#55 to #60 at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, Australia, January 26 2018

Once again I made my way to Woodlands Historic Park to see what I could see. I had the morning to myself and considered many places to go. I know I would find a lot more for this list and my own curiosity at other locations further away from home, but the idea of exploring the park and finding something new is even more appealing. And that's exactly what I did! It was a very humid morning and the park was quite wet from a torrential downpour the night before. But I persisted through the heat with sweat dripping from my head and getting all over my glasses making it very hard to see or take photos. I had a great time!

#55 Endotricha pyrosalis

I originally had this as #56 Paropsis lownei but I have removed it from the list and adjusted the numbering because it is impossible to separate P. lownei and P. variolosa visually and they both occur in Victoria

#56 Syringoseca rhodoxantha

#57 Megachile lucidiventris

#58 Dieuches maculicollis

#59 Spectrotrota fimbrialis

#60 Austrolestes cingulatus

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#51 to #54 at Altona, Victoria, Australia, January 25 2018

#51 Abispa (Abispa) ephippium

I found a flowering shrub near the Laverton Creek mouth that was quite popular with the insects. I've included a not 100% certain identification of a wasp that I'm 99% sure is Abispa (Abispa) ephippium.

#52 Hellula hydralis

#53 Theclinesthes serpentata serpentata

#54 Uraba lugens

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#44 to #50 at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, Australia, January 24 2018

This week's outing to WHP yielded 6 seven more inspect species that I could identify to a species level for the year list, including two that are new ones for me - Amorbus obscuricornis and Jalmenus ictinus - both on the same black wattle!

#44 Calomela parilis

#45 Pauropsalta rubristrigata

#46 Amorbus obscuricornis

#47 Jalmenus ictinus

#48 Agonoscelis rutila

#49 Gastrimargus musicus

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#42 and #43 around home, January 2018

A few days a go when I was mowing the lawn, a grasshopper jumped out of the grass. I always have my macro lens with me when I mow the lawn, because almost always something of interest jumps out for a photo!

#42 Giant Geen Slantface (Acrida conica)

This morning I found a pair of skipper butterflies in the front yard. I've found them in the front yard during summer for about five years in a row now.

#43 Green Grass-dart (Ocybadistes walkeri sothis)

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#38 to #41 at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, Australia, January 17 2018

Another visit to nearby Woodlands Historic Park yielded a few more for the year list...

#38 Paropsisterna fastidiosa

#39 Doratifera quadriguttata

#40 Amorbus robustus (early instar)

#41 Paropsis atomaria (larvae)

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#37 in my backyard!

It's always nice to find a new insect. But it's very, very nice to find a new one in your own backyard! This afternoon while the kids were playing on their swing set, I decided to have a look at the carrots that are flowering in our very small veggie patch (they've been left to go to seed). Previously there's only been flies and ants on the flowers, but today... jackpot! I found at least five spotted amber ladybirds, although getting a photo proved to be quite difficult.The flowers are on incredibly thin stalks, and even the slightest breeze moves them around a lot. After persisting for a lot longer than it should have taken, I managed a few reasonable photos.

#37 Spotted Amber Ladybird (Hippodamia variegata)

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#33 to #36 at Williamstown, Victoria, Australia, January 11 2018

My daughter loves to go to the Williamstown Botanic Gardens to look for ladybirds and butterflies. Occasionally some less common insects can be found here as well, but today we only found some very common species to photograph during our quick visit.

#33 Common Grass Blue (Zizina labradus labradus)

#34 Wandering Percher (Diplacodes bipunctata)

#35 Cabbage White (Pieris rapae rapae)

#36 Passionvine Hopper (Scolypopa australis)

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#24 to #32 at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, Australia, January 10 2018

I back again at WHP for the third time this year already. Once again with my 5 year old daughter came along to help me look for insects, and she found quite a few that I would have missed!

#24 Chauliognathus tricolor

#25 Slender Ringtail (Austrolestes analis)

#26 Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum) (Mating pair)

#27 Sextius virescens

#28 Bandidus canifrons

#29 Magpie Moth (Nyctemera amicus)

#30 Gumleaf Grasshopper (Goniaea australasiae)

#31 Lycid-mimic Longicorn Beetle (Stenoderus suturalis)

#32 Common Macrotona (Macrotona australis) EDIT: so this isn't M. australis, but a different, as of yet unnamed Macrotona sp. Instead of deleting and renumbering, which is too big to attempt, I will correct the count when I add the next species. Edit: here - http://2018insectphotos.blogspot.com.au/2018/04/86-to-141-in-brisbane-queensland.html

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#23 at Taylors Lakes, Victoria, Australia, Januray 9 2018

I took the kids to a local playground, and while I was there I went for a quick look for Elm Leaf Beetles - they can be found here quite easily. Definitely not an Australian native, and not very welcome around Melbourne either!

#23 Elm Leaf Beetle (Xanthogaleruca luteola)

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#19 to #22 at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, Australia, January 7 2018

I was back at WHP again to check the flowering sweet bursaria in the hope that it had attracted some jewel beetles. Other people around Victoria have been finding some beauties amongst the flowering bursaria, but I'm still yet to find very much at all! I did find a few things for this year list, all of them far, far away from the bursaria!

#19 Predatory Shield Bug (Oechalia schellenbergii)

#20 Transverse Ladybird (Coccinella transversalis)

#21 Orchid-dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa)

#22 Lipotriches australica

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#16 to #18 at Eynesbury, Victoria, Australia, January 4 2018

I visit Eynesbury a few times each year, mostly to look for birds (see http://2018birdphotos.blogspot.com/). I sometimes find a few insects, including Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), which were today's target.

I got lucky and found two hard to find species - a green mantis and a pair of mating mistletoe moths, I also found my first plague soldier beetle for the year, although I expect to see a lot more of them in the coming weeks! I only found a few Odonata, and none of them were willing to sit still and allow a close approach for a photo.

#16 Green Mantis (Orthodera ministralis)

#17 Mistletoe Moth (Comocrus behri)

#18 Plague Soldier Beetle (Chauliognathus lugubris)

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#4 to #15 at Woodlands Historic Park, Victoria, Australia, January 3 2018

I regularly visit Woodlands Historic Park. I'm there at least once a week, as it is very close to home and always provides something to photograph. During the winter months there are numerous birds, including different types of beautiful robins. During the warmer months, I find a myriad of invertebrates for my macro lens.

Today I took my five year old daughter with me, so I stayed to the tracks and didn't go to some of the areas I usually visit. This worked out quite well, as I managed to find some great insects right next to the main tracks in the areas that I don't usually visit. My daughter loved the experience, and she is getting quite good at finding insects all by herself.

Here's what I found to add to the list. There may be a few more if I can identify them to a species level, or if some other kind person on the usual ID pages that I regularly use can help.

#4 Honeybrown beetle (Ecnolagria grandis)

#5 Eurymeloides pulchra

#6  Common Brown (Heteronympha merope merope)

#7 Paropsisterna beata

#8 Tau emerald (Hemicordulia tau)

#9 Neorrhina punctatum

#10 Common spotted ladybird (Harmonia conformis)

#11 Dicranosterna immaculata

#12 Paropsisterna variicollis

After we had finished at Woodlands Historic Park, we moved on to the nearby Greenvale Reservoir Park where I managed to find a few more insects to photograph.

#13 Fiddler beetle (Eupoecila australasiae) (mating pair)

#14 Schizobothrus flavovittatus

#15 Scopula rubraria

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