Large Mason Wasp

This beautiful insect is the Large Mason Wasp (Abispa ephippium), also commonly known as the Large Mud-nesting Wasp, Large Potter Wasp or Australian Hornet.  Belonging to the family of  Australia’s largest wasps,  these solitary wasps are quite common around the garden and are generally non aggressive. They can often be seen around water or mud as they gather material to build their large mud nests.  The adult wasps will feed on flower nectar and will capture and paralyse caterpillars  for their developing larvae.

Skipper Butterflies

Here are two examples of Skipper Butterflies (Family Hesperiidae), a common sight in the Australian garden.  Their common name comes from the pattern of their flight which involves darting movements.  Certainly a challenging butterfly to photograph, they are extremely skittish and hard to track when they shoot off at high speeds.  These two butterflies have slightly different patterns on their wings and may actually represent two different species of skipper butterfly.  The orange and yellow palm darts are another common type of skipper butterfly that I see regularly around palms such as the cotton palm.  The caterpillars can be seen stitching together the palm leaves with silk to create shelters.

Yellow Flower Wasp

Here is an example of what is commonly called a Yellow Flower Wasp (? Agriomyia sp), a name also given to a few other Australian wasp species. These wasps are solitary and are known to parasitize larvae of particular beetle species.  One feature of these wasps are the wingless females who can often be seen mating with winged males as captured in the photo below.  The male with continue to fly around with the female attached as they move from flower to flower.  It is an interesting partnership to witness, and a great example of sexual dimorphism in the insect world.

Blackish Meadow Katydid

This elusive insect is the Blackish Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus semivittatus), generally a nocturnal insect that spends the day hidden in dark spaces.  I came across this Katydid by chance when I disturbed its hiding spot at the base of a large reed-like leaf.  A very shy insect, they try to make themselves invisible by hiding behind leaves in relation to the intruders position.

Category changes

Hi all

I have decided to change the category list to group insects based on their Order rather than their common name.   This will allow for more accurate categorisation as well as being functionally easier for the blog page.  I have also included the category “Other Arthropods” to include other interesting organisms in the undergrowth.  If you hover over the particular categories, the common names will appear to give a brief summary of common insects you will find in that Order.  I hope to add more Orders in the future as examples appear, and should the collection grow even larger, hopefully further catergorisation by Family.

Many thanks

Darren