2018 Insect Photos

Monday, 15 January 2018

#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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Thursday, 11 January 2018

#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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Wednesday, 10 January 2018

#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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Tuesday, 9 January 2018

#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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Sunday, 7 January 2018

#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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Tuesday, 2 January 2018

#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.