shaped compound eyes and 2 pair of ridges along it's back. The middle ridges start with small horn like projections. It's covered in fine hairs, not visible to the eye, which enhance the white patches on the rear ridges. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Spotted Hairy Longhorn Beetle Opsidota infecta | Na em |
About 18mm long. With the 3 specimens we caught in one night there seems to be some variation in the amount the abdomen protrudes past the elytra, but not overall length. The spots on the thorax are made by hair, and so variations in colour, shape & quantity can be accounted for easily with age & wearing. The vague patterns on the elytra may be due to transparency of the underlying body (but didn't manage to see it with elytra up to prove this). These patterns are quite variable. Also note with longhorns that the antennae are often 2 dimensional. As such, some photo's of them appear thin/thread like. Others a thick heavy serrated appearance, where the antennae are at 90 deg. This is because the serrations are plate like and nearly invisible from the edge. As such, it's a good idea to get plenty of photo's of the antennae from different angles to get the correct shape of the segments. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Feather-horned Longhorn Beetle Piesarthrius laminosus | Na em |
About 15mm long with very long thin wide filaments on the antennae. It's difficult to determine how long the antennae are. Superficially they are a bit over 12mm long. However, the end segment has 2 filaments, of about 5mm long. So really the antennae are about 7mm, with 5mm of filament nearly doubling their length. The filaments vary in length, with the middle being the longest at about 7mm, and both edges being ~5mm. As with many longhorns, the eyes are heavily indented and wrap around the antennae base. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Longhorn Beetle Rhytiphora sp | Na em |
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| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Lycid Mimic Longhorn Stenoderus suturalis | Na em |
Similar Species: Lycid Beetle | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Longhorn Beetle Cerambycidae | Black-waisted Longhorn Beetle Uracanthus griseus | Na em |
At ~25mm long, this is the longest longhorn we've come across to date. It had serrated antennae that don't quite extend past the body. As with many longhorns, the eyes are heavily indented and wrap around the antennae base. This specimen got caught in a red-backs cobweb. It was lucky to survive, but we couldn't get all the cobweb off it's antennae & feet. In time it should be able to peel it off. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Flea Beetle Aporocera cf viridipennis ? | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Tiny Leaf Beetle Bruchinae sp | Na em | Thank you Dr Ken Walker for helping with the identification of this species Only 2mm long | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Metallic Dodonaea Leaf Beetle Callidemum hypochalceum | Na em | Similar Species: Chalcopterus Beetle Thank you Martin Lagerwey for identifying this species for us | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Eboo Beetle Eboo sp | Na ema | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Dotted Paropsine Leaf Beetle Paropsis carnosa | Na em | Thank you Martin Lagerwey for identifying this species for us | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Tortoise Beetle Paropsis cf aegrota | Na a | Thank you Martin Lagerwey for identifying this species for us | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Striped Leaf Beetle Paropsisterna intacta | Na a | Thank you Martin Lagerwey for identifying this species for us Not only did Martin supply the id for this stunning little beetle, he also very kindly supplied the specimen on his last trip to SA. While this is the usual colour/pattern, Martin has found them without any spots on the pronotum, nor strips on the back (elytra). | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Dark Brown Paropsine Leaf Beetle Paropsisterna variicollis | Na a | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Fireblight Beetle Peltoschema orphana | Na em | Thank you Martin Lagerwey for identifying this species for us | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae | Leaf Beetle Trachymela sp | Na em | Thank you Martin Lagerwey for identifying this species for us | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Clerid Beetle Cleridae | Spiny Clerid Beetle Eunatalis spinicornis | Na em | About 24mm long, weighed 190 mg and has hairy eyes. As with other clerids, this is a hairy beetle. It looks very similar to some longihorns, but the antennae are quite short in comparison. Longihorn antennae tend to be positioned above the body, whereas this specimen was quite intent on keeping them hidden. The antennae have a pointed tip and is possibly referenced in it's name. Ian Gibbins translated "spinicornis" for us to mean "spiny horns". Antennae are often refered to as Horns (eg long-i-horns). Ian also indicated "Eunatalis" more or less means "of true birth". It's description, by Gerstmeier & Seitner, mentions "E. spinicornis differs from all other species by the dentate elytral apices". 'Dentate', meaning tooth-like, 'Elytral' meaning of the wing covers & 'Apices' meaning tip. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Clerid Beetle Cleridae | Bulbous Antennae Clerid Sedlacekvia tanamica | Na em | Only known from the NT with a few records, this is a rare find. That's not to say it is rare, but doesn't seem to found by people very much. Very little is known about them. To the naked eye it looks just like an ant, but because it was on concrete the large antennae stood out and we thought it was a small Ant-nest Beetle. But closer inspection shows quite different antennae, bulbous rather than filamented. At only 4-5mm tip to tail, it's fairly small. Overall it is dark brown and hairy, with dark red patches on it's shoulders. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ladybird Coccinellidae | Transverse Ladybird Coccinella transversalis | Na ema | Orange lady beetle with black wavy blotches. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ladybird Coccinellidae | Large Spotted Ladybird Harmonia conformis | Na ema | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ladybird Coccinellidae | Variegated Ladybird Hippodamia variegata | If em | As it's name suggests, a very variable species. Usually with white stripes on it's pronotum, but sometimes not. Introduced from Europe and used as a biological control of cotton aphids in crops, it is now wide spread and an environmental pest. Our apologies for the moth scales interfering with these photo's. They were shed in the container by the previous occupant, not part of this species. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ladybird Coccinellidae | Ladybird Micraspis furcifera | Na em | Pale yellow lady bug with black stripes. Or is it black with yellow stripes?-) | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Ladybird Coccinellidae | Tiny Black Ladybird Serangium bellum | Na a | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Weevil Curculionidae | Straight-snouted Weevil Brentidae sp | Na em | Tip to tail this little fella is only 2mm long! Tiny | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Weevil Curculionidae | Broad-nosed Weevil Cubicorhynchus sp | Na em | Thank you Boris Bueche for confirming the identification of this species We thought it might have been Cubicorhynchus setosus, but Boris, on Bowerbird, said "NOT setosus (setae too short). 3 similar WA species at least. Species-level ID would need male sexual characters; this weevil assumed female (slightly convex belly)." About 14mm long, covered in short, down-curved, hairs. Notice the unusual little horns on it's face. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Weevil Curculionidae | Eucalypt Weevil Gonipterus sp | Na ema | The larva create a faecal shield to help protect from predators. They skeletonise gum leaves. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Weevil Curculionidae | Wattle Pig Leptopius sp | Na a | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Weevil Curculionidae | Barrel Weevil Perperus sp | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Weevil Curculionidae | Sitona Weevil Sitona discoideus | If em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Skin Beetle Dermestidae | Varied Carpet Beetle Anthrenus verbasci | If a | Similar Species: Brown Globular Springtail  | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Diving Beetle Dytiscidae | Large Diving Beetle Eretes australis | Na em | About 15mm long, found dead; and not well preserved. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Diving Beetle Dytiscidae | Green Diving Beetle Onychohydrus scutellaris | Na em | Always amazes us how we find water born animals on Ellura; a semi-arid environment. Unfortunately we found this one dead, but am happy to use it to help your identification process About 30mm long, with strange "flippers" on it's front legs | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Diving Beetle Dytiscidae | Predacious Diving Beetle Rhantus suturalis | Na em | ~13mm long. Found worldwide, and the first live diving beetle we've found. One specimen found in December. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Click Beetle Elateridae | Shielded Click Beetle Agrypnus sp | Na em | About 9mm long | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Click Beetle Elateridae | Large Click Beetle Elateridae sp ES1 | Na m | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Click Beetle Elateridae | Red Click Beetle Elateridae sp ES2 | Na a | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Click Beetle Elateridae | Black Click Beetle Elateridae sp ES3 | Na ema | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Click Beetle Elateridae | Brown Click Beetle Elateridae sp ES4 | Na a | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Click Beetle Elateridae | Small Click Beetle Elateridae sp ES5 | Na em | About 7mm long | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Clown Beetle Histeridae | Clown Beetle Saprinus sp | Na em | Very metallic blue/green back/elytra and metallic yellow/gold shield/pronotum. Quite small @ 5.5 to 7mm, with large mandibles, for it's size, and wide legs clearly used for digging. Club like antennae. Notice the body is covered in scores & pits almost sculptured; these are the same on all speciemens so conclude they are not damage marks. The dirt on specimen four (S4) highlights the edge of the elytra & rear wings quite well. We have found 6 specimens in May, August, September & December. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Stag Beetle Lucanidae | Black Stag Beetle Figulus sp | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Net-winged Beetle Lycidae | Long-nosed Lycid Beetle Porrostoma rhipidium | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Net-winged Beetle Lycidae | Lycid Beetle Porrostoma sp | Na ema | Similar Species: Lycid Mimic Longhorn | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Soft-winged Flower Beetle Melyridae | Red and Blue Flower Beetle Dicranolaius bellulus | Na ema |
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| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Christmas Beetle Anoplognathus montanus | Na a | Thank you Ethan Beaver for helping with the identification of this species ~30mm long. The green to purple reflections is diagnostic, as are the large hooks on the feet. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Flower Chafer Cetoniinae sp | Na em |
About 23mm long. The only specimen we've seen was found dead on the ground. Basically a black beetle, with 2 "flame" stripes above, 2 orange spots on the rear, along with 4 paler orange/yellow spots on each side of the abdomen. The most interesting visual aspect of this beetle is it's sculptured elytra. The legs are wide and also have abnormally large appendages. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Sandy Dung Beetle Euoniticellus fulvus | If a | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Brown Chafer Scarabaeidae sp ES1 | Na em | Large hairy rusty brown beetle. There are many very similar species & genera; most likely these are in the sub-family Melolonthinae | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Red Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae sp ES2 | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Scabby Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae sp ES3 | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Beige Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae sp ES4 | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Brown Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae sp ES5 | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Hairy Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae sp ES6 | Na em | Possibly Semanopterus sp | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Red Chafer Scarabaeidae sp ES7 | Na em | Very similar to the Brown Chafer. These have different head plate; being wider at the very tip. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae | Long Legged Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae sp ES9 | Na ema | We've found quite a few of these. They look identical but range from 17mm down to about 6mm; which would indicate they are different species. We've just shown a couple of the larger specimens here. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Rove Beetle Staphylinidae | Devil's Coach-horse Beetle Creophilus erythrocephalus | Na em |
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| Beetles Coleoptera | Rove Beetle Staphylinidae | Rove Beetle Creophilus lanio | Na a | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Rove Beetle Staphylinidae | Tiny Rove Beetle Staphylinidae sp ES1 | Na em | We can't be sure these 2 sightings are the same species. They are both tiny & we managed to measure the 2nd at ~3mm. At this size our equipement isn't sophisticated enough to get detailed diagnostic photographs, so have to settle with family level id. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Darkling Beetle Tenebrionidae | Black Comb-clawed Beetle Alleculini sp ES1 | Na ema | Alleculini is a tribe, commonly called Comb-clawed Beetles and are an understudied group. There are a large number of similar looking genera in the tribe, let alone species. We have left this id at the tribe level for now until further information is more readily available. Note the very hairy body & legs, as well as large eyes. Reminiscent of the introduced Egyptian beetle, but much smaller at only 12mm long (head & body). | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Darkling Beetle Tenebrionidae | Brown Comb-clawed Beetle Alleculini sp ES2 | Na em | Alleculini is a tribe, commonly called Comb-clawed Beetles and are an understudied group. There are a large number of similar looking genera in the tribe, let alone species. We have left this id at the tribe level for now until further information is more readily available. Note the very hairy body & legs, as well as large eyes. This specimen is quite a bit smaller than the previous at only 8mm long (head & body). Notice also that the legs are shorter and body more parallel than our previous specimen. The head shape, large eyes & padded feet still match. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Darkling Beetle Tenebrionidae | Egyptian Beetle Blaps polychresta | If em |
Large black beetle, approximately 40mm long (head to tail) with a projection out the rear end. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Darkling Beetle Tenebrionidae | Chalcopterus Beetle Chalcopteroides sp | Na ema | Similar Species: Metallic Dodonaea Leaf Beetle Thank you Tom Weir for helping with the identification of this species Very metallic green back Highly reflective. These look similar to Amarygmus sp. Tom said "Amarygmus tend to have the elytra distinctly striate and punctate whereas Chalcopteroides tend to have only superficial striae and punctures. Also Amarygmus have the mandibles apically bifid whereas in Chalcopteroides they are apically rounded or truncate." | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Darkling Beetle Tenebrionidae | Open Headed Pie-dish Beetle Cillibus sp | Na a | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Darkling Beetle Tenebrionidae | Honey Brown Beetle Ecnolagria sp | Na a | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Darkling Beetle Tenebrionidae | Enclosed Head Pie-dish Beetle Helea sp ES1 | Na em |
Notice the single ridge running from from to the back of the elytra on this specimen. Also a small horn on the prothorax between the head & elytra. When threatened they tilt their whole body up on side to present the shell to the threat (protecting their undersides). They are able to move their head inside the shell like a tortoise, so can close the hole off with nearly no eyes showing, or have half the eye poking through. While we didn't measure this specimen, another we found in 2016 was 27mm total length. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Darkling Beetle Tenebrionidae | Transparent Pie-dish Beetle Helea sp ES2 | Na em |
Like all Helea sp, this specimen also has an enclosed head. It's quite unusual for Helea as it's brown plus has a transparent "shell". We're not sure if the "brown fluff" is just plain dirt, or possibly excreted by the beetle as camouflage. Another possibility is cobweb from a tiny spider This specimen was 22mm long including the flanges of the Elytra (rear shield / wing covers) and Prothorax (front shell), 18mm just the head & body without appendages. There are a large number of described Helea sp, let alone undescribed. We separate out the species based on the number of ridges, and smoothness of elytra (some can be very bumpy). This specimen has 2 ridges starting at the front of the elytra stopping about 3/4's toward the rear, roughly where a 3rd middle ridge starts. | |||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Darkling Beetle Tenebrionidae | Shiny Pie-dish Beetle Pterohelaeus sp ES1 | Na em | ||||
| Beetles Coleoptera | Gnawer Beetle Trogidae | Carcass Beetle Omorgus sp | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Achilid Planthopper Achilidae | Vertical Wing Achilid Hopper Tropiphlepsia badia | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Broad-headed Bug Alydidae | Brown Senna Bug Melanacanthus cf scutellaris | Na ema |
There are 5 families that look similar 1. Broad-headed Bug (Alydidae; tend to be longer & thinner), 2. Jumping Tree Bug (Miridae), 3. Seed Bug (Lygaeidae; 3 seg antennae), 4. Damsel Bug (Nabidae) & 5. Assassin Bug (Reduviidae; highly variable family, but have curved rostrum/proboscis tucked underneath. Easy to see in a side shot - but you have to photograph the side of it to be sure). Sometimes we take photo's that look nothing like the bug we see with our eyes. This is one case, so we've published both "naked eye" looking shots and others with more detail that we still want to share. An interesting species this, apart from the talk above, it's usual venacular name is "Brown Bean Bug" .... now it annoys us to find common names of natives that have nothing to do with natives. Here, eg, there is no native bean that we are aware of. BUT these guys love senna (and probably acacia), in fact probably any legume ... guess what! Beans are legumes. So how about we name them after a native species of plant that they love, rather some agricultural pest term. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Broad-headed Bug Alydidae | Long Broad-headed Bug Mutusca brevicornis | Na ema | Similar Species: Pacific Damsel Bug About 15mm long, with varying levels of green colours on the body. 2 specimens found in June (Ellura) & November (Adelaide Hills) | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Aphid Aphididae | Green Peach Aphid Myzus persicae | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Spittlebug Cercopidae | Spittlebug Bathyllus albicinctus | Na em | We confused this with a Cicada nymph; at least they are related. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Leafhopper Cicadellidae | Mottled-brown Leafhopper Bakeriana rubra | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Leafhopper Cicadellidae | Yellow-headed Leafhopper Brunotartessus fulvus ? | Na m | A fierce looking little hopper as an instar. Quite pretty when fully grown. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Leafhopper Cicadellidae | Planthopper Cicadellidae sp | Na ema | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Leafhopper Cicadellidae | Mottled-head Gum-leafhopper Eurymeloides punctata | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Leafhopper Cicadellidae | Brown Leafhopper Orosius orientalis | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Leafhopper Cicadellidae | Flat-head Leafhopper Stenocotis depressa | Na em | A highly variable species. About 10mm long (body goes to wing edge) Reference Link | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Cicada Cicadidae | Subcoastal Squawker Pauropsalta cf accola | Na em | Thank you Ethan Beaver for helping with the identification of this species Thank you Dr Lindsay Popple for identifying this species for us Reference Link | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Cicada Cicadidae | Scrub-clicker Platypsalta cf sp | Na em | Thank you Ethan Beaver for identifying this species for us Female was about 15mm long Reference Link | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Lacehopper Cixiidae | Speckled Lacehopper Aubirestus semicirculatus | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Lacehopper Cixiidae | Mallee Lacehopper Ozoliarus sp | Na em | ~6mm body length. Lacehoppers have very chiselled faces which can be useful for id, so always best to get anterior shots. As well as wing venation, dorsal and alantennae & ocellii location. Notice here the ocelli below the eye in front of the antenna. Found one specimen in November. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Leaf Footed Bug Coreidae | Eucalyptus Bug Amorbus obscuricornis | Na a | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Leaf Footed Bug Coreidae | Eucalyptus Tip Wilter Amorbus rhombifer | Na ema | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Leaf Footed Bug Coreidae | Crusader Bug Mictis profana | Na ma | A dark grey bug with orange stripes on its back and orange antennae tips | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Water Boatman Corixidae | Water Boatman Agraptocorixa cf eurynome | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Water Boatman Corixidae | Striped Water Boatman Sigara sp | Na em | ~7mm long with horizontal stripes on the pronotum, transverse grooves on the rostrum with no ocelli. Notice the curved inside of the forewing. Found several at the night light in February. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Shield Bug Cydnidae | Burrowing Bug Adrisa sp? | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Dictyopharid Planthopper Dictyopharidae | Curved Longheaded Hopper Thanatodictya sp | Na em | We have found that all specimens have different wing venation. It's quite possible that the curved snout and wing venation are not diagnostic. We don't count these as separate species now; until some research is done on them to determine what diagnostic features separate the species. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Dictyopharid Planthopper Dictyopharidae | Longheaded Hopper Thanatodictya sp ES2 | Na em | This is the more usual type seen, with the straight snout | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Dictyopharid Planthopper Dictyopharidae | Longheaded Hopper Thanatodictya sp ES3 | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Dictyopharid Planthopper Dictyopharidae | Longheaded Hopper Thanatodictya sp ES4 | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Scale Insect Eriococcidae | Eucalypt Gall Apiomorpha strombylosa | Na em | Similar Species: Mealybug We've cut galls open before to see what's inside, but this is the first time we've found something. We thought it was a larva, but it's actually a female adult. You can see the 6 "legs", more like claws, in the photo's. Clearly not required anymore, but a left over ancestral "artifact"; living it's life inside the mutated Eucalypt stem. We're still not quite sure how the males, that live a whole 2 days outside the "casing", manage to mate with females embedded inside their "casing". We found this specimen on a very stunted, sick looking, mallee "bush". You know when you have a native plant when it's attacked by insects. Insects don't know what to do with introduced species; so generally treat them like a lump of rusty steel (ie not interested, leave it alone, so the introduced species thrives - oops!). | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Planthopper Eurybrachidae | Wattle Hopper Dardus sp | Na em | A little hopper ~4-5mm long. You'll notice our specimen has lost one of it's middle feet. With very dark specimens like these we bump up brightness to highlight details, making the background unrealistically bright. It can be considered a camera artifact and highlights the need to be careful when considering colours in photo's. Reference Link | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Planthopper Eurybrachidae | Gum Tree Hopper Platybrachys sp | Na a | Thank you Dr Ken Walker for identifying this species for us | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Flatid Planthopper Flatidae | Green Planthopper Siphanta sp | Na ema | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Lantern Fly Fulgoridae | Lantern Fly Rentinus dilatatus | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Ground Dwelling Bug Hyocephalidae | Ground Dwelling Bug Hyocephalus aprugnus | Na em | ~9mm long and flightless. These dark bugs live under stones in sandy soil & gravel. It's possible this is one of the other 2 species in this family, Maevius indecorus. We can't differentiate them, but H. aprugnus is known to occur in SA; M. indecorus isn't. They look very similar to juvenile assassin bugs, but their proboscus is straight, not curved. Also their wings are "squared off", nearly all true bug invert wing-buds are rounded. Usually the number of antennae segments is diagnostic. But you can see here one side has 4 & the other 3. A mutation perhaps? | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Seed Bug Lygaeidae | Green Seed Bug Lygaeidae sp | Na em | Similar Species: Brown Senna Bug | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Seed Bug Lygaeidae | Rutherglen Bug Nysius cf vinitor | Na ema | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Horned Treehopper Membracidae | Acacia Horned Treehopper Sextius virescens | Na a | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Jumping Tree Bug Miridae | Green Mirid Creontiades dilutus | Na ema | Similar Species: Brown Senna Bug | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Jumping Tree Bug Miridae | Hairy Large-eyed Mirid Bug Miridae sp | Na em | Nearly 5mm long | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Giant Scale Monophlebidae | Scale Insect Icerya sp ES1 | Na em | Primarily brilliant white (which is the egg sack) with a brown cap (the actual insect). Found on saltbush (Atriplex sp) | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Giant Scale Monophlebidae | Large Mealybug Monophlebulus sp ES1 | Na em |
We are not sure why one of the group was orange; they are clearly cohabiting and have the same body shape so reasonably sure they are all one species. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Giant Scale Monophlebidae | Small Mealybug Monophlebulus sp ES2 | Na em |
It's possibly a nymph, and at 2mm body & head length is not very big. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Damsel Bug Nabidae | Pacific Damsel Bug Nabis kinbergii | Na em | Similar Species: Brown Senna Bug Like Assassin Bugs, these are predatory on other insects (ie carnivorous). Notice the strong front legs as well, to hold the prey. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Backswimmer Notonectidae | Golden-shouldered Backswimmer Anisops cf deanei | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Backswimmer Notonectidae | Yellow Backswimmer Anisops cf planifascies | Na em | ~7mm long, didn't register on the scales, so less than 10mg. Mainly yellow with orange patch on top and black stripes underneath (which is what would normally be seen from above). A quantity (~10 or so) came to a night light in February. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Horehound bug Agonoscelis rutila | Na em | Even though Horehound is introduced, this bug is native. Bright orange with black blotches on top and black stripes under. Black legs. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Acacia Shield bug Alcaeus varicornis | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Exocarpos Bug Aplerotus maculatus | Na em | Thank you Martin Lagerwey for confirming the identification of this species | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Green Nightshade Bug Cuspicona simplex | Na a | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Large Snouted Stink Bug Kalkadoona enchylaenae | Na em | Approx 8mm long | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Variable Shield Bug Kapunda tepperi | Na em | About 6mm long | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Variable Shield Bug Kapunda troughtoni | Na ema | Thank you Dr Mallik Malipatil for identifying this species for us This genus has a distinctively blunt snout for a shield bug; with relatively short antennae that come from under the snout, not the side or front like most others. About 6mm long | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Spiny Shield Bug Neagenor cf spinosa | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Shield Bug Poecilometis cf vermiculatus | Na em | Thank you Mark Newton for identifying this species for us Varies from black to light brown (tan) to cinnamon Adults are quite distinguished with white "bow tie" spot at the end of their wing shield, finishing with jet black diamond vest formed by the wing tips. Found on Senna and Beyeria opaca. Without ventral examination, we can't be sure this is the correct id. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Reddish Shield Bug Poecilometis extraneus | Na em | About 13mm long. The 2nd specimen is much redder than the first, which is possibly caused by freshly moulting. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Brown Shield Bug Poecilometis fuscescens | Na em | About 17mm long | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Brown Shield Bug Poecilometis sp | Na ema | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Stink Bug Pentatomidae | Pittosporum Bug Pseudapines geminata | Na ma | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Mealy Bug Pseudococcidae | Mealybug Pseudococcidae cf sp ? | Na em | Similar Species: Eucalypt Gall Many thanks to Ken Walker at Bowerbird who contact Dr Gullan (Australia's expert in scale insect group) on our behalf. She said "Male scale insects are hard to ID, but if it has 4 simple eyes, it's probably a male mealybug (or perhaps an eriococcid). It's not really possible to go further." As such, it's not possible to know if this insect is introduced or native. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Psyllid Psyllidae | Melaleuca psyllid Boreioglycaspis melaleucae | Na em | Many small birds rely on psyllids for survival, so an important cog in the biosphere of Ellura | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Psyllid Psyllidae | White Fibrous Lerp Glycaspis brimblecombei | Na em |
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| True Bugs Hemiptera | Psyllid Psyllidae | White Clam Lerp Hyalinaspis sp | Na ema | There is a bit of confussion with the naming of these. The Lerp is the housing. The bug inside is a Psyllid that produces the lerp. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Psyllid Psyllidae | Orange Jumping Plant Louse Psyllidae sp | Na em | ~3mm long, ~7mm wingspan | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Assassin Bug Reduviidae | Assassin Bug Coranus sp ? | Na em | Similar Species: Brown Senna Bug | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Assassin Bug Reduviidae | Assassin Bug Oncocephalus sp ES1 | Na em | Interesting bugs Assassins (Reduviidae), one of the few predatory/carnivorous true bugs (order Hemiptera). Most are vegetarian. One easy diagnostic difference over the similiar Alydidae family are the large front legs as can be seen here; used to hold it's prey. Not all assassins have them, but no Alydidae's do. A more guaranteed diagnostic, but harder to see, is that Assassin's have a curved rostrum / proboscis | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Assassin Bug Reduviidae | Assassin Bug Oncocephalus sp ES2 | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Assassin Bug Reduviidae | Assassin Bug Oncocephalus sp ES3 | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Assassin Bug Reduviidae | Orange Spotted Ground Assassin Bug Peirates punctorius | Na em |
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| True Bugs Hemiptera | Assassin Bug Reduviidae | Pale Assassin Bug Perissopygocoris pallidus | Na em |
About 14mm long. Predominately pale brown with darker brown patches. Also has hairy antennae. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Scentless Plant Bug Rhopalidae | Red Eyes Bug Leptocoris sp | Na em | A mainly dark grey bug with red/orange highlights. The instars are very red | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Seed Bug Rhyparochromidae | Ant-mimicking Seed bug Daerlac sp | Na a | It looks very similar to D. cephalotes; be we don't think it is because of the excess red on the shoulders and lack of black lateral lines on the back. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Seed Bug Rhyparochromidae | Black and White Seed Bug Dieuches nudus | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Ricaniid Planthopper Ricaniidae | Broad-winged Planthopper Aprivesa varipennis | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Ricaniid Planthopper Ricaniidae | Undescribed Planthopper ES1 Ricaniidae sp | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Ricaniid Planthopper Ricaniidae | Broad-winged Planthopper Scolypopa australis | Na a |
I don't know what it is, but insects with clear wings and black patterned edges just enthral me Marie saw this "moth" on the kitchen fly-screen. As soon as I saw it, straight into the insect box into the fridge. Didn't want to miss any important details. Thought it'd be easy to id; never having seen one, and being so unique. After much hunting around I found this pictorial key: http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/fulgor/ricaniidae/index.html#australia The only issue was the location component shows only the eastern seaboard. This is the 1st record for this species in South Australia on the ALA website (www.ala.org.au). | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Ricaniid Planthopper Ricaniidae | Broad-winged Planthopper Scolypopa stipata | Na em | ||||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Shield Backed Bug Scutelleridae | Red Jewel Bug Choerocoris paganus | Na ema |
Amazing array of fire engine red and deep metallic green head and shield. We've not seen the red noses or orange/brown colours before. Males are thicker at the back Small white dots around its body. We suspect the different coloured shield (ie all dark vs wine glass shaped stripe) relates to different gender. | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Shield Backed Bug Scutelleridae | Variable Shield Bug Choerocoris variegatus | Na em | Similar in shape to the Dodonaea bug above, but very different colours and patterns. While still shiny, doesn't have the metallic lustre. The instars of these are similar to the adults. As the name suggests they are very variable; ranging from off-white under, to yellow to reddish (examples elsewhere show bright orange). Primarily coloured with black patches. The back is also covered in dimples. The face of our specimens have 3 strong pale longitudinal stripes (which is atypical), topped off by the 2 typical red Ocelli. While they are listed as eating Beyeria lechenaultii, here they are on Beyeria opaca (not listed as a food source). We also found one on Pearl Bluebush; perhaps it was lost. Also notice how the varying thickness of black makes a large difference to the patterns made (and how the specimens look) | |||
| True Bugs Hemiptera | Shield Backed Bug Scutelleridae | Green Shield Backed Bug Coleotichus costatus | Na ma | A lightly toned, large bug. Lots of tiny maroon dots on pale brown around the edge of its back match the Dodonaea fruit perfectly. They can vary from brown to green. Red compound eyes with a red jewel (actually an Ocellus, simple eye) above each compound eye. | |||
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