| TERMITES are on the Cockroach Page • 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' |
| Thumbnails: 2426. 381 native species (6 introduced) listed, with 330 natives (5 introduced) from Ellura |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura | |||
| Flies are an extremely varied group of insects, from the humungous Big Red Robberfly (Neoaratus hercules) to tiny fungus gnats. 1. Generally they have short antennae (but this is a rule of thumb, an 80:20 rule, that they don't always obey!) There are a number of species with long antennae that we highlight here. 2. They definately only have two wings (which isn't always obvious), where most other flying insects have 4. Mayflies are the only other order were species can have 2 wings ... we think. The hindwings on flies have been reduced to a pair of "halteres" which can be brightly coloured. 3. Flies also have larger eyes than most Hymenoptera, which are never emarginate on flies. 4. The wings on flies tend to be longer (compared to the body) than those of Bees. We have placed the flies with Hymenoptera here as people very often confuse Flies with Bees & Wasps. At some point this page will get too large and we will have to separate them out. | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Small-headed Fly (Acroceridae); 1 species from Ellura | Small-headed Fly Ogcodes sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~3.5mm male. Unusually for flies, females also have "Holoptic" eyes in this genus. We discuss this more lower down the thumbnail page (under Biblio flies). The genders can be separated by the abdominal stripes; wider in males, thinner in females where the females can look almost black. Imaged 1M in Nov |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Flower-loving Fly (Apioceridae); 5 species, 4 from Ellura | Flower-loving Fly Apiocera maxima iNaturalist | Na e m | Found this big fly being torn apart by tiny ants while it was still alive. We rescued it to ease it's suffering. Thought it was a fat robber fly. Took photo's of it and started to wonder if it was a fly at all. Couldn't see it's halteres anywhere, and realised the ants had already ripped them off. It was clear an antenna was also missing, as well as a lot of the mouth parts. Our specimen is a bit dusty from lying upside down in the dirt. Imaged 1 in Dec | |
| Banded Flower-loving Fly Apiocera sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | A different species to the large one above, noted by the dark bands on the abdomen. But there's not enough detail in the photo to ever be able to get species name. Imaged 1 in Dec | ||
| Brown Flower-loving Fly Apiocera sp ES02 | Na r | ~18mm long. This & the following 2 Apiocera are very similar to each other. The proboscis (tongue) length is diagnostic, as are markings & body shape. Notice this one is also covered in dirt making it appear browner than it actually is. Imaged 1 in Oct | ||
| Dash-marked Flower-loving Fly Apiocera sp ES03 | Na e m | ~15mm long. The only specimen of this species we've found was already dead unfortunately. Imaged 4(1M,1F) in Mar(1M) & Nov(3:1F) | ||
| Short-tongued Flower-loving Fly Apiocera sp ES04 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us ~17mm long. Our first live captured Flower-loving fly on Ellura Interesting all the specimens we've found in this family are female. Males have a rounded abdomen, without the posterior bristly hairs. Imaged 1 in Feb | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Robber Fly (Asilidae); 8 species, 6 from Ellura | Hairy Short-winged Robber Fly Bathypogon sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Dr Shaun Winterton for helping with the id of this species for us We have trouble separating Robberflies (Asilidae sp) & Stiletto Flies (Therevidae sp). When we asked, Shaun said "Simplest way to ID an Asilid is to look for the mystax on the front of the head, and the excavated area on the top of the head between the eyes. Also, they have lots of large setae on the body and legs, making them look spiky. Mouthparts are always pointed rather than rounded in Therevids." In the past we've recognised the heavy facial hair, almost a beard, as helping separate Robberflies from others. Mystax that Shaun refers to is a latin word for Moustache Imaged 15(2M,2F) in Jan(1F), Feb(2), Mar(9:1F), Apr(2:1M) & Dec(1M) | |
| Yellow Slender Robber Fly Cerdistus sp ES01 | Na e m a | Imaged 9(3M,6F) in Jan(1M), Oct(5:1M,4F) & Dec(3:1M,2F) | ||
| Black Slender Robber Fly Cerdistus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Cohen for confirming the id of this species for us Females ~10mm long Imaged 6(1M,5F) in Jan(1F), May(1F) & Nov(4:1M,3F) | ||
| Blue-porcelain Robber Fly Dasypogoninae sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Cohen for identifying this species for us The males have a Blue-porcelain coloured body. 1. Thick, glabrous arista 2. White halteres 3. Orange around the leg joints 4. Shiny black upper abdomen 5. Grey under abdomen & body. Possibly thick short grey hair, hiding the 'skin' colour 6. A strange propensity to stand head down bum up. 7. ~9 to ~11mm long; some slightly smaller than others. 8. Significant swelling "seams" down the side; longitudinal wrinkles that seem to allow the abdomen to swell up. When gravid or large meal? 9. Long rear & middle legs, with thick thighs, supporting their propensity to stand head down. 10. Brushed hind legs. We thought this might be Harpagobroma genus, but Chris lifted our id up to sub-family level, saying: "Because an apical spine appears to be present on the fore tibia, this is either Austrosaropogon or the undescribed genus Saropogina." "Although I'll note that Saropogina and Harpagobroma are likely closely related, differing mostly by the presence/absence of the fore tibial spur." Chris also confirmed the male shown here is also probably the same species as the female. Imaged 15(5M,1F) in Feb(9:3M), Mar(5:2M) & Dec(1F) | ||
| Orange-backed Robber Fly Mauropteron pelago iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Stephen Fricker, Mark Hura, Dr Chris Cohen & David Muirhead for confirming the id of this species for us Males ~29mm long, females ~34mm long. The genders can be differentiated by the male have a bulbous clasp at the end of it's "tail". The female has a thin posterior to the abdomen. The orange back is surprisingly difficult to see. Obvious in flight if it's below you, or when it's cleaning itself Imaged 16(6M,10F) in Jan(6:4M,2F), Feb(3:1M,2F), Mar(3F), Apr(1F) & Dec(3:1M,2F) | ||
| Big Red Neoaratus hercules iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Dr Chris Cohen for confirming the id of this species for us Male ~40mm long, while the female was a little shorter at ~35mm. The male is easy to identify based on size & wing shape. The female doesn't have the bulbous mid wing of the male, but we assume it's the same species based on other features & the fact this male is the only robberfly that comes to this size in the area. Usually the mouth part/proboscis looks thick and we couldn't understand how it pierced it's prey. But here you can see it's somewhat telescopic. It retracts the sharpest point most of the time, but it's extended here. Imaged 5(4M,1F) in Jan(2:1M,1F), Feb(1M) & Nov(2M) | ||
| Robber Fly Neoscleropogon sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Cohen for confirming the id of this species for us The males we've captured have been 25-28mm long. Long arista Long hair 2 Significant brown bristle/setae pairs on the top/sides of the thorax. Along with other smaller black ones extending around the scutellum. Yellow/pale orange hair on the back of the legs. No obvious stripes on the thorax. Dark grey abdomen dorsally. Paler underneath. Dark red stiped legs. Bright yellow halteres. Large yellow/orange foot pads. Imaged 6(4M,2F) in Nov(4:2M,2F) & Dec(2M) | ||
| Giant Robber Fly Phellus olgae iNaturalist | Na m | Thank you Ethan Beaver for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 1 in Jan | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - March Fly (Bibionidae); 2 species, 1 from Ellura | Compost Fly Bibio imitator iNaturalist | Na a |
Thank you Reiner Richter & Even Dankowicz for confirming the id of this species for us A large number of flies can have their gender determined by the distance between the top of their eyes. Note here the male's eyes are touching, the females are well separated. We asked Tony Daley if there were taxon groups of flies that had this trait. He replied "It seems there are examples of male holoptic eyes across the board, and can be defining for family, genus, or only at species level. Sometimes occurs in females too, eg Cecidomyiidae. I note that most Acalyptratae don't." We've noticed some Tachinidae have "holoptic" eyes (ie continuous visual surface), but Rutilia don't. The opposite to "Holoptic" is "Dichoptic", most female flies have dichoptic eyes. Small headed flies have females with Holoptic eyes & Robberfly eyes are dichoptic. Imaged 2 in Dec | |
| Bubble-leg March Fly Dilophus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | ~5.25mm long. The spines on the front tibia & the swollen rear tarsi are diagnostic, as are the number of segments on the antennae This one landed on us as we were walking around Ellura in the early afternoon. Imaged 1M in Apr | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Bee Fly (Bombyliidae); 39 species, 29 from Ellura | Spiky Bee Fly Aleucosia atherix iNaturalist | Na f | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us A rare treat for us to find bee flies mating. For the first time we've recognised the different eye separation between the males & females. Here, the male is at the top with the eyes touching, female below with separated eyes. We've seen this in many other fly species, but not Bee Flies. We've always used ventral shots and skills of people like Chris to tell the difference. Perhaps now we'll be able to separate some ourselves. Chris said "Eye separation difference common in bombs" Reiner Richter made an interesting observation about another bee fly. Males can be separated from females by behaviour "it was returning to a perch and chasing similar passing insects". In other words, males are territorial. Imaged 3(1M,2F) in Sep | ||
| Orange-eared Bee Fly Aleucosia obtusa iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming and Reiner Richter for helping with the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: This is an important record as it extends it's range from the west of Western Australia. ~8.5mm long, ~9.5mm wing length. These are quite a stunning fly. The intricate shades of the wing patterns are something to see. Imaged 2 in Apr | |||
| Smokey Bee Fly Anthracinae sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us Imaged 1 in Oct | |||
| 3 Spotted Black Bee Fly Anthrax incomptus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying and Tony Daley for helping with the id of this species for us ~11mm long. We thought this was Anthrax torulus, as the wing patterns were a match, but Tony D said "While wing markings here are very similar to that species, the abdomen dorsally is said to have no white hairs/scales beyond the first visible tergite." Chris then said "The posterior margin of wing is hyaline, not brown." She also said "The circlet of hairs on the apex of the antennae is the diagnostic character for the tribe Anthracini to which Anthrax and Thraxan and Brachyanax belong in Australia, the bulbous base on the antennae is also notable but varies a bit between genera and species." Imaged 2 in Feb(1) & Dec(1) | |||
| Black Bee Fly Anthrax maculatus iNaturalist | Na c | Thank you Graham Winterflood for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 1 in Jan | |||
| Pointed Bee Fly Australiphthiria sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m r | Thank you Anthony Paul for confirming the id of this species for us We thought these two were different species (they still may be) but saw an photo on-line of two breeding and the males don't have the yellow back. The male also has eyes closer together than the female (quite typical of flies). Imaged 17(6M,10F) in Sep(5:2M,3F), Oct(11:4M,6F) & Nov(1F) | |||
| Orange-striped Bee Fly Australiphthiria sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for identifying this species for us ~3.5mm long. We originally thought this might be a Geron sp. In the sun, the stripe is VERY obvious and more like red than orange. We recognise the male here as the eyes are touching, females have separated eyes. Imaged 2 in Mar | |||
| Gigantic Balaana Bee Fly Balaana gigantea iNaturalist | Na e m |
Similar Species: Velvet Bee Fly (Munjua erugata) Thank you Reiner Richter & Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us There is a very similar Bee Fly, Balaana abscondita. With those, however, Chris Lambkin said the white abdominal band is entire, and the wing band to the margin is broader. Imaged 2 in Feb | |||
| Black Bee Fly Bombyliidae sp ES01 | Na m | Imaged 1 in May | |||
| Brown Bee Fly Bombyliidae sp ES02 | Na e m | The wing venation leads to Bombyliidae. Very unusual with white face and green eyes. Imaged 1 in Jan | |||
| Hairy-faced Bee Fly Choristus sp iNaturalist | Na r | Thank you Prof Xuankun Li (XkL) for identifying this species for us Imaged 1 in Sep | |||
| White-tipped Bee Fly Comptosia cf calignea iNaturalist | Na m r | 1st Live Photo on-line: A medium sized fly with white wing tips and a black, hairy, elongated body. Imaged 5 in Aug(4) & Oct(1) | |||
| Go-striped Bee Fly Comptosia vittata iNaturalist | Na r | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin & Anthony Paul for confirming the id of this species for us ~15mm body length. As with most Comptosia, these have white wing tips, with the wing veins surrounded by shadow colour. The body stripes are not always as strong as shown here. The eyes are indented/emarginate at the rear. There were a large number of them feeding on a Sugarwood flowers, along with many other insects. We thought this was C. heliophila, but Chris highlighted on iNaturalist that "C. vittata is easily distinguished by the additional i-r crossvein between R4 and R5 (clear in this image) and the prominent, median, grey, abdominal vitta and distribution. C. heliophila has no median grey abdominal vitta and is a higher altitude SE Qld and N NSW species". She later added "The group is a nightmare as there are 100's not described, and you need specimens usually." Imaged 3 in Oct | |||
| Hunchbacked Bee Fly Geron sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us We recognise the male here as the eyes are touching, females have separated eyes. Imaged 6(2M,1F) in Feb(4:1M,1F), Mar(1) & Oct(1M) | |||
| Adelaide's Bee Fly Kapu adelaidica iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us 1st Record in SA on Atlas: ~13.5mm long It's so worn & on it's last legs when we caught it. It died soon after. It has a very "blow fly" like pattern on it's abdomen. It's name is a little funny as Chris told us "Its a very widespread species, described by a Frenchman from 'Adelaide' in 1855. She also said "Shiny scales on thorax, yellowish. Some yellow scales anteriorally T2, mostly dark scales dorsally, white band T3 and T5-6. White sternal scales S2-3, reddish S4 and S5-7." Imaged 2 in Jan(1) & Feb(1) | |||
| Wavy Taboo Bee Fly Kapu corusca iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us We thought this was a Ligyra sp, but Chris said it is possible but may be Balaana or one of the other Exoprosopini. We've since noted the wing venation is wrong for Ligyra (of the captured specimen). Chris just noted "Can't be Balaana with all those yellow scales on the abdomen." Having another look around we suggested it looked similar to Wurda wyperfeldensis. Chris said "Too many black and dark reddish abdominal scales for Wyperfeldensis". Chris took further time to explain the gender differences (marking our S3 as male) "Males have sclerotised structures terminally and in this group usually twisted so not symmetrical as seen in the sternal image, females have a hair filled triangular symmetrical opening." Imaged 3(1M) in Jan(2) & Nov(1M) | |||
| Large Banded Bee Fly Ligyra cingulata iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Graeme Cocks†, Tony Daley & Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: They are a large fly at ~14mm-17mm long, wing length ~16mm-18mm; giving a wingspan of ~36mm-40mm. Males & females separated here from ventral view of the posterior. Chris was hypothesising that females had an extra wing spot. But S4 breaks this theory. Chris said "variation of colour may be because of different environmental conditions under which the immatures develop, so that darker patterns result from colder developmental conditions" She also said "Extra i-r crossvein creates square cell at end of wing = Ligyra", compared to Balaana . Imaged 8(1M) in Jan(2) & Feb(6:1M) | |||
| Bronze Bee Fly Lomatiinae sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley & Dr Chris Lambkin for helping with the id of this species for us ~7mm long. We thought this might be Oncodosia sp, but Chris said "I have my doubts about this one being Oncodosia. Venation indicates Lomatiinae, R2+3 going all the way back, not joining R4+5 in right angle near r-m." Imaged 1 in Sep | |||
| Small Black Bee Fly Lomatiinae sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us ~6.5mm long Imaged 1 in Sep | |||
| Black & White Striped Bee Fly Meomyia sericans iNaturalist | Na m |
Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin & Thomas Mesaglio for confirming the id of this species for us ~12mm long excluding proboscis. Very interesting the "beard" on the leading edge of the wings! We recognise the males here as the eyes are touching, females have separated eyes. When we noted this on iNat, Chris agreed saying "Males holoptic according to Li & Yeates 2020 - eyes touching above according to Evenhuis 1983." Imaged 4(3M) in Aug(3M) & Oct(1) | |||
| Rare Bee Fly Munjua cf paralutea | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us We thought this was a Ligyra sp, but Chris said it is possible but may be Munjua paralutea. With the lower level quality of these photo's, and not being able to clearly see the wing venation, it won't be possible to be sure; until we get more detailed shots We'll be keeping a keen eye out for this one now as it's only got records on Atlas for WA. It'll be nice to put SA on the map for this species, with diagnostic photo's. Chris said she had records of "6 specimens of Munjua paralutea from SA. And many more from NT NSW Qld and WA. It's just that there are not many live photos of this beast, and those that have been identified even less." Imaged 1 in Jan | |||
| Velvet Bee Fly Munjua erugata iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Gigantic Balaana Bee Fly (Balaana gigantea) Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us 1st Record in SA on Atlas: ~25mm long, 19mm wing length. With a thick white lateral stripe under the abdomen (which we didn't photograph), around the middle/s3. Chris said "Yellow scale band T2 - that's the give-away, wing pattern with no extensions and not meeting wing margin, and abdominal pattern." In other discussion she noted the Yellow band on T2 was more important than the wing pattern not meeting the margin. We asked Chris what the Etymology (meaning of the binomial name) was and she replied "The name *Munjua* is from the Aboriginal term munju for fly from the Diyari people of northern SA (Austin 1994). erugata is from the Latin erugo smooth referring to the velvety abdominal appearance" Imaged 1 in Jan | |||
| Small Fluffy Bee Fly Nigromyia sp iNaturalist | Na r | Thank you Prof Xuankun Li (XkL) for identifying and Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us ~6mm long with green eyes. It has 2 white tufts on the sides of the abdomen which aren't showing clearly against the white background. But with the naked eye contrast strongly against the black hair on the abdomen. It's thorax is covered in fine orange hairs, with a black body. Oh, and who could miss that huge proboscis We recognise the male here as the eyes are touching, females have separated eyes. Imaged 1M in Oct | |||
| Chequered-margin Bee Fly Oncodosia patula iNaturalist | Na r | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us A big fly at ~15mm long (male & female). Striped, wide bodied with pale wing tips normally associated with Comptosia sp. We managed to capture a couple of these on a one week project in the Riverland. They had slight differences, but it's clear the hair on the body wears easily. You can see the "Chequered-margin" (hairs around the abdomen), as well as an abdominal stripe in specimen one, but not specimen 2. However, on S1 they are worn on one side, but clear on the other. When investigating gender differences Chris said "Males have closer eyes. Eye separation: male about 1.5x maximum diameter of median ocellus; female about 2x distance between lateral ocelli. (ie male closer). Wings: length: male 15.0--21.5 mm, female 15.0--20 .5 mm; (ie female a tiny bit smaller)" Imaged 6 in Oct | |||
| False-widow Bee Fly Pseudopenthes fenestrata iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us We think we may have damaged it when catching it in a large net. It's body looks a bit managled, but it still managed to fly off. It's asleep here after being in the fridge. Possibly an undescribed species or P. hesperis. Compared to our previous P. hesperis, it's wings are much clearer/transparent near the body. Overall the wing has more clear patches than P. fenestrata should have. Chris said "Interesting, maybe teneral (ie recently emerged). Would need to see it" Imaged 1 in Mar | |||
| Western False-widow Bee Fly Pseudopenthes hesperis iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long, ~20mm wingspan. A very interesting bee fly. It has scales on it's abdomen, like moths & butterflies. It's thorax has a red tinge to it. Primarily black with white patches on the abdomen & light brown edging to the thorax. The wing colouring is quite distinctive, and diagnostic; primarily dark with light patches as shown in the photo's. In profile it's face is shaped like a Nose Fly, protruding forward considerably. Like some other flies, it has a line separating the top and bottom half of the eye; it's not always discernable needing the right angle to see it. When discussing our find Chris Lambkin said differentiating "P. hesperis and P. fenestrata is very difficult - generally P. hesperis wing is darker basally near the body, but also the genitalia are different and also the genae (cheeks) are yellow. Of course telling the latter 2 characters from photos is hard if not impossible." Chris later said "This is a tricky one. We may have a range extension this year with multiple records of the WA species in SA and Vic." For us, this shows the power of Citizen Science; increasing our understanding of not only what, but where our wildlife is. P. hesperis was more Westerly, while P. fenestrata is known from SA over to the Eastern seaboard. We have since found a dead specimen & sent it to Chris who has now confirmed the id under a microscope, making a confirmed range extension of this species from WA into SA. Imaged 2 in Feb(1) & Apr(1) | |||
| Yellow & Black Bee Fly Pygocona sp ES01 | Na e m |
~5mm long. The long proboscis is to feed on nectar, not bite people We recognise the male here as the eyes are touching, females have separated eyes. Imaged 4M in Feb | |||
| Green & Black Bee Fly Pygocona sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~5mm long. This genus is characterised by the long proboscis and long hair on it's scutum. The shape of the hair & black pattern underneath remind us of shield bug larvae; with little wing buds. These differ from our Pygocona sp ES01 by being green to the naked eye (the excessive yellow is a camera artifact) and the lack of black on the side, front end, of the abdomen. We recognise the male here as the eyes are touching, females have separated eyes. Imaged 5(2M) in Jan | |||
| Bee Fly Staurostichus sp ES01 | Na e m | These look similar to Systoechus sp, but have a different wing venation. We recognise female here as the eyes are separated, males have touching eyes. Imaged 1F in Feb | |||
| Wiry Bee Fly Staurostichus sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Prof Xuankun Li (XkL) for identifying this species for us ~6mm long Looks similar to Geron, with very long legs. But the proboscis is very "fat", unlike Geron and so looked closer. The wing venation is quite different in Geron. We thought it was Myonema, but Chris said "Can't be Myonema, not with that venation" We had another look and noticed the wing venation is close to Eristalopsis sp. before Xuankun id'ed it for us. We can now see it's an exact match for our other Staurostichus sp ES01. We recognise female here as the eyes are separated, males have touching eyes. Imaged 4F in Jan | |||
| Side-striped True Bee Fly Staurostichus sp ES04 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin & Prof Xuankun Li (XkL) for identifying this species for us ~5.5mm long, excluding appendages. Found in the vegi shadehouse yesterday. NB: the spots on the wings are NOT on the veins, they are in the middle of the wing cells. Seems unique. The large number of similar looking photo's are actually focusing on different parts of the body at different angles. Chris considered it may be a female Staurostichus pictipennis. Xuankun Li said "Chris, this looks so special! Not a Staurostichus pictipennis, but I am not sure about the species." We recognise female here as the eyes are separated, males have touching eyes. Imaged 1F in Aug | |||
| Clear-winged Striped Bee Fly Villini sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us ~13.5mm long (of the 3 we've measure, they range from 13mm to 15mm long, so a fairly large fly). ~13mm wing length. There's a good chance there are multiple species represented here. Striped Bee Flies (tribe Villini) are very difficult to separate into genera. We have used wing colour to separate them into groups, which isn't particularly scientific, but a reasonable delineation until more taxonomic work is done to sort this group out. In the past we had these as Villa sp, but we then learnt there was also Exechohypopion sp. We had a go at separating one out, but Tony Daley very kindly explained the errors in the Australian taxonomy related to this group and that it's difficult to be sure a fly belongs to one genus or other; unless you can get to species in which case species characteristics are able to be used to go to that level. We strongly suspect we have a lot of undescribed species and generally from now on will be putting them in the Villini tribe, instead of the Villa genus. The males are quite territorial, so S2 here is probably a male. We think S14 is a female due to the fans of hair around her rear end (seen in the enlarged ventral photo). Chris agreed and said of S14 "yes female - those are acanthophorites - spoon shaped setae that the females use to gather sand into the sand chamber." We have since found the eyes are much closer together at the top for males compared with females; making it possible to separate the genders from a good dorsal head shot. Imaged 16(2M,1F) in Jan(2), Feb(3), Oct(4:1M), Nov(4:1M,1F) & Dec(3) | |||
| Brown-winged Striped Bee Fly Villini sp ES02 | Na e m | We've heard that some insects can have different wing venation on each wing. This is the first time we've photographed a species and seen it for ourselvs. Note the spike on the right is missing on the left. This is probably an individual variation. Thank you to Chris Lambkin for telling us: "The spike is called a spur-vein. In some cases in the Bombyliidae their presence can be diagnostic at the species or even the generic level (very common spur-vein at base of R2+3 in Anthrax), but usually not. Members of Brachyanax have no spur-veins at the base of vein R2+3 or vein R4." It has always been our hope our web site would become a repository for this sort of information and helpful experts like Chris are making it happen Imaged 7(1M,2F) in Mar(3:1M,1F), Apr(2) & Nov(2:1F) | |||
| Smokey-winged Striped Bee Fly Villini sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming and Tony Daley for helping with the id of this species for us We thought this might be Exechohypopion sp due to the conical shaped head. Tony steered us straight (see the discussion above under Villini sp ES01 to learn more). Chris agreed and said "Beautifully explained Tony ... The current keys don't work, the characters separating the genera are really tricky to separate, and inconsistent anyway. Add in Lepidanthrax that is also in the Villini. There are definitely significant male genitalic differences within Australian Villa. Hemipenthes is probably here as well. There are many undescribed species. A total taxonomic mess" Imaged 5 in Jan(1), Mar(1) & Nov(3) | |||
| Large Headed Striped Bee Fly Villini sp ES04 | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us Chris said "I'm pretty confident with Villini. As to whether it is Villa or Exechohypopion is much more difficult without microscopic examination of the antennal segments especially whether it lacks a separate stylar segment between segment III and the style, and has smooth fore tibiae ie without spines, only fine erect hairs." Unfortunately we didn't get a close up look of it's face, so moved this one up from Exechohypopion sp to Villini sp (ie tribe rather than genus) level. Hopefully we can catch one and get better diagnostic shots. Imaged 2 in Feb(1) & Mar(1) | |||
| Brown Striped Bee Fly Villini sp ES05 iNaturalist | Na r | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us Generally, for Villini, it seems the eyes are much closer together at the top for males compared with females; making it possible to separate the genders from a good dorsal head shot. This occurs with other fly families, but not all. Imaged 3(1F) in Oct | |||
| Spotted-wing Striped Bee Fly Villini sp ES07 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us ~8mm long, ~14mm natural wingspan. Unusually Black for a Villini sp. So much so we suspected it might be an Anthrax sp. Chris said Anthracini antennae have "hairs in circle at apex ... Venation then makes it Villini." We mentioned the blade ovi-positor looking structure on it's rear end, which Chris noted "It's a male and that's the male genitalia - esp the gonocoxites you are seeing." Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Dwarf Striped Bee Fly Villini sp ES08 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us ~5mm long. Notice the Yellow halteres here, compared to our other recent small one above. Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Petite Bee Fly Zaclava sp iNaturalist | Na e m r | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us Looking like a dancing fly, the bulbous legs don't match. The wing venation is also typically Bee Fly (with the veins swirling outwards). Found on Ellura in Olearia magniflora & in the Riverland attracted to Sugarwood. Imaged 2 in Sep(1) & Oct(1) | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Blow Fly (Calliphoridae); 6 species from Ellura | Parasitic Blowfly Amenia leonina iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for identifying this species for us ~10 to ~11mm long. The genders can separated by the eye separation at the top; male eyes nearly touch at the top. The metallic reflections are much more obvious out in the sun on a bush. Inside with studio lighting they are much more difficult to see; with the specimens being very dark and difficult to see details of hair, etc. They appear metallic green to maroon. We originally considered they were different species, but with Tony's help we've been able to show they are one species (well S12 & S14 definately are) You could easily be forgiven for thinking these were bees, as they scour the Melaleuca flowers. They're quite timid so hard to get close enough to see details Tony Daley said that while "A. leonina has pale yellow or golden postorbits, so does A. albomaculata." In relation to S12, male, Tony said "I can see only three pairs of scutellar marginal bristles. This would be part of the leonina group, ie A. leonina and A. albomaculata". Further "For male A. leonina: head not noticeably wide (compared to thorax), and the postorbits not obliterated (represent by the pollinose strips). For both sexes of that species, tergite 3 (2nd visible tergite) completely lacking any medial marginal strong differentiated marginal setae. A. albomaculata have at least one of the medial setae on tergite 3 developed.". The 3 pairs mentioned or lateral pairs, not longitudinal pairs. So they are the 6 bristles pointing out the rear of the scuttelum. Without more detailed photo's we can't be sure all the specimens here are Amenia leonina, but S12 is. Tony has also confirmed S14 is as well. They are all Amenia. We'll review all our photo's and see if can find a male & female of the species, with diagnostic photo's. Imaged 21(10M,9F) in Jan(1F), Feb(5:4M), Mar(6:2M,3F), Apr(2:1M,1F), May(2F), Nov(3:2M,1F) & Dec(2:1M,1F) | ||
| Lesser Brown Blowfly Calliphora dubia iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Tony Daley for identifying this species for us We thought this was C. augur. But Tony said "It would be a choice between C. augur and C. dubia - 2 pairs of presutural acrostichals, 3 postsutural pairs, and general colouration seen here (especially the large central metallic area on abdomen). The former species has the fifth tergite with yellowish pruinescence while the latter with white pruinescence there." Liam Foley put it another way "C. augur has T5 with yellowish microtomentum." Imaged 27(5M,18F) in Mar(3:1M,2F), Apr(2:1M), May(3F), Jul(1), Aug(2:1F), Oct(4F), Nov(8:1M,6F) & Dec(4:2M,2F) | |||
| Golden Blowfly Calliphora hilli iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Similar Species: Golden Blowfly (Calliphora stygia) Thank you (Wild_Wind) for confirming the id of this species for us Thanks to Insects of Tasmania web site, C. hilli has 2 presutural acrostichal bristle pairs, where as C. stygia has 3. Tony Daley, from Insects of Tasmania, said of a different specimen to ours "With the all dark legs and typical golden tessellated abdomen it will be one of the more obscure species." Imaged 6 in Mar(1), Apr(1), Aug(3) & Nov(1) | |||
| Golden Blowfly Calliphora stygia iNaturalist | Na e m a | Similar Species: Golden Blowfly (Calliphora hilli) Thank you (Wild_Wind) for confirming the id of this species for us Thanks to Insects of Tasmania web site, C. stygia has 3 presutural acrostichal bristle pairs, where as C. hilli has 2. Imaged 12 in Mar(3), Apr(1), Jun(2), Jul(1), Aug(2), Oct(2) & Dec(1) | |||
| Hairy-maggot Blowfly Chrysomya rufifacies iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli & Santiago (Sanpa) for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long. This looks similar to Australian Sheep Blowfly (Lucilia cuprina), but the abdomen is larger & the black bands too thick. The wing venation also has Sc & R1 joined here, where as in L. cuprina they are quite separate. There are a surprisingly large number of these metallic green blowfly species. Imaged 9(2M,6F) in Jan(3:2F), Feb(1M), Mar(1F), Oct(1F), Nov(1M) & Dec(2F) | |||
| Small Hairy-maggot Blowfly Chrysomya varipes iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Santiago (Sanpa) for confirming the id of this species for us Under 6mm long. They have a distinctive orange face, with orange plumose antennae, separating them from their larger cousins. Unlike many flies, these can't be easily differentiated by their eye speparation. The males of this species have very hairy front tibia, which is missing on the females we've found so far. Imaged 5F in Feb(3F) & May(2F) | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Gall Midge (Cecidomyiidae); 3 species from Ellura | Gall Midge Cecidomyiidae cf sp ES01 | Na e m | We asked Tony Daley if there were some easy/obvious ways to separate out Mozzies/Midges from Crane Flies. Tony was very helpful and said "A dorsal view of the thorax would rule in/out - Tipulomorpha have a complete mesonotal suture in the form of a V when viewed from behind. Wing venation is sufficiently different between the two groups. Also the form of the antennae, the form of the eyes around the antennae, and the fore legs with the characteristic basal tarsal segment distinctly longer than the tibiae there (Chironominae character) but other legs unremarkable all up make me think Chironominae." Imaged 1 in Mar | |
| Red-necked Gall Gnat Cecidomyiinae cf sp ES02 | Na e m | Imaged 4 in Jan(1), Jun(1) & Aug(2) | ||
| Red Gall Midge Cecidomyiinae cf sp ES03 | Na e m | Almost 2mm long
Imaged 1 in Aug | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Biting Midge (Ceratopogonidae); 1 species, none from Ellura | Biting Midge Ceratopogonidae sp | Na a |
These tiny little flies are on ~3mm long and superficially (naked eye) look black. Like mozzies, you usually can't feel them bite. But afterwards the area swells up. It is said that people who live in the same habitat build up an immunity to them, but tourists get badly affected. I squashed one biting me once and it made it 10 times worse. Basically squeezing irritants into the body. Unlike mozzies, that have a straw like proboscis (like moths), these have 2 sharp "jaws" they dig in and stand up vertical to the skin sucking blood. Imaged 3 in Oct |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Phantom Midge (Chaoboridae); 1 species from Ellura | Phantom Midge Chaoboridae sp | Na e m | Imaged 2F in Aug(1F) & Nov(1F) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Midge (Chironomidae); 4 species from Ellura | Large Non-biting Midge Chironominae sp | Na e m | ~10mm long, ~30mm wingspan. Imaged 2M in Apr(1M) & Sep(1M) | |
| Non-biting Midge Chironomus sp | Na e m | ~9mm long, ~24mm wingspan. Imaged 1F in Jun | ||
| Non-biting Midge Polypedilum sp | Na e m | Similar Species: Mosquito (Aedes cf sp) Midges look a lot like Mosquitoes. An easy differentiator is that, at rest, midges hold their front legs up, mozzies hold their rear legs up. Depending on the photo, a more guaranteed identifier is that Midges have small mouths; Mosquitoes have long proboscides. Midges generally have wings shorter than the body, mozzie wings are as long, or longer, than the body. Imaged 7(1M,6F) in Mar(2F), Apr(2F), May(2:1M,1F) & Oct(1F) | ||
| Non-biting Green Midge Tanytarsus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~2.3mm long, ~4.5mm wingspan. We were surprised it was a midge, as when we first saw it on the night sheet it's head was up. Deeply emarginate eyes. The female as a wider body than the male, and doesn't have the plumose antennae. Don't confuse the moth scale contamination with cross veins on the wings, we don't think there are any cross veins, all longitudinal. The wings, legs and body are covered in fine hair. While not plumose, the antennae do have some fine filaments. Imaged 1F in May | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Grass Fly (Chloropidae); 1 species from Ellura | Pink-bellied Frit Fly Gaurax sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming and Kristi Ellingsen for helping with the id of this species for us ~4mm long. A pink belly, yellow face, orange body with black stripes white scutellum! and finally hairy eyes Similar looking to Ceratolauxania sp (Lauxaniid, different family), but smaller, less body hair, hairy eyes and different wing venation .... otherwise identical LOL We were able to find the id to this species thanks to comments Tony made on iNaturalist observations, as well as the web site "Insects of Tasmania" that he and Kristi Ellingsen maintain. Imaged 2(1F) in Nov |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Thick-headed Fly (Conopidae); 3 species from Ellura | Orange-faced Thick-headed Fly Microconops sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~6mm long. Seems to be the closest in the 2010 paper by Schneider: Totally smooth frons, not rugose, with no wrinkles. Wing venation: Petiole to "R4+5" & "M", moderate length. Wings Hayline. Overall black with pale/grey pubescent stripes & orange/yellow frons. Frons not black anteriorly, but white. Tips of antennae difficult to match exactly to drawings. Imaged 2 in Mar | |
| Small Thick-headed Fly Myopa cf sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~5mm long. Imaged 1 in Nov | ||
| Ocelliless Thick-headed Fly Physocephala australiana iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley & Prof Aaron Schusteff for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long. A very strange fly! Pretty rare and thought it was a potter wasp until we caught it and looked more closely in the pot. The exceptional thing about this genus of fly (apart from it's constricted waist, long antennae & long proboscis) is that it does NOT have ocelli !! Tony said ours was a male and "Ocelli absent; first antennal flagellomere and stylus very short; abdomen petiolate; wings with M ending in R4+5 nearly at a right angle; wings dark along front portion." Tony also pointed to Aaron's discussion of these, where he highlighted the following diagnostics separating this species from others "(beyond those Tony listed) 1) the basally swollen hind femur and 2) the cross-vein r-m is positioned well-beyond both the middle of the discal cell and the cross-vein sc-r. From Schneider's key: A) entirely yellow frons (lacking any dark brown, triangular, medial marking); and B) hyaline state of the wing beyond (i.e posterior to) vein r4+5. A lack of (pale) tan on the scutellum (and posterior lateral edge of the scutum) might be reasonably ascribed to intraspecies "variation". Males have the basally-tapered 2nd abdominal segment, the evenly-rounded shape of the distal end of the abdomen and the small "nipple-like" nub appearing underneath the 4th abdominal segment. In female Physocephala the distal end on the abdomen is usually more "blocky" and hook-like. I think the theca (or "genital plate") would be more conspicuously visible in the oblique-profile view in a female." Imaged 3 in Oct(2) & Nov(1) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Mosquito (Culicidae); 4 species from Ellura | Mosquito Aedes alboannulatus iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Stephen Fricker for identifying this species for us We originally had id'ed S1, from Ellura, as Ochlerotatus camptorhynchus but Stephen kindly let us know of our error and that Ochlerotatus is now Aedes. He said "easily confused with Ae. camptorhynchus the easiest feature to separate is the pre-apical band on the femur. We have pictures of the two species in our website gallery I also have a simple guide to mosquitoes available" We originally thought S2, from Lobethal, was Aedes rubrithorax. Stephen kindly correct us and said "Close. Alboannulatus can be distinguished by the pre-apical band on the hind femur and mottling on the proboscis, which rubrithorax lacks". Imaged 2(1F) in Jul(1) & Nov(1F) | |||
| Mosquito Aedes camptorhynchus | Na e m |
Mosquitoes look a lot like Midges. An easy differentiator is that, at rest, mozzies hold their rear legs up, midges hold their front legs up. Depending on the photo, a more guaranteed identifier is that Mosquitoes have a very long mouths / proboscis (straw like appendage that males drink nectare from and females suck blood with). The proboscis is made of two parts, a thin inner "straw" and an outer sheath. The sheath protects the actual proboscis. It can be seen in the feeding shot here. Imaged 3(1M,2F) in Mar(2:1M,1F) & Jun(1F) | ||||
| Mosquito Aedes cf sp | Na e m a |
Similar Species: Non-biting Midge (Polypedilum sp) Imaged 3(1M,2F) in May(1M), Oct(1F) & Nov(1F) | ||||
| Yellow-striped Mosquito Culex globocoxitus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Stephen Fricker for identifying this species for us ~4mm long. Notice the legs are not striped. Note the hairy wing veins; this is common with mozzies & other small flies. When we suggested this was a Southern House Mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus), Stephen said "Although a bit out of season, the straight tergal bands, the light underside of the proboscis extending to at least the last quarter. Also, the upper folk vs base to folk lengths appear to be closer to 1:4 rather than 1:3 seen in quinks." Imaged 1 in Feb | ||||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Longlegged Fly (Dolichopodidae); 4 species, 2 from Ellura | Emarginate-winged Long Legged Fly Dytomyia sordida iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: ~6mm long. Notice the colours change dramatically depending on the angle of lighting. Males are very distinctive, with a mark (sclerite) on the trailing edge of the wings that distorts the wing. The male genetalia are very strange on these, bent over at 180 deg. Imaged 1 in Nov | |
| Striped-wing Long Legged Fly Heteropsilopus ingenuus | Na a | Imaged 4 in Feb(1), Mar(1) & Apr(2) | ||
| Long Legged Fly Heteropsilopus sp | Na a | Imaged 3 in Feb(1) & Mar(2) | ||
| Long Legged Fly Hydrophorus praecox iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Water Floating Fly (Brachydeutera sydneyensis) Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~3.5mm long. They look much larger, but that's because nose to wing tip they are ~6.5mm long, and have a 14mm legspan. Like all long legged flies, these are also metallic, but it's not nearly so obvious as most. It's difficult to know with such small insects what is a real colour and what is a camera artifact as they just look like a little blur with the naked eyes (with with mine anyway Similar to our other water floating fly, which is a different family. This one has a line of white hair through the bottom of it's eyes and two white stripes on it's back that are made up of *very* short white hair. Notice how green S9 is compared to those photographed outside - possibly camera artifacts? Imaged 10 in Jan(1), Jun(1), Jul(1), Sep(3), Oct(1) & Nov(3) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Vinegar Fly (Drosophilidae); 1 species from Ellura | Vinegar Fly Drosophila sp | Na e m | Imaged 1 in May |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Dagger Fly (Empididae); 1 species, none from Ellura | Dagger Fly Empis sp iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us Also called Dance Flies. This one was quite a small fly @ <10mm long with a very long proboscis compared to body length. Imaged 1 in Nov |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Shore Fly (Ephydridae); 1 species from Ellura | Water Floating Fly Brachydeutera sydneyensis iNaturalist | Na e m a | Similar Species: Long Legged Fly (Hydrophorus praecox) Thank you Niels-Jan Dek for confirming the id of this species for us Small light brown & white fly regularly seen floating on water. They float there lapping up water with their elongated mouths at a very rapid rate; so getting 2 drinking at once was pure luck. Took so many photo's to get one with the mouth actually touching the water and in reasonable focus. They are so light they can float on 4 legs while using the front, or rear, pair to clean themselves. Imaged 9 in Jan(1), Aug(2), Oct(2), Nov(2) & Dec(2) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Gall Fly (Fergusoninidae); 1 species, none from Ellura | Gall Inducing Fly Fergusoninidae sp | Na m | Imaged 1 in Jun |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Toadstool Fly (Heteromyzidae); 4 species, 2 from Ellura | Darked Winged Sun Fly Pentachaeta sp iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 1 in May | |
| Pale-footed Fungi Fly Tapeigaster argyrospila iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us Just over 9mm long. T. brunneifrons is similar, but has striping on it's thorax. Tony Daley said "A helpful difference between T. brunneifrons and T. argyrospila ... is tibiae of the former species has the base and middle marked reddish but only so in the middle for the latter species." Imaged 6(2M,4F) in Feb(2F), Mar(1F) & Nov(3:2M,1F) | ||
| Striped Sun Fly Tapeigaster nigricornis iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us S9 was caught at Ellura and measured at ~7mm. These differ clearly from T. digitata & T. paramonovi by the thick white/silvery edge/line running longitudinally above the eyes (edge of the frons) to the neck. The other two species have very thin lines as well as different shaped legs. The description notes the antennae are black, but you can see here the antennae are covered in the fine pale/silvery hair and explains why the antennae don't appear black in all on-line photo's. For clarity, Tony kindly confirmed S8 & S9. Imaged 12 in Mar(4), Apr(3), Jul(2), Oct(2) & Nov(1) | ||
| Toadstool Fly Tapeigaster paramonovi iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Tony Daley for identifying this species for us The mushroom S1 was sitting was measured later and estimate it's length to be ~6mm. When we id'ed S1 as this species, we thought S2 was T. digitata but Tony kindly reviewed our findings and determined they were both the T. paramonovi. What is telling is that we thought S1 & S2 were the same fly, taken within 20 sec of each other. Now that is still possible and the differences showing are camera artifacts. We mention these errors & our reasons below to highlight the difficulty in id'ing inverts to species and how expert opinion really is necessary with most inverts to get to species level. The patch around the ocelli seems different. We noticed, however, there are many areas covered in very fine reflective felt/hair. As such, camera angle shows different colours. McAlpine & Kent's paper from 1982 states that T. digitata & T. paramonovi are "Closely related": T. paramonovi has "whitish pruinescence along orbital margins" T. digitata has "ocellar spot black" There are also other differences related to leg colour, etc. Tony said " In McAlpine's key (1982) T. digitata is split from the former species by the lack of mesonotum stripes and all tibiae with a black band above the middle and at apex. In the fly here, and as described for T. paramonovi, the fore tibiae has (only) the apical half or so darkened which appears to be unique among the genus, ie from middle to apex dark. My interpretation of ocelli spot colour for T. paramonovi from McAlpine's description is that it is also blackish by the lack of mention of colour when comparing to T. digitata, but instead differs from the latter by having it more or less dusted with whitish pruinescence." Imaged 2 in Jun | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Lauxaniid Fly (Lauxaniidae); 6 species, 5 from Ellura | Red-eyed Lauxaniid Fly Ceratolauxania sp ES02 | Na e m a | Imaged 6 in Mar(2), Apr(1), Jun(1), Oct(1) & Dec(1) | |
| Orange-faced Lauxaniid Fly Poecilohetaerus schineri iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 2 in Aug(1) & Dec(1) | ||
| Two-striped Lauxaniid Fly Poecilohetaerus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for helping with the id of this species for us We assumed this was Poecilohetaerus schineri, however, Tony kindly pointed out other options for us "Both P. schineri and P. aquilus share a dark thorax with, in addition to the white stripes, a medial thin fawn line. I couldn't see the thin fawn line here which I'd need to confirm these species in addition to either frons detail (largely orange for the former, largely dark and with only a thin lighter medial section for the latter) or mid and hind tibiae (marked with dark colour for the former, entirely pale brown for the latter). Assuming the thin fawn line and thin frons line are obscured, then this is more likely P. aquilus. P. albolineatus is also quite similar and included for SA, but lacks the thin fawn line and the foreleg tarsi end in white segments". The photo is too poor quality to be sure, but we are leaning to P. albolineatus as there doesn't seem to be any medial thin fawn line here; as clearly seen on our Poecilohetaerus schineri photo. Hopefully we'll find another to confirm which we have here (possibly all 3 Imaged 1 in Sep | ||
| Orange Lauxaniid Fly Sapromyza cf sp ES01 | Na e m | We thought this was Homoneura genus, but then Tony Daley mentioned somewhere that they have black wing veins, where this clearly doesn't. Imaged 2 in Feb(1) & Mar(1) | ||
| Painted Lauxaniid Fly Sapromyza cf sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m | ~7mm long. Even Tony Daley thought the face markings were "bizarre" Imaged 1 in Mar | ||
| Bent Lauxaniid Fly Steganopsis melanogaster iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 2 in Sep(1) & Oct(1) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Lance Fly (Lonchaeidae); 1 species from Ellura | Metallic Green Tomato Fly Lamprolonchaea brouniana iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley, Iain MacGowan & Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us ~3.5mm long. The paper describing them says "possesses a distinctive pitted frons, which assists in distinguishing this species". Males & females can be separated by the distance between the eyes. While in other fly species the male eyes often touch at the top, with these they are just closer together making it more difficult to distinguish. Imaged 8(1M,4F) in Oct(5:1M,3F) & Nov(3:1F) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Bush Fly (Muscidae); 4 species, 2 from Ellura | Helina Fly Helina addita iNaturalist | Na e m a | Imaged 4(3M,1F) in Aug(1M), Oct(2:1M,1F) & Nov(1M) | |
| Helina Fly Helina cf tasmaniensis | Na a | We were chatting with Tony & Jenny & Tony Daley today about this genus and Tony Daley said "For described Australian Muscidae, it's a rule of thumb that if metallic green/blue/coppery and M vein is straight (ie not bent up distinctly in the last section), it is Helina. The thorax with four dark narrow vittae, formed by the absence of the dusting along the vittae, are typically seen in these Helina, as is the case typically for Helina irrespective of colour." Imaged 1 in Aug | ||
| Common House Fly Musca domestica iNaturalist | If e m f r | Thank you Tony Daley & Sarah-Jayne Hucks
for confirming the id of this species for us ~6mm long. Very annoying little flies that keep pestering; trying to fly into your eyes, ears, mouth, etc. Imaged 13 in Mar(1), Apr(1), May(6), Jun(1), Sep(1), Oct(2) & Nov(1) | ||
| Bush Fly Pygophora sp | Na a | Imaged 1 in Aug | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Mydas Fly (Mydidae); 2 species from Ellura | Tiger Ichneumon Mimic Miltinus cardinalis iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Tiger Ichneumon Wasp (Metopius sp ES01) Thank you Reiner Richter & Tony Daley for confirming and Liz O'Donnell for helping with the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: After Liz suggested it was a Mydas fly, possibly Militinus sp we hunted thru CSIRO images and found it looked closest to Miltinus cardinalis. Tony said "The keys agree with your tentative ID of Miltinus cardinalis" Imaged 1 in Jan | |
| Red-tailed Mydas Fly Miltinus sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for identifying and Dr Chris Lambkin & Dr Geoff Williams OAM, AM for helping with the id of this species for us ~24mm long. Chris corrected our id of Stiletto Fly (Therevidae) & Geoff suggested it resembled Miltinus stenogaster. Tony said "Following Paramonov's key (1950), I get most near to M. atripes (male), differing from both male and female M. stenogaster by the black legs, as you infer above. Differs from the key and description by lacking long white pubescence on first visible tergite (reaching the second by their length), and Paramonov does not mention the well formed pale yellow pubescent lateral mesonotal markings, nor the wide pale medial vittae there when describing differences between the species." Imaged 1 in Jan | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Tangle-veined Fly (Nemestrinidae); 2 species from Ellura | Double Striped Tangle-veined Fly Trichophthalma bivittata iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us ~17mm long, excluding it proboscis; which was ~4mm, while the head ~3mm long. Chris said "This keys to T. bivittata wheeleri, that is currently considered to be just a variant of T. bivittata." Imaged 3 in Aug(2) & Sep(1) | |
| Tangle-veined Fly Trichophthalma sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 2(1M,1F) in Mar | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Bot Fly (Oestridae); 1 species from Ellura | Sheep Nasal Bot Fly Oestrus ovis iNaturalist | If e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 5 in Mar(1), Apr(2), Oct(1) & Nov(1) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Scuttle Fly (Phoridae); 1 species from Ellura | Scuttle Fly Megaselia sp | Na e m a | A very small fly. At first it was hard to determine if it was even Diptera, with the hairy face hiding the usual small antennae of flies. We suspect there are 3 different species here as they are different sizes & colours, but all with the striped body and pronounced hairy face. Imaged 4 in Mar(1), May(1), Aug(1) & Nov(1) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Smoke Fly (Platypezidae); 1 species from Ellura | Flat-footed Fly Lindneromyia sp | Na e m a | The gender is easily distinguished here by the distance between the top of the eyes. The males touch, or nearly, female eyes are obviously separated. This happens with many flies species. In this genus it also seems the females are paler than males. Imaged 6(4M,2F) in Apr(3:2M,1F), May(2M) & Aug(1F) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Picture-winged Fly (Platystomatidae); 2 species, 1 from Ellura | Boatman Fly Pogonortalis doclea | Na a | Imaged 1 in Apr | |
| Signal Fly Rivellia sp iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us ~4mm long, with a copper-ish metallic body and quite stumpy legs. But those wings Imaged 2 in Feb(1) & Oct(1) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Moth Fly (Psychodidae); 1 species from Ellura | Moth Fly Psychoda sp iNaturalist | Na e m a f |
Thank you Victor Engel for identifying this species for us Very hairy little fly. We thought it was a tiny moth, as do most people when they first see them we suspect. While transferring petrol these little tiny insects were attracted to the fumes. So was able to get a number of photo's of them. Unfortunately they then decided to land on the spilt fuel on the container and got stuck. But it gave a chance to measure their size; wingspan of ~6mm, body & head length ~2mm. They seemed white, but that's probably flash & shiny hairs. Notice in the overhead shot the hairs running along the wing veins. The body seems to have a few lateral stripes. Imaged 10 in Jul(2), Aug(4), Sep(3) & Oct(1) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Pyrgotid Fly (Pyrgotidae); 4 species from Ellura | Large Scarab Fly Cardiacera sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us A large fly with body ~16mm. These parasitise scarab beetles. Also called a Light Fly as they are nocturnal and come to night lights. Found nearly dead after a mothing night. Very unusual wing venation. Imaged 2 in Oct(1) & Nov(1) | ||
| Small Scarab Fly Cardiacera sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Tony Daley for identifying this species for us ~10mm long. We found this one following our female Osa discovery and thought it was a male Osa sp. Tony said "I think this one is a different genus to your female Osa. The wings have the Sc vein almost bending at a right angle to meet the costa above, in Osa this vein doesn't bend so abruptly before meeting the costa. The particulars of the wing spots, especially also having three distinct spots along the pterostigma is typical (usually 2-3, but sometimes only one spot) of the species in Cardiacera with such spotted wings - they also typically have the pointy antennae." Imaged 4 in Feb(1), Mar(1), Apr(1) & Dec(1) | |||
| Pale Scarab Fly Cardiacera sp ES03 | Na e m |
~6mm long, ~15mm wingspan. Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Small Scarab Fly Osa sp iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long (excluding the ovipositor). Had lots of them at the night light, along with many smaller beetles (assume scarab). You could well think that with the ovipositor it's a fruit fly. But no, a related family, Pyrgotidae, also called Light Flies as they come to night lights. Scarab flies because they parisitise scarab beetles. Very distinctive head shape, but couldn't get the wings veins very clearly. The body hair is diagnostic for this genus. Looking at Facilina sp, the hairs are tiny in comparison. Tony said "Osa nr. bornemisszai, a WA species. Seems very close - I end at this species following Paramonov's key (1958) but alas the description within doesn't fully agree, the palps being yellow and the ovipositor black with only middle portion brownish in that species (thus distinctly black basally). Form of the ovipositor and wing spotting seems the same or similar." Here you can see the palps are black and the ovipositor is brownish, with a black tip. As an explanation "nr." is an abbreviation for "near". As in, it's close to O. bornemisszai, but isn't that species. This can be construed as "further away" than a "cf" annotation; which means "looks like" and so maybe that species, but not enough diagnostic features are shown or clear enough. Imaged 2F in Dec | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Nose Fly (Rhiniidae); 2 species from Ellura | Brown Nose Fly Metallea incisuralis iNaturalist | Na e m r | While both genders are ~8mm long, the male we measured was slightly smaller than the female. As with many fly species, the genders can be separated by the distance between the eyes; male eyes almost touching on top, female eyes well apart. Of course, genitalia has something to do with it, but that's harder to see in the field with flies In the field they can be identified by a greenish gold velvet on their backs that wears in the middle showing a metallic bronze body. The common name comes from the protruding lower part of the face, looking like a nose. Imaged 30(6M,8F) in Feb(10:5M,3F), Mar(9:1M), Apr(4), Sep(1), Oct(2F), Nov(1F) & Dec(3:2F) | ||
| Punctuated Green Nose Fly Stomorhina subapicalis iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Dezmond Wells & Santiago (Sanpa) for confirming the id of this species for us The female we captured was ~7mm, while the male ~8mm These hover and look similar to hover flies. Mark Newton said "the specific epithet refers to the subapical spot on the wing" ie "subapicalis" Imaged 8(1M,2F) in Jan(1F), Mar(2:1F), Sep(1), Oct(1) & Nov(3:1M) | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Woodlouse Fly (Rhinophoridae); 1 species from Ellura | Woodlouse Fly Axinia cornuta iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying and Tony Daley for helping with the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: ~4mm long with very large orange antennae. To the naked eye the antennae look like pollen stuck to the face. Imaged 3M in Mar(2M) & Apr(1M) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Flesh Fly (Sarcophagidae); 2 species from Ellura | Grey Flesh Fly Sarcophaga aurifrons iNaturalist | Na e m a f | Similar Species: Fleshfly-mimicking Bristle Fly (Exorista sp) Thank you Lorin Timaeus for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long. Lorin said "Close to the eyes there is a long bristle bent forwards (proclinate) in Females. Males do not have them. Eye distance is hard to judge in Sarcophaga, only slight differences between the genders." Imaged 13(1F) in Apr(3), May(1), Sep(2), Oct(2), Nov(2) & Dec(3:1F) | |
| Small Foot Flesh Fly Sarcophaga sp | Na e m | Imaged 3 in Mar(1) & Apr(2) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Dark-winged Fungus Gnat (Sciaridae); 1 species from Ellura | Dark-winged Fungus Gnat Sciaridae sp | Na e m a | Imaged 13(1M,1F) in Mar(1), Apr(1), May(2), Jun(5:1F), Jul(1M), Aug(2) & Oct(1) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Snail Fly (Sciomyzidae); 1 species from Ellura | Snail Fly Pherbellia sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley & Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Record in SA on Atlas & iNat: ~5mm long Imaged 1 in Oct |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Black Scavenger Fly (Sepsidae); 1 species from Ellura | Ant Fly Parapalaeosepsis plebeia iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 7 in Feb(1), Apr(2), May(1), Jun(1) & Dec(2) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Soldier Fly (Stratiomyidae); 5 species, 4 from Ellura | Black-notched Soldier Fly Australoactina incisuralis iNaturalist | Na e m | ~7mm long female. a. Has short pubescence on the eyes. b. A green shimmer to the red thorax (bronze?) c. Eyes slightly wider apart than males d. Rounded body, rather than parallel sides e. 6 thoracic spines - which are hard to photograph clearly because they are covered in hair. f. Very pale proboscis h. Very large halteres i. Notice the anal appendages, peculiar to Soldier Flies. We thought they were cerci. Tony Daley said "The name applies to the abdominal tergite 'incisions' (apices) being black". Which is visible here. Imaged 1 in May | |
| Garden Soldier Fly Exaireta spinigera iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us Males have their eyes much closer together than females. Notice the thoracic spines, typical of soldier wasps. Imaged 2M in Oct | ||
| Yellow-headed Soldier Fly Inopus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us ~11mm long It looks a lot like Inopus rubriceps but, apart from being in the wrong location, it's face/head is also the wrong shape. According to Nagatomi and Yukawa's paper, the top & bottom of the head are concave (Fig M, page 526). In our specimen here you can see the bottom of the head is flat. Imaged 1 in Jun | ||
| Green Soldier Fly Odontomyia decipiens iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Martin Hauser for identifying this species for us Males were ~9 to ~10mm long, female ~11mm long. We thought this might be Odontomyia amyris. The spines on the end of the scutellum were roughly horizontal with the body, which is diagnostic. Like so many flies, gender can be separated by the distance between the top of the eyes; touching = male, separated = female. We found some with more red colouring, dorsally, and considered they may be a different species; which also had more black on the abdomen. We found these on the same day in Melaleuca lanceolata. Martin said of the redder ones "not as green metallic as in the other decipiens. So this is just a tentative ID. The coloration of the abdomen is usually variable, also the amount of yellow on the scutellum." Imaged 5(3M,2F) in Mar(4:2M,2F) & Dec(1M) | ||
| Black Soldier Fly Odontomyia sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 3(1M,1F) in Oct | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Hover Fly (Syrphidae); 8 species from Ellura | Beautiful Hover Fly Austalis pulchella iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us A large fly at ~13mm long We would have called it "Polka-dot Hover Fly" But pulchella means "Beautiful". Dr Simon Grove (when referring to these & Native Drones) said "their larvae are at least semiaquatic, eg in ditches, organic mud, wet rotting vegetation perhaps." Given our semi-arid environment, we surmise they were raised either in nearby damns (~3kms away) or the river (~11kms). This is a similar situation to large quantity of Odonata we find here. Imaged 2 in Nov | ||
| Wasp-mimicking Hover Fly Ceriana ornata ssp ornata iNaturalist | Ir e m | Thank you Reiner Richter for confirming the id of this species for us This is primarily a Qld species that invades bee hives. As we have no native bee hives in SA, we suspect they've travelled south using/breeding/surviving thru European bee hives. Andras Szito (WA DPIRD) said "I believe your suspicion is well founded. I am aware of (sometimes large scale) movement of used bee hives between the states. If some brought in some used, uncleaned hives with some dead combs in them from Qld where Ceriana is quite common then there is a high likelihood that there were viable Ceriana in it. I guess it is well adapted to European bee hives that contains a lot greater amount of honey than native bees." Thanks for your thoughts Andras ergo It is also introduced. Imaged 2 in Apr(1) & Dec(1) | |||
| Long-antennae Hover Fly Chalcosyrphus elongatus iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Hopping Wasp (Brachymeria podagrica) Thank you Tony Daley & Matthew Vosper for confirming the id of this species for us ~10.5mm long. We just found our 2nd specimen, alive this time, some 18 months after the 1st dead one. The eyes are wide apart, indicating these are female. Others in the genus have shorter, paddle-like antennae. Other on-line photos show some white stripes on the body, but they are males. These flies have incredibly powerful hind legs. In the new profile shot, notice the spines under the back leg. They look like a Brachymeria sp hopping wasp. Imaged 3F in Apr(2F) & Sep(1F) | |||
| Native Drone Fly Eristalinus punctulatus iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us Males & females are similar size, ~10mm long. The eyes on males touch, whereas with female the eyes are spread apart. Incredible polka-dot yellow eyes! Dr Simon Grove (when referring to these & Beautiful Hover Flies) said "their larvae are at least semiaquatic, eg in ditches, organic mud, wet rotting vegetation perhaps." Given our semi-arid environment, we surmise they were raised either in nearby damns (~3kms away) or the river (~11kms). This is a similar situation to large quantity of Odonata we find here. Imaged 13(7M,6F) in Jan(4:3M,1F), Feb(3:2M,1F), Mar(3:1M,2F) & Dec(3:1M,2F) | |||
| Bee-mimicking Hover Fly Eristalis tenax iNaturalist | If e m a |
Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~13.5 to ~15.5mm long; males slightly smaller than females or about the same length. Like many flies, the eye's touch at the top with males and are well separated with females. The wing venation is the same. Generally males have more orange in their abdomen, where as females are blacker; but this is variable and can't be relied upon. Initially, not realising these were introduced, we couldn't understand how they mimicked European Honey-bees so well. Then the light goes on in the brain "Ah, they're introduced as well, no wonder they can mimic an introduced species" Notice the very hairy eyes, probably an adaptation to their native colder climate. All flies (Diptera) have 2 wings and halteres (which are modified structures from their original hind wings). Sometimes halteres are easy to spot, with stouter flies like these it's not as easy. We managed to catch a shot of one here. Imaged 14(3M,11F) in Nov(5:1M,4F) & Dec(9:2M,7F) | |||
| Lesser Bulb Hover Fly Eumerus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley & Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us ~8mm long. Superficially similar to a half-band, except blacker and the noticeably huge, round antennae. It also has swollen rear legs. The wing venation is very unusual; almost like a 'W'. The thickened rear legs also have spines. Thank you to Martin for also letting us know this is a female. Imaged 9(8M,1F) in Apr(1M), Aug(3M) & Sep(5:4M,1F) | |||
| Half-band Hover Fly Melangyna viridiceps iNaturalist | Na e m a c | Similar Species: Yellow-shouldered Stout Hover Fly (Simosyrphus grandicornis) Thank you Stephen Fricker & Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us There are other similar hover flies to this in SA. A little known one is Eupeodes confrater. Matthew Vosper said "bands curve forwards at the sides" with those. There is also the well know Simosyrphus grandicornis shown below. It has a yellow face as well as a yellow stripe on it's "shoulder" (side of the pronotum). Imaged 45(19M,15F) in Mar(2), Apr(2:1M), May(5:2M,3F), Jun(1F), Jul(2:1M,1F), Aug(4:1F), Sep(2:1M), Oct(21:11M,7F) & Nov(6:3M,2F) | |||
| Yellow-shouldered Stout Hover Fly Simosyrphus grandicornis iNaturalist | Na e m a | Similar Species: Half-band Hover Fly (Melangyna viridiceps) Thank you Stephen Fricker & Thomas Mesaglio for confirming the id of this species for us Male & Females are ~8-9mm long. We find the easiest way to separate the genders is with their eyes; like many fly species. Females have their eyes separated at the top, while males have them touching. Females also have a slighlty wider/rounder abdomen, with more abdominal segments at their posterior than males. While the male posterior bulges underneath (as seen in profile shots here); but it's not very obvious. There is no difference in the wing venation between genders. Note the tiny maxillary palps on the proboscis shot. Notice S15 has no ventral spotting and has different dorsal banding. We believe it to be the same species as these variations can be seen on specimens at the Australian Museum. Imaged 26(14M,12F) in Mar(1F), Apr(4:1M,3F), May(6:5M,1F), Jun(1M), Jul(1M), Aug(1F), Sep(1F), Oct(8:5M,3F) & Dec(3:1M,2F) | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Deer Fly (Tabanidae); 7 species from Ellura | House March Fly Cydistomorpha innotata iNaturalist | Na e m |
~13mm long. No visible pattern on the thorax. Males and females for this group are easily separated by the distance between the eyes. You can clearly see the male's eyes touch, the female's eyes are separated. Interesting to note, you can't see the male ocelli; but they are visible on the female - albeit, very small, probably defunct. Imaged 2F in Apr(1F) & Dec(1F) | ||
| Round March Fly Dasybasis circumdata iNaturalist | Na e m | ~14.5mm long. Very short-hairy eyes, which is very difficult to see. They eye cells are also different sizes, making them look like they split in two. Larger above, smaller under. Imaged 1M in Mar | |||
| Doubled March Fly Dasybasis dixoni iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you David J. Ferguson for identifying this species for us ~14mm long. Has very short, scattered hair on the green eyes. We thought this was a female D. circumdata; complimenting our male. But David said "Femora yellow brown and scutellum is with a pale posterior margin." You can clearly see these differences when comparing to the male above. Imaged 1F in Mar | |||
| Blunt March Fly Dasybasis hebes iNaturalist | Na e m | ~17mm long female. Very short-hairy eyes. Imaged 10(1M,9F) in Feb(2:1M,1F), Mar(3F), Apr(4F) & Oct(1F) | |||
| March Fly Dasybasis sp iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us Oh my; they were really bad this year (end 2014). We couldn't walk 100m through the bush without being attacked. Typically they appear in March (hence their name) but the favourable weather conditions (hot & dry winter) saw them out in spring. They are a large and moderately attractive fly (if there is such a thing , with gentle grey to brown strips. The eyes on the male are touching, where as the females have a large gap, which is visible with the naked eye. The females are the only ones that bite, feeding on the blood of animals (including humans). They lay in wait in a cool bush (senna, acacia, etc) waiting for prey to come past, then they pounce. Once they have your scent they won't leave you alone until they've fed (bitten you) or you've killed them. Sorry, but anything that bites us isn't safe from us, even if it is native. They are robust and we've hit them and they've fallen to the ground unconscious. They've then woken up and attacked again. They have a preference for the back of your legs, but will bite through clothing on your back or rump (very painful for some reason). While not as painful as a bee sting, it is as bad as an ant bite. Long trousers & baggy clothes are the order of the day, with a good dose of personal insecticide to be safe. While we can't be sure, it's possible the males buzz overhead, distracting you, while the females attack your legs. The fact they hide by biting you from behind suggests they have some understanding of where you are looking / facing. They rarely seem interested in arms, and walking fast seems to stop them biting (but not following; you have to stop at some point). So perhaps they don't like movement. Imaged 9(8F) in Feb(3F), Mar(1F), Apr(1F), Oct(2F) & Nov(2:1F) | |||
| Large Mud-nesting Wasp Mimicking Fly Palimmecomyia pictipennis iNaturalist | Na e m |
Similar Species: Large Mud-nesting Wasp (Abispa ephippium) Thank you Tony Daley for identifying, Reiner Richter, Dr Martin Hauser & Dr Bryan Lessard for confirming and Dr Ken Walker for helping with the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: Tony said: "What a great looking species, and wonderful record Brett! I'm fairly confident by their colouring and wing markings this is Palimmecomyia pictipennis ... they differ from the original description in only the abdominal dark band being slightly more extensive behind, though apparently these are rare so don't think many specimens have been collected, add to that only two females were examined and the male not known at the time of the description by Mackerras (1960)." Imaged 3 in Oct(2) & Nov(1) | |||
| March Fly Tabanidae sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us The abdomen shape seems quite different to the Dasybasis genera we've shown above. This female has scattered hairy eyes. Imaged 1F in Dec | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Bristle Fly (Tachinidae); 19 species from Ellura | Rutilia-mimicking Bristle Fly Anamastax cf sp | Na e m | Similar Species: Big Brown Bristle Fly (Rutilia sp ES01) : Massive Bristle Fly (Prodiaphania sp ES01) Thank you James Lumbers for identifying this species for us ~13mm long. This is a very tentative id, and will most likely change if there is a revision of the group. When we asked James if he could confirm if this was Rutilia for us he said "Seems to key out to Anamastax (Exoristinae), from Crosskey 1973." "The shape of head/face in profile is a bit more convex than that of Rutilia (epistome not produced at all), and the eye takes up more of the head than in Rutilia." There are variations in the setae as well. He then gave us a handy cheat sheet "There are some important characters you can depend upon to instantly determine if something isn't Rutilia (or Rutiliini for that matter): if it doesn't have a well-developed facial carina (between the antennal insertions) it isn't Rutiliini. If the eyes are distinctly haired, clearly visible at the magnifcation in these photos, then it isn't even in the Dexiinae; there may possibly be a single isolated hair here or there, but never a 'stuble' of hairs, let alone a 'crew cut' appearance." Imaged 8 in Nov(3) & Dec(5) | ||
| Long Hairy-eyed Bristle Fly Chaetophthalmus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Tony Daley & Dr Christopher Burwell
for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long. Imaged 4 in Jun(1), Oct(1), Nov(1) & Dec(1) | |||
| Gold-headed Blue Tachinid Fly Cuphocera sp iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you James Lumbers for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long. Note the flappy paddle antennae. Imaged 5 in Apr(2), May(1), Sep(1) & Nov(1) | |||
| Two-spotted Cylindrical Fly Cylindromyia bimacula iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for identifying and Tony and Jenny Dominelli for helping with the id of this species for us 1st Record in SA on Atlas: ~11mm long. Yellow face, black body & red abdomen. Thick setae (possibly multiple in clumps) along the top of the abdomen. At least 3 pairs in a row, with the posterior setae also lining up, making 4 pairs, but seem longer, thinner & sharper. It's probable the thick setae here have been snapped off, as they are longer with other specimens on-line. We thought this was Cylindromyia tricolor, but Tony Daley highlighted the different wing venation below. Tony Daley said "This one is a male as it lacks frontal orbital bristles (at least 2 proclinate frontal orbitals for females). For males, the underside shot showing the long, distally crinkly, hairing on the hind trochanter and femora was the clincher for C. bimaculata in the key. Following Cantrell (1984), this one belongs in the bimaculata-group of species that have the following in common: wings lacking dark costal stripe; "medium to large size; thorax dark; abdomen black with extensive reddish orange coloration on intermediate tergites; M1 bend acute with appendix". Species in this group: ampla, angustissimifrons, bigoti, bimacula, expansa, rieki, and unguiculata. C. tricolor is ungrouped. It is distinguished as colouration similar to bimaculata but M1 bend obtuse and without appendix. The form of the bend of wing vein M1 (or what I normally refer to as just the M vein) thus being important." Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Fleshfly-mimicking Bristle Fly Exorista sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Grey Flesh Fly (Sarcophaga aurifrons) Thank you Tony Daley & David Muirhead for confirming the id of this species for us ~12mm long. The hairy eyes, very large feet pads & orange collar steered us away from Fleshflies when trying to id this fly. It's parent parisitised a Clear Winged Snout Moth (Genduara subnotata) that we caught, which then cocooned. Click here for more details of the host The caterpillar seemed quite lethargic when we found it. Then realised it was damaged in the top/middle. Thought it was bruised.In these situations we keep them to stop the ants attacking them; let the ants have them once they've died. When photographing it, it exhibited strange behaviour, rearing up bending at the "bruised" area. To our surprise it started cocooning that afternoon. A couple of days later a different pupal case appeared in the insect box. It looked a little like a cockroach ootheca. 5 weeks after the caterpillar cocooned this fly emerged. Imaged 1 in May | |||
| Black & White Giant Fly Formosia speciosa iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Reiner Richter & James Lumbers for confirming the id of this species for us ~17mm long. This is large fly, similar in size to Rutilia flies. While we're used to Robber flies being longer, they are thin. But this beast is rotund like a blow fly. Thankfully, it wasn't agressive. It's hard to say if it's pure size is what it stand out so much, or the sharp contrast of the balck & white patterns on it's body. But stood out it did! It's always been intriguing to see the 3 jewels on the top of wasp heads. This is the first time we've seen them on a fly. On searching, they also appear on Hover flies. It seems that they are smaller, and so not visible on small or hairy flies. AHHHH, finally found out. The "3 jewels" as we call them are actually simple eyes, each with a single lens! They are called "Ocelli". Not much is known about them, but they seem to help with detection of the horizon in flight. Imaged 3F in Mar(1F), Jul(1F) & Dec(1F) | |||
| Black-striped Yellow Sand Fly Leskiini sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Large Sand Fly (Senostoma sp) Thank you Tony Daley & James Lumbers for identifying this species for us We thought we had 2 species on our hands, when it turns out they are male & female of the same species. We also thought they were a Senostoma sp; partly due to the plumose arista. Note the males have longer legs than the females These have quite translucent abdomens and are bright yellow in the sunlight. Tony said "The plumose antennae (and long-legged males) also occurs within Leskiini. Also, just to add to the confusion, some Senostoma do not possess plumose arista, being instead short pubescent." and "The facial carina are quite large in Senostoma, being somewhat bulbous and separating the antennae above". James said "No facial carina ... Australian Leskiini have this particular 'look' about them too" You can see this bulbous face/carina on our grey sand fly. Imaged 4(2M,1F) in Mar(3:2M,1F) & Dec(1) | |||
| Blue & White Bristle Fly Microtropesa latigena iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you James Lumbers for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line 1st Record on Atlas & iNat: ~12mm long. We can't find any images of this bruiser on-line and id'ed it from the literature; Burwell 1996. The posterior pattern on the abdomen is diagnostic. Found this one in a flowering Dryland Tea tree (Melaleuca lanceolata) Imaged 1M in Mar | |||
| Golden Bristle Fly Microtropesa sinuata iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us ~13-14mm. While difficult to see (needing a still specimen & a good camera or microscope) these large tachinids can be differentiate from large blowflies by the fact they have smooth arista. Blowflies generally have plumose arista. Imaged 7(6M,1F) in Mar(3M) & Dec(4:3M,1F) | |||
| Mottled Brown Tachinid Fly Peribaea sp iNaturalist | Na e m | These are all one specimen. Interesting how different reflections can make it look so different. Imaged 2 in Mar(1) & May(1) | |||
| Flower Fly Phasia sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Reiner Richter for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 1 in Jul | |||
| Massive Bristle Fly Prodiaphania sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Big Brown Bristle Fly (Rutilia sp ES01) : Rutilia-mimicking Bristle Fly (Anamastax cf sp) Thank you James Lumbers for confirming the id of this species for us ~18mm long. Very distinctive wing shape at the shoulder. Very difficult to distinguish between these and Rutilia. The wing shape is the main differentiator. Imaged 3 in Feb(1) & Nov(2) | |||
| Metallic-faced Rutilia Fly Rutilia simplex iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you James Lumbers for confirming the id of this species for us A very large fly at 20mm body & head length. James said "As far the current taxonomy goes, this is absolutely R. simplex. There are no other Rutilia (in Australia) with extensively metallic parafrontals (extending into the parafacial region)." Imaged 1 in Feb | |||
| Big Brown Bristle Fly Rutilia sp ES01 | Na e m | Similar Species: Rutilia-mimicking Bristle Fly (Anamastax cf sp) : Massive Bristle Fly (Prodiaphania sp ES01) This fly was ~16mm long (body & head). It was very loud when in flew in near us on a hot day (over 40 deg) looking for some shade on the side of the caravan. It sounded similar to a large wasp or big robberfly. Imaged 5(1M) in Nov(3:1M) & Dec(2) | |||
| Blue Bristle Fly Rutilia sp ES02 | Na e m | Thank you James Lumbers for confirming the id of this species for us This fly was ~16mm long (body & head), weighing 210 milligrams. It was very loud when in flew in near us on a hot day looking for some shade on the side of the caravan, just like the Big Brown Bristle Fly. It sounded similar to a large wasp or big robberfly. It was difficult to get the blue seen with the naked eye with the photo's, which appear more green. James suggested it might be Rutilia scutellata but genital examination is required with most of these Rutilia flies to separate them into species. Imaged 1 in Feb | |||
| Big Golden Bristle Fly Rutilia sp ES04 | Na e m | Imaged 3(2M) in Feb(1M) & Dec(2:1M) | |||
| Orange-headed Green Rutilia Fly Rutilia sp ES05 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Anthony Paul for confirming the id of this species for us ~15mm long. Imaged 3(2F) in Mar | |||
| Large Sand Fly Senostoma sp | Na e m | Similar Species: Black-striped Yellow Sand Fly (Leskiini sp ES01) Imaged 5 in Jan(1), Mar(1), Sep(1) & Oct(2) | |||
| Parasitic Fly Tritaxys sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Bryan Cantrell for confirming the id of this species for us We see cases from Faggot Case Moths (Clania ignobilis) quite regularly. We finally found a complete one and thought it'd be gr8 to house it in an insect box by the window (to get appropriate light) to finally get images of the adult. Click here for more details of the host While disapointed that it was parasitised by this fly, we were excited to discover another species. Rather than injecting eggs into the case, the mother lays eggs on the food plant / leaf that the caterpillar eats. The eggs don't get digested but stay inside the larva until it grows and when about to pupate, use the energy for itself and consumes the moth. Still baffled at how it managed to get out of the case (it's incredibly strong); one can only assume it saw light at the end of the tunnel and chewed it's way out. Tony Daley said "Tritaxys have multiple (~3) rows of parafrontal bristles, the frons in general seemingly very wide in accommodating these rows, which is shown well in your face pic." Imaged 1 in Mar | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Fruit Fly (Tephritidae); 6 species, 5 from Ellura | Basal Fruit Fly Acanthonevroides basalis iNaturalist | Na a |
Thank you Tony Daley for identifying this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: ~6.5mm long. Females have a flat, spade like ovipositor to lay their eggs. Tony D said "I agree with you on Acanthonevroides, and further keys to A. bicolor, which btw is an SA species. The flies in this genus, like many in Tephridae, are not fruit flies in the strict sense but belong to a family with notorious fruit flies. From Permkam & Hancock (1995) on Acanthonevroides biology : "Biological information is scanty, but the larvae probably develop beneath the bark of trees." " Imaged 3(1M,2F) in Jan(2F) & Mar(1M) | ||
| Variable Fruit Fly Acanthonevroides variegatus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for identifying this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: ~7mm long. Females have a flat, spade like ovipositor to lay their eggs. Interestingly these have 3 longitudinal black marks on the top of the head. The related ones, A. basalis, don't; they just seem to have a darker rectangular region from the ocelli to the frons. Tony said "It is either A. variegatus or most closely allied by the shape of the scutellum - sides concave - and only having four marginal bristles on the scutellum - all other species with scutellum rounded and with six marginal brisltes. The hyaline area in the wing discal cell is isolated there, not extending to wing margin as in all the other species. The head markings are not in the original description, and it seems it might be another variation as the species name implies." Imaged 2(1M,1F) in Jan(1F) & Dec(1M) | |||
| False Fruit Fly Austrotephritis pelia iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~4mm long Females Imaged 5(1M,4F) in Oct(3:1M,2F) & Nov(2F) | |||
| False Fruit Fly Austrotephritis poenia iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Matt Campbell & Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 3M in Oct(1M) & Dec(2M) | |||
| False Fruit Fly Paraspathulina eremostigma iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~4mm long female. Notice the hairs along the leading edge (costa) of the wing. Like other fruit flies, has a spade like ovi-positor. Imaged 1F in Oct | |||
| Black-winged Fruit Fly Spathulina acroleuca iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~2.5mm body & head length, ~4.5mm including wings We've blown out the lighting on some of these shots to highlight both the abdomen hair & the wing venation (as distinct from wing pattern) Imaged 1 in Nov | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Stiletto Fly (Therevidae); 12 species, 11 from Ellura | White-banded Stiletto Fly Acraspisa sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Shaun Winterton for identifying and Dr Chris Lambkin & Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us ~7mm long Imaged 1 in Oct | |
| Wasp Mimicking Fly Agapophytus aterrimus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying, Reiner Richter & Dr Martin Hauser for confirming and Dr Ken Walker & Tony Daley for helping with the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: Tony, who id'ed this to genus, said the strange hair on the back is "elongate scale-like setae on the scutum". They have a large size range between ~8 to ~10mm long. This beautiful fly has a very long mouth/proboscis and antennae. Bascially black with 2 orange/yellow bands on it's wings. Note the bright yellow halteres. The lower front tibia (middle part of the leg) does seem to have a small orange/pale band. Ken Walker saw the observation on Bowerbird and contacted Chris Lambkin who kindly narrowed it down to species. We photographed a copulating pair, and apart from one (we assume male) being smaller (9.5mm vs 10.5mm), we couldn't differentiate them - they looked exactly the same. Imaged 8(1M,1F) in Jan(1), Feb(1) & Dec(6:1M,1F) | ||
| Snowy Stiletto Fly Anabarhynchus niveus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin for identifying this species for us ~9mm long. We thought it was a Flower-loving Fly (Apiocera sp). However, it's got coloured wings, longer than the body and a short tongue which don't match Flower-loving flies very well. Imaged 4(1M,1F) in Mar(1), Apr(1M), Sep(1F) & Oct(1) | ||
| Striped-wing Stiletto Fly Ectinorhynchus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin, Dr Shaun Winterton & Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us ~12mm long, male. Black & clear striped wings. The abdomen has reflective pale stripes at the segment joins; quite difficult to see. Chris said "This would currently sit in Ectinorhynchus but consider that it is an undescribed genus and species." Imaged 3M in Sep | ||
| Metz's Stiletto Fly Laxotela metzi iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Shaun Winterton for identifying and Dr Chris Lambkin for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line 1st Record on Atlas ~9mm long. Shaun said "Overall a good match, but those setae beside the antennae are are extending further down (as parafacials even) than any other specimen I seen of this species." Chris said "Femoral velutum very hard to see as legs are folded, keys OK otherwise (as female lacking most defining characters!)" Imaged 1 in Oct | ||
| Pale Stiletto Fly Parapsilocephala sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Shaun Winterton for identifying and Mark Newton for confirming the id of this species for us We thought this was a Nanexila sp. After Shaun id'ed it for us, we looked at his paper and found different genders of the same species can be different colours. So have changed our id's of the other Therevids here until we have time to review them against his paper. Initially Shaun thought this was Neodialineura litura. But recently Mark Newton kindly pointed out that "Cell m3 is closed in this specimen, so this would be a species of Parapsilocephala and not Neodialineura." In relation to it's gender Mark said "The frons is significantly wider then the ocellar tubercle, so I'd assume it's female." Shaun agreed saying "The frons width and shape would indicate that it is a female" Imaged 2F in Apr(1F) & May(1F) | ||
| Bare-headed Stiletto Fly Parapsilocephala sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Shaun Winterton for identifying and Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line 1st Record in SA on Atlas: ~8mm long. Shaun said it's an undescribed species. Imaged 1 in Nov | ||
| White-striped Stiletto Fly Pipinnipons fascipennis iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Dr Chris Lambkin & Dr Martin Hauser for confirming and Kaye Proudley for helping with the id of this species for us ~12mm long. Wings are striped brown and black. Red legs, with white socks on the front legs. White striped abdomen. A very long tongue, which is generally more retracted that some of the images here. Being in the fridge to sleep seems to cause some insects to extract their tongue. Long antennae for a fly, but not as long as the stiletto fly above (Agapophytus aterrimus). As a bit of a trick, we've found photographing on white and then black backgrounds can show different shades/colours; particularly in the wings. Here however, that wasn't planned. The specimen just decided to try and escape before we had finished photographing it and landed on the body of the light we were using Imaged 1 in Nov | ||
| Pale Stiletto Fly Therevidae sp ES01 | Na e m | We thought this was a Nanexila sp. but have found Shaun Winterton's paper and need to review it to check our id's of these. Imaged 1 in Oct | ||
| Tiny Stiletto Fly Therevidae sp ES02 | Na e m | ~5mm long, ~9mm wingspan. We thought this was a Neodialineura nitens but have found Shaun Winterton's paper and need to review it to check our id's of these. Imaged 1 in Nov | ||
| Orange Banded Stiletto Fly Therevidae sp ES03 | Na e m | ~10mm long, ~13mm wingspan. We thought this was a Taenogerella schlingeri but have found Shaun Winterton's paper and need to review it to check our id's of these.An exceptionally long body compared to the wingspan. Imaged 2 in Nov | ||
| Stiletto Fly Therevidae sp ES04 | Na e m | We thought this was a Taenogerella sp. but have found Shaun Winterton's paper and need to review it to check our id's of these. Imaged 1 in Sep | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Small Crane Fly (Tipulomorpha: Limoniidae); 3 species from Ellura | Speckled Short-palped Crane Fly Conosia irrorata iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~18mm long (head+body), ~60mm including legs which are ~15mm long each. The thin posterior indicates a female; an ovi-positor. There are other images that show a wider posterior that are male clasps. A native but also found overseas. They usually stand with their 4 front upper legs together, which then slay out. This makes their bodies look a lot bigger. Imaged 2F in Mar(1F) & Apr(1F) | |
| Orange Striped Crane Fly Gynoplistia cf bella iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony Daley & Zac Billingham for helping with the id of this species for us ~13mm long, wings ~11mm long. Difficult to id these to species as there are so many of them. Further we only one a female making it harder. Zac said "G. bella would be most likely and is the only Gynoplistia known from SA so far as I'm aware" Imaged 2 in May | ||
| Short-palped Crane Fly Symplecta pilipes iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Zac Billingham for confirming the id of this species for us The female was ~9mm long. We haven't measured a male yet. Note the female has, what looks like, an ovi-positor. The males have claps to hold the female when mating. These can often be seen through the wings. The big visual difference between Crane flies & Scorpion flies is that Scorpion flies (Order Mecoptera) have 4 wings and are not true flies. Crane flies are true flies which all have 2 wings and 2 clubs (halteres). Due to their slender bodies the Crane fly halteres are much easier to see than with many other fly species. Imaged 6(4M,1F) in Apr(1M), May(1M), Jun(2:1M), Sep(1F) & Oct(1M) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Flies (Diptera); 186 species, 156 from Ellura - Large Crane Fly (Tipulomorpha: Tipulidae); 3 species, 1 from Ellura | Short-palped Crane Fly Dolichopeza sp iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Tony Daley for confirming the id of this species for us ~11mm long, ~24mm wingspan. Legs ~30mm long. Natural leg span ~47mm The genders are easy to separate. Females have pointy rear end (difficult to see) and short antannae (easy to seey) compared with the males. Males have long antennae, approaching that of the fore-thigh, and claspers on the rear end. Imaged 18(4M,11F) in Mar(2:1M,1F), Apr(10:1M,7F), May(4:2M,1F) & Jun(2F) | |
| Long-palped Crane Fly Ischnotoma eburnea iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Zac Billingham for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 3(1M,2F) in Apr(1M) & Oct(2F) | ||
| Long-palped Crane Fly Leptotarsus humilis iNaturalist | Na f a | Thank you David Muirhead for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 4 in Oct(2) & Nov(2) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura | |||
| A checklist to help differentiate from other "bugs": 1. Hymenoptera have at least 12 antennal segments, often many 10's of segments. "Bugs" often have only 3 or 4. 2. Hymenoptera have antennae joined on the front of the head. Bugs often have them joined at the side. 3. All ants & wasps have a narrow waist, which is the first segment of the abdomen. 4. Sawflies don't have a waist (it's their differentiating character). 5. Hymenoptera have rounded abdomens (never upturned). Bugs can have upturned sided abdomens. 6. Visible ocelli (the 3 little bumps/eyes on top of the head between the big eyes). Ocelli can be hidden/defunct with some ants & female wingless wasps, as they don't fly. Alate ants do however have noticable ocelli. 7. Full membranous wings with veins (not hardened elytra like beetles, nor hemelytra like true bugs). | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Odorous Ant (Ant: Formicidae Dolichoderinae); 3 species from Ellura | ||||
| Ants have different castes. Minor (worker), Major (soldier), Males (have wings, only breed and live for about a day), Alate Females (or Queens, breeding females that leave the nest). Males & Queens that have wings are called "alate". Once they've bred, the males die and the females loose her wings (de-alate). She has minimal time to then make a burrow and start her nest/colony. | Agile Tyrant Ant Iridomyrmex agilis iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kate Sandiford for confirming the id of this species for us ~6 (S1) to ~7mm (S2 & S6). The specimens here are slightly different sizes, possibly different heirarchies/ergates. Depending on the species, these heirarchies can consist of minor, median & major workers/ergates. Major workers are also known as soldier ants. Notice there the it's not just the different lengths, but also the abdomen is a different proportion to the rest of the body. Imaged 6 in Jan(2), Mar(1), Jul(1), Oct(1) & Dec(1) | |
| Blue Meat Ant Iridomyrmex lividus iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Metallic Blue Ant Spider (Habronestes sp ES01) Thank you Grant Wang for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 11(2Mn) in Jan(2), Mar(1), Jul(3), Aug(2:1Mn), Sep(1), Oct(1Mn) & Nov(1) | ||
| Reddish Tyrant Ant Iridomyrmex rufoniger iNaturalist | Na e m | ~3mm long. Looks similar to Argentine Ants. Imaged 3 in Apr(1), May(1) & Oct(1) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Pony Ant (Ant: Formicidae Ectatomminae); 2 species from Ellura | Titan Pony Ant Rhytidoponera mayri iNaturalist | Na e m r | Thank you Kate Sandiford, Grant Wang & Clara Dandridge for confirming the id of this species for us The worker caste is ~13mm long. The shape of the top of their heads is diagnostic, almost with ears pointing up, as is the petiole. The bottom of the front "shoulders" have small spurs. Under the head is concave, terminating in sharp edges to the rear of the "cheeks". They have a very scaloped exoskeleton. They have thick spines on the front legs, which are well hidden. These are quite abundant on Ellura, and in other semi-arid evironments. Apparantly they have long term permenant nests, so will focus on a local nest during the remaining 2 moths (Mar & Jul) expecting that they don't close their nest at all. Imaged 30 in Jan(5), Feb(3), Mar(1), Apr(2), May(6), Jun(1), Jul(2), Aug(1), Sep(1), Oct(3), Nov(4) & Dec(1) | |
| Green-head Ant Rhytidoponera metallica iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kate Sandiford & Grant Wang for confirming the id of this species for us Much smaller than the Titan Pony ant at only ~6.5mm long. As the "metallica" name suggests a shiny body that reflects greens through to deep purple. As with all ants, the shape of the head, eye location & shape of the petiole, along with other unique features are required to confirm species id. The lines on the gaster are important to separate out Rhytidoponera species. This one has the same thick front leg spurs & under shoulder spines as the Titan Pony ant. Imaged 3 in Jan(1) & Apr(2) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Modern Ant (Ant: Formicidae Formicinae); 11 species, 10 from Ellura | Golden Black Sugar Ant Camponotus (Myrmophyma) sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Emmett Collins-Sussman for identifying this species for us ~7mm long. Unfortunately the profile shot of the petiole has motion blur/double exposed; appears to have double the hairs than reality. We thought this was Camponotus aeneopilosus ssp aeneopilosus. Myrmophyma is a sub-genus of the Camponotus genus. Emmett said "The mesosoma shape doesn't match aeneopilosus -- large, domed promesonotum with a strongly concave propodeum, while aeneopilosus has a more evenly convex mesosoma. The head and mesosoma also have denser pubescence than aeneopilosus. I'm not sure whether McArthur 2007 is still considered relatively up to date and/or accurate, but scanning through that paper, this should key to chalceus group. As for species within chalceus group, the mesosoma being completely concolorous black would make this key to hartogi/innexus, which this is obviously not. On the other branch of the chalceus group key are fergusoni and pawseyi, which look very close. However, going by that key (and specimens on AntWeb and on iNat), fergusoni and pawseyi should have red on the propodeum. Ignoring the issue of color, pawseyi looks like a better match given that it is much hairier. So we think this should either be an odd concolorous C. pawseyi or an undescribed but very similar species. Imaged 2Mn in Jun(1Mn) & Sep(1Mn) | ||
| Golden Bearded Sugar Ant Camponotus aurocinctus iNaturalist | Na f | Thank you Emmett Collins-Sussman for confirming the id of this species for us What a stunning ant! Imaged 1 in Sep | |||
| Samuel's Sugar Ant Camponotus cf samueli iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kate Sandiford & Grant Wang for helping with the id of this species for us We can't be sure of this one as the holotype is very damaged. Of what's left of the holotype, this seems to match. We need to find a minor worker with a major worker and see if it keys to this species. Kate said the "minors are very small for Australian Camponotus". Imaged 4(2Mn) in Jan(3:2Mn) & Aug(1) | |||
| Vertical Gaster Black Ant Camponotus cinereus ssp amperei iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Kate Sandiford for confirming the id of this species for us These ants walk around with their backside, or gaster, stuck up in the air. Very unique behaviour. There's an interesting discussion on iNaturalist about this (and ant "hibernating" stategies) indicating the ants might be lifting their gaster off hot ground. We will monitor ours to see if we can learn more. At this stage we don't believe it's heat related as their gaster is in the air both in full sun & in the shade (from memory) Imaged 21(6Mj,9Mn) in Jan(9:3Mj,3Mn), Feb(2:1Mj,1Mn), May(1), Oct(2), Nov(4:1Mj,3Mn) & Dec(3:1Mj,2Mn) | |||
| Nocturnal Sugar Ant Camponotus consobrinus | Na e m | Imaged 1 in Oct | |||
| Jumbuck Sugar Ant Camponotus ephippium ssp ephippium iNaturalist | Na e m r | Thank you Peter Slingsby for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: The shape of the back, face and the petiole are diagnostic. This is a minor worker and is ~9mm long. There are no pictures of this species anywhere on the net, so it's taken years to finally find out what it is; using this excellent, ameteur friendly key from the SA museum We just found a major worker for the first time and are pleased to be able to show a comparision shot, as well as diagnostics for the major worker cast of this species It was ~13mm long. The minor worker is surprisingly hairy in comparision. Imaged 13(2Mj,1Mn) in Jan(2:1Mj), Feb(2), Apr(2:1Mn), Aug(2), Sep(1), Oct(2:1Mj) & Dec(2) | |||
| Ferguson's Sugar Ant Camponotus fergusoni iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kate Sandiford for confirming the id of this species for us Minor Worker, ~7mm long. Covered in fine pubescence. Narrow face, tapering slightly at the bottom. Vertex: straight. It does look a bit concave in the middle. Partially red petiole and propodeum, both of which also have an unusual (unique?) raised lip on their posterior surface. Otherwise black all over. The gaster is covered in golden hair, which is why we noticed the ant compared with other black sugar ants in the first place. It seems to be in the holotype photo's as well, but not mentioned. Imaged 1 in Apr | |||
| Black-headed Sugar Ant Camponotus nigriceps iNaturalist | Na e m f r | Thank you Grant Wang for confirming the id of this species for us This is probably our most abundant Camponotus species. As such, we have included photo's of a Male Alate here. While we are certain the male is a Camponotus genus, we cannot be sure which species it belongs to. Imaged 21(1M,4Mj,9Mn) in Jan(2:1Mn), Feb(6:1M,2Mj,2Mn), Mar(1Mn), Apr(1Mj), May(2Mn), Jul(1), Sep(3:1Mn), Oct(4:1Mj,2Mn) & Dec(1) | |||
| Arid Honey-carrying Ant Melophorus sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Kate Sandiford for identifying and Peter Slingsby & Emmett Collins-Sussman for confirming the id of this species for us ~6mm long. Looks very much like Big-headed Ants, but have only one petiole node putting it in a different sub-family. Kate also said this was a Major Worker. On our iNat post we mentioned "No stinger nor anal hairs.". Emmett responded with "The anal hairs you're thinking of are probably the hairs around the acidopore. All formicines have an acidopore, and hairs around the acidopore are common but not always present. Acidopore" Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Small Arid Honey-carrying Ant Melophorus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Kate Sandiford for identifying and Emmett Collins-Sussman for confirming the id of this species for us ~4mm long, Dealate Queen. Has visible ocelli & marks on it's back where the wings detatched. Given queens are the largest caste in a nest, it must be a different species to our previous find. Imaged 3(1Q,1Mj,1Mn) in Apr(1Q) & Nov(2:1Mj,1Mn) | |||
| Toothed Spiny Ant Polyrhachis phryne iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Nigel Main for identifying and Kate Sandiford for confirming the id of this species for us ~7mm long. We thought this species was P. patiens but Nigel said the pubescence on the gaster was gold & the surface of the body had a more sculptured texture. It seems the size of the petiolar spines isn't diagnostic. We wonder if it's a sub-species variation. Imaged 1 in Jan | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Bull Ant (Ant: Formicidae Myrmeciinae); 4 species, 3 from Ellura | Black-headed Bull Ant Myrmecia nigriceps iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Kate Sandiford for identifying this species for us Black head and tail. Orange body, pincers and legs. Imaged 7(2M,1Q) in Feb(2M), Mar(2), Apr(1Q), Oct(1) & Nov(1) | |
| Giant Red Bull Ant Myrmecia nigriscapa | Na a | Imaged 6 in Jan(1), Mar(1), Apr(3) & Jun(1) | ||
| Small Jumping Ant Myrmecia picta | Na e m a | Thank you Mark Newton for identifying this species for us Imaged 21 in Jan(2), Mar(3), Apr(4), May(3), Jun(1), Aug(3), Sep(1), Nov(1) & Dec(3) | ||
| Baby Bull Ant Myrmecia urens iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kate Sandiford for confirming the id of this species for us Tiny, ~6mm! We've never seen a bull ant so small. This one is unusually hairy, has a green tint all over it's body with the first node (on the petiole) having a splash of red. It was foraging in a flower of Melaleuca lanceolata at ~9 am, before the heat started. Imaged 1 in Feb | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Small Ant (Ant: Formicidae Myrmicinae); 8 species, 6 from Ellura | Desert Funnel Ant Aphaenogaster barbigula iNaturalist | Na m r | Thank you Kate Sandiford & Mark Hura for identifying and Tony and Jenny Dominelli & Grant Wang for confirming the id of this species for us Mark said they are nocturnal and rarely seen. Their nest opening is unusual as it's perfectly round and goes straight down. More like a Wolf Spider burrow than an ants nest. | ||
| Mono Ant Chelaner kiliani iNaturalist | Na a |
Thank you Kate Sandiford for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 33(2M,25Mn) in Apr(26:1M,25Mn), May(4:1M), Jul(1) & Aug(2) | |||
| Spiny Cautious Ant Meranoplus oceanicus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Grant Wang for confirming the id of this species for us ~4mm long. Identified via the key in AntWiki. Diagnostic photo's are shown here. Imaged 2(1Mn) in Dec | |||
| Large Big-headed Ant Pheidole antipodum iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Nigel Main for identifying this species for us ~13.5mm long. We saw these occasionally flying around us one day. We thought they were beetles. Marie caught this one in her hands and we realised it was an ant. Nigel said it's the largest species of Pheidole in Australia. Imaged 7(2M,5Q) in Apr(1Q) & Jun(6:2M,4Q) | |||
| Red Big-headed Ant Pheidole sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you (CesDaMess) & Grant Wang for confirming the id of this species for us We found two specimens in close proximity, 2 months apart. It's possible they are the same species, but different cast, or two different species. For now we'll publish them as different, but only count them as one. This one was ~5.5mm long. It seems redder than ES02. It also has a larger gaster, compared to body size, than ES02. Imaged 3(2Mj,1Mn) in Jul(1Mj) & Oct(2:1Mj,1Mn) | |||
| Black Big-headed Ant Pheidole sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Grant Wang for confirming the id of this species for us This one was ~6mm long, with the same 2 noded petiole & large head. The back of the dorsal surface of the abdomen has 2 rear facing spines. The 1st node of the petiole has a vertical projection terminating in 2 spines/lumps. Imaged 4(2Mj,2Mn) in Jan(2:1Mj,1Mn), Sep(1Mj) & Nov(1Mn) | |||
| Adelaide's Muscle Man Ant Podomyrma adelaidae iNaturalist | Na e m r |
Thank you Kate Sandiford, Asimakis Patitsas & Emmett Collins-Sussman for confirming the id of this species for us ~7mm long. Found 1.5m off the ground in the flower of a Melaleuca lanceolata bush. Kate Sandiford indicated queens also have the gaster spots, so the Podomyrma sp queen shown below is a different species. Imaged 4 in Feb(2), Sep(1) & Oct(1) | |||
| Muscular Ant Podomyrma sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kate Sandiford for identifying this species for us ~6mm long. So far we have only found a Queen that has lost it's wings (dealate) walking on the ground. The strange shape on her back is the area where the wings were connected. Ants lose these on purpose when they have mated. Kate said these often live high up in tree tops, so trying baits at the base may attract some workers. Imaged 1 in Apr | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Long-tongued Bee (Bee: Apidae); 6 species from Ellura | Teddy Bear Bee Amegilla (Asaropoda) flava iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Remko Leijs for identifying, Frank Prinz for confirming and Bernhard Jacobi & Dr Katja Hogendoorn for helping with the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: ~14mm long. While it's a close match to A. albigenella it's missing the triangular black patch on it's abdomen mentioned in the 2020 description. The black lines on the abdomen were not visible after it was been in the fridge, they started to appear (as can be seen in the "Black Inner Legs" shot). But when we let it go in the shadehouse, and it's fully warmed up, they are quite visible. So not a reliable visual aid in determining species. The golden colour of the hair on the face, the white hair behind the eyes, wing venation and colour of hair on the thorax are all indicators of species, along with a number of others. Bernhard confirmed it was a male and said "13 antennal (11 flagellar) members so clearly a male" Imaged 2(1M) in Jan | ||
| Blue-banded Bee Amegilla (Notomegilla) chlorocyanea iNaturalist | Na e m a f |
Thank you Dr Ken Walker & Asaph (Asaph01) for identifying, Dr John Ascher for confirming and Dr Remko Leijs for helping with the id of this species for us ~11 to ~13mm long Females (x16), while the 7 Males we found were smaller, ~8 to ~10mm long. The females we found have black scapes (basal antennae segment), while males have an ivory stripe on theirs. Dr Ken Walker said "The colour of the bands fades with age and the amount of orange varies in a species like A. chlorocyanea." Dr Remko Leijs said "The females have a white dot of hairs on middle tergite 6, while males have the last hairbands intersected." Imaged 23(7M,11F) in Jan(2:1F), Feb(3:2M,1F), Oct(5:3F), Nov(4:3F) & Dec(9:5M,3F) | |||
| European Honey Bee Apis mellifera iNaturalist | If e m a c |
Thank you Dr John Ascher, Frank Prinz, Terra Occ & (HowardDC) for confirming the id of this species for us Most people think of these insects in a positive light, but like all introduced species are an environmental headache and should be eradicated where possible. Please don't allow bee keepers to use your bush block for bees. Would you allow someone to plough your native vegetation to grow crops? European Bees are just as devastating, but the damage is hidden (eg using up precious hollows used by our birds and reptiles), spreading over many kilometres to neighbouring properties & reserves. Our native bees are also less aggressive and solitary (in SA). If you thought all European Bees don't look alike, you'd be right. Peri Coleman said "There are three main races of bees in Australia, and a very few of two other races. Main races used by bee keepers: 1. Italian (yellow banded): have 5 yellow bands, but the Ligurian sub-race has less than 5 yellow bands & have a yellow queen. The Ligurian bees of Kangaroo Island are a sub-race of Italian bees, and the early settlement bees were blackish coloured "Black Germans", but I don't know if any of these are still cultivated 2. Caucasian (bigger, grey): are dark grey, hardly banded at all, and have a long body 3. Carniolan (smallest): have creamy light bands which gives them a greyish look, and are smaller than Italians. They have a dark queen. Quarantine in North Queensland keeps a close eye out for Asian honeybees as they are likely to bring in Nosema disease. It is considered they are most likely to get here via shipping to a northern port or by island hopping from New Guinea." Imaged 28 in Jan(2), Feb(1), Mar(4), Apr(2), May(1), Jun(2), Aug(4), Sep(3), Oct(4), Nov(3) & Dec(2) | |||
| Eusocial Allodapine Bee Exoneurella tridentata iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for identifying and Hamish Loader for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: ~6mm long. We were shocked to find that we had eusocial bees in SA. This means these bees have a queen & workers, like ants and European Honey Bees. They are not stingless bees though. They don't refer to them as having "hives", but colonies. We surmise this is because the colony consists of multiple nearby nests (made by weevil larva making holes). These bees are not able to make their own nesting holes. Only small colony sizes though, up to about 60 bees. Up until this find we believed the only queen bees were in Qld, and that all our local bees were single and each bred with a male. There are communal nesting bees which is a different type of society where there is no queen. Each of the females still breeds. Think of our Southern Australian Paper Wasps. Their main known nesting tree is Western Myall (Acacia papyrocarpa), which isn't known this far east in SA. The other tree they are known to be used is Bullock Bush (Alectryon oleifolius). There are a few of these scattered several kms from here, but seems a long way to go to feed on our Dryland Teatree (Melaleuca lanceolata); which is where we found them. We suspect they are nesting in a different tree here. Imaged 3 in Jan(2) & Nov(1) | |||
| Chequered Cuckoo Bee Thyreus caeruleopunctatus iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Ralph Foster for confirming the id of this species for us A fairly large bee at around 12mm long, but also very heavy set & strong. Due to it's behaviour, it has no physical ability to collect pollen for it's young (ie doesn't have scopa). Of course the first thing that hits the eye are those bright blue spots contrasted against the black body. It's very obvious to the naked eye. But on closer inspection we were struck by the complex wing shape. You can see the scalloped shield shape trailing it's back (the scutellum). Because these behave similarly to Cuckoo birds (ie use other's nests) they have a heavy duty back/shield plate to protect them from attack by their hosts; ie when in the host's nest (blue banded bees) the host will attack it to protect it's egg. When it flew off it was not very happy. Hovering in front of my face, it decided to leave me alone and whizzed past my shoulder. You'd think it would have enjoyed the air-conditioned comfort of our fridge Imaged 2 in Feb(1) & Dec(1) | |||
| Waroon Cuckoo Bee Thyreus waroonensis iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Dr John Ascher & Karen Weaving for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long. Imaged 1 in Jan | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Colletid Bee (Bee: Colletidae); 13 species from Ellura | Yellow Dryland Bee Callohesma sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Yellow Dwarf Bee (Xanthesma (Xanthesma) sp) Thank you Trevor Sless for identifying and Susanna Heideman for helping with the id of this species for us ~5mm, found in Dryland Tea-tree (Melaleuca lanceolata) flower. A bit bembix like, but there are some masked bees that are smooth faced like this too. Very wasp like. The brown side abdominal splotch is equal on both sides, so not damage or stain, but part of it's markings. Imaged 1 in Mar | ||
| Colletid Bee Euhesma bronzus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Ken Walker for identifying this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: Dr Ken Walker said "If you look closely at the legs on this bee they are almost hairless - they cannot carry pollen. This is one of Australia's many unique euryglossine bees that carry their pollen load in the crop - first part of the stomach." Imaged 1 in Sep | |||
| Dromedary Masked Bee Hylaeus (Euprosopellus) dromedarius iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for identifying and Dr John Ascher for helping with the id of this species for us This one looks similar to Hylaeus ruficeps & Hylaeus elegans. Notice how difficult it is to see the "hump" on the abdomen (hidden behind the wings). Females of this species have yellow middle & rear legs. Plus a side stripe on the pronotum. It's also very similar to Hylaeus sp ES02, again the front legs are different colours as are the antennae bases. Notice the tibia of each leg has a white band through it. We're surprised at how many species are in this genus! Surprisingly, the yellow face & markings when it was in the flowers were not visible/obvious; just the red abdomen! This specimen has 13 antennal segments, making it a male. Asaph01 said "Hylaeus have no scopa at all." The 'scopa' being the pollen collecting hairs on the legs or under the abdomen on many bees. Imaged 1 in Jan | |||
| Littler's Masked Bee Hylaeus (Prosopisteron) cf littleri iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for identifying and Dr John Ascher & Brian Dagley for helping with the id of this species for us ~4mm long, Male, with thick antennae. There are a couple of small differences between this and other H. littleri photo's on-line. 1st this has the "mask" extending up between the antennae, where others don't. 2ndly this has short 1st antennal segments, where others are long.3 one male in Nov. Imaged 2M in Feb(1M) & Nov(1M) | |||
| Elegant Masked Bee Hylaeus elegans iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you (BaronSamedi
) for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long. We thought these were H. dromedarius by colour matching. But it turns out colour matching isn't very reliable with these. On iNaturalist, Bernhard Jacobi said "The male elegans can be easily differentiated from dromedarius by the name-sake humped metasoma of the latter." Padil has a good image of a male making it clear how different it is to ours: Hylaeus dromedarius Imaged 3 in Jan(1) & Feb(2) | |||
| Red-sided Masked Bee Hylaeus lateralis iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Heath Hunter for identifying and Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us Asaph said "Male Hylaeus lateralis have white markings." Heath said "The two white marks on the collar (just behind the head). Also the red on the dorsal side of the thorax extends further back towards the abdomen." Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Proximate Masked Bee Hylaeus proximus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for identifying this species for us ~5.5mm long. We thought these were Red-sided Masked Bee (Hylaeus lateralis). Imaged 4 in Jan(1), Feb(1) & Mar(2) | |||
| Yellow Masked Bee Hylaeus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tim Rudman
& Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us Asaph said "Looks like maybe H. violaceus based on abdominal sheen" Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Copper Metallic Bee Leioproctus (Leioproctus) clarki iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Dr Ken Walker & Asaph (Asaph01) for identifying and Dr John Ascher for confirming the id of this species for us Males ~9mm long, Females a little longer at ~10mm. The males have 13 antennal segments while the females have 12. Note also the scopa (pollen collecting hairs) on the female legs, which are missing on the male. Imaged 3(1M,2F) in Jan(1F), Mar(1F) & Dec(1M) | |||
| Golden Haired Bee Leioproctus (Leioproctus) maculatus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long Male. Imaged 3(1M,2F) in Feb | |||
| Brown-mullet Bee Leioproctus sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Tobias J. Smith for identifying and Bernhard Jacobi for confirming the id of this species for us ~12mm long. We used Tobias' pictorial key, which is very good, but made a mistake at one point. Tobias was kind enough to help us in the right direction. It's available here: The Australian Bee Genera Notice the abdominal colour bands under the hair, just for interest. Imaged 1 in Feb | |||
| Red Furry Bee Leioproctus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for identifying this species for us ~8mm long Female. We thought this might be Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes) sulthicum (syn: Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes) sulthica), but it seems not. Imaged 1F in Sep | |||
| Yellow Dwarf Bee Xanthesma (Xanthesma) sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Yellow Dryland Bee (Callohesma sp) Thank you Bernhard Jacobi for identifying and Dr John Ascher & Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us ~3mm, found in Dryland Tea-tree (Melaleuca lanceolata) flower, with many others. To the naked eye they look like little bits of fluffy blowing in the breeze. The brackets indicate a sub-genus level id. Bernhard said "near trisulca", meaning it looks very similar to Xanthesma (Xanthesma) trisulca, but not an exact match. Imaged 1 in Feb | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Small Bee (Bee: Halictidae); 5 species, 4 from Ellura | Endowed Plumed-vented Bee Homalictus (Homalictus) dotatus iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us ~6mm long. Very metallic bee with shiny bronze head & throax, and contrasting red abdomen. Collects a lot of pollen for such a little bee Imaged 1 in Jan | |||
| Wahlenbergia Bee Homalictus (Homalictus) urbanus iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Dr Ken Walker for identifying this species for us Imaged 2 in Feb(1) & Nov(1) | ||||
| Halictid Bee Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) lanarium iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Dr Ken Walker for identifying this species for us Imaged 1 in Nov | ||||
| Gold Nomia Bee Lipotriches (Austronomia) australica iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us ~11mm long female. Imaged 3F in Jan(1F), Sep(1F) & Oct(1F) | ||||
| Metallic Green Nomia Bee Lipotriches flavoviridis iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Dr Ken Walker & Asaph (Asaph01) for identifying this species for us ~7mm long. Ken Walker said "Two characters in your image show this is not a Homalictus. 1. The large amount of hair on the hind legs (especially the hind femur and tibia). Homalictus carries its pollen load on the underneath of its abdomen. 2. The wing photo shows an elongate (much longer than the 2nd submarginal cell) and strong 3rd submarginal cell. In Homalictus, the 3rd submarginal cell is about the same length as the 2nd submarginal cell but the veins are weaker than those veins of the 2nd submarginal cell" Imaged 2(1M) in Feb(1) & Dec(1M) | ||||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Leafcutter Bee (Bee: Megachilidae); 6 species from Ellura | Tosticauda Resin Bee Megachile (Hackeriapis) tosticauda iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long Female. We weren't sure if this was a female, but Asaph said "Males are tiny, like, Homalictus tiny". Imaged 2F in Jan | ||
| Black Resin Bee Megachile atrella iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Ken Walker for identifying this species for us If you are keen to support the local native bee population, you can easily build a Bee Hotel. Different sized holes attracts different bee species. They're cheap and easy to build from scrap. They last longer left under cover. The best one I've seen is here: www.bowerbird.org.au/observations/26118 Imaged 6 in Jan(3) & Feb(3) | |||
| Golden-browed Resin Bee Megachile aurifrons iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Dr John Ascher for confirming the id of this species for us These are on the large side for native bees at ~15mm long. Only the females have red eyes. As such, it's harder to identify the males. However, they both have a lovely Golden Brow on their faces. When trying to identify inverts, we amateurs tend to use colour and patterns. This can be misleading. Some can look nearly white and others black. This is because the white ones are young and the black old (the white hairs wear off leaving her dark shell as the primary colour to our naked eyes). There are 2 fundamental types of bee's; those that collect pollen on their legs (eg European Honey Bee) and those that collect it on their abdomen, like here. As such, you'd think they have a creamy white abdomen. But no, that's the colour of the Dry-land Tea Tree pollen being collected. In another area they could have orange or pink abdomens due to the colour of pollen. Making id very difficult. Finally, why a "Resin" bee. These belong to the Leafcutter (Megachilidae) family. All species in this family use leaves to line their nests. As you can see here, instead of cutting a leaf, she macerates it into a pulp; a "resin" Forms a very neatly sealed plug to protect her offspring. This hole happens to be one of the screw holes (~10mm diameter) in a table outside. ALL of them are now full. She spent over 2 weeks filling them! As such, she's a solitary bee, unlike European bees that build hives. It's possible more than one female filled our table holes. But each cell is one female, unlike a hive. Imaged 11F in Jan(6F) & Feb(5F) | |||
| Resin Bee Megachile cf oblonga | Na e m | Nearly 7 years ago we identified this as M. leucopyga, but with more on-line resource becoming available, it seems there are a number of similar bees with coloured rear ends. Here is an excellent resource Megachilid Females Imaged 1 in Feb | |||
| Darwin's Leaf-cutter Bee Megachile darwiniana iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Record in SA on Atlas: ~10mm long Normally found from NSW up to Cairns. But there are 2 records very close to the SA border in NSW. This is also the most southerly record on Atlas. Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Red-browed Leaf-cutter Bee Megachile erythropyga iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Asaph (Asaph01) for identifying this species for us The photo's are in reverse order showing a bee leaving after checking out a disused hollow from a Mud nesting wasp. We thought this was Megachile chrysopyga. Imaged 1 in Mar | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Sawfly (Sawfly: Pergidae); 3 species from Ellura | |||||
| An important distinguishing feature of sawflies over ants, bees & wasps is that sawflies don't have a narrow waist. | Undescribed Sawfly Clarissa sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Paul Whitington for identifying and James Peake (JimBobo) for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Recognised Record in SA on Atlas, of this Genus: ~5.5mm long. Males are smaller and often totally black. At first, it looked like a beetle. Closer inspection revealed a sawfly (a hymenopteran with no waist). It looked quite similar to an Antargidium sp (in the family Argidae) which have been recorded nearby. However, the antennae were very low on the face with our example, compared to Antargidium. Further, Paul said "All flagellar segments of the antenna of Argidae are fused into one." So not Argidae. Paul then delved into descriptions of Pergidae family sawflies and came to the conclusion it was an undescribed species in the Clarissa genus. Commenting "It fits the description of that genus in Morice 1918 pretty well. Morice shows a micrograph of the wings of a species Clarissa divergens (Pl. XI, fig. 11) and the venation is a very close match to yours. I doubt that it is that particular species - even though his key of the 4 species he examined leads to that - as he states that it hails from North Queensland." Paul then reproduced the "original description of the genus Clarissa, for us, in Kirby 1894 - Antenna twelve-jointed, thick, subclavate, first and second joints globose; third more slender, nearly twice as long as the first and second together; fourth rather longer than these, and thickened to its extremity; fifth rather shorter than the fourth, thickened at its extremity; the sixth shorter and less thickened; the remainder of nearly uniform thickness, a little longer than wide; the last two joints hardly separated. And of Clarissa divergens - Width expanded wings 14 millim.; body length. 7 millim. Female.-- Rufo-testaceous; head, antenna, hinder part of pectus, extremity of abdomen, four hind femora, tips of tibia, middle tarsi above, and hind tarsi wholly black. Wings iridescent hyaline, with blackish nerves." Paul kept digging "Key steps: front tibiae with 2 calcaria; middle and hind tibiae with no spines other than those 2 apical calcaria; lanceolate cell present; radial cell undivided, lanceolate cell petiolate; antennae without pectinations, nearly simple; insertions of antennae situated considerably above base of clypeus, nearly in middle of face; fore wing with apex of the radial cell acuminate and close to the margin of the wing, with at most a narrow linear space but no real appendicular cell, separating it from the margin; legs and also antennae somewhat shorter and stouter than in Neoeurys. The tarsi seem never to be longer than the tibiae, in most cases they are evidently shorter. The general coloration of the four species seen by me is not metallic, but testaceous and black." "I've looked through keys and descriptions of all 13 Clarissa spp. listed on AFD and none of them fit exactly. C. divergens is a close, but not perfect fit and given that it is a tropical species, I think we can exclude that one." Paul also labelled the images for us to help recognise terms in descriptions. relative Imaged 1F in Jun | ||
| Zebra Sawfly Pergagrapta turneri iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Dr Paul Whitington for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 2 in Mar(1) & Apr(1) | |||
| Eucalypt Sawfly Perginae sp | Na e m |
Thank you Dr Paul Whitington & James Peake (JimBobo) for helping with the id of this species for us Jim & Paul have proven on iNat that these larvae can rarely be id'ed below sub-family; having to raise the larvae to get the adults to have any hope of id'ing to species. Imaged 35J in Sep | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Chalcidid Wasp (Wasp: Chalcidoidea: Chalcididae); 4 species, 3 from Ellura | |||||
| When explaining how to tell the difference between bees & wasps, Dr Ken Walker said "The antennae of bees are inserted about half way up the face of a bee whereas the antennae of wasps are inserted on lower half of the wasp face." | Black-legged Hopping Wasp Antrocephalus sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m |
~7.5mm long Female. Lots of similar photo's showing different body parts in focus. Different coloured legs to the one at Mt Remarkable, below, Antrocephalus sp ES02. Imaged 1F in Nov | ||
| Red-legged Hopping Wasp Antrocephalus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na f |
Thank you (ChalcidJyY) for identifying and Dr Austin Baker for helping with the id of this species for us We asked Dr Austin Baker the difference between sub-family Chalcidinae & Haltichellinae he said "One of the easiest characters that I use to tell them apart is the shape of the hind tibia. It's a lot more curved in other subfamilies, and Haltichellinae tends to have it more straight. Also, if you look at the apex of the hind tibia, it's more or less perpendicular to the length so that it looks flat, but in other subfamilies it tends to be more sharply angled, ending in a point." Imaged 1F in Nov | |||
| Hopping Wasp Brachymeria podagrica iNaturalist | Na e m |
Similar Species: Long-antennae Hover Fly (Chalcosyrphus elongatus) Thank you Graeme Cocks† for identifying this species for us Imaged 1 in Aug | |||
| Orange & Black Hopping Wasp Brachymeria ucalegon iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you (ChalcidJyY) for identifying and Dan Blamey for helping with the id of this species for us ~6mm long (ChalcidJyR) said "This species is quite characteristic with red-orange antenna, hind leg and metasoma, and whitish spots on legs and axillae. A parasite of maggot flies and blow flies Imaged 3 in Jan(1) & Dec(2) | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Parasitic Wasp (Wasp: Chalcidoidea: Eupelmidae); 1 species from Ellura | Metallic Blue Parasitic Wasp Eusandalum sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you (ChalcidJyY) for identifying, Jeong Yoo for confirming and Dr Ken Walker & Graeme Cocks† for helping with the id of this species for us (ChalcidJyR) said "This belongs to previous Exosandalum a genus that have been synonymised with Eusandalum, but could be soon reinstated. Parascrobal area are raised, like Eusandalum. But antennae are inserted high on head and exceed by at least half their length the top of frontal crests, flagellum in both sexes thin filiform. The species is close to E. compressiscapus (Girault)." Imaged 1 in Jan |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Parasitic Wasp (Wasp: Chalcidoidea: Leucospidae); 1 species from Ellura | Metallic-blue Chalcid Wasp Leucospis morawitzi iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you (ChalcidJyY) for identifying and Dan Blamey for helping with the id of this species for us 1st Record of this genus in SA on Atlas (when we published): 2 females were found together ~8mm & ~9mm, a visibly noticable size difference. The following year a 3rd was found closer to 10mm. On-line photo's of the male looks very similar, regognisable as the same species. Superficially look like potter wasps, but with thick abdomens; which are similar to sawflies. Very large rear legs, so a Chalcidid Wasp Notice how generally they hold their wings vertically; normally a diagnostic for Vespidae potter wasps. But vespidae "fold" their wings, note here their wings are "rolled". A subtle but important difference. The most obvious charactieristic on close examination is the ovi-positor laying flat along the TOP of the abdomen! It even has a little parking pozzy on the thick waist to protect it. This is the sheath, they still inject their prey from underneath. It's covered in thick, white hairs/setae; including it's eyes. Is also covered in punctuations and has a blue-metallic sheen everywhere the orange splashes aren't. We haven't found this colour pattern anywhere on-line. Others in the genus do tend to be a mix of orange & black/blue.The ocelli & rear leg spines are diagnostic to separate species. Also noticed some spines eminating from the rear of the thorax. (ChalcidJyY) said "Black with metallic tinge and orange marks. Species recognizable by the unique mesoscutellum sculpture (median line with extremely fine punctuation and coarse punctuation on side), flat mesoscutellum, beautiful metallic tinge, position and size of orange marks (especially on scutellum, two large spots uniting in the middle)" Imaged 3F in Nov(1F) & Dec(2F) |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Parasitic Wasp (Wasp: Chalcidoidea: Megastigmidae); 1 species from Ellura | Minute Parasitic Wasp Megastigmus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you (ChalcidJyY) for identifying this species for us Imaged 1 in Jan |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Parasitic Wasp (Wasp: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae); 1 species, none from Ellura | Metallic Bronze Parasitic Wasp Semiotellus sp iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you (ChalcidJyY) for identifying this species for us (ChalcidJyR) said "Notauli deep, deep punctuation on mesosoma and (not visible here) Fore wing with characteristic setal lines arising from the stigma and along the cubital vein." Imaged 1 in Oct |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Chalcidoid Wasp (Wasp: Chalcidoidea: Torymidae); 1 species, none from Ellura | Metallic Green Chalcid Wasp Torymoides sp iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you (ChalcidJyY) for identifying and Konstantin for helping with the id of this species for us We thought this was a Pteromalid Wasp, but Konstantin said "A short vein is visible on the wing, which is usually long in pteromalids, which also have a short ovipositor. These are the main signs between them, but there are other families. But in general - it is typical Torymid, alike Torymus (still with "?")." When he id'ed this specimen, (ChalcidJyR) said "Marginal vein more than 5 times as long as the stigmal; hind femur usually with small tooth (not visible); Propodeum laterally rounded and more or less sloping" Imaged 1 in Dec |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Cuckoo Wasp (Wasp: Chrysididae); 4 species from Ellura | Seven-toothed Cuckoo Wasp Chrysis festina iNaturalist | Na e m | ~10.5mm. The trailing abdominal teeth are diagnostic here there are 6 large and 1 small one making 7 teeth (hence the name). Notice it's iridescent green/blue, covered in small, white hairs. The body is also covered in punctuations. Imaged 3F in Jun(1F), Nov(1F) & Dec(1F) | |
| Cuckoo Wasp Chrysis sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Villu Soon for confirming the id of this species for us ~12mm long. We thought this was Chrysis lincea as we thought she had 5 teeth. However, Villu showed us she had more and so lifted our id to genus level. She has 6 teeth on the apical margin of the third abdominal segment. Imaged 1F in Dec | ||
| Blue-tailed Cuckoo Wasp Chrysis sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Villu Soon & Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~8mm long Female. Notice the 4 teeth at the end of metasoma. Imaged 1F in Jan | ||
| Small Cuckoo Wasp Primeuchroeus sp iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Villu Soon for identifying this species for us These are under 10mm. Other visually similar genera are Chrysis, similar size, & Stilbum, which is closer to 20mm. Villu said "Primeuchroeus has no teeth at the end of metasoma (Chrysis usually has 4 or 6 teeth but other character states are also possible). Primeuchroeus has characteristically curved lower edge of mesopleura. Frontal carina is also typical for Primeuchrous. Radial vein of forewing is usually widely opened in Primeuchroeus but it is not well visible in these photos." Imaged 5(2F) in Jan(3:2F) & Dec(2) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Square-headed Wasp (Wasp: Crabronidae); 24 species from Ellura | Confusing Sand Wasp Bembecinus sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kerri-Lee Harris for identifying this species for us ~10mm long Female Very bee like, pretty wasp, with it's indistinct beige stripes on a reddish brown/black body. Of course anything with green eyes is a winner in our book The female here was recognised by having 10 flagellomeres, instead of 11 for the males. Imaged 2F in Jan | |||||
| Sand Wasp Bembix sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Matt Campbell for confirming the id of this species for us Females do the digging to lay their eggs, and so have digging spines on their front legs (specifically their tarsi which are the feet, the sections between the tibia & the claw). Each species apparantly makes a different pattern in the sand to cover/hide their nest. Kerri-Lee Harris said "The lack of obvious ocelli is confirmation of Bembix ... in other Bembicini they're well developed." Imaged 2F in Mar(1F) & Nov(1F)
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| Sand Wasp Bembix sp ES02 | Na e m | Each time we get a usable photo of this species it has slightly different markings. While we show 5 different variations here, we only count them as one species as there is no readily available information we can find about their differences. These markings could be age, gender or species variations; or simple variations from specimen to specimen. Imaged 1F in Feb | ||||||
| Sand Wasp Bembix sp ES03 | Na e m | It appears adult Sand Wasps eat pollen, but have no pollen carrying ability to feed their young. In fact it seems they feed their young flies! We can hardly wait to photograph one filling it's nest with a fly to show you. Imaged 2F in Jan(1F) & Mar(1F) | ||||||
| Sand Wasp Bembix sp ES04 | Na e m | ~18mm long. Notice the 2 ventral shots with this specimen. They seem very different, but the black marks are hidden when it curves it's abdomen in; they were only visible when it fully stretched out. Imaged 1F in Jan | ||||||
| Sand Wasp Bembix sp ES05 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Milo van Loon for confirming the id of this species for us ~15-17mm long. Notice the "keel" or abdominal ridge under the abdomen of the male. It seems to have an ovi-positor or stinger, but this seems to be part of a 3 pronged anal appendage that some male wasps have. It also lacks the strong digging spines on it's legs of the female. Milo said "Females have 6 body segments and 12 antennae segments, while males have 7 and 13." As an aside, we often talk about Flagellomeres on this page. For wasps, the Flagellomeres start after the 2nd antennal segment. So Females have 10 Flagellomeres, while Males have 11; which lines up with Milo's comment about 12 & 13 antennal segments. Imaged 3(2M,1F) in Feb(1M), Nov(1M) & Dec(1F) | ||||||
| Yellow-faced Black Sand Wasp Bembix sp ES06 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Milo van Loon for confirming the id of this species for us ~16mm long. Notice the front of the legs are the typical yellow Bembix colour, as does the face; the clypeus (upper) & labrum (lower) in particular. The pattern on the abdomen is not hair colour, but pigmentation in the body, as per other Bembix. Also notice the way the the mandibles wrap the face and finally the wing venation is consistent. Imaged 1M in Dec | ||||||
| Silver-faced Black Sand Wasp Bembix sp ES09 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kerri-Lee Harris for confirming the id of this species for us ~16mm long. It is possible (but we think unlikely) this is the same species as the Yellow-faced one above, as that was a male, and this was a female. Black bembix seem to be pretty rare. But we also have the Panda Wasp which is pretty black. Perhaps we are noticing them more now. Notice the difference between the male & female, within one genus. He has the big keel under his abdomen, she doesn't. He as 11 antennal flagellomeres, she has 10. She has slightly longer, and more plentiful, spines on her front legs for digging sand. Unusually here the labrium is in front of the Mandibles, rather than tucked up under like normal. Imaged 1F in Jan | ||||||
| Panda Sand Wasp Bembix vespiformis iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~19mm long. S2 went from ~18 to ~21mm as it warmed up from the fridge. Notice the extra black ventral bars that have appeared as it extended. S1, S2, S3 & S5 = male, S4 = female. We didn't notice the bars/hooks on the antennae with our 1st specimen either. Typically these are seen with an orange/yellow posterior making them easy to id. Our 4th (female) specimen shows this. Note the major differences between the males & female. She doesn't have a large keel. Her antennae are smooth (no barbs). Her front legs are different shaped, as well as having longer spines. The redescription from 1915 indicates they can have a black posterior: "This species is easily distinguished by the broad band on the basal dorsal segment, sometimes the second and third dorsal segments also have narrow bauds, often interrupted, the fourth always without a band; scutellum with a spot on each side, mesonotum immaculate. The male structural characters are the very broad basal joint of the fore tarsus, which has seven spines on the outer margin and is edged with black near the apex ; the seventh joint of the flagellum strongly excised beneath, with a strong spine at the base, eighth joint with a minute spine at the base; second ventral segment with a strong tubercle, sixth and seventh unarmed; apical spine of the eighth stout, truncate or feebly bilobed at the apex. West Australian males have the seventh dorsal segment mostly, the sixth and the apex of the fifth entirely, brownish yellow; in Adelaide and Queensland specimens the seventh and fifth are black, with two yellow spots on the seventh in one Queensland specimen, the sixth sometimes with a yellow apical band, sometimes without. It appears to me that the stipes of the genitalia in the Adelaide form are distinctly broader than in the West Australian specimens and also somewhat different in sculpture. In Queensland specimens the wings are iufuscate on the discoidal area." Imaged 5(4M,1F) in Jan(1M), Feb(3:2M,1F) & Apr(1M) | ||||||
| White-jawed Weevil Wasp Cerceris antipodes iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kerri-Lee Harris for identifying, Brian Dagley for confirming and Milo van Loon for helping with the id of this species for us ~10mm long female. ~8mm long male. Notice the extra abdominal segment of the male here compared with the female. Males have 7 abdominal segments, females have 6 (the petiole is included in this segment count). S1 was the 1st Cerceris we photographed, in her nest in the ground. We thought this was a Masked Bee (Hylaeus sp). We discovered the error when we caught & id'ed our 2nd specimen. Kerri said "This widespread species is highly variable in terms of colour, but the populations from southern Australia are often dark (as is this female). The shape of the mesopleuron, clypeus, petiole, propodeal enclosure all seem a match for C. antipodes." Originally Kerri thought the male was Cerceris armigera, but on reviewing later decided it was most likely Cerceris antipodes. Kerri is a highly respected friend of ours over at the "Life in a Southern Forest" web site, where she set up this amazing "worksheet" to help people identify their Cerceris wasps: Cerceris Identification Imaged 3(1M,2F) in Feb(2:1M,1F) & Mar(1F) | ||||||
| Yellow-antennae Weevil Wasp Cerceris australis iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kerri-Lee Harris for identifying and Milo van Loon for helping with the id of this species for us ~12mm long. Was found just starting to dig a hole/nest. Males & females can be separated by the males having 7 abdominal segments, while females have 6. Looking at the profile photo's it appears they have 1 less than this (remember the petiole/waist is considered to be the 1st adominal seqment). The genders can also be separated by antenna counts. 10 flagellomeres (or 12 segments) for females & 11 (or 13 segments) for males. Kerri-Lee said "This seems an excellent match for Evans' 1981 description of C. australis (an abundant and widespread species of eastern Australia). In particular:
Imaged 1F in Mar | ||||||
| Orange Weevil Wasp Cerceris sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Milo van Loon & Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~13mm long. Kerri-Lee said "I think this might be a particularly dark form of C. australis. She is very similar to your other, typically-coloured female sighting, and the clypeus seems to match Evans' description for that species. Evans (1981) makes the following remarks regarding colour variation in C. australis: "Females show little variation in form of the clypeus or sculpture of T2. They do show much variation in the amount of yellow on the head, thorax, and propodeum, some having spots on the sides of the propodeal slope; frequently the petiole is partly yellow". (p. 349) In the introduction to his review of the genus, Evans also notes: ".. yellow, orange, and rufous are used somewhat loosely, since in fact not all specimens are of precisely the same hue." Indeed, he describes the type specimen as having orange-yellow markings." (p. 303) Imaged 1F in Jan | ||||||
| Dark-antennae Weevil Wasp Cerceris sp ES04 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long. There is a ridge on the face between the antennae, which is also maked in a contrasting colour. This stands out and is unique to this genera of wasp, so can make the generic id of just the face in the nest. Imaged 1F in Oct | ||||||
| Black Sand-dauber Wasp Crabronidae sp | Na e m r | Similar Species: Unid'ed Zebra Spider Wasp (Turneromyia sp ES01) : Small Zebra Spider Wasp (Ctenostegus sp) Thought this was Pison, but Susanna Heideman told us Pison have indented eyes, unlike this one. It's also similar to many on-line images of Tachysphex (but their eye indentations are all mixed). So suspect there is a lot of confusion with online photo's with these. As such, we've put it at family level. Imaged 12(1F) in Jan(1), Feb(4), Mar(2) & Oct(5:1F) | ||||||
| Small Black Digging Wasp Larrinae sp | Na e m a | Imaged 2 in Aug(1) & Dec(1) | ||||||
| Thread-waisted Crabronid Wasp Podagritus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Milo van Loon & Kerri-Lee Harris for confirming and Dr Ben Parslow for helping with the id of this species for us ~7mm long. When we asked Kerri-Lee why she thought this was a female she said "Just 10 segments in the flagellum (cf 11 in males); and just 6 visible segments in the abdomen (cf 7 in males). That rule works for most (but not all) crabronids." Imaged 1F in Feb | ||||||
| Black & Orange Wasp Sphodrotes sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kerri-Lee Harris for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long. A female as it has 10 flagellomeres. Looks a lot like a bee. 1st indications it was a wasp were the lower antennae joins. Kerri-Lee kindly quoted Bohart & Menke, 1976, for us saying this was a good match: "Inner orbits parallel or slightly converging below; 3 submarginal cells, second is petiolate; partially or totally red legs, gaster often extensively red; very coarse, dense punctation of entire body; genae broad, so head appears square" Imaged 1F in Feb | ||||||
| Black Sand-loving Wasp Tachysphex sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Reiner Richter for identifying and Dr Ken Walker for confirming the id of this species for us Dr Ken Walker said "The important part of the wing venation is the elongate 3rd submarginal cell" Imaged 3 in Mar(1), Oct(1) & Nov(1) | ||||||
| Cockroach Wasp Tachysphex sp ES02 | Na e m | Imaged 2 in Aug(1) & Oct(1) | ||||||
| Green-eyed Orange Tachysphex Wasp Tachysphex sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Milo van Loon for confirming the id of this species for us ~9.5mm to ~10.5mm Imaged 2 in Dec | ||||||
| Fidgety Sand Wasp Tachysphex sp ES04 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kerri-Lee Harris for confirming the id of this species for us ~14mm long Female (10 flagellomeres). Tachysphex rather than tachytes: 1. Not very pubescent 2. Pygidium (posterior around ovi-positor) almost hairless 3. Pointy abdomen Imaged 1F in Feb | ||||||
| Black Sand-loving Wasp Tachytes sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Milo van Loon for identifying this species for us 2nd Record in SA on Atlas: ~10mm long. These wasps characteristically have green eyes. Tachytes parasitise Grasshoppers/Katydids (Orthoptera) & Mantids (Mantodea). The size difference between this & ES02, below, will be related to the size of their prey. Imaged 2(1M,1F) in Apr(1M) & Dec(1F) | ||||||
| Large Black Sand-loving Wasp Tachytes sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~17mm long female. Very similar to Tachysphex. When we asked Milo van Loon about the differences he said "The differences are indeed very subtle. Tachytes usually has more obvious pubescence, which means that it appears hairier than Tachysphex. This is especially apparent when looking at the pygidium, which is more or less hairless in Tachysphex while Tachytes has a particularly hairy pygidium. The abdomen is also pointier in Tachysphex than it is in Tachytes." Imaged 2F in Apr(1F) & Dec(1F) | ||||||
| Potter Wasp Mimic Williamsita nr smithiensis iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Brian Dagley for identifying this species for us ~13mm long. Very similar to Cerceris sp, except they have a vertical ridge running down their face; This one has a vertical cleavage. There seem to be some differences between this and W. smithiensis, eg antennae colour. Imaged 3F in Jan(1F), Nov(1F) & Dec(1F) | ||||||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Ensign Wasp (Wasp: Evaniidae); 2 species from Ellura | |||||
| Iskander Kaliananda said "All Evaniidae are parasites of Cockroach Ootheca (eggs)" | Black Hatchet Wasp Szepligetiella sp ES01 | Na e m a | Imaged 5(3M,1F) in Feb(1M), Apr(1M), May(1M) & Dec(2:1F) | ||
| Red-bodied Hatchet Wasp Szepligetiella sp ES04 iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~5mm long Imaged 2(1M,1F) in Dec | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Gasteruptiid Wasp (Wasp: Gasteruptiidae); 4 species from Ellura | White-footed Gasteruptiid Wasp Gasteruption sp ES01 | Na e m a | Imaged 2 in Jan(1) & Apr(1) | |
| Banded-legged Gasteruptiid Wasp Gasteruption sp ES03 | Na e m | Thank you Dr Ben Parslow for confirming the id of this species for us These are very thin wasps and difficult to see. The shadow is more visible than the wasp. After nearly 40 photo's with the zoom lens we were lucky to get a reasonably sharp one. It eluded capture however, so wasn't able to get a size nor detailed images. Next year Imaged 1 in Apr | ||
| Pale-legged Gasteruptiid Wasp Gasteruption sp ES07 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Ben Parslow for confirming the id of this species for us Male, ~12mm long & ~12mm wingspan. These are unusual ratios, with the wingspan normally being quite a bit larger than the head & body length. Found in Melaleuca lanceolata flowers during the day. Normally they are very hard to see but the blackness of it's body contrasted with the white Melaleuca flowers. Imaged 3(2M) in Mar(1M), Nov(1M) & Dec(1) | ||
| Tiny Black Gasteruptiid Wasp Pseudofoenus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Dr Ben Parslow for confirming and Graeme Cocks† for helping with the id of this species for us Imaged 3 in Mar(1), Sep(1) & Oct(1) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Parasitic Wasp (Wasp: Ichneumonoidea: Braconidae); 7 species, 5 from Ellura | Red Braconid Wasp Braconidae sp ES01 | Na e m | Similar Species: Braconid Mimic Longhorn (Proagapete sp) Long ovipositor. There is a Longhorn Beetle that resembles this wasp. Here is an excellent illustration highlighting the different wing venation between Braconid wasps and Ichneumons:Illustration Imaged 3(2M,1F) in Apr(1M), Jun(1M) & Oct(1F) | |
| Orange Braconid Wasp Braconidae sp ES02 | Na e m | Medium length ovipositor Imaged 1 in Oct | ||
| White Flank Black Braconid Wasp Braconidae sp ES03 | Na a | Possibly Syngaster lepida Imaged 1 in May | ||
| Pink Flanked Braconid Wasp Callibracon sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na m | Thank you Anthony Paul for confirming the id of this species for us Often considered to be Callibracon capitator, but there are other pink flanked braconids; not a diagnostic Imaged 1 in Jun | ||
| Pink-bellied Braconid Wasp Callibracon sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us ~6mm long. Imaged 1F in Nov | ||
| Orange-headed Red Braconid Wasp Callibracon sp ES10 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Gideon Pisanty for identifying this species for us ~9mm long. When we asked Gideon what differentiated these from other Braconid's he said "The colour pattern is very characteristic. Also the wing venation, head shape and body shape". Imaged 4F in Jan(1F) & Dec(3F) | ||
| Green-eyed Parasitic Wasp Euphorinae sp ES01 | Na e m | A tiny wasp at ~5mm long, ~7mm wingspan. This female has an ovipositor ~1mm. It resembles a hatchet wasp from certain angles. Imaged 1 in Dec | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Ichneumon Wasp (Wasp: Ichneumonoidea: Ichneumonidae); 17 species, 16 from Ellura | White-bellied Ichneumon Wasp Campopleginae sp | Na e m | Thank you Dan Blamey for identifying this species for us We thought this was a Gasteruption wasp, but the wings of those fold down to the side. Here, the wings sit flat. While we recognised it was an Ichneumonidae sp, Dan was able to go further. He said "It's hard to see but the stigma is quite narrow and I think I can see in the rear wing that Rs is about as long as Rm. Broad stigma and Rs much shorter than Rm are identifiers for Cremastinae, vs Campopleginae." Imaged 2(1M,1F) in May(1M) & Oct(1F) | ||
| Cream-spotted Ichneumon Wasp Echthromorpha intricatoria iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Thomas Mesaglio, Andrei (Ichman) & Asaph (Asaph01) for confirming the id of this species for us The females have a medium sized ovipositor and are variable in size ~12-18mm; compared with ~11-12mm for the males we've seen. These wasps parisitise lepidoptera pupae. Notice the large bulge under the rear of the females abdomen. This gives room for the ovipositor to bend/hinge down. The thick looking ovi-positor is actually a couple of sheaths (which are covered in short/pubescent hair) that protect the much thinner ovipositor. Notice in S6 how the ovi-positor looks very long compared to the other specimens. This is because half of it is covered by the abdomen in the other specimens. Notice in the Wing Venation shot of S7. Some of the veins around around the diamond in the middle look shredded. A bit like a wire that's had the insulation stripped off. This is not damage and can be diagnostic. Looking at the specimen wing venations you can see the shredding in the same place. Back to S7, you can also see on in the hind wing. This vein "shredding effect" occurs in other Ichneumon wasps. Imaged 8(2M,5F) in Jan(1F), Feb(1F), Apr(1F), May(3:1M,1F) & Jun(2:1M,1F) | |||
| Yellow-faced Moth Parasitic Wasp Enicospilus skeltonii iNaturalist | Na e m f | Similar Species: Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp (Netelia sp ES01) Thank you Rachel Behm for confirming the id of this species for us Note the different wing venation to other similar Ichneumonidae. This genus is well known for having a clear patch in it's forewing. Most of the wing is covered in tiny hairs. In the disco-submarginal cell, there is an area that is free of hair; this area, clear patch, is called the fenestra. The shape & size of the fenestra varies with different species. In fact, other genera also have this fenestra. Within this fenestra, and surrounding it, are patches of cuticle called sclerite. The size, shape & arrangement of the sclerite is diagnostic for each species. Along with the fenestra & sclerites, there are small areas of the wing vein that are white, rather than dark. Again, these white areas are diagnostic. Further notice the thick edge of the forewing near the middle. This is known as the pterostigma, and their size, shape & colour are also diagnostic features. Imaged 11(1M,1F) in Jul(1), Aug(4), Sep(5:1F) & Oct(1M) | |||
| Infrequent Ichneumon Wasp Eremotylus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp (Netelia sp ES01) Thank you Rachel Behm & Jonathan Hoskins for confirming the id of this species for us ~13mm long female, ~15mm male (shown). We suspect they are different species, but with a lack of knowledge of the genera we can't be sure. Notice the huge ocelli, compared to their size. It's very interesting that around the world there is confusion about these. There is a new Mirid genus that has been given this name and a couple of databases have confused these with the Mirid bug; clearly not though LOL Rachel said "Eremotylus itself is so poorly known so I would love to see the specimen in person. If you see anymore please please take more pictures. I wish I could come over (from America) and catch them. Face and wing shots are very important for this group." We love her enthusiasm for our wildlife. Given we've found 7 specimens, we are stoked to be able to add these sightings to Citizen Science databases to improve our knowledge of their existance & distribution in South Australia. We encourage everyone out there to post their interesting wildlife photo's to these databases (like iNaturalist) to improve Societies knowledge of our amazing wildlife; it's diversity & distribution. Imaged 15(14M,1F) in Jan(2M), Jul(11:10M,1F), Aug(1M) & Sep(1M) | |||
| Two-toned Caterpillar Parasite Wasp Heteropelma scaposum iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dan Blamey for identifying this species for us ~20mm long. Thought it was Trichomma sp at first, but the ovi-positor is too short. Then Habronyx sp but the wing venation isn't right. But Dan saved the day and said "Easiest tell is the 'flat' looking veins Cu1 and 1m-cu running in series. Habronyx, etc have 1m-cu curved and longer than Cu1. There is also a small 'tooth' at the base of the pronotum in profile, which can just barely be seen between the front femur/tibia. Also the eyes converge in Habronyx/Trichomma ventrally more." Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Armyworm Parasitic Wasp Ichneumon promissorius iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Dan Blamey for confirming the id of this species for us ~12-14mm long Females, with the male we caught measured ~14mm. Black body, orange/red legs & white stripes on the abdomen and antennae. The body has several white spots. Females do not have visible ovi-positors. The males look quite different, being more orange and appearing thinner. Their antennae are longer, more orange and don't have the white stripe shown on the females. We have recently bought some jeweler's scales. They only measure in 10mg increments so aren't really accurate enough for inverts. But may work in a comparitive sense (ie between our finds). S1 weighed around 30mg. Imaged 3(1M,2F) in Feb(1F) & Dec(2:1M,1F) | |||
| Banded-abdomen Ichneumon Wasp Ichneumonidae sp ES01 | Na e m | Imaged 2(1M) in Jan(1M) & Feb(1) | |||
| Bee Parasitizing Wasp Labium cf brevicorne iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Maddi Giannotta for identifying and Dr Ben Parslow & Tina Meakin for helping with the id of this species for us Maddi said "This a tentative ID, I would need to look at it a bit more closely to be certain - there are a few species in this complex that are remarkably similar!" Imaged 5 in Sep(2), Oct(2) & Dec(1) | |||
| Orchid-dupe Wasp Lissopimpla excelsa iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Anthony Paul & Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us Females are ~17mm long (head & body). A very long ovi-positor at ~8mm long, and even longer antennae ~17mm (as long as the body & head). Males are smaller, but variable, at ~11.5 to ~16.5mm, with the antennae about the same length as the body. The female antennae has a pale stripe in the middle that's missing from the male antennae. Notice the male is more chiselled looking, with more patterns (yellow & black). They have 3 toes. Thanks to Thomas Mesaglio, from our facebook group, who gave us a really amazing insight into these wasps: " 'Orchid dupe' refers to the orchid species Cryptostylis leptochila, which looks similar to the males of Lissopimpla excelsa and tricks them into attempting to mate with it (and thus pollinating it)." Imaged 14(4M,10F) in Mar(1F), Oct(4F), Nov(5F) & Dec(4M) | |||
| Tiger Ichneumon Wasp Metopius sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Tiger Ichneumon Mimic (Miltinus cardinalis) Thank you Andrei (Ichman) for confirming the id of this species for us ~14mm long Imaged 1M in Apr | |||
| Ringtail Ichneumon Wasp Metopius sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Simon Taylor for confirming the id of this species for us ~14mm long. Can't see any ovi-positor, so we assume it's male. Notice the shield on it's face. This has more of a dark shaded area towards the back of the wings, compared to our other Metopius. Also note the strange saddle on it's back. Simon said "The saddle is the scutellum with very strong lateral carinae." Imaged 1M in Feb | |||
| Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp Netelia sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Similar Species: Yellow-faced Moth Parasitic Wasp (Enicospilus skeltonii) : Infrequent Ichneumon Wasp (Eremotylus sp) : Small Netelia Wasp (Netelia sp ES02) Thank you Rachel Behm & Susanna Heideman for confirming the id of this species for us ~18mm long. A dangerous looking wasp, but quite placid. 3 purple jewels (actually 3 Ocelli, simple eyes) on top of its head between the compound eyes. Large wasp with varying shades of light brown to orange across the body. Clear wings. We had always thought they were Netelia producta, but further research shows that the wing venation doesn't quite match. While they had the areolet with the missing side, the areolet and wing are different shape; along with other smaller wing venation variations. There are some 12 species in the genus, most with no on-line images available. There are also mention of a large number of undescribed species. As such, we lifted these to genus level. S1 & S3 were caught & released at Ellura, showing gender variation. S2 was found dead in the Adelaide Hills. It highlights how the ovi-positor is positioned on the bottom of the abdomen, while the protective sheath bent against the posterior end. To be clear, Susanna confirmed S3 as Netelia. It's important to highlight as we may have made mistakes with the others. Imaged 21(7M,14F) in Jan(1M), Feb(1F), Mar(1F), Apr(4:1M,3F), Jul(3M), Aug(2F), Sep(2:1M,1F), Oct(6:1M,5F) & Nov(1F) | |||
| Small Netelia Wasp Netelia sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp (Netelia sp ES01) Thank you Rachel Behm for confirming the id of this species for us ~12mm long. When doing the research on our Netelia discussed under Netelia sp ES01, we noticed a large size discrpency. These are MUCH smaller, and so most likely a different species. Imaged 2F in Aug | |||
| Red Ichneumon Wasp Riekophion emandibulator iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Rachel Behm for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: Like Enicospilus, this genus has a clear patch in it's wing with dark marks. These are known as fenestra & sclerites. Unfortunately we've only photographed this species twice and didn't manage to get a clear shot of the fenestra. The hairs on the hind wing are showing through hidding the fenestra in the forewing. The sclerites are clear though. Notice on the profile shot, while oblique, you can see the clear patch. This species only has one sclerite per wing, the obvious dark "lump" on each forewing. If they weren't symetrical, you easily consider it to be debris of some sort. More obvious than the fenestrae & sclerites are the curved vein at the rear of the disco-submarginal cell. Notice it's a bit like an elongated 'S'. Imaged 2M in Sep | |||
| Yellow-bellied Ichneumon Wasp Temelucha sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dan Blamey for identifying this species for us ~12mm long (body & head), excluding antennae & ovipositor 1. Hairy 2. Very long ovipositor 3. Over 40 segment antennae 4. Thin, bent waist/petiole 5. Thin abdomen 6. Large ocelli 7. Body punctuated with pitting 8. Thin legs 9. A strange scallop like shape between it's throax segments 10. Holds it's wings flat/horizontal at rest 11. And finally the yellow markings - at the antennae joins, wing joins, ventrally & postior abdomen Dan said "Can't quite see some of the details to absolutely confirm (underneath T1, 2nd Tergite profile view), but Temelucha is the only genus of Cremastinae Gauld mentions with an ovipositor longer than 2.5x the hind tibia." Imaged 1F in Apr | |||
| Yellow-cheeked Ichneumon Wasp Westwoodia cf romani iNaturalist | Na m | Thank you Simon Taylor & Dan Blamey for identifying this species for us We thought it was a Braconid wasp but Dan id'ed it to Ichneumonidae saying "Discosubmarginal wing cell is not divided and it looks like 2m-cu is present. Very similar colouring to braconids though!". Simon saw it some time later saying "Laterally projecting membranous epipleuron 1." Imaged 1 in Aug | |||
| Yellow-banded Leafroller Parasitoid Wasp Xanthopimpla rhopaloceros iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~8mm long Female Imaged 1F in Oct | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Velvet Ant (Wasp: Mutillidae); 13 species, 11 from Ellura | ||||
| These are actually wasps. Males have wings, females are wingless/flightless; as such the females look like ants, hence the common name. Velvet Ants (Mutillidae) and Flower Wasps (Thynninae) can look remarkably similar. Dr Kevin Williams made an important distinction between them, Thynninae have the "thorax divided into multiple plates". You can see with our velvets ants here (where the photo's are clear enough) the thorax is a solid shell/plate; ie the pronotum, mesoscutum, scutum, scutellum are fused together. Dr Kevin Williams also noted that a "Flat abdomen rules out basically all velvet ants" and that "Eye shape can rule out Australian velvet ants" (where the eye was somewhat narrow at the top, not round). Normally the females are the only velvet ants recognised, not because of rarity but probably because they are flightless. However, the odd male is occationally photographed/recognised. We started recognising more more once we saw our first. | Velvet Ant Aglaotilla sp iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers for confirming the id of this species for us ~7mm long (head & body) Imaged 2 in Jan | |
| Black Velvet Ant Australotilla sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long (head & body) Imaged 4 in Jan(2), Feb(1) & Dec(1) | ||
| Brown-winged Velvet Ant Dasymutillini sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers & Dr Martin Hauser for confirming the id of this species for us Adult Male. Imaged 1M in Jan | ||
| Black-trimmed Orange Velvet Ant Dasymutillini sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers, Dr Martin Hauser & Ned Fisher for confirming the id of this species for us Probably the smallest we've come across, ~2.5mm Imaged 1F in Nov | ||
| Black Velvet Ant Dasymutillini sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m a | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers for confirming the id of this species for us Adult Male. Imaged 2M in Apr(1M) & Dec(1M) | ||
| Gold-striped Velvet Ant Dasymutillini sp ES04 iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 1 in May | ||
| Orange-banded Velvet Ant Dasymutillini sp ES05 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Denis Brothers for identifying and Dr Kevin Williams for helping with the id of this species for us ~6mm head & body length. Has an orange band that wraps all the way round under with a black break on top. Black legs and a pale strip of hairs on the rear of it's abdomen. We asked Denis why he thought it wasn't Ephutomorpha sp and he said "True Ephutomorpha has the thorax more narrowed posteriorly, the shape of the first abdominal segment slightly different, and a pattern of pale setae on the second abdominal segment with the hairs directed towards the middle towards the posterior part of the segment. E. aurata and E. pulchella are true members of that genus. For a long time just about any mutillid from Australia was placed in Ephutomorpha, just because it was Australian, but most of them actually belong to other genera, only some of which have yet been described, leaving many described species still placed in Ephutomorpha in the old broad sense." Imaged 1F in Aug | ||
| Banded Velvet Ant Ephutomorpha cf sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long (head & body) There seems to be very little reference material to identifiy Mutillidae family closer than family; so it's quite possible this is the same as a female we have already posted. Imaged 3(2M) in Feb(1) & Dec(2M) | ||
| Red Velvet Ant Ephutomorpha cordata iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers for confirming the id of this species for us A small one at ~5.5mm long (head & body). Kevin said "This one is probably E. cordata, but the species definitely belongs to a different genus than true Ephutomorpha. That new genus isn't named yet." Imaged 1 in Sep | ||
| Golden Velvet Ant Ephutomorpha fulvocrinita iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying this species for us A large velvet ant at ~12mm long. When we asked Kevin about the differences with other observations of this species he said "this observation is closer in appearance to the type (collected back in 1936)" Imaged 2F in Jan | ||
| Badge Velvet Ant Ephutomorpha maculata iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers for confirming the id of this species for us ~7mm long Imaged 2F in Jan(1F) & Nov(1F) | ||
| Gold-ring Velvet Ant Eurymutilla sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams for identifying and Dr Denis Brothers for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long (head & body). A more technical term for wingless insects is "Apterous". This one is all black. We are pretty sure the brown on top is dirt. Imaged 2(1F) in Jan(1) & Nov(1F) | ||
| Gold-ringed Red Velvet Ant Eurymutilla sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Kevin Williams, Dr Martin Hauser & Pedro Reck Bartholomay for confirming the id of this species for us ~9mm long (head & body). While the same genus this seems to be a different to our other as the top of the body is quite red, as are the antennae. The other is all black. Imaged 1F in Jan | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Spider Wasp (Wasp: Pompilidae); 4 species from Ellura | Yellow-antennae Black Spider Wasp Fabriogenia sp ES01 | Na e m a | ~9mm long, ~17mm wingspan. Very thick, obvious, yellow antennae that often curl at the tips. The wings are light & dark striped, but transparent. The body looks similar to the zebra spider wasp in that it has silvery grey stripes, but these are hairs not body colour. There are only 3 fabriogenia sp described in Australia, and we have 3 different species here; but which is which or if all of ours are undescribed we can't say. Imaged 5 in Jan(2), Mar(1) & Nov(2) | |
| Patch-wing Yellow-antennae Spider Wasp Fabriogenia sp ES02 | Na e m | Only one shot of this one, so no measurements to share. Note the opaque fawn patch on the wings, not seen on the other two in this genus. Spider hunting wasps are interesting to watch, walking/running around the ground with head & antennae almost scraping it. They are in search of spiders to take to their nest & prepare for their young. Their wings often lift in the air in a fidgety way. We can think of no other reason other than balance. They are very quick as they scurry over huge areas in search of prey. They are very difficult to catch! Imaged 1 in Apr | ||
| Large Yellow-antennae Spider Wasp Fabriogenia sp ES03 | Na e m | ~12mm long, ~26mm wingspan. This is the first time we've seen white markings on the body, as well as the vertical white stripes on the face of a Fabriogenia. Mind you, they aren't obvious, but definitately missing on other specimens we've seen in this genus. The top of the hind leg also seems to have a white patch/stripe. We managed to catch this one only because it was injured. Imaged 1 in Oct | ||
| Small Red Spider Wasp Psoropempula sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Sam Gordon for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long. Different species have different coloured legs. There is a very similar species but with a red head, called a Redback Spider-hunting Wasp (Agenioideus nigricornis). Iskander Kaliananda told us "Psoropempula are kleptoparasites ... instead of targeting the wasp larva, they utilise the spiders already caught and stored by the other Pompilid." Imaged 5(2F) in Mar(1), Oct(1), Nov(2F) & Dec(1) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Tarantula-hawk Wasp (Wasp: Pompilidae: Pepsini); 6 species, 5 from Ellura | Spotted Spider Wasp Calopompilus sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Sam Gordon for confirming the id of this species for us Estimated between ~10mm & ~15mm. Comparing to the current descriptions: Not C. affectata; two basal segments of the abdomen ferruginous. Not C. auropilosellus; clothed with golden pubescence. Not C. defensor; wings ferruginous. Not C. irritabilis; extreme apex of the anterior tibiae and joints of the tarsi, as well as the apex of the intermediate tibiae, ferruginous - I can only see the anterior tarsi being ferruginous. Not C. molestus; antennae ferruginous. Not C. nugenti; the second joint of the flagellum is distinctly longer than the third Not C. opimus; 2nd flagella is rather shorter than the 3rd. Not C. ornatipennis; legs ferruginous. C. raptor; I suspect not? wings dark fuscous. Possibly too large? C. viduatus; Maybe ? Nothing that I understand about the description knocks it out. Size seems better. Imaged 4 in May(1), Jul(1), Sep(1) & Nov(1) | ||
| Red-antennae Spotted Spider Wasp Calopompilus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | ~9mm long Female (10 flagellomeres) Red antennae, front tarsi, front tibia & leg joints. It doesn't fit any of the currently described species. Imaged 1F in Oct | |||
| Golden Spider Wasp Cryptocheilus australis iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Kerri-Lee Harris & Sam Gordon for confirming the id of this species for us ~19mm body & head length and ~34mm wingspan. Mainly black wasp with bright orange head, abdomen, antennae, wings & legs. The black thorax seems to be a dirty coloured compared to others in the genus. The abdomen stripe seems to be diagnostic, which is quite thin with these compared with C. bicolor. Note the smaller size of these compared with the C. bicolor we've measured. These also have a black bar across the top of the head between the compound eyes, hiding the Ocelli. The surprising thing with these is that they hunt Huntsman spider, looking much larger than the wasp. The spider is used to feed the wasps offspring. The adult wasps feed on pollen. Imaged 3F in Jan(1F), Feb(1F) & Dec(1F) | |||
| Two-coloured Orange Spider Wasp Cryptocheilus bicolor iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Brian Dagley, Kerri-Lee Harris & Sam Gordon for confirming the id of this species for us Males were ~18 to ~21mm long, Females ~30mm long, ~50mm wingspan. The genders can be separated by the number of antenna flagellomeres. Males have 11 flagellomeres & Females have 10. As such, we can also suggest males are significantly smaller than females. We've also noticed the 2 males had a thick black band across the top of the head; unlike the 2 females. There are few trusted images of Cryptocheilus sp. Assuming the bands on the abdomen are one of the diagnostic traits of this genera, C bicolor has quite a thick black abdomen band; and is fairly hairy. Cryptocheilus sp wing tips seem to often have black edges, which are missing here. Possibly due to the wings being so worn. S4, male, didn't have any damage to it's black wing tips & was the smallest of all 4. Imaged 4(2M,2F) in Jan | |||
| Black-headed Orange Spider Wasp Cryptocheilus sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Sam Gordon for confirming the id of this species for us Being ~23mm long, ~35mm wingspan, this specimen was on the smaller side, but not the smallest Cryptocheilus we found. But it is the blackest. With less orange than the other three. It is also the hairiest, both covered in very short golden hair, as well as haveing some very long rows of hair around it's head & shoulders. Note the wings have a black band near the body and the head is mainly black, except for an orange stripe along the lower part of it's face (on the "clypeus"). The upper part of the face (the "frons") is not only black, but also covered in the short golden hair; like much of it's body. This specimen also has the dark wing tips. Imaged 1F in Jan | |||
| Orange Spider Wasp Priocnemis tuberculatus iNaturalist | Na e m r |
Thank you Joseph (CobalJoseph) for identifying and Brian Dagley, Tony and Jenny Dominelli & Sam Gordon for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: Females ~19-20mm long. Mainly black wasp with bright orange head, tail, feelers (antennae) & legs. Again has 3 purple jewels (actually Ocelli, simple eyes) on its head. Everyone tends to put them under Cryptocheilus bicolor, but some have black tipped wings, other don't, etc. We don't know the sizes of the specimens in the various on-line photo's, which is generally pretty important. We originally called this "Cryptocheilus sp ES01", ie we didn't recognise it as any of the 10 known species. In 2022 they were reviewed & redescribed by Jolfaei with DNA analysis to help understand & place them more accurately. As yet, this paper has not been published in a Journal so unfortunately doesn't have any official standing. But Joseph used this paper to determine this was Heterodontonyx tuberculatus. Currently this has the official name of Priocnemis tuberculatus, but the paper moves all our Cryptocheilus to Heterodontonyx. Officially the others are still Cryptocheilus. By adding tribe name to the family we were able to keep them all grouped together here. This is good as they will be under the same genus again in the future. We first published these 10 years ago on 2nd March 2014, and saw our first on Ellura in Dec 2015. Imaged 7(5F) in Jan(2:1F), Feb(1F), Mar(2F) & Dec(2:1F) | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Zebra Spider Wasp (Wasp: Pompilidae: Pompilinae); 7 species from Ellura | White-spotted Spider Wasp Batozonellus sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~13mm long. Very unusual spider wasp. Black body, white spotted abdomen, red legs (trailing to black), orange antennae (also with black fading to the tips) & yellow masked face. As well as a yellow collar and smokey wings. Look at the huge leg spines. We think a male as we couldn't see an ovi-positor and the sculptured antennae. Actually it has 11 flagellomeres, making it a definate male. Imaged 2M in Jan(1M) & Dec(1M) | |||||
| Small Zebra Spider Wasp Ctenostegus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Black Sand-dauber Wasp (Crabronidae sp) : Tiny Zebra Spider Wasp (Turneromyia bassiana) Thank you Dr Paul Whitington for confirming the id of this species for us Females & Males are similar size, ~7 to ~10.5mm long (body & head), wingspan ~15mm Note the stripes are less distinct, more grey than silvery white (compared to the most Turneromyia sp). The males have quite a different abdomen shape to females, as well as proportionally thicker antennae. Females have 10 flagellomeres & males have 11 Also note the 2 sub-marginal cells on the wing venation; diagnostic for this genus. We first discovered this years ago thru this excellent image by Tony Daley, Insects of Tasmania, showing the wing venation difference between Turneromyia & Ctenostegus: Wing Venation Difference To our eyes, this looks EXACTLY the same as T. bassiana; but wing venation proves they are different genera. Paul said "Wing venation is a match to figs.2-12 in Evans, H.E. "A revision of spider wasps of the genus Ctenostegus" Aust.J.Zool. Suppl.Ser. 1976, 43: 1-107. In his paper "A revision of spider wasps of the genus Turneromyia" Aust.J.Zool. Suppl.Ser. 1984, 101: 1-59, Evans states that the distinguishing feature to the closely related pompilid species Turneromyia is the presence of 3 submarginal cells in the forewing of Turneromyia vs. 2 submarginal cells in Ctenostegus." Imaged 5(2M,3F) in Jan(1F), Mar(1F), May(1F), Oct(1M) & Nov(1M) | ||||||
| Tiny Zebra Spider Wasp Turneromyia bassiana iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Small Zebra Spider Wasp (Ctenostegus sp) Thank you Dr Paul Whitington & Kerri-Lee Harris for identifying and Sam Gordon for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long Female. Paul said "Kerri-Lee and I have gone through the Evans (1984) key together. The path leading to bassiana diverges from semiluctuosa at
Imaged 2F in Apr(1F) & May(1F) | ||||||
| Pale Zebra Spider Wasp Turneromyia melancholicus iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Half-mourning Zebra Spider Wasp (Turneromyia semiluctuosa) Thank you Dr Paul Whitington for identifying and Tony and Jenny Dominelli for helping with the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: ~15mm long Male & Female. Paul said "Here are some of the other characters in Evan's description of the T. melancholica male, in comparison with your photos:
For the female he said "Key diagnostic characters from Evans (1984) Aust.J.Zool. Suppl. Ser. 101: 1-59
Imaged 3(1M,1F) in Feb(1M), Mar(1) & Nov(1F) | ||||||
| Half-mourning Zebra Spider Wasp Turneromyia semiluctuosa iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Pale Zebra Spider Wasp (Turneromyia melancholicus) Thank you Tony Daley & Dr Paul Whitington for identifying and Karen Weaving for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: Female ~23mm long. Paul said "I've worked through the Evans (1984) key for Turneromyia and I agree with Tony that this one is T. semiluctuosa. Here are the steps:
Imaged 2F in Apr(1F) & Dec(1F) | ||||||
| Unid'ed Zebra Spider Wasp Turneromyia sp ES01 | Na e m r | Similar Species: Black Sand-dauber Wasp (Crabronidae sp) There are 2 very similar, visually, genera of Zebra Spider Wasps that need wing venation shots to separate; Turneromyia and Ctenostegus sp. They are both shown here & in the sub-family Pompilinae. We also have 3 separate Turneromyia species that Paul, Kerri-Lee & Tony have separated out for us. You can see by Paul's detailed explanations of the diagnostic features how important VERY detailed photo's of most aspects of these wasps is required to get to species level id. But have put them here to show how difficult it is to id to species with so many invert's. Imaged 12(7M,3F) in Jan(2F), Feb(1M), Mar(1F), Apr(3M), Oct(3:2M) & Dec(2:1M)
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| Undescribed Zebra Spider Wasp Turneromyia sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Paul Whitington & Sam Gordon for confirming the id of this species for us ~18mm long Female. ~12.5mm long forewing, but a bit damaged so may have been slightly longer. The 1st flagellomere is incredibly long compared with our other species in this genus. 4 basitarsus spines slightly curved. It is reasonably hairy. The face & size are quite different to the Turneromyia melancholicus female Paul id'ed for us the other day. The abdominal bands seem quite narrow, the stergites aren't generally grey, and the break between the bands seems large, not small. Following the key, Paul id'ed this to a species similar to both T. vassei & T. venator. Our photo's didn't show clear enough images of some of the diagnostic features. But the black clypeus wasn't mentioned for either and there are too many contradicting features to believe it could be one or the other. Imaged 1F in Jan | ||||||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Parasitoid Wasp (Wasp: Scelionidae); 1 species from Ellura | Small Black Parasitoid Wasp Scelionidae sp | Na e m | Imaged 1 in Dec |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Hairy Flower Wasp (Wasp: Scoliidae); 5 species from Ellura | Spotted Hairy Flower Wasp Australelis anthracina iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Joseph (CobalJoseph) for identifying and Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Record for this family in SA on Atlas: Females have shorter antennae than the males, and the males seem to be smaller. We thought this was Laeviscolia frontalis (for over 5 years!) until Joseph came to the rescue and explained to us on iNat the differences. Imaged 2F in Jan | |
| Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Austroscolia soror | Na e m a | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for confirming the id of this species for us Very dark blue, looking mainly black except for light reflections. Note the emarginate eyes. Having shorter antennae we assume this to be a female. If it wasn't for the indented eyes Graham said "it could have been one of a couple of thynnid genera - Anthobosca or Austromyzinum but fully black ones of these two genera are rare". Imaged 3(1M,1F) in Feb(1), Mar(1M) & Apr(1F) | ||
| Robust Scarab Wasp Pseudotrielis flavidula iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris tasmaniensis) : Scarab Wasp (Pseudotrielis gilesi) Thank you Joseph (CobalJoseph) for identifying and Elliott Gordon for confirming the id of this species for us Male ~18mm & female ~23mm long. These are very similar to Radumeris tasmaniensis, also found on Ellura, but these have a 3rd sub-margin cell (on their forewing) that R. tasmaniensis doesn't have. Also notice that R. tasmaniensis has a black inner margin on the forewing, different ventral pattern & a black spot on the male's face. We've been lucky enough to find a male & a female, showing how different they both are. Trisciloa sp are other Australian Scoliid wasps that also have 3 sub-marginal cells. These feed on pollen as adults, but the female lays an egg in Scarab Beetles that the young parasitises. Joseph said, of our male specimen "I arrive at flavidula using both Turner (1909) and Betrem (1928). gilesi should have the median segment black, but neither explains what segment. Betrem's key (in German) also includes leg color, not mentioned by Turner, with yellow tibiae in flavidula but black in gilesi. The keys include "median segment" which I thought must mean of the tergum, but Between Turner and Betrem's keys, there's only a full description of gilesi males. They have only a "minute spot" on the postscutellum, with no mention of any yellow on the scutellum. There's also a description of congener, whose females are almost identical to flavidula, that mentions wide yellow on sternites 2-3." Their active period then overlaps with, but slightly earlier (before summer), than Radumeris tasmaniensis. Imaged 4(2M,2F) in Oct(2M), Nov(1F) & Dec(1F) | ||
| Scarab Wasp Pseudotrielis gilesi iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Robust Scarab Wasp (Pseudotrielis flavidula) Thank you Joseph (CobalJoseph) for identifying this species for us Male ~18mm long. Notice how the male is much less robust here than with the very similar male P. flavidula. These males also have much less yellow markings. Joseph said "Betrem's key (in German) adds leg color, not mentioned by Turner. gilesi has black tibiae. The keys also use "median segment" which I thought must mean of the tergum. Between Turner and Betrem's keys, there's a full description of gilesi males. They have a "minute spot" on the postscutellum and spots on sternites 2-3." Imaged 1M in Oct | ||
| Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp Radumeris tasmaniensis iNaturalist | Na e m a | Similar Species: Robust Scarab Wasp (Pseudotrielis flavidula) Thank you Dr Graham Brown for identifying, Joseph (CobalJoseph) & Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming and Dr Chris Lambkin & Dr Paul Whitington for helping with the id of this species for us Females have short antennae, where as males have longer ones. Paul said CSIRO states most Apocrita females have 10 flagellomeres & males 11. Female flagellomeres are very short with scollids, and longer with males (making the whole antennae much longer). Antennae tips can get broken off, corrupting the count. There is a large size variation with these: ~17mm to ~25mm long. Graham said "These wasps are scarab larval parasites and the size varies depending on the size of the host larva." In refering to the 2 species (R. tasmaniensis & R. radula), he said "The easiest way to distinguish them is in the colour of the setae on the top of the thorax of the female - it is mostly uniformly reddish brown in the latter where as it is yellowish in tasmaniensis. These hairs are often partially abraided in older specimens." Joseph said R. tasmaniensis is widespread around the country. R. radula is restricted to the North. The common name refers to the male which has very yellow stripes with different "tick" marks on the side. An image of a mating pair, showing the different antennae lengths & colours can be seen here. The males also have posterior spines that can be withdrawn to some degree. They are a protection measure to stab their predators in defence and called "Trident Pseudostingers". They don't carry any poison, and aren't tubes. Stingers in female wasps & bees are modified ovi-positors (which males don't have). Already consisting of a tube for eggs, injecting poison wasn't such a large evolutionary step. The female (S6) has 2 very large spines on her hind legs, pointing down; probably helps hold the scarab beetle while she deposits her eggs into it. This species is often confused with Laevicampsomeris formosa (Qld only); which doesn't have black stripes on the abdomen. Imaged 12(5M,7F) in Jan(2M), Feb(1M), Mar(1F), Apr(3:1M,2F), May(1M), Aug(1F), Nov(2F) & Dec(1F) | ||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Mud Dauber & Sand Wasp (Wasp: Sphecidae); 10 species, 9 from Ellura | Thread-waisted Wasp Ammophila sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Bernhard Jacobi for helping with the id of this species for us ~28mm long. These have been considered to be Parapsammophila eremophila for a while. However, we were concerned that there were two different forms; one with black feet and one (like here) with orange feet. We found the original description only to find it's described as "Entirely Black", with different wing colour, etc. Also, it was only known from near Alice Springs, and was shorter at 24-25mm. As such, taken the original descriptions genus, as well as Bernhard's suggestion, and id'ed this one as Ammophila sp. Hopefully one day a species name might be found for them. Imaged 4 in Jan(1), Feb(2) & Mar(1) | ||
| Orange-tailed Digger Wasp Podalonia tydei ssp suspiciosa iNaturalist | Na e m r |
Thank you Stephen Fricker & Anthony Paul for confirming the id of this species for us Females was ~17mm long, the males ~20mm. The wing venation is the same, as best as we can tell, but there are some differences that we have put down to gender. Bold has 3 images of this species, showing the same variations as here. She had very hairy front legs, perhaps for digging her nest? She also seemed to have a shorter waist. Imaged 10(4M,5F) in Feb(1M), Aug(1), Oct(4:1M,3F), Nov(2:1M,1F) & Dec(2:1M,1F) | |||
| Rounded Grasshopper Wasp Prionyx globosus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you (Fauna_Mirifica) for identifying this species for us ~13mm long Male. Notice the 2 lobes on it's foot claws. Prionyx translates to "Saw Claws"; "Prion" = "Saw" & "onyx" = claw. Imaged 1 in Mar | |||
| Yellow & Black Mud-dauber Wasp Sceliphron laetum iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Reiner Richter for confirming the id of this species for us ~20mm long, ~26mm wingspan. A large wasp with a thread waist, and large mandibles. Collects mud to build cells, a nest, for it's young. When it flies it hangs it's legs making it look even bigger. There is another, very similar wasp in SA, Sceliphron formosum; which has all black antennae, black on the legs where they join the body and a black face. As you can see here, S. laetum has yellow antennae (at least near the head), yellow leg joins to the body and a yellow face. The rear leg colour is different too. Imaged 2M in Dec | |||
| Two-lobed Sternum Digger Wasp Sphex bilobatus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you (Fauna_Mirifica) for confirming the id of this species for us ~23mm long Male. In males the "Visible part of metasomal sternum VIII forming two separated lobes." Another genus that looks quite similar to Sphex wasps is Prionyx. When we asked Fauna_Mirifica what the differences were, they said "Submarginal cell 2 is rhomboid in Sphecini, but it is rectangular in this specimen" a Prionyx. "The "hairy" patches on the metasomal side are also not found in Sphex, and the body posture is different (legs are usually more spread out in Prionyx)." Imaged 1M in Dec | |||
| Giant Digger Wasp Sphex carbonicolor iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Kate Sandiford for identifying this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line 1st Record in SA on Atlas: Probably the largest wasp in Australia, with the body & head nearly 40mm long. Sorry for the poor quality photo's. We were still learning to use the new insect boxes (& suspect we were nervous!). This one's body is covered in white hair, is black and has a brown/golden hue to it's wings. It's mandibles are something you don't want attacking you. At first we thought it was a hook. Then realised it was two crossed mandibles that were much bigger than any spider fangs we've seen! Why we captured it we'll never know. We can't remember doing it, we were obviously in shock OR JUST STUPID. We originally identified this back in Feb as Prionyx globosus. But Kate used the key here to identify it for us. zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=5995 We've looked at the original photo's and can count 10 Flagellomeres (or 12 antennal segments) making this a female. Imaged 1F in Feb | |||
| Fat Digger Wasp Sphex corporosus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you (Fauna_Mirifica) for identifying this species for us ~29mm long. We thought it might be a Sphex gracilis, but we also thought it was worn, so the hair is quite thin on the pronotum on the specimen we found compared to the 2015 paper. Imaged 1F in Jan | |||
| Flame-colored Digger Wasp Sphex flammeus iNaturalist | Na m | Thank you (Fauna_Mirifica) for identifying this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line 1st Record in Aust on Atlas:We thought this might be Sphex darwiniensis, it seemed closest to the 2015 paper describing Australian Sphex wasps. It wasn't a good photo, but so unusual we felt valuable to post. Fauna_mirifica (from iNaturalist) is an expert on these saying "Tentative; propodeal pubescence looks very dense". Imaged 1 in Apr | |||
| Smokey-feather Digger Wasp Sphex fumipennis iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you (Fauna_Mirifica) for confirming the id of this species for us These vary dramatically in size between ~19 to ~24mm (males) & ~25mm to ~31mm (females). This will generally be due to the size of the prey the adults find for the young. The genders can be easily separated by photographing the antennae. Females have 10 flagellomeres, males have 11. It's always possible the female antennae is broken short, so try to count both. But these have pretty robust antennae and don't seem as susceptible to this as other wasps. While we haven't read it anywhere, the female Sphex we've photographed have very long front leg spines, the males don't. As such, the female's dig the nest, capture the large orthoptera (crickets, katydids & grasshoppers) prey for the young. The adults feed on nectar. The males choose a flowering bush to feed & look for females to breed with; being very territorial during our observations. In the field they clearly have a dark blue sheen to their wings, but in the studio (as you can see) they look dark brown. A simple diagnostic with these is their wings go from mainly dark to almost completely clear at the tips. Unfortunately the one shown here has damaged wing tips; but there's enough info there to see the colour has faded. Notice the thick, pale hair on the inside of the hind tibia's. Thank you to Ian Gibbins for the binomial name translation. He said "fumipennis = smokey feather => what the wing looks like... the number of 'n's matters". Imaged 12(3M,7F) in Jan(2F), Feb(3:2M), Mar(1M), Apr(2F), Oct(1F) & Dec(3:2F) | |||
| Valuable Digger Wasp Sphex pretiosus | Na e m | Imaged 1 in Feb | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Flower Wasp (Wasp: Thynnidae: Anthoboscinae); 1 species, none from Ellura | Black Flower Wasp Anthobosca sp iNaturalist | Na a | Thank you Dr Graham Brown & Kerri-Lee Harris for confirming the id of this species for us ~13mm long male. We were confused with the gender of this one. It has an ovi-positor AND wings. We thought female flower wasps don't have wings. However, Graham indicated that only sub-families Thynninae & Diamminae have wingless females. As such, we have added sub-family names within Thynnidae here to highlight the difference. The legs look like they are made for digging. There are interesting "shields" in front of the antennae on the face that we've never seen before. Do they protect them when digging? Imaged 1F in Feb |
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Flower Wasp (Wasp: Thynnidae: Thynninae); 14 species, 11 from Ellura | Flat Flower Wasp Aeolothynnus cf sp ES01 | Na e m | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for identifying this species for us We originally thought this looked like Aeolothynnus westwoodi, but Graham said "not quite sure, certainly not A. westwoodi which has black legs". Imaged 4 in Apr(2), Jul(1) & Oct(1) | ||
| Small Flower Wasp Aeolothynnus cf sp ES02 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for identifying this species for us A small, hairy wasp of ~6-7mm. Originally thought this was a Catocheilus sp. But typically we'd expect Catocheilus to be large (~25mm) and smoother. Then we thought Agriomyia sp, but Graham said "more likely to be Aeolothynnus, definitely not Agriomyia which has a broader abdomen" Imaged 3 in Sep(1), Nov(1) & Dec(1) | |||
| Black & Yellow Flower Wasp Aeolothynnus cf sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m |
Thank you Dr Graham Brown for confirming the id of this species for us A medium, hairy wasp of ~10mm. Note the totally black head and green eyes, but very similar shape and body markings to A. sp ES02. We thought it looked Bembix like and Graham said "Bembix always stouter and certainly larger than Aeolothynnus". This highlights the need to get size information with photographs. Imaged 1M in Dec | |||
| Two-coloured Flower Wasp Aeolothynnus cf sp ES04 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for confirming the id of this species for us A small wasp of ~7mm. Normally we wouldn't associate this with a flower wasp, but it's head & body markings are quite similar to the other Aeolothynnus we've seen. Superficially it looks quite shiny, but closer inspection shows fine hairs all over the body. And those green eyes. Note the antennae has a wavy appearance; seen on the ventral shot. It appears it has an ovi-positor (but aren't sure) & wings; indicating it's female and so not in the Thynninae sub-family. As such, our Aeolothynnus id is quite suspect. Note also the white spots on the side of the abdomen. Graham said if it "was a little smaller, it might not be" Aeolothynnus. When we suggested it was a bit Braconid'ish, he said "too many wing veins for braconids and if anything, they would resemble ichneumonids with the spotted abdomen (and I think nothing else has paired spots), and thynnids have typical aculeate wing venation." Thanks Graham, very useful comments to help separate wasp families Imaged 1 in Apr | |||
| Gold-lined Flower Wasp Aeolothynnus cf sp ES05 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long, with bluish/grey pale blotches on the abdomen. We couldn't get a clear view of the top side, but ventrally these blotches are like ellipses with off centre hole in the middle. We think this is a male, as in some shots it looks like an ovi-positor but in one shot you can see 3 clear appendages. We've seen similar in other males. The facial markings are quite unusual in that they graduate from orangy brown on top to bluish white/grey at the bottom. The clearest wing venation we were able to get was in the ventral shot. Imaged 1M in Nov | |||
| White-spotted Flower Wasp Agriomyia albomaculata iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for identifying this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line ~18mm long. Unusual Lilac coloured eyes. The yellow body markings are real, not coloured by the wings rusty colour. The face is quite unusual as well, over exposed here unfortunately; actually looks orange rather than yellow. Imaged 6M in Jan(1M), Feb(2M), Mar(1M) & Dec(2M) | |||
| Flower Wasp Ariphron sp | Na a | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for identifying this species for us Originally we thought this was Rhagigaster sp Imaged 1 in Dec | |||
| Orange-faced Flower Wasp Belothynnus cf impetuosus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for identifying this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line 2nd Record in SA on Atlas: ~23mm long. Black with almost no markings except on the face. The apparant brown 'u' shape on the top of the thorax appears to be dirt/sand; possibly hair. Graham said "It could be Belothynnus impetuosus but cannot tell for the photos." Imaged 3M in Jan(1M) & Dec(2M) | |||
| Flower Wasp Eirone sp | Na a | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for confirming the id of this species for us Female Flower Wasps (Thynninae) and Velvet Ants (Mutillidae) can look remarkably similar. Dr Kevin Williams made an important distinction between them, Thynninae have the "thorax divided into multiple plates". You can see with our velvets ants above (where the photo's are clear enough) the thorax is a solid shell/plate; ie the pronotum, mesoscutum, scutum, scutellum are fused together. Where as the female Thynninae below have them separated. Imaged 6 in Oct(2), Nov(3) & Dec(1) | |||
| Large Yellow Flower Wasp Elidothynnus melleus iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for identifying and Geoffrey Cox
for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: The males were ~19-22mm, while the females ~10-12mm. It doesn't sound a lot, but the size variation appeared more substantial. As with other Thynnid flower wasps, the female is much smaller & wingless. She may also be blind, or at least have poor vision. This is our 1st Thynnidae found on Ellura and luckily we not only saw & photographed them mating (proves male/female relationship), but also caught them to get sizes and detailed photographs. We released her were we found her, where she'll find a beetle to parasitise with her now fertile eggs. Even with his large size, he had a lot of trouble flying with her which allowed us to capture them. While similar in appearance, with the naked eye, to the European Wasp, this species is much larger and has a cigar shaped abdomen. On closer inspection, and with photographs, the differences are much clearer. A more technical term for reduced wingless insects is "Apterous". Originally thought this was a Catocheilus sp. Graham also said "this is almost certainly a complex of species that occur around the country. The male fits in my key but the female doesn't." We since found another 3 pairs of these mating in one Sugarwood tree at the same time, in November. Notice there are some differences: 1. The neck/collar has different black markings. It's not at all obvious and you need to get photo's at the right angle to see it. 2.They all had a strong orange tint to their abdomens. 3. The legs, up near the body, look thinner; not as robust. Graham said "Colour patterns can vary a little and the abdomen can be stretched a bit because the segments can move." Imaged 21(15M,6F) in Feb(3:2M,1F), Mar(1M), Apr(3:2M,1F) & Nov(14:10M,4F) | |||
| Small Black Flower Wasp Iswaroides sp | Na e m | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for identifying this species for us We caught this male & female mating. The male ~9mm long, while the female was ~6.5mm. Black, with not patterns that we could discern. Imaged 2(1M,1F) in Nov | |||
| Black Flower Wasp Lophocheilus sp ES01 | Na e m a | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for identifying this species for us ~14mm long. We would have thought it was a male based on the long antennae. But it seems to have a very short ovi-positor. Or perhaps it's a stinger. So we can't determine gender. Resembles a male Velvet Ant (Mutillidae sp), however the hairs are finer, the abdomen more rounded and the eyes larger + more elongated. Notice the very short hairs on the wings. Given the wings are effectively dead membrane (a bit like human fingernails are dead), it doesn't make sense to try and keep them warm. And it's hard to imagine them improving flight; there are no muscles to lay them down nor lift them in flight. We wonder what they are for? Imaged 2(1M) in Nov | |||
| Flower Wasp Tachynomyia sp | Na a | Thank you Dr Graham Brown for confirming the id of this species for us Imaged 1 in Oct | |||
| Beautiful Flower Wasp Thynnus pulchralis iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Karen Weaving for confirming the id of this species for us ~21mm long Male. Females are wingless. We were VERY excited when Marie found this in our shadehouse yesterday. A very rare find. This is the first time, on-line, found in the SA Murraylands Region. The recent Murray River floods may have had an impact on extending it's known range. A stunning Flower Wasp, with an Aztec-like theme stencilled on it's back. Reminds us of a Sunset over mallee trees on a hot day. Not only does it have vibrant & contrasting colours, the yellow pigment is missing in many places making detailed patterns and showing the clear substrate of it's exoskeleton. In the profile shot you can see how squared-off the front of the abdomen is. When sitting normally you don't see the waiste, making it look very much like a sawfly. It looks very Bembix like underneath. Imaged 2M in Feb(1M) & Mar(1M) | |||
| Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) - Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera); 205 species, 183 from Ellura - Potter Wasp (Wasp: Vespidae); 16 species, 13 from Ellura | Large Mud-nesting Wasp Abispa ephippium iNaturalist | Na e m |
Similar Species: Large Mud-nesting Wasp Mimicking Fly (Palimmecomyia pictipennis) : Masked Mud-nesting Wasp (Anterhynchium (Epiodynerus) nigrocinctum ssp nigrocinctum) Thank you Brian Dagley for identifying and Marco Selis for confirming the id of this species for us ~20mm long James M. Carpenter said "Seven visible metasomal segments is universal in male Vespidae." Imaged 3(1M) in Sep(1), Nov(1) & Dec(1M) | ||
| Orange-striped Potter Wasp Acarodynerus sp iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Mud-nesting Wasp (Paralastor sp ES01) : Yellow-faced Potter Wasp (Diemodynerus cf decipiens ssp decipiens) Thank you Marco Selis & Brian Dagley for identifying this species for us ~13mm - 14mm long Our 1st specimen was found dead & desicated outside. We thought this was a paralastor wasp, but the wing venation doesn't much (ie the 2nd sub-marginal cell isn't petiolate) Colour wise this is similar to Pseudalastor concolor, as linked to by Brian. Milo van Loon indicated the Pseudalastor genera have toothed mid-femurs. After inspection of the original photo's we found this specimen is free of toothed mid-femurs. We've since captured 3 more live ones. Our 4th, shown here, is a female (as it has 10 flagellomeres). As can be seen her length is variable as the abdomen can constrict considerably. The size of the red spot on the face varies a bit between specimens, being tiny here. While not clearly seen, the inside legs have a pale reddish stripe. A couple of shots of S4 are quite yellow. This isn't real, it's orange; a camera artifact from overexposure. Imaged 4 in Feb(1) & Mar(3) | |||
| Masked Mud-nesting Wasp Anterhynchium (Epiodynerus) nigrocinctum ssp nigrocinctum iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Large Mud-nesting Wasp (Abispa ephippium) Thank you Marco Selis for identifying this species for us Males ~12 to ~14mm long. Female ~17mm long, so larger. Females have 10 flagellomeres. The tip of the male antennae (the last segment) is a turned back pointy affair. There is a tiny segment (2nd from the end) that makes it 11 flagellomeres for the males (which almost all Apocrita have). The females are blunt ended. The genders can also be separated by the abdominal segment count; males with 7 & females with 6. Of those we've found the females have more of an orange face, where as the males have a very yellow face (specifically the clypeus (bottom plate), and bottom half of the frons (top plate)). We thought this was an Abispa sp. Marco said "Anterhynchium (Epiodynerus) nigrocinctum nigrocinctum is the complete name, as in Eastern Indonesia occurs the subspecies Anterhynchium nigrocinctum meraukense. The differences are very slight and involve only the extension of orange pattern, they are just variations in my opinion." Imaged 4(2M,2F) in Nov(2F) & Dec(2M) | |||
| Orange Potter Wasp Delta bicinctum iNaturalist | Na e m a |
Thank you Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~22mm long. Large orange wasp with black stripes The females make a mud nest and fill it with a larva for it's offspring to feed on. The nest is a series of individual cells. They gather water at ponds and mix it with dirt to create mud. You can see on S9's nest, she got dirt from different locations as it's different colour. Note the faces of S15 & S16 look quite different. This is due to the labrum (below the clypeus) being movable/hinged, and so is flipped up under the head out of sight in S15. Their eyes are deeply emarginate, not that you can see easily as the indents are coloured black, like the eyes. When they fly, they do so with their legs hanging, making them look even larger. As with all vespid wasps, these have their wings held up when at rest; unlike most inverts who hold their wings along the body at rest. These are long lived wasps. Taking over 2 months to build her nest. While looking similar to Abispa sp, these can be easily separated by their long, narrow waist. We have just discovered the females (with vertical orange head stripes, between the eyes) look very different to males (horizontal). The males look similar to D. philantes. But Marco explained the difference between the species is in the waist. He said "The diagnostic character lies in the shape of first tergum. In Delta bicinctum it reaches its maximum width in the anterior half, so in dorsal view it appears to have posteriorly converging sides, while in lateral view it is nearly flattened in the middle and then it's depressed apically. In Delta philantes the maximum width is reached at apex, therefore the sides appear evenly diverging from base to apex in dorsal view and it is not flattened and depressed in lateral view". He also said "The curled/hooked antennae are present in nearly all male Eumeninae, excluding very few genera like Symmorphus, some Pterocheilus and Synagris". Imaged 33(3M,15F) in Jan(2:1M,1F), Feb(2F), Sep(1F), Oct(4F), Nov(20:1M,4F) & Dec(4:1M,3F) | |||
| Yellow-faced Potter Wasp Diemodynerus cf decipiens ssp decipiens iNaturalist | Na e m | Similar Species: Orange-striped Potter Wasp (Acarodynerus sp) : Mud-nesting Wasp (Paralastor sp ES01) Thank you Marco Selis for identifying and Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Live Photo on-line: ~10mm long. Basically a black wasp, with yellow face markings and orange body patches. Notice the deeply emarginate eye and wings held up. In the wing venation description, this shows the difference between this species (top wing) and the very similar looking Paralastor wasps (lower wing). We thought this was Australodynerus merredinensis but Marco said "Australodynerus have short antennae and the last flagellomere is straight and conical, not surpassing base of F9". When Brian made a couple of suggestions, Marco said "Diemodynerus decipiens positus has a very different coloration with extensive red pattern on mesosoma, while D. saucius has T1 entirely black. This specimen seems to match Diemodynerus decipiens decipiens, but there are other species described more recently and I don't have descriptions of them. It's better to stay on genus." Please note we use the "cf" moniker to indicate "looks like". We use a lower level of id quality on our web site than on iNaturalist to help steer people in their own research. Imaged 1 in Nov | |||
| Orange-spotted Potter Wasp Eumeninae sp ES08 iNaturalist | Na e m | ~10mm long. NB: the horns/spines on the rear of the thorax. Imaged 3(1F) in Mar(1), Apr(1F) & Dec(1) | |||
| White-marked Potter Wasp Eumeninae sp ES09 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Karen Weaving for confirming the id of this species for us ~8mm long. Note the curled up antennae tips. This indicates it's a male, doesn't happen with females of this family. Imaged 1M in Dec | |||
| Small Mud-nesting Wasp Euodynerus cf sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Marco Selis for identifying and Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us This one was ~10mm long. Very similar to Abispa sp, but smaller. We thought it was an Anterhynchium sp. Marco said "It looks like an Euodynerus, but I'll have to check literature" Imaged 6 in Oct(1), Nov(4) & Dec(1) | |||
| Yellow-faced Mud-collar Wasp Ischnocoelia cf fulva iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Marco Selis for identifying and Milo van Loon & Arturo Femia for confirming the id of this species for us ~15mm long. Notice how the antennae tips fold over. It's not easy to see and is only captured on a few shots. Marco said "This could be the male of I. fulva. If you collected the specimen, it would be very useful to extract and dissect the genital capsule. In this group there are very important diagnostic characteristics in aedeagus and digitus." Imaged 4 in Jan(1), Feb(2) & Dec(1) | |||
| Black-faced Mud-collar Wasp Ischnocoelia sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Marco Selis, Milo van Loon, Brian Dagley & Arturo Femia for confirming the id of this species for us ~14mm long. Emarginate eyes, long thin waist. The thin/thread waist is represented by another group (Sphecinae), but the folded wings held along side, or up in the air, trumps the thin waist for taxon placement in Vespidae. B. Dagley said "There are 9 Australian Ischnocoelia species in total, although maybe only a subset are possible matches. Lopes, R. B., Carpenter, J. M., & Noll, F. B. (2021). Cladistic analysis of Zethus Fabricius, 1804 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae): a new subgeneric classification. Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 82, 253." Imaged 2 in Dec | |||
| White-legged Mud-collar Wasp Ischnocoelia sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Marco Selis & Milo van Loon for confirming the id of this species for us 1st Record of this genus in SA on Atlas: ~15mm long. Notice the emarginate eye, highlighted by an orange spot. This specimen seems to be infested with brown mites. Imaged 1 in Jan | |||
| Mud-nesting Wasp Paralastor sp ES01 iNaturalist | Na e m a | Similar Species: Orange-striped Potter Wasp (Acarodynerus sp) : Yellow-faced Potter Wasp (Diemodynerus cf decipiens ssp decipiens) Thank you Marco Selis for identifying and Brian Dagley & Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us ~15mm long. All Vespidae wasps can be recognised as they hold their wings up at rest and most have emarginate (indented) eyes. As can be seen here, these build nests from mud in a line; one cell after the other. The sequence here, of S2 building her nest, occurred within 60 sec. It shows her adding to the walls of a new cell, next to a sealed one. They are rotated to show better detail. We had these as Paralastor, then saw some sightings of Pseudalastor concolor that looked the same. But Marco saw our observation and said "Second submarginal cell is petiolate, this leads to Paralastor." Brian said "the key says ... petiolate or nearly so." We set up a graphic showing the difference between the 2nd sub-marginal cell with another potter wasp. "Petiolate" indicates leaf-like. A similar term is used with ants with the "Petiole" being the thin join between thorax & gaster. Note here that "petiolate" means there is a vein joining the marginal cell (top right of each wing) and the 2nd sub-marginal cell. The "nearly so" looks likes this without the petiolate vein (so a sharp join of 3 veins). We're not sure if these "nearly so" species are in South Australia. The bottom wing is the Paralastor wasp; S5. Please recognise the veins behind the forwing are showing through, confusing the issue a bit. James M. Carpenter "I've seen specimens with one wing having a petiolate cell and the other not." As such, while the petiolate cell will indicate Paralastor, we can't be sure that a wing without the petiolate cell isn't Paralastor. It means it's not a very good diagnostic feature of the genus. The nest was created in early Dec. Imaged 14(12F) in Jan(5F), Feb(2:1F), Mar(1F), Apr(1F), Nov(1) & Dec(4F) | |||
| Ringed Mud-nesting Wasp Paralastor sp ES02 | Na a | After reviewing the other photo's taken with this one we found a very dark photo; brightening up stupidly showed the wing venation which had the petiolate 2nd sub-margin cell. Imaged 2 in Feb(1) & Mar(1) | |||
| Brown Mud-nesting Wasp Paralastor sp ES03 iNaturalist | Na e m | Thank you Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us ~10mm long. Imaged 1F in Dec | |||
| Southern Paper Wasp Polistes humilis ssp humilis iNaturalist | Na f a | Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us These are known to be aggressive, but only if you disturb their nest. Unfortunately gardeners often don't realise a nest is in the hedge they are trimming until they are attacked. Jonathan Hoskins said "The two subspecies do divide fairly decently by location (ssp humilis is the more southern range, ssp synoecus is more northern and the only one introduced to Western Australia). In terms of appearance, ssp humilis is darker with fewer yellow markings on the abdomen and no yellow lines on the propodeum (the rear portion of the thorax). Ssp synoecus is more yellow with more extensive yellow on the thorax and paired yellow lines on the propodeum." James C. Trager said "Males have the yellow faces and curly-tipped antennae." Iskander Kaliananda said "Nests are the product of one dominant Foundress and everyone living there are her children." As such, the Foundress is an effective queen of the nest. Imaged 4(1M,1F) in Jan(1F), Nov(2:1M) & Dec(1) | |||
| European Wasp Vespula germanica iNaturalist | If a |
Thank you Mark Hura & Dave Holland for confirming the id of this species for us There are two very similar introduced wasps in South Australia. This one & the much less common English Wasp (Vespula vulgaris). You probably couldn't tell the difference between them with the naked eye. But with photo's the difference becomes evident. This one has a solid yellow band behind the eye; V. vulgaris has a black patch in the band behind the eye. This one has a thin vertical black line on the face with a black dot either side in the yellow; V. vulgaris has a fat vertical black line on the face with no dots. The queen looks the same as the worker, with the only reliable differentiation being size. The queen ~20mm long; while the worker is ~14mm long. The big surprise for us after photographing one was realising how hairy they are. The look very smooth and hairless with the naked eye. They are one of the most aggressive wasps in Australia; attacking just because you are too close to YOUR picnic lunch. Probably second only to the European Honeybee. Thank you to Dave Holland for pointing out that males have long antenna and 7 terga of abdomen rather than 6; and are stingless. Imaged 5(3F) in Mar(1F), May(1F), Jul(1F), Nov(1) & Dec(1) | |||
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