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Title: Australian insects
Author: Walter Wilson Froggatt
Release date: July 15, 2025 [eBook #76505]
Language: English
Original publication: Sydney: William Brooks & Comany, Limited, 1907
Credits: Peter Becker, Karin Spence and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AUSTRALIAN INSECTS ***
AUSTRALIAN
INSECTS.
BY
WALTER W. FROGGATT, F.L.S.,
Government Entomologist, New South Wales.
Member of the Association of Economic Entomologists, U.S. America;
Member of the Société Entomologique de France; Member of Council,
Linnean Society of N.S. Wales, and N.S. Wales Naturalists’ Club.
With 37 Plates, containing 270 Figures, also
180 text-blocks.
[Illustration]
Sydney:
WILLIAM BROOKS & COMPANY, LIMITED, Printers and Publishers,
17 Castlereagh Street.
PREFACE.
There have been so many enquiries from people in all parts of
Australia, as well as from visitors from other countries, for a book
dealing with our insects, that the writer thinks that the time has come
when a Text Book dealing exclusively with Australian Entomology will be
well received, both at home and abroad, by all those interested in this
subject.
The difficulty has been to write in a popular style so as to interest
the general reader, and induce him to further follow his studies of
the wonders of Natural History, yet at the same time to define the
characteristics of the insects described and give some idea of their
classification, so that it will not lose its value as a Text Book to
the student while enlarging the circle of its readers.
Since the year 1770, when Sir Joseph Banks captured the first diamond
beetle on the sandy shores of Botany Bay, the majority of our insects
have been described in rare old English or foreign publications, the
Zoology of Voyages and Travels, or the Transactions and Proceedings of
Scientific Societies consisting of many hundreds of volumes written in
many different languages.
Many of these original descriptions, written in English or Latin,
are so brief and obscure that without seeing the type they are quite
unintelligible even to the trained entomologist, and therefore are
absolutely of no value to the beginner.
Most of the earlier describers of Australian insects confined their
attention to beetles, moths, and butterflies. Among the few exceptions
are Westwood, who has identified himself with insects in nearly all the
orders, and as he figured many of them (often in colours), there is no
trouble in determining his species; and Walker, who also described many
unique Australian insects (chiefly in the British Museum Catalogues);
but his often vague descriptions, without details or figures, have
puzzled all entomologists who have not had access to his types.
During the last decade, however, as specialists have taken up the
work of monographing the more neglected orders, and as large general
collections of insects have been obtained from what were, at one time,
inaccessible parts of Australia, a writer can now obtain satisfactory
data as to the classification and number of Australian insects hitherto
wanting.
With these views the present text book has been prepared.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PREFACE iii.
CONTENTS vii.
LIST OF PLATES xi.
INTRODUCTION xiii.
CLASSIFICATION 1
DISTRIBUTION 4
STRUCTURE 6
FOSSIL INSECTS 9
THE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF INSECTS 395
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND TYPES 409
PUBLICATIONS DEALING WITH AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGY 418
ADDENDA 423
INDEX 425
[Illustration: “The White Ant City,” Somerset, Cape York, N.
Queensland.
(After Savelle-Kent)]
CONTENTS.
Order I.--APTERA.
Page
Family 1. COLLEMBOLA 10
„ 2. THYSANURA 11
Order II.--ORTHOPTERA.
Family 1. FORFICULIDAE 15
„ 2. BLATTIDAE 17
„ 3. TERMITIDAE 20
„ 4. EMBIIDAE 28
„ 5. PSOCIDAE 30
„ 6. MANTIDAE 31
„ 7. PHASMIDAE 34
„ 8. ACRIDIIDAE 40
„ 9. LOCUSTIDAE 46
„ 10. GRYLLIDAE 48
Order III.--NEUROPTERA.
Family 1. PERLIDAE 50
„ 2. ODONATA 51
„ 3. EPHEMERIDAE 54
„ 4. SIALIDAE 55
„ 5. PANORPIDAE 56
„ 6. HEMEROBIIDAE 57
„ 7. TRICHOPTERA 66
Order IV.--HYMENOPTERA.
Family 1. CEPHIDAE 70
„ 2. ORYSSIDAE 70
„ 3. SIRICIDAE 71
„ 4. TENTHREDINIDAE 71
„ 5. CYNIPIDAE 73
„ 6. CHALCIDIDAE 74
„ 7. PROCTOTRYPIDAE 81
„ 8. ICHNEUMONIDAE 83
„ 9. BRACONIDAE 85
„ 10. CHRYSIDIDAE 87
„ 11. EVANIIDAE 88
„ 12. MEGALYRIDAE 90
„ 13. FORMICIDAE 91
„ 14. MUTILLIDAE 98
„ 15. THYNNIDAE 100
„ 16. SCOLIIDAE 102
„ 17. POMPILIDAE 105
„ 18. SPHEGIDAE 106
„ 19. EUMENIDAE 110
„ 20. VESPIDAE 112
„ 21. MASARIDAE 113
„ 22. APIDAE 114
Order V.--COLEOPTERA.
Family 1. CICINDELIDAE 124
„ 2. CARABIDAE 126
„ 3. DYTISCIDAE 133
„ 4. GYRINIDAE 134
„ 5. HYDROPHILIDAE 135
„ 6. STAPHYLINIDAE 136
„ 7. PSELAPHIDAE 138
„ 8. PAUSSIDAE 138
„ 9. SCYDMAENIDAE 139
„ 10. SILPHIDAE 140
„ 11. SCAPHIDIDAE 141
„ 12. HISTERIDAE 141
„ 13. PHALACRIDAE 142
„ 14. NITIDULIDAE 143
„ 15. TROGOSITIDAE 144
„ 16. COLYDIDAE 146
„ 17. RHYSODIDAE 146
„ 18. CUCUJIDAE 146
„ 19. CRYPTOPHAGIDAE 147
„ 20. LATHRIDIDAE 148
„ 21. MYCETOPHAGIDAE 148
„ 22. DERMESTIDAE 148
„ 23. BYRRHIDAE 150
„ 24. GEORYSSIDAE 150
„ 25. PARNIDAE 150
„ 26. HETEROCERIDAE 151
„ 27. LUCANIDAE 151
„ 28. SCARABAEIDAE 153
„ 29. BUPRESTIDAE 162
„ 30. EUCNEMIDAE 165
„ 31. ELATERIDAE 166
„ 32. RHIPIDOCERIDAE 167
„ 33. MALACODERMIDAE 167
„ 34. CLERIDAE 168
„ 35. PTINIDAE 169
„ 36. CIOIDAE 170
„ 37. BOSTRYCHIDAE 171
„ 38. TENEBRIONIDAE 172
„ 39. CISTELIDAE 175
„ 40. LAGRIIDAE 175
„ 41. ANTHICIDAE 176
„ 42. PYROCHROIDAE 176
„ 43. MORDELLIDAE 176
„ 44. CANTHARIDAE 177
„ 45. SCOLYTIDAE 178
„ 46. BRENTHIDAE 179
„ 47. ANTHRIBIDAE 180
„ 48. CURCULONIDAE 181
„ 49. CERAMBYCIDAE 190
„ 50. CHRYSOMELIDAE 200
„ 51. EROTYLIDAE 206
„ 52. COCCINELLIDAE 207
Order VI.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Sub-order.--RHOPALOCERA.
Family 1. NYMPHALIDAE 214
„ 2. LIBYTHEIDAE 219
„ 3. LYCAENIDAE 219
„ 4. PIERIDAE 223
„ 5. PAPILIONIDAE 225
„ 6. HESPERIDAE 227
Sub-order.--HETEROCERA.
Family 1. CASTNIIDAE 232
„ 2. URANIIDAE 232
„ 3. AGARISTIDAE 233
„ 4. SYNTOMIDAE 235
„ 5. ZYGAENIDAE 236
„ 6. SPHINGIDAE 236
„ 7. HEPIALIDAE 239
„ 8. PSYCHIDAE 243
„ 9. LIMACODIDAE 246
„ 10. ARCTIIDAE 248
„ 11. LIPARIDAE 252
„ 12. BOMBYCIDAE 255
„ 13. GEOMETRIDAE 259
„ 14. NOCTUIDAE 262
„ 15. PYRALIDAE 268
„ 16. TORTRICIDAE 274
„ 17. MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA 278
Order VII.--DIPTERA.
Family 1. CECIDOMYIDAE 285
„ 2. MYCETOPHILIDAE 287
„ 3. COLICIDAE 288
„ 4. CHIRONOMIDAE 291
„ 5. TIPULIDAE 292
„ 6. STRATIOMYIDAE 293
„ 7. TABANIDAE 294
„ 8. BOMBYLIDAE 296
„ 9. ACROCERIDAE 297
„ 10. MYDAIDAE 298
„ 11. ASILIDAE 298
„ 12. APIOCERIDAE 301
„ 13. PIPUNCULIDAE 301
„ 14. SYRPHIDAE 302
„ 15. CONOPIDAE 305
„ 16. MUSCIDAE ACALYPTERA 305
„ 17. ANTHOMYIDAE 311
„ 18. TACHINIDAE 312
„ 19. DEXIIDAE 313
„ 20. SARCOPHAGIDAE 314
„ 21. MUSCIDAE 315
„ 22. OESTRIDAE 317
„ 23. HIPPOBOSCIDAE 319
„ 24. PULICIDAE 321
Order VIII.--HEMIPTERA.
Family 1. PENTATOMIDAE 327
„ 2. COREIDAE 331
„ 3. LYGAEIDAE 333
„ 4. PYRRHOCORIDAE 335
„ 5. TINGIDAE 336
„ 6. ARADIDAE 337
„ 7. HYDROMETRIDAE 337
„ 8. REDUVIIDAE 338
„ 9. CIMICIDAE 341
„ 10. CAPSIDAE 341
„ 11. CRYPTOCERATA 342
„ 12. BELOSTOMIDAE 343
„ 13. NOTONECTIDAE 344
„ 14. CORIXIDAE 345
Sub-order.--HOMOPTERA.
Family 1. CICADIDAE 346
„ 2. CERCOPIDAE 354
„ 3. MEMBRACIDAE 356
„ 4. FULGORIDAE 358
„ 5. JASSIDAE 360
„ 6. PSYLLIDAE 361
„ 7. APHIDAE 367
„ 8. ALEURODIDAE 370
„ 9. COCCIDAE 371
Sub-order.--ANOPLURA.
Family 1. PEDICULIDAE 388
Sub-order.--MALLOPHAGA.
Family 1. TRICHODECTIDAE 390
„ 2. PHILOPTERIDAE 390
„ 3. GYROPIDAE 390
„ 4. LIOTHEIDAE 390
Order IX.--THYSANOPTERA.
Family 1. THRIPIDAE 392
LIST OF PLATES.
FACING
PLATE. PAGE
I. COCKROACHES 17
II. WHITE ANTS 22
III. NESTS OF WHITE ANTS 24
IV. „ „ „ 28
V. LEAF INSECTS 35
VI. LONG-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS 46
VII. CRICKETS 48
VIII. DRAGON FLIES 51
IX. ANT LIONS 57
X. SAW FLIES 71
XI. „ „ 73
XII. FIG INSECTS 78
XIII. ICHNEUMON, SAND, AND FLOWER WASPS 89
XIV. ANTS 95
XV. NESTS OF WASPS 112
XVI. BEES AND WASPS 118
XVII. BEETLES 151
XVIII. FLOWER BEETLES 163
XIX. WHITE BUTTERFLIES 214
XX. MISCELLANEOUS BUTTERFLIES 220
XXI. „ „ 227
XXII. „ MOTHS 235
XXIII. GREAT SWIFT MOTH 241
XXIV. BAG SHELTER MOTHS 245
XXV. CASE MOTHS 253
XXVI. MISCELLANEOUS MOTHS 268
XXVII. MOSQUITOES 289
XXVIII. FLIES 299
XXIX. HOUSE FLIES 314
XXX. BLOW FLIES 316
XXXI. PLANT BUGS 327
XXXII. „ „ 336
XXXIII. CICADAS 346
XXXIV. GALLS OF COCCIDS AND BEETLES 374
XXXV. GALLS OF COCCIDS 380
XXXVI. LAC INSECTS 378
XXXVII. THRIP INSECTS 393
INTRODUCTION.
The chief drawback to the study of entomology by the outsider has
been, until modern times, the dry-as-dust technical terms used in the
descriptive work, and the formidable names attached to many of the
interesting little creatures, without any information about their
habits or life histories. This is not surprising when we know the
methods of some of the writers, and the material on which they often
worked; namely, specimens obtained from abroad, often in a more or less
damaged condition, discoloured and aborted from being squeezed among
spirit collections, and with a brief or no record of their native home.
This has been all changed since trained students like Darwin, Wallace,
Bates, and many others have spent years in the wilds studying zoology
under natural surroundings, recording their observations while they
made collections, and, with this wealth of material and accurate
knowledge, gave such descriptions, that they have led into many new
fields of investigation, one of the most important of which is economic
entomology.
The Economic Entomologist has become more necessary and important every
year. His investigations, carried on in the field and insectarium,
have not only done much to popularise entomology, but have saved the
countries interested untold wealth by the discovery of methods for
checking the spread and ravages of injurious insects. The technical
description of an insect is not sufficient to satisfy a practical man;
he wants to know where it passes the earlier stages of its existence,
what it feeds upon, and its place in the insect world.
In the open-air study of God’s tiny creatures many pleasant and
profitable hours may be spent, and dwellers in the country need never
feel time hang heavily on their hands, after they have once had their
eyes opened to the wonders of Nature around them. It is the writer’s
privilege to know and correspond with a great many busy men and women,
scattered all over Australia, who are doing valuable work in collecting
specimens, making notes, and seeing both with eyes and brain--true bush
naturalists in every sense of the word.
In acknowledging my obligations to friends who have helped me in the
course of this work, I desire to express my thanks to Mr. Masters
for notes on the habits and range of insects, and the examination
of specimens in the Macleay Museum; to Messrs. Sloane, Lea, Lyell,
R. Turner, Tillyard, Tepper, Kershaw, Dun, Dr. Jefferis Turner, Dr.
Goding, and Rev. T. Blackburn for various notes, specimens, and help
generally. From Mr. C. French and C. French, Jr., I have had the loan
of papers, books, and specimens unobtainable in Sydney, and from Mr. J.
J. Fletcher suggestions and references to works in the N.S.W. Linnean
Society’s library.
Many other correspondents have greatly assisted me in examining and
determining specimens--Dr. Horvath, Dr. Forel, M. André, Dr. Sharp,
Mr. W. F. Kirby, Mr. C. C. Green, Dr. Silvestri, Dr. Howard, Mr. W. M.
Ashmead, and Mr. D. W. Coquillett.
I am indebted to Mr. Maiden for the identification of the native food
plants of many insects.
I am also greatly indebted to Mr. W. S. Campbell for permission to
use the drawings of Messrs. Grose, Burton, and Chambers, which have
previously appeared in the pages of _The Agricultural Gazette
of N.S.W._, and which for beauty and accuracy have rarely been
surpassed. To Mr. Burton and Mr. Gurney my thanks are also due for
their care in arranging and photographing other specimens. To the other
friends who have kindly aided me in this undertaking in any way I beg
here to offer my best thanks.
AUSTRALIAN INSECTS.
CLASSIFICATION.
In considering the classification of our insects, I have on the
whole followed that adopted by Sharp in his “Insects” (vol. v.,
vi., 1895, 1899), Cambridge Natural History, but at the same time
have considered it advisable, in a work of this kind, to leave out
whenever possible the definition of the smaller sub-divisions. I have
also made one important alteration in his scheme of classification
by placing the Termitidae after the Blattidae, following on with the
Embiidae and Psocidae, as I consider that these are nearer primitive
Orthoptera than Neuroptera in their wing structure; we thus do away
with Pseudo-Neuroptera that has always appeared to be an unnecessary
division; and we should have the courage of our convictions and place
them on one side or the other.
In zoological classification, the sub-kingdom Arthopoda, comprising
creatures whose bodies are composed of rings or segments, and jointed
legs, contains four large groups: (1) Arachnidae, spiders, mites,
ticks, and scorpions; (2) Crustacea, crabs, shrimps, wood lice, &c.;
(3) Myriapoda, centipedes, millepedes, &c.; (4) Insecta, insects; and
a fifth group, Onychophora, containing the _Peripatus_, is now
included. Though these creatures are broadly related, insects are
readily distinguished from the members of the preceding groups.
The word Entomology is derived from two Greek words, _Entomos_,
an insect; and _Logos_, a discourse. Insects are arranged by
entomologists in Orders, Families, Genera, and Species. The first
clearly-defined classification was published by Linnaeus in his
“Systema Naturae,” 1758, where he divided them up into seven great
orders; namely, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera,
Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Aptera, distinguished by the number and
structure of the wings. Later on (1778) Fabricius founded another
classification, based on the structure of the organs of the mouth, but
this artificial arrangement soon became obsolete.
In 1815, Kirby and Spence issued the work in four volumes entitled
“An Introduction to Entomology or Elements of the Natural History of
Insects,” a second revised edition coming out in 1816. This was the
first attempt in England to popularise entomology, and to give the
ordinary reader an idea of classification. In it will be found a great
deal of general information that all young entomologists should read.
In Westwood’s “Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects,”
published in 1839, a great advance was made, and the science placed on
a sound footing; this has been a great help to all workers. He divided
the insects into thirteen orders; but, though the tendency of American
and European writers has been to increase these divisions, we have
reduced them, and in Kirby’s “Text Book of Entomology” only seven are
used. In the last work, “Insects” (Cambridge Natural History, 1895), by
Sharp, the same seven orders are used, though in a somewhat different
manner, with the addition of an eighth, Thysanoptera, to contain the
single family Thripidae.
The correct naming of insects is based on the following rules: First
comes the Order, which may contain a number of Families, all with
certain peculiarities; as, for example, the straight-winged insects,
Order Orthoptera, of which we will take the Family _Acridiidae_,
“locusts.” This Family is again subdivided into smaller divisions or
groups, called Genera; all the individuals comprised in the Genus have
some well-defined external characters that form a common link binding
them together: the individuals are known as Species. Therefore each
insect when it has been described has a generic or group name, and a
specific or individual name. The generic name should be based on some
Greek or Latin root, preferably the former, but it cannot of course be
compounded from both languages; it should on translation give some clue
to the general distinctive character of the group. The specific name
should be derived from Latin, and give the student some idea of the
locality, markings, colour, or shape of some part of the insect under
observation; thus, _Locusta australis_, Brunner, is the southern
locust or grasshopper. As a matter of convenience to students, the name
or abbreviated name of the entomologist who first described the insect
follows the name when mentioned in scientific articles or catalogues,
but is not usually done in general work.
The rules here laid down, however, are much more observed in the breach
than in the observance. In former times most descriptions of insects
were written in Latin, but at the present time they are being described
not only in English, French, and German, but many other languages
difficult for the ordinary English student to translate, such as
Russian, Bohemian, Hungarian, &c., so that it is very difficult in many
instances to find out whether some generic names have any meaning.
The difficulty of creating generic names with pure roots that are not
preoccupied by previous writers is always increasing, and to save the
trouble of going through the lists of genera already in use, many
zoologists use the names of other naturalists, names of localities, or
“nonsense” names compounded of a jumble of letters. Then, again, when
the genus is an extensive one containing many species, the describer
gives it the Latinised name of the collector or some friend he wishes
to honour, so that we may come across both a generic and specific name
that throws no light on the identity of the insect. As an example,
_Grabhamia curriei_; Coquillett named this mosquito in the first
instance _Culex curriei_, Currie’s mosquito, which was consistent,
but Theobald found on subsequent examination that it belonged to his
Genus _Grabhamia_, dedicated to Dr. Grabham.
Even without these drawbacks, a beginner naturally finds the
classification of insects a serious task, and the simple committing to
memory of the scientific names a big undertaking; but when he has once
grasped the rudiments, the system will soon appear to him.
One of the most difficult things the popular writer meets with in
scientific work is to find a suitable vernacular name to fit a common
insect; a beetle may be bright yellow, with a brown head; the first man
comes along and calls it the “Yellow-bodied Beetle,” another passes
by and says it is the “Brown-headed Beetle,” yet neither would be
quite accurate or define its main peculiarities. Again, we often find
a popular name that designates a particular insect in one district is
used for quite a different species in another part of the State: quite
recently I asked several correspondents for specimens of the beetle in
the Maitland district known as the “Jackeroi,” and had four distinct
species of weevils forwarded under that name. The “Dicky Rice” is
the name given to a tiny grey weevil (_Prosayleus phytolymus_)
by the orchardists about Windsor, but in other districts it is used
indiscriminately for a number of other weevils.
Should any one take up a box full of unnamed and unclassified insects,
he will feel like a stranger in a picture gallery without a catalogue;
for, while everything is very beautiful, how much more interesting
if he only knew something about the subject; for the same reason,
each insect named and arranged has an individuality that it did not
previously possess.
DISTRIBUTION.
The insect fauna of Australia is as remarkable and distinctive in its
peculiarities as the flora, and probably for the same reason,--the fact
of its isolated position from the larger continental areas, and the
configuration of the continent. If we take away the eastern mountain
range running north and south from Cape York to Gippsland, we find an
immense tract of almost level country with hardly a river of any size
except the Murray and its tributaries, covered with thick scrub or open
forest, great flat unbroken plains in the south; rolling downs towards
the north; sand-hills, and low timbered ranges in the interior. It is
half the year without any permanent water for hundreds of miles at a
stretch; scorched with a blazing sun and fierce hot winds in summer,
bleak and cold in the winter. Yet there is no desert country of any
extent in the strict sense of the word in the most arid portion; for
given a good fall of rain, the country, apparently parched beyond
recovery, soon puts on a coat of green, wild flowers shoot out, insects
and little creatures of all kinds emerge from their hiding places, and
birds appear as if by magic.
Naturally our fauna, and the insects in particular, have had to adapt
themselves to these extremes, and we find them with many curious habits
without parallel in more normal countries.
Our fauna is extremely rich in gall-producing insects in many different
orders; there are about 50 different species of coccids that form
well defined galls upon their host plants, yet the only record of a
gall-making coccid outside Australia is a single species in Mexico.
Numbers of _Thripidae_ produce galls in the leaves or flower buds of
our native shrubs, while the galls of _Psyllidae_, _Diptera_, and
_Hymenoptera_ are very abundant.
Ants, _Formicidae_, swarm in the driest parts of the interior;
and flies, of all kinds, blow flies, blue bottle, and the small house
flies, are a perfect pest all through the summer months.
All our coastal scrubs are rich in flowering shrubs which provide food
or hunting ground for a large insect population. The flower wasps,
_Thynnidae_, (in which the males are large and handsome with well
developed wings, but the females are diminutive and wingless,) comprise
several hundred described species; the only other countries in which
they are represented are the west coast of South America, and a few
in the Pacific Islands. The allied ant-like _Mutillidae_ with their
wingless females are more numerous in the interior. Though our country
is very rich in Sawflies, _Tenthredinidae_, they all belong to genera
peculiar to Australia; the members of the typical genus _Cimbex_
extending its range as far east as Japan do not reach us.
The low stunted flowering shrubs covering large patches of both the
eastern and western coasts support an immense number of Jewel-beetles,
Genus _Stigmodera_, also peculiar to this continent. We appear to
have few forms allied to North or South America; our affinities are
with Africa, and the Malay Peninsula; insects of well sustained flight,
as the Orthoptera, are found here identical with species found in
Africa and Asia.
Many insects abundant in the eastern coastal districts are very limited
in their range; but on the western watershed others may be found
ranging right across to the Indian Ocean.
STRUCTURE.
The imago or perfect insect is encased in a more or less perfect horny
integument composed of a substance called chiten, which forms in many
a regular box containing all the vital organs. Every insect can be
divided into three primary divisions: first, the head, to which is
attached the mouth parts, antennae, and eyes; second, the thorax or
chest, sometimes forming a solid mass, but properly composed of three
segments, namely, the prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax, to which
are attached three pairs of legs, and two pairs of wings (there are,
however, many exceptions to the last, as some have only one pair,
and others are wingless); third, the abdomen or body, consisting of
a number of segments variously estimated from five to eleven, the
normal number being ten, which enclose the digestive, breathing, and
reproductive organs.
Every insect in the first instance comes from an egg or living larva
produced by the female, and though, even to the naturalist, it seems
very hard to account for the countless millions of some of the smaller
insects such as aphids and scale insects which suddenly swarm as if by
magic over plants, there is no such thing as spontaneous generation;
insects cannot come out of the ground from nothing, or be produced
from the crystalline dew upon the foliage as we have sometimes found
stated in newspapers. Again, a grain weevil cannot change into a flour
moth, or _vice versa_, as many of our farmers will say in all good
faith. In some groups the insects are produced as living larvae, and
commence to feed at once; but in the majority, eggs are deposited in
or upon the food, in which state they may remain without hatching but
a few days, or more than a year. As soon as the little caterpillar
or grub emerges, it starts upon its food, spending the whole of this
stage of its existence in eating and growing, moulting at intervals by
casting off the outer skin to accommodate its increasing bulk; when
full-grown and ready for the final moult, it stops eating, crawls away
into a suitable place, and forms a cocoon, cell, or shell, in which it
pupates. It is now a chrysalis or pupa, quiescent, without any movement
except a slight twitching of the tip of the abdomen when disturbed.
Under the pupal covering the different organs of the perfect insect
become gradually defined, until one bright day the last evolution is
completed, and with a few convulsive movements the perfect insect
bursts out of its enveloping swaddling clothes and appears in all its
beauty and perfection.
Some groups, however, undergo a much more simple or incomplete
metamorphosis; emerging from the egg a baby insect ready to eat, (like
the grasshopper,) the same food as its mother; it undergoes a series
of moults, and after casting its skin every time, becomes more nearly
perfect without any true pupal stage, and finally after the last moult
comes forth with well-developed wings, a perfect insect.
The typical insect is furnished with a large compound eye on either
side of the head composed of a number of small sections called facets,
varying in number from sixteen to several thousands in some of the
more highly developed families, and two or three simple eyes forming
bright shining dots between the compound pair called ocelli. In some
groups these ocelli are wanting; in others both eyes and ocelli, so the
insects are therefore blind.
The mouth parts are composed of several hard plates; in chewing or
biting (mandibulate) insects, they consist of a pair of stout jaws,
in front of which lies the labrum, and behind the maxillae; again
behind the maxillae follows a second pair fused together to form the
labium. Both labium and maxillae are provided with a pair of slender
jointed appendages known as labial and maxillary palpi; these are used
as fingers to assist in drawing food into the mouth. In those groups
with sucking (haustellate) mouths these various parts are coalesced
into a simple sucking tube ending in a sharp style-like tip, which
is buried in the tissue of the plant when the insect is feeding. The
antennae when well developed consist of a number of distinct rings
or segments, standing out on either side of the head, and generally
attached to the front of the head between the eyes; they serve as
organs of touch, smell, and probably hearing. The legs contain five
distinct joints; first, the coxae or hips; next, the trochanters, small
joints with a ball and socket-like action from which the femora or
thighs move backward and forward; to these are attached the tibiae or
shanks terminating in the tarsi or feet at the extremity. Most insects
are also furnished with a pair of tarsal claws, between which may be a
small pad, called the pulvillus or empodium.
The wings of insects vary considerably. Some are membranous and smooth;
others are covered with down or scales; while in many the fore pair
are solid chitinous wing-cases, useless for flight, and chiefly acting
as protective covers to the hind pair, which, when the insect is at
rest, lie folded up beneath them. The flying wings are traversed with
branching tubes called nervures, which, while strengthening them, also
perform an important function in the breathing of the insect, and are
pierced with small openings; these openings are very distinct in some
of the hymenoptera.
Insects breathe by means of openings situated along the sides of the
thoracic and abdominal segments called spiracles, opening out into
branching air vessels called trachea, which pass into the interior,
ramifying throughout the body and extending into every part and
appendage, even to the tips of the antennae. The nervous system, the
life and movement of the insect, consists of a double chain of ganglia,
(_ganglion_, a knot,) nerve cells, which are connected with finer
encircling nerve tissues, that radiate in all directions, returning
to the ganglia, the latter regulating the nerve sensation. Therefore,
as their perceptions are so much less confined to the brain than in
vertebrate animals, they cannot feel to the same extent. Thus, you
can frequently find a locust, beetle, or ant that has escaped from a
bird, minus its abdomen, still crawling about, quite able to move all
its remaining organs. You can even remove the long slender body of
a dragon-fly, and carefully insert a bit of grass stalk of the same
length and weight to balance the wings, and it will fly off quite
readily; but of course they will not live long after such injuries.
We know that many insects must have very keen perceptions of sound, or
the movement of the air around them, for they will drop to the ground
at the least alarm, before the bush upon which they are resting has
been touched. Very little is understood about the organs of hearing,
except in the case of grasshoppers and locusts where the ears have been
located at the base of the abdomen or on the front leg; these in some
species can be detected with an ordinary lens. It is considered by some
writers that the hairs and spiracles upon the different parts of the
body may transmit sound and act as ears. The organs of sound are very
interesting, but can be better treated when dealing with the different
groups.
Usually, there are only two sexes of insects, males and females; but
among those living in social communities, like the bees, ants, wasps,
and termites, the majority of the inhabitants are neuters. These
neuters are usually aborted females, which do all the work in the
construction of the nest and look after the food supply of the rest of
the community.
FOSSIL INSECTS
In comparison with other countries, fossil remains of insects are
scarce; only ten species have been described and named. My information
on this subject is obtained from Messrs. Etheridge and Olliff’s Memoir
of the Geological Survey, (Palaeontology No. 7,); “The Mesozoic and
Tertiary Insects of New South Wales,” 1890. The first record of fossil
insects was made by Moore in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological
Society, 1870, entitled “Note on a plant and insect bed on the Rocky
River, N.S.W.” “These insects were obtained from a chocolate-coloured
micaceous laminated marl, forming a bed ten feet thick, at a depth of
about one hundred feet from the surface, and forming a portion of the
Tertiary drift worked at the above locality. The latter are probably of
Pliocene age.” (E. & O.)
Jack obtained the wing of a dragon fly in the Cretaceous beds of
the Flinders River, N. Queensland, which was described and figured
by Woodward under the name of _Aeschna flindersensis_ in the
Geological Magazine, 1884. It was entombed in a dark chocolate
limestone.
The insects described and figured by Messrs. Etheridge and Olliff
consist of a cicada (_C. lowei_) from the “Taeniopteris-bearing beds
of the Talbragar River in New South Wales, and of Lower Mesozoic age”:
a fly, _Chironomus venerabilis_: and a mayfly, _Ephemera culleni_:
and a beetle larva belonging to the _Lampyridae_, under the name of
_Palaeolycus problematicus_, from the Tertiary beds at Emmaville, New
England.
From the Ipswich Coal Measures of Queensland comes the fossil wing of
a Buprestid beetle, allied to existing Stigmodera, which they called
_Mesostigmodera typica_. Among the insect remains from this locality
the authors note several wings that appear to belong to weevils and
other beetles allied to existing species.
Mr. W. S. Dun informs me that insect remains have been found at
Narellan N.S.W. in Wianamatta shales, and also in the brick pits at St.
Peters near Sydney.
Order I.--APTERA.
Spring-tails and Silver-fish.
These tiny little creatures are wingless in all stages of their
existence, with only six segments in the abdomen; they are active
little creatures of very delicate structure, found in all kinds of
situations. We have many indigenous species, but on account of their
small size and retiring habits they have been seldom noticed, and a
wide field awaits some future entomologist who undertakes the study of
these interesting insects.
Very little systematic work had been done with these insects until
Lubbock’s “Monograph of the Collembola and Thysanura” was published
by the Ray Society in 1873. In this work not only are a large number
described, but observations made upon their habits and life histories
are recorded.
Family 1. Spring-tails.
COLLEMBOLA.
These are among the smallest insects, for the largest does not measure
more than ⅓ of an inch in length, and most of them are very much
smaller. They are chiefly found in damp situations among loose soil,
decaying vegetable matter, and such like material, and can stand a very
cold temperature. They are easily distinguished from the silver-fish by
the few joints in the antennae, and the great powers of jumping they
possess by means of their long jointed tail appendages.
Our common species, _Lipura sp._, is at times very abundant in the
loose soil; after a sudden thunderstorm they are often washed out
in such numbers that, carried into the little pools along the road
side, they form a dull blue scum on the surface of the water. They
measure ⅓ of a line in length; are of a dull blue colour, and have
short, thickened antennae and legs; the body is distinctly segmented
and rounded at the tip. Resting on the surface of the water they are
constantly in motion, springing up every moment like little rubber
balls.
Another species belonging to the Genus _Smynthurus_, allied to
_S. viridis_, a European form, but probably an undescribed native
species, appeared in great numbers in lucerne paddocks in S. Australia
in 1896, where they did a great deal of damage by eating the surface of
the leaves, swarming over the fields in countless millions.
It is a member of this genus (_Smynthurus lutus_) that Lubbock has
described in such an entertaining manner when recounting the courtship
of these queer little creatures.
Family 2. Silver-fish.
THYSANURA.
The silver-fish are divided into two distinct groups: those clothed
with fine loose silver-like scales, and those in which the scales
are absent and are replaced by fine hairs. The abdomen contains ten
segments; their bodies are elongated, furnished with long, slender,
many jointed antennae tapering to the extremities, and the tip of the
abdomen carries two or three slender thread-like tail appendages.
Though the group has been divided into four divisions, there are not
many species described; they frequent warm, dry, dark situations.
[Illustration: =Fig. 1.=--_Lepisma saccharina_
(Linn.).
The common Silver-Fish.
(Redrawn from Marlatt’s “Household Insects.”)]
_Lepisma saccharina_, the Common European Silver-fish, measures
up to ½ an inch in length, and is covered with delicate lead-coloured
scales that give it a dull metallic lustre. They are great pests in
libraries, where they eat the glaze on papers or clothbound books,
pasted labels, or even the surface of etchings and engravings. Our
common species was generally supposed to be this insect; but Dr.
Silvestri, to whom I submitted a number of specimens caught in Sydney
houses, says that it is _Lepisma longicaudata_, the common African
species unknown in Europe.
There is another tiny, little, dull yellow species found under stones
in ants’ nests that Silvestri has named _Lepisma cursitans_. In
the dry western scrubs of the interior under stones, hiding in the
dust, I collected _Lepisma producta_. In a natural open cave among
the sandstone cliffs on the sea shore near Gosford N.S.W. I found
a number of a very large species resting on the bare rock, with a
striking resemblance to small dried shrimps; for this peculiar species
Silvestri proposes the name of _Allomachilus froggatti_.
Order II.--ORTHOPTERA.
Cockroaches, Grasshoppers, Termites, &c.
[Illustration: =Fig. 2.=--Mouth Parts of a Grasshopper,
Showing the different parts.
1. The labrum, or upper lip.
2. Mandibles.
3. Jaws.
4. The lower labrum.
5. Tongue.
(Redrawn from Duncan’s “Transformations of Insects.”)]
The members of this order are known as straight winged insects, because
the narrow membranous fore wings (elytra) are usually laid flat along
the sides of the body, covering the fan-shaped hind wings that are
folded up beneath them. In some of the families we find groups or
individuals with the wings rudimentary or so modified in structure as
to be useless for flight, and in a few the perfect insects of one or
both sexes are wingless. In some, like the typical grasshoppers, the
hind legs have the thighs greatly developed and adapted for springing
or jumping; in the Mantids the two hind pairs of legs are simple, but
the front pair are produced into curved, spined tibiae and femora,
weapons well adapted to capture their prey. The mouth parts are
composed of a rounded upper lip, with two stout mandibles, and a pair
of jaws to which are attached jointed appendages (maxillary palpi),
the labrum or hind lip bearing similar appendages called the labial
palpi; besides these they have a stout spade-shaped tongue, so that
they both bite off and chew up their food.
Though the majority are vegetarian in their habits, one group, the
mantids, are carnivorous, and in these insects the mouth parts are
produced into a sharp point to the tip of the jaws.
They emerge from the eggs that are deposited singly or in masses in or
upon the ground or attached to the twigs of their food plant; as baby
insects they are much like the adult, undergoing a series of moults
without any true pupal stage, until in the last moult they emerge with
fully developed wings and reproductive organs.
The Orthoptera comprise a number of very different looking insects,
among them some giants of the insect world like the stick and leaf
insects. I have placed the earwigs, cockroaches, termites, embids, book
lice, grasshoppers, crickets, mantis and phasmids together, though
there is some difference of opinion among entomologists as to the exact
position of the termites, embids, and book lice. The latest list of
the Orthoptera is W. F. Kirby’s “Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera,
vol. I.,” containing all the named species of the _Forficulidae_,
_Hemimeridae_, _Blattidae_, _Mantidae_, and _Phasmidae_. This work
was published by the Trustees of the British Museum, 1904: a second
volume (not yet published) dealing with the locusts, grasshoppers,
and crickets will complete this work. The latter were catalogued by
F. Walker 1869–1870 in five parts, (Catalogue of the Specimens of
Dermaptera, Saltatoria, and Supplement to the Blattariae in the British
Museum), which this work of Kirby’s when finished will supersede.
Among the chief specialists on Orthoptera may be mentioned
Henri de Saussure, who besides his monographs in the “Biologia
Centrali-Americana,” has published many papers in scientific journals,
of which the most important (containing descriptions of Australian
species) is his “Melanger Orthopterologiques” in the Memoirs de la
Societe de Physique et d’Histoire Naturelle de Geneve 1863–4, and
in subsequent volumes. Brunner von Wattenwyl has described other
Australian species in different German publications, and in 1893
published his “Révision des Système des Orthoptères” in the Annali del
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova.
Kirby described other of our species chiefly in papers contributed to
the “Annals and Magazine of Natural History,” and the Transactions of
the Zoological and Entomological Societies.
Family 1. Earwigs.
FORFICULIDAE.
These insects are slender in form, with somewhat rounded heads bearing
two large facetted eyes, but no ocelli; and long slender antennae
composed of short oval joints. The elytra, very short, usually not
extending beyond the hind margin of the thorax, cover the hind wings
when at rest. These hind wings are short but broad, somewhat resembling
a human ear when expanded for flight, but neatly folded up beneath
the abbreviated elytra at other times. In many groups however both
elytra and wings are absent, the insects trusting to their legs and
powers of burrowing to get out of danger, and even those with well
developed wings seldom use them. The thorax is narrow; the legs stout,
well adapted both for digging and running; and the abdomen, tapering
to the extremity, terminates in a pair of callipers or pincer-like
processes, sometimes curved and toothed into remarkable shapes. It is
the possession of these curious anal appendages that has led to the
earwig being popularly credited with all kinds of evil propensities;
but though they certainly look very formidable they can only give
one’s finger a harmless pinch if handled carelessly, and are otherwise
perfectly harmless.
[Illustration: =Fig. 3.=--_Labidura truncata_
(Kirby).
The common Earwig found in the sand along river banks.
(Original W. B. Gurney.)]
Earwigs are met with chiefly in damp situations; some of the smaller
ones can be collected by pulling the rotten bark off dead trees; others
are to be found under stones or logs; and in summer time many will be
found in burrows in the damp sand on the water’s edge after the manner
of mole crickets. In point of numbers this is not a large family, only
about 520 species being described from all parts of the world; and only
about 20 from Australia, so that they are poorly represented in this
country.
The Genus _Labidura_ contains 15 described species from all parts of
the world; _Labidura riparia_, a cosmopolitan species ranging from
Europe to Asia and Africa does not reach Australia; but we have a
typical species in _Labidura truncata_, which has similar habits,
living in burrows in the sand along the edges of lagoons and creeks.
It measures an inch in length, and is of a general reddish brown tint
mottled with dull yellow; and the dorsal segments of the abdomen are
deeply barred with reddish black almost confluent down the centre.
The head is large; the prothorax small, with the elytra and wings
well developed; the abdomen, rather narrow at the base, is broadest
behind the large callipers, which are slender, furnished with two blunt
teeth on the inner edge and meet at the extremities. It differs from
_L. ripara_ in having the apical edge of the last abdominal segment
truncate, and not scalloped as in the former.
The next large Genus _Anisolabis_ is also world wide in its range
and contains 36 described species, 3 of which are recorded from
Australia, 2 from Tasmania, 1 from New Zealand, and 1 from Norfolk
Island. _Anisolabis colossea_, our largest common wingless species,
also recorded from New Caledonia, was described by Dohrn (Ann. Museo
Genov. 1879), and a second variety by Burr under the name of _A. minor_
in 1902; but it is most variable in size, ranging from over 1½ inches
in length to less than half an inch. It is of a uniform dull reddish
brown colour, with a rounded head, truncate thorax, and elongate broad
abdomen terminating in a pair of short stout finger-like appendages
fitting close together and turned up slightly at the tips.
A second species of _Anisolabis_ common in Tasmania and recorded from
the top of Mount Wellington is black, somewhat broad and flattened
on the dorsal surface, with the anal appendages short, slender, and
twisted over to the left side as if they had been damaged. It was
described by Bormans (C.R. Soc. Ent. Belg. 1880) under the name of
_Anisolabis tasmanica_.
[Illustration: =Fig. 4.=--_Anisolabis colossea_
(Dohrn).
The large wingless earwig.
(Original W. W. Froggatt.)]
_Labia grandis_ described by Dubrony (Ann. Museo Genov. 1879) comes
from North Australia. The genus contains 47 described species; several
undetermined species in my collection are small dark brown earwigs with
well developed elytra, and anal appendages very narrow at the base,
small, and curving over at the sharp tips.
[Illustration: Plate I.--ORTHOPTERA.
Family BLATTIDAE.
1. _Blatta orientalis_ ♂ (Linn.).
2. _Blatta orientalis_ ♀ (Linn.).
3. _Blatta orientalis_ Larva (Linn.).
4. _Polyzosteria limbata_ (Burm.).
5. _Periplaneta australasiae_ (Fabr.).
6. _Geoscapheus giganteus_ (Tepper).
7. _Panesthia laevicollis_ (Sauss.).
8. _Periplaneta americana_ (Linn.).
9. _Phyllodromia germanica_ (Linn.).
10. _Periplaneta americana_ (Linn.).]
[Illustration: _Plate I.--ORTHOPTERA._]
_Apterygida arachidis_, a cosmopolitan species recorded from
all parts of the world, is found in Australia; and the common
European typical species, _Forficula auricularia_, which is
widely distributed over the old world and America, is not recorded from
Australia in Kirby’s Catalogue, but I have specimens in my collection
given me by Mr. J. J. Walker taken in New Zealand, who told me he had
also captured it in Tasmania, so that it is more than probable it will
be found on the mainland.
Family 2. Cockroaches.
BLATTIDAE.
The typical cockroach is a shield-shaped insect, with stout horny
plates covering both the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the thorax and
abdomen. The head, tucked under and hidden, when viewed from above by
the rim of the prothorax, is furnished with two large compound eyes
placed well in front; in some groups there are also two ocelli; the
antennae springing from below the eyes are very long and slender,
composed of a great number of short ringed segments. The jaws are well
adapted for their vegetarian habits, though some among the domestic
species are almost omnivorous in their tastes. Tepper considers that
several species destroy the grubs and caterpillars of injurious
cut-worms, but this wants further confirmation. Their legs are long and
stout, covered with spines, and in the species living under stones and
logs the legs are usually thickened. Many species are provided with
two pairs of stout membranous wings, while the front pair (elytra)
are thickened, opaque and coarsely veined; the hind wings, though
frequently small, are fan-shaped, membranous and well adapted for
flight.
The cockroach is one of the most ancient of insects, and roaches are
common in fossil beds both in Europe and America, many of them allied
to our still existing forms.
The female has a curious habit of carrying her keeled egg capsule
protruding from her abdomen for some time before she deposits it in a
suitable situation.
A number of cosmopolitan species might be called domestic insects
as they are only found about houses or the haunts of man; in London
_Blatta orientalis_ is commonly known as the “black beetle,” swarming
in cellars and kitchens. In Sydney the large yellow roach that comes
flying round the room to the light is _Periplaneta americana_, an
introduction from America, which has almost driven the smaller
indigenous _Periplaneta australasiae_ out of our houses; while in some
of the southern and eastern States of America our Australian roach
has been introduced and become the common domestic pest. The little
German Roach, or “Croten Bug” of America, _Phyllodromia germanica_,
is sometimes found about the Sydney wharves. Many of these bush and
household roaches are provided with glands at the tip of the abdomen,
from which they can discharge (when disturbed) a foetid odour as a
means of defence. The cockroaches are a very extensive family; Marlatt
estimates that at least 5,000 occur all over the world; about 212
species are given by Kirby (Catalogue Orthoptera vol. I. British Museum
1904) as Australian. Most of our typical forms are wingless, and live
under rotten logs or stones; some of the largest species are to be
found in the dry interior.
Saussure has described a number of our species (Mem. Soc. Geneve
1863–4–9): Walker many others, (Brit. Mus. Catalogue Blattidae 1868):
and Tepper has been a constant worker at this group in South Australia
for some years; descriptions of most of his species will be found in
the Transactions of the Royal Society of S. Australia between 1893–95,
and the Zoology of the Horn Expedition 1896.
The Genus _Panesthia_ contains 44 described species ranging from India
to Australia, of which 7 are peculiar to this country.
_Panesthia laevicollis_ is common in forest land, where it is found
burrowing in damp rotting logs. It is a wingless black insect,
measuring nearly 1½ inches in length, with the thorax narrow and
flattened above the head, the latter furnished with comparatively short
antennae; the legs short but very spiny; and the dorsal surface of the
abdomen covered with irregular punctures.
_Cosmozosteria coolgardiensis_ is a very distinctive, wingless, dull
yellow species broadly marked with black on the thoracic segments, and
finely barred with the same colour on the upper edges of the abdominal
segments. It measures about 1¼ inches in length, and ranges from South
Australia to the central parts of Western Australia.
_Polyzosteria limbata_ is a large dark brown cockroach margined on
the outer edge of the dorsal plates with yellow; it is common in the
vicinity of Sydney, and may be often noticed in the neighbourhood of
Botany resting on stumps and fences; it has the habit, like several
other species, of discharging a most offensive liquid when disturbed.
_Polyzosteria pubescens_ is an allied but much larger insect, measures
up to 2 inches in length and 1½ inch in breadth; it is of a uniform
dull brown tint, and is common about Kalgoorlie W.A., and will be
probably found to range over a large portion of the interior.
_Polyzosteria mitchellii_ is a variegated, dull metallic green
cockroach ranging over the same country, but not more than 1½ inches in
length. It has the upper surface margined on the edges with yellow, and
is mottled on the legs and under-surface.
[Illustration: Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
=Figs.= =5= and =6=.--Desert Cockroaches.
5. _Polyzosteria mitchellii_ (Angas). The green-banded
cockroach.
6. _Polyzosteria pubescens_ (Tepper). The Pubescent
cockroach.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Geoscapheus giganteus_ is our giant cockroach, measuring 2½ inches in
length and 1½ across the middle of the body. Like the last three it
is wingless, with the large prothoracic shield overlapping the head.
In colour it is bright reddish brown, crenulated and very rugose in
the centre of the dorsal surface. In the same year (1895) that Tepper
obtained this fine species, Saussure described another large roach
under the name of _Macropanesthia rhinoceros_, forming a new genus for
its reception and adding a second species which he named _M. muelleri_.
Family 3. White Ants.
TERMITIDAE.
[Illustration: =Fig. 7.=--_Mastotermes
darwiniensis_ (Froggatt).
The giant termite of Northern Australia, showing the
structure of the wings of the male.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The exact position of these insects in every scheme of classification
has been more or less vague, and while some writers place them in the
Orthoptera, more include them in the Neuroptera; others again to get
over the difficulty have formed a halting ground between the two and
called them Pseudo-Neuroptera. In the “Genera Insectorum,” Desneux has
followed Brullé and Comstock and placed them in a distinct order as
Isoptera. Grassi, one of the greatest living authorities on the anatomy
of insects, considers they are allied to the Neuroptera: but taking the
broad ground of outward structure upon which the Orders were formed,
and comparing the perfect termites, especially my giant species from
North Australia, _Mastotermes darwiniensis_, with other families,
I consider they are closely allied to the cockroaches, and therefore
place them here. Take the wing away from some of the larger species and
they have a striking resemblance to earwigs, and one of our greatest
authorities on the family (Hagen) actually described a damaged earwig
from Japan as a termite.
Termites are widely distributed over all the warmer regions of the
world, though most numerous in tropical countries; and a number of
fossil species have been described from Europe and America.
When Hagen’s “Monograph of the Termitidae” was published in 1858, only
seven species were recorded from Australia and Tasmania, and one or
two of these are very doubtful. In my “Australian Termitidae” (Pro.
Linn. Soc. 1896–1897) the number was brought up to 35, and there are
probably many more to be discovered, so that the family is very well
represented in this country. Our species have been subdivided into nine
genera placed in six sub-families, which are chiefly formed on the wing
structure.
Broadly speaking their habits are very similar, and each nest or
community consists of the same castes. First in order come the dark
brown perfect winged male and female insects, only found in the regular
nests in the early summer months; for soon after their wings are
developed, the workers cut openings in the clay walls of the nest, and
they fly out in a continuous stream, generally just before sunset, and
when all have left the workers again close up the openings for another
year. In the winged state they are known as “flying ants,” and on a
warm summer night sometimes come in such numbers round the lights,
dropping their easily detached wings all over the table, that they are
a regular nuisance.
These perfect termites have well developed eyes; slender antennae
composed of short, rounded, bead-like joints standing out in front of
the rounded flattened head; and a short stout thorax fitting close
against the elongate rounded abdomen. They are furnished with two pairs
of similar, elongated, narrow wings of uniform width rounded at the
tips, with primitive parallel neuration; these are loosely attached to
the basal wing-flap by a cross suture, where they readily tear them
across; when at rest they are laid flat over each other down the back,
extending well beyond the tip of the body: the legs are short and stout.
Their flight is feeble, and of the millions that swarm out and flutter
away from the nest, probably not more than halfa-dozen couples are
fortunate enough to get into a suitable place to found a fresh colony.
[Illustration: =Fig. 8.=--Diagram of head of
worker termite. Dorsal view, showing the jaws and mouth
parts. _Coptotermes (Termes) lacteus_ (Froggatt).
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 9.=--_Coptotermes (Termes)
lacteus_ (Froggatt). Fully developed female or Queen.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: Plate II.--ORTHOPTERA.
Family _Termitidae_.
_Coptotermes (Termes) lacteus_ (Froggatt).
1. Male (wings closed).
2. Male (wings expanded).
3. Worker.
4. Nymph.
5. Soldier.]
[Illustration: _Plate II.--ORTHOPTERA._]
The next caste, that form the bulk of the life of the nest, are the
workers, delicate soft white creatures with pale yellow, rounded,
flattened heads; blind, but furnished with slender antennae; and a pair
of short stout toothed jaws hidden by the labrum, and which in the
course of their labours do such immense damage to all kinds of both
native and imported timber. The third caste, also always present, are
the soldiers, that simply act as guards for the whole nest, leaving
all the work of building, feeding the young, and gathering supplies to
the workers. In the fourth we have the Queen, which was originally one
of the winged forms; after casting her wings she is impregnated, and
while the head, thorax and appendages remain as before, the abdomen
swells into a white cylindrical sack as thick as one’s little finger;
the chitinous plates that once fitted close together are now widely
separated and appear as narrow black bands. She is simply a mass
of egg tubes; and, looked after and fed by the attendant workers, she
devotes her life to laying eggs, which, like grains of sugar, are
carried away and piled up by the workers in adjacent chambers under
the nursery. From these eggs develop tiny white specks of matter that
gradually develop by a regular series of moults into workers, soldiers,
and immature winged forms; the latter have large rounded bodies and
rounded wing pads representing the future wings. Supplementary Queens
are sometimes found that have never gone through the winged stage; they
have the general structure and large corrugated bodies of the mature
queens. The typical white ants’ nest, known as a Termitarium, usually
consists in the first instance of a mass of woody laminated material
that might be likened to papier-mache, originally a stump or portion of
a log that has been chewed up and voided in the form of a mortar-like
substance. This termitarium is full of irregular galleries running like
a network all through the mass, with the means of exit running out
under the nest; a mass of stout terraced structure above the ground
level surrounds the Royal Chambers, which might be likened in size
and shape to an inverted saucer, from which the enclosed Queen cannot
escape, but the attendant workers can pass to and fro. Above this is
a rounded oval mass often as big as a child’s head, which resembles
stiff brown paper folded round and round, full of fine openings, and
is easily crumbled up; this, for want of a better word, I call the
nursery, as it contains all the minute larvae as they emerge from the
eggs. The formation above the nursery is more irregular, and terminates
in a rounded cap. The whole of this woody structure is covered with a
stout enveloping wall of fine clay, which, carried up grain by grain,
has been cemented together into a firm earthy wall in contact with the
woody structure at the base of the nest, but often with a cavity at the
apex.
[Illustration: =Fig. 10.=--Queen Termite (_C. (Termes)
lacteus_) (Froggatt). Showing her in the Royal Cell or
Queen’s Chamber.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The nests of the _Eutermes_ are sometimes built over stumps, but more
often on the branches or trunks of trees, where they form rounded or
oval masses a foot or two in diameter, with covered galleries leading
down to the ground. In these nests there is no distinct outer earthy
sheath; when near the ground, earth and wood are blended together in
a very compact mass, full of small galleries running at every angle,
and have no distinct structure like the first group. When the nest
is placed on a tree trunk or branch away from the ground it consists
almost entirely of woody matter, and may be quite soft and papery
beneath the outer crust. In the West Indies these nests are popularly
known as “Negroheads.”
Other groups are never known to construct true nests, but form chambers
and galleries under the bark of trees, in banks, or simply under logs
and stones. Some in the interior are said to disappear underground from
their nests in the dry summer time, returning with the first rains and
mending up the dilapidated walls.
The members of the two genera _Mastotermes_ and _Calotermes_ have
the wings much more thickly veined than the more simple _Termes_ and
_Eutermes_.
_Mastotermes darwiniensis_ is the largest common species taken flying
round the lights at night in North Queensland and Port Darwin. It is
very dark brown, with thickly veined wings, and measures 1⅓ inches
in length from the front of the head to the tip of the folded wings.
Nothing is known of its nests or the other forms of this species. It
is the sole representative of the sub-family. I have, through the
observations of Mr. N. W. Christie of Port Darwin, good reasons for
believing that _Termes errabundus_, described from the soldiers and
workers only, is identical with this giant termite. He informs me that
at Point Charles he finds the nests in every old post or stump in the
wet season.
_Calotermes longiceps_ is the common Sydney species of this group, of
which we have six described from Australia, and one from New Zealand.
The soldier measures ½ inch in length, with a long broad head armed
with blackish projecting jaws, which are irregularly toothed on
the inner edges. The _Calotermes_ live in logs and trees in small
communities; they form no regular nest; this species is found in logs
of firewood about Sydney. In some species the soldiers are very rare,
the community consisting of immature winged forms and workers.
[Illustration: Plate III.--ORTHOPTERA.
Family TERMITIDAE.
Termitarium of the Meridonial White Ant, _Termes
meridionalis_ (Froggatt).
“The Magnetic Nest,” Palmerston, Port Darwin, N. Australia.
(Original photo. N. Holtz.)]
[Illustration: _Plate III.--ORTHOPTERA._]
* * * * *
In the RHINOTERMINAE we have two species, differing from the former
group in having the wings very finely wrinkled or reticulated; and also
in having two distinct forms of soldiers, one much larger than the
other, but both with pear shaped heads and pointed finely-toothed
jaws. _Rhinotermes intermedius_ is not uncommon in old stumps about
Sydney; the winged forms are of a light reddish brown colour with
delicate wings; both the workers and soldiers of the major type have
large yellow heads, the latter armed with curved jaws; while the heads
of the small form of soldiers are much more slender.
[Illustration: =Fig. 11.=--Typical Domed Termitarium
or “White Ants’ Nest” from the coastal districts of New
South Wales. Formed by _Coptotermes (Termes) lacteus_
(Froggatt). (“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration:
=Fig. 12.=--Vertical section of nest of the same species
shewing the structure of the woody interior, with the outer
clay covering.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The typical TERMITINAE comprise nearly all the species that build
regular mounds, containing countless thousands of individuals. _Termes
lacteus_ is the common species that does so much mischief to buildings
about Sydney, and though not a mound builder about the city, yet from
Colo Vale to Victoria and also northward it forms tall rounded nests
up to six feet high and very regular in structure. The soldier is
about ¼ inch long, with a bright, yellow, pear shaped head, and a pair
of curved jaws; it also has an opening in the front of the head above
the jaws from which it can discharge a globule of milk-like fluid when
disturbed. This species with several allied forms has been placed in
the genus _Coptotermes_. _Termes meridionalis_ has a small soldier,
almost white, with a rounded yellow head armed with two slender curved
jaws, and an incurved tooth in the centre of the inner margin; it
measures a little over ⅙ of an inch in length. It has a world wide
reputation on account of building what is known as the “Magnetic Nest,”
built like a brick wall and always pointing north and south, with the
wall facing east and west. Jack (Pro. Royal Society, Queensland, 1897)
considers that this is done by the termites always building towards the
rising sun; so that, as they work at night, the clay will dry rapidly.
They are found in several localities on Cape York and near Port Darwin.
Several very distinct species are found in the interior. _Termes
perniger_ ranges from Kalgoorlie W.A. to Western Queensland; the
soldier is a very dark coloured insect with a very large head furnished
with large powerful toothed jaws, and is very savage. _T. rubriceps_
is found in small colonies in Central Australia, forming their nests
at the roots of the tussocks of spinifex grass. _T. krisiformes_, a
species in which the soldier has slender irregular jaws like a Malay
kris, makes tiny little mounds about Bulli N.S.W. or forms colonies
under the shelter of a log.
[Illustration: =Fig. 13.=--Nest of White Ant
(_Eutermes fumipennis_) (Walker), upon the summit of
a rock where a small stump had been situated. Manly, near
Sydney, N.S.W.
(Original photo. W.W.F.)]
The members of the genus _Eutermes_ are common all over Australia; they
construct hard woody nests seldom more than a foot or two high; though
at the same time, the largest known termitarium is also built by one
species, _Eutermes pyriformis_, pillar shaped and often 18 feet in
height, probably in the first instance commenced over a dead tree trunk.
The soldiers are very curious looking creatures; the peculiar oval or
rounded heads produced into an awl-like point in front, the centre
being filled with a clear honey-like fluid; this is discharged down the
projecting snout and smothers their enemies, because they have no true
jaws above the mouth: most of them are much darker brown insects than
the other termites. The two species, _Eutermes fumigatus_, the darker,
smaller species, and _E. fumipennis_, the lighter tinted, are common in
the vicinity of Sydney.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 14.=--Typical nest, of the Spinifex termite
(_Eutermes triodiae_) (Froggatt), about 14 feet high.
Hall’s Creek, Kimberley, W.A. (Original photo. Mansbridge.)]
Family 4. Web-spinners.
EMBIIDAE.
These rare and curious little chocolate brown creatures are elongate in
form, not unlike a slender adult termite after it has shed its wings,
and they form another group that has puzzled entomologists in regard to
their classification. Only twenty species are known from all parts of
the world; but from their affinities to prehistoric insects they have
been carefully studied. Grassi worked at the life-history of a species
found in Southern Europe under stones: Wood-Mason has figured and
described Indian forms and placed them in the Orthoptera: Perkins says
that the species in Hawaii is common on tree trunks where they conceal
themselves under a fine web like spiders.
[Illustration: Plate IV.--ORTHOPTERA.
Family TERMITIDAE.
Termitarium of the Great Mound-nest White Ant, _Eutermes
pyriformis_ (Froggatt).
Palmerston, Port Darwin, N. Australia.
(Original photo. N. Holtz.)]
[Illustration: _Plate IV.--ORTHOPTERA._]
[Illustration:
=Fig. 15.=--_Oligotoma gurneyi_ (Froggatt). The
web spinning embiid. With a diagram showing the primitive
structure of wing. (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)]
They measure up to about ½ an inch in length; are elongate in form
with large globular heads, small toothed jaws, and long, slender
antennae composed of 20 or more bead-shaped joints which they are
constantly moving when they run about. The thorax is formed of three
very elongated segments, so that each pair of legs is very wide
apart; and in the winged forms the slender oar-shaped wings with very
primitive nervures are so far from each other that they have quite
a comical look; the abdomen is short, cylindrical, composed of 10
segments, rounded at the tip, with large anal appendages (cerci). The
legs are curiously thickened, with the tarsi of the front pair shaped
somewhat like a weaver’s shuttle. Until last year they were unknown
in Australia, when I described two species (Proc. Linn. Soc. 1904);
the first _Oligotoma agilis_, is a wingless form, of which I found
two specimens while turning over granite boulders at Bomen near Wagga
N.S.W. The second, _Oligotoma gurneyi_, was obtained by Mr. Gurney in a
lighted room one evening in a suburb of Sydney; it had well developed
wings. Soon afterwards Mr. Steel had his attention called to what one
of the men in the Colonial Sugar Co.’s refinery at Pyrmont called a
“white fungus” under one of the windows. This Mr. Steel found to be
a mass of white web matted with excrement and full of slender brown
insects, which he collected into a bottle and handed to me. Though most
of them were mature, only a few showed regular wing pads, but otherwise
they appear to be _O. gurneyi_; in captivity they spun a great quantity
of delicate white web among which they hid, but when wet sugar was
placed on the cork they ate it readily.
Family 5. Book Lice.
PSOCIDAE.
These are very delicate little creatures that run about on moss grown
fences, tree trunks, among foliage, or hide in boxes, old baskets and
other litter. In some groups, while the larvae and pupae are wingless,
the perfect insects have two pairs of delicate wings with curious
curved transverse nervures and very few cross veins, so that the cells
are few. In other groups the perfect insects are wingless, or if
present, aborted and useless for flight. They are all furnished with
long slender antennae consisting of from 11 to 25 joints; the head is
large, rounded in front, with convex eyes, and three ocelli (wanting in
the wingless forms).
[Illustration:
=Fig. 16.=--_Philotarsus froggatti_ (Enderlein). A
typical specimen of the Psocidae found near Sydney, N.S.W.
(Redrawn from Enderlein’s figure,--W.W.F.)]
They can be collected into a small tube on fences or tree trunks, or
shaken into a net or umbrella; but they must be handled very gently,
and are best placed in dry tubes, and killed and mounted at home. Many
handsome species are found in Australia, and some probably have a wide
distribution, as they are easily introduced into a new country with
many kinds of produce. One dull winged species is very common on the
foliage of the orange trees, where it lays its metallic green eggs in
patches of 9 or 12 on the midrib of the leaf, covering them over with a
delicate white silken sheet.
A number of species were obtained in Australia by the Hungarian
entomologist L. Biro, collecting for the Royal Museum of Hungary,
chiefly captured in the neighbourhood of Sydney. In 1903 Dr. Enderlein
classified and described these (Die Copeognathen des Indo-Australischen
Faunengebietes), published in the Annals of the above Museum, and
illustrated with many fine drawings. In this monograph he divides the
family into 16 sub-families, 39 genera and 115 species, 15 of which are
described from Australia.
_Philotarsus froggatti_, a tiny creature 2⅓ millimetres in length, with
clear wings, is found on the Blue Mountains.
Family 6. Mantids.
MANTIDAE.
We have no exact popular name for these peculiar insects; some of the
bush children call them “Forest Ladies,” on account of the dainty form
and graceful motion of several of our smaller species, which is rather
appropriate; but unfortunately several lace-wings go under the same
fanciful name. In the United States the common species are called “Rear
Horses” from the way they stand at rest with raised fore legs. The
Romans called them “Soothsayers;” and at least two species are known
as “Praying Mantis,” namely _Mantis religiosa_ in Europe, and _Mantis
carolina_ in the United States, from their pious attitudes.
They are most numerous in tropical countries, and are well represented
in Australia; Westwood in his “Synopsis of the Species of Mantidae,”
published in 1889, records 624 described species, only 30 of which come
from this country. Kirby’s Catalogue (1904) brings the list up to about
843, and adds 5 more to our list of described species.
With the exception of some curious little neuroptera (_Mantispa_),
which can be easily distinguished by their lace-like wings, the members
of this family cannot be confused with other groups. The long slender
prothorax, supporting a very flexible narrow head, forms an elongate
neck, to which are attached, well in front, the formidable spined fore
legs, which are seldom used as means of progression, but as weapons of
offence to capture other insects upon which they prey, for they are
tigers of the insect world, lying in wait, perfectly motionless, with
their colouration adapted to the foliage among which they hunt. The two
apical portions of the thorax, and slender body, which in the ordinary
type is covered with two pairs of wings, the first pair narrow like
that of a grasshopper and the hind pair fan-shaped, with the two pairs
of slender legs, are orthopterous; while the front portion, consisting
of the narrow head turned down in front into a pointed mouth, with
large projecting eyes, and thread-like antennae, show its carnivorous
habits. The female deposits her eggs upon the twigs or bark of trees
in an almond-shaped mass, consisting of regular rows of elongate eggs
piled above each other, with the tips all pointing outward, and which
are covered with an enveloping coat of a sticky brown secretion that,
as it hardens in the sun, becomes dry and papery. When the baby mantids
emerge from the eggs they are attached to them by two slender threads
fastened to the anal appendages (cerci); they hang head downward, like
a mass of tiny squirming caterpillars, until they cast their first
larval skin, when they fall to the ground, soft, wingless, little
stick-like creatures, ready to hunt for themselves. These egg masses
are very conspicuous objects in the bush and orchard, and are often
received from my correspondents with enquiries as to what they are, and
whether they should be destroyed. As each is the home of some hundreds
of little creatures that destroy thousands of smaller injurious
insects, they should never be disturbed by the gardener.
The commonest species in our gardens is the “Thick shouldered green
mantis,” _Orthodera ministralis_ better known under the name of
_Orthodera prasina_, but as it was described many years before under
the first name, the latter has become a synonym. It is about 1½
inches in length, somewhat stout and thickset, the front portion of
the neck-like prothorax as wide as the head, fitting up close against
it, and narrower where it joins the mesothorax. It has well developed
wings and flies very well, but it usually remains immovable and alert,
resting on a leaf as green as its own bright coat, its treacherous
deadly fore-legs are raised, ready to lash out and seize any incautious
moth or butterfly that comes within reach, and it will often secure
one larger than itself. It ranges from Tasmania round to North-west
Australia, and has been recorded from New Zealand, into which place it
could have been easily introduced from Australia with foliage plants.
[Illustration: Fig. 17.
=Figs.= =17= and =18=.--Australian Mantidae.
17. _Tenodera australasiae_ (Leach), the long-winged
mantis.
18. _Archimantis latistylus_ (Serv.), the short-winged
mantis.
(Original photo. Burton.)]
The Genus _Archimantis_ contains five species described from Australia,
of which _Archimantis latistylus_ is the commonest species about
Sydney. It measures 4 inches in length, is furnished with large well
developed wings, and varies in colour from dull green to brownish
yellow; the female is smaller, with more thickened body and shorter
wings. The fore-wings, or more properly elytra, are brown, rounded
at the tips, often marked in the centre with a dark spot; the hind
wings are semitransparent. It hides among the dull-coloured foliage of
the Leptospermum and Melaleuca bushes, which assimilate well with its
own uniform tint. This species will be found, figured, in colours in
McCoy’s “Zoology of Victoria, Decade xiii.”
_Archimantis montrosa_, a slightly larger species, comes from Victoria
River, North Australia; the type was taken by Elsey, naturalist to the
Gregory Exploring Expedition in 1856. _A. armatus_, a smaller brown
species, from the same district, has the prothorax curiously spined on
the outer margins, and the under-surface covered with coarse tubercles.
_Tenodera australasiae_ is another of our best known species, not
uncommon about Sydney in the summer months on the low scrub. It was
first described, and figured in colours, by Leach in his “Zoological
Miscellanies” 1815; and Westwood states that the type is in the
Banksian Collection in the British Museum. It has a wide range over
Australia, and is also a native of New Caledonia, New Guinea and
Ceram. It is a more brightly-tinted insect, 3½ inches in length, of a
general yellowish brown colour; the apical edge of the elytra striped
with green, followed with a stripe of pale salmon colour, and the rest
semitransparent; the wings are tinged with pink along the front margin,
the whole mottled with black and brown, thickest towards the body.
There are a number of active, little, black or dark brown mantids
with curiously shaped bodies that run about on the dull coloured tree
trunks, seldom flying, (though many of them are winged), but trusting
to their imitative tints to escape observation; several of our species
belong to the Genus _Paroxypilus_.
Family 7. Stick or Leaf Insects.
PHASMIDAE.
These are sometimes in general appearance not unlike mantids, but the
distinctive characteristics are well defined; for though the prothorax
is more or less elongated into a neck, and the abdomen, wings, and hind
legs long, it will soon be noticed that the fore pair of legs are not
spined, but are regular walking or clinging legs like the hind ones.
The head is oval or rounded, with a somewhat simple mouth adapted for
chewing foliage; smaller eyes; and large, thicker jointed antennae.
[Illustration: Plate V.--ORTHOPTERA.
Family PHASMIDAE.
_Podacanthus wilkinsoni_ (Macleay).
1. Male.
2. Female.
3. Immature male.
4. Showing structure of hind legs of immature male.
5. Egg (enlarged).]
[Illustration: _Plate V.--ORTHOPTERA._]
They in the matter of colouration also adapt themselves to their
surroundings, and are usually green or brown when at rest, though when
the wings are expanded they exhibit some brilliant tints. In some
groups the species are winged in both sexes; others have only winged
males; and one group is wingless in both sexes, the latter generally
long, slender, and stick-like.
This family contains some of the giants of the insect world; specimens
of several of our Australian species measure 12 inches in length; while
supposed closely allied fossil forms unearthed in the Carboniferous
deposits of Europe measure up to 19 inches and were supplied with
immense wings. The female while crawling about among the foliage drops
her eggs singly on the ground beneath, where, protected in their hard
shells among the litter, they sometimes remain over a year before the
baby phasma comes out. The remarkable form and texture of these hard
oval egg cases has attracted the attention of entomologists in many
countries, and Sharp has figured and described some from New Britain.
Just as the Mantis has adapted its colour and shape to catch its prey,
so the phasma to protect itself from its many enemies has evolved
wonderful leaf-like processes upon the wings and legs, agreeing in
style with the surrounding foliage. It is noticeable that the larger
bodied female is often more leaf-like than her slender mate, probably
because more helpless; this is particularly so in the gravid or
egg-laying condition.
G. R. Gray described a number of our species in the Transactions of the
Entomological Society 1836, and others in the “Entomology of Australian
Phasmidae” 1833, and later in his “Synopsis Phasmidae”; Westwood in
his “Catalogue of the Orthopterous Insects in the British Museum” 1859
describes some; a few have been described by Macleay, Leach, McCoy and
Rainbow, bringing our list up to about 60 species. In Kirby’s Catalogue
95 species are listed from all parts of the world, but no additions are
made to our list.
The members of the Genus _Bacillus_ are slender, wingless, stick-like
creatures of which 5 species are recorded from Australia. The Great
Brown Phasma, _Acrophylla titan_, is the type of one of our groups,
containing 11 species described from this country. The female measures
8 inches to the tip of the body, and is slightly broader across the
outspread wings; the general form of head and thorax to base of tegmina
is slender; the abdomen is thickened; the legs and mesothorax are
spiny. The general colour is greyish brown; the tegmina light brown,
but thickly blotched with blue-black so that it is often more black
than brown; the wings are very large with the costal area broad and
similar in colour to the tegmina, but shaded with red at base, the
hind membranous part of them light chocolate irregularly mottled with
dull greyish brown. The male is more slender in form, about an inch
shorter, the smaller tegmina mottled with greenish yellow; the front
of the wings, which are proportionately small, are of the same colour,
and the hind portion dark chocolate finely mottled with light brown.
This large stick-insect used to be common about Sydney before the scrub
was cleared away, and ranges northward up the coast. Gray says: “It is
found on low scrubs about Port Jackson where the inhabitants call it
“Walking Straw” or the “Animated Stick.”
[Illustration:
=Fig. 19.=--Group of Gregarious Phasmids, _Podacanthus
wilkinsoni_ (Macleay) resting upon denuded eucalyptus
foliage.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Podacanthus_ is represented by 3 fine species. The large
pink winged phasma, _P. typhon_, has a wide range from Victoria to
Queensland. When resting with closed wings it is of a uniform rich
green tint, but when the wings are opened out, the upper surface of the
abdomen and the wings behind the frontal stripe are bright rose red.
The female measures 5 inches to the tip of the body and over 7 inches
across the outspread wings. In this genus the mesothorax is short, the
dorsal surface covered with short spined bosses and the metathorax
swelling out into a thickened body tapering to the large boat shaped
ovipositor. The male is smaller and much more slender.
_P. wilkinsoni_ is a gregarious species, appearing in the summer in
the New England forests in countless thousands, stripping every leaf
off the eucalyptus bushes as they travel along to the south-east, so
that all the trees look as if they had been killed by ringbarking, from
which habit they have received the name of “Lourie’s Ringbarkers,”
Mr. Lourie being the owner of Noundoc Station, where they are very
numerous. The female measures about 3½ inches to the tip of the body,
which is broad and thickset from the shoulders, of a general uniform
bright green tint on the dorsal surface, with the ventral somewhat
blackened and roughened. When the wings are expanded the front margin
shows the basal part pale orange yellow, and the membranous part behind
varying from rich rose red to pink. The male is a more slender insect
of a dull olive green tint, about the same length, with the broad wings
delicate purple. They appear with well developed wings about New Year,
and are depositing their eggs toward the end of February, the first
frost killing the last of them off.
_Didymuria violescens_ was described and figured in Leach’s “Zoological
Miscellanies 1815” as our typical Australian Phasma; Gray again figured
it in colours in his “Entomology of Australia” under the name of the
“Violet-winged tailed Spectre.” It is a slender species not unlike the
last, of a brownish yellow colour, with wings of a deep violet almost
red tint; and it has 3 large spines on the thighs of the hind legs.
The Genus _Tropidoderus_ contains four species according to the latest
catalogue, though there is some doubt whether one or two should not be
defined as only varieties of _T. childreni_ described by Gray.
_T. rhodomus_ is figured and described by McCoy; it measures 6 inches
in length and 9 across the outspread wings. With closed wings it is
a rich green, but when they are expanded, the basal portion of the
wings is bright red, with the apical portion green, and the rest
semitransparent. The tegmina is short, leaf-like, green above, but
shaded with red on the under-surface. This is one of the short-necked
broad-bodied forms, and while the fore-legs are long and slender, the
thighs of the mid and hind pair are dilated into flattened leaf-like
forms; it is found, clinging among the foliage of the gum trees, from
Victoria to Queensland. The typical _T. childreni_ differs from this
form in having the basal portion of the apical area of the wings yellow
instead of red, and the hyaline wings tinged with yellow. McCoy has
figured another under the name of _T. iodomus_: and Rainbow a fourth
from the neighbourhood of Sydney under the name of _T. decipiens_ which
also comes very close to the typical species; it has the basal portion
of the apical area of the wings purple.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 20.=--The Spiny Green Leaf Insect. _Extatosoma
tiaratum_ (Macleay).
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Extatosoma tiaratum_ is remarkable for the great difference in
the sexes; the male is a rare insect, about 4 inches long; is a dull
dark green, with small tegmina; the wings are large, rounded at the
tip, the apical margin green with the rest semiopaque, dark brown,
mottled with whitish bands; the head is conical, coming to a point at
the summit and cleft in the centre, covered with fine tubercles.
The female measures about 5 inches, is of a similar colour, large and
swollen in proportion; the tegmina are represented by two flaps, and
the wings are wanting. The head is of the same conical shape as that
of the male, but larger; neck short and stout; the legs produced into
dilated spiny leaf-like processes, cut out and arcuate like the leaves
of holly; and the lower segments of the abdomen are fringed with spiny
leaf-like appendages. Often the large body is mottled with white specks
and smutty blotches, giving it a wonderful resemblance to the foliage
among which it hides. It has a very wide range from Tasmania to New
Guinea.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 21.=--A group of Spiny Green Leaf Insects,
_Extatosoma tiaratum_ placed on a Japanese Holly bush to
show protective mimicry.
(“Agricultural Gazette” N.S.W.)]
_Clemacantha regale_ is a large, handsome, very long phasma over
9 inches in length, of a combined yellow and green tint; the head is
striped with parallel green and pale yellow. The leaf-like tegmina are
striped with white; wings have the apical area green shaded with pink
at base; rest semitransparent with a blue tint. It ranges from N.S.
Wales to Queensland.
Family 8. Short-horned Grasshoppers.
ACRIDIIDAE.
These are insects with the thighs of the hind legs swollen or enlarged,
much longer than the fore legs, and adapted for jumping. The tarsi
are composed of three distinct segments. The antennae are short,
containing less than 30 joints; the ovipositor of the females is not
sabre-shaped, but composed of short plates adapted for boring into the
ground; and the organs representing ears are placed on the sides of the
first abdominal segment. This group of the Orthoptera may be described
as the short-horned locusts or grasshoppers in contradistinction to
the tree or grass dwelling green grasshoppers with long thread-like
antennae. All the true plague locusts that ravage many of the warmer
countries and do an immense amount of damage belong to this division.
Many species have a wide range; our locusts are allied to the African
and Indian forms. Most of the species are winged, and many are capable
of long sustained flight; these are furnished with air sacs in the
interior of the thorax and abdomen; these when distended with air
assist in lightening the otherwise heavy body. The remarkable shrill
notes produced by some of these insects are caused by rubbing the inner
edge of the hind thigh against the outer surface of the wing covers
which are frequently furnished with ridges or raised veins for this
purpose. The so-called ears consist of a membrane covering a small
opening on the abdomen, and are of a somewhat different structure in
different groups.
[Illustration: =Fig. 22.=--Diagram of Grasshopper.
_Cyrtacanthacris exacta_ (♀) (Walker).
_ant_, antennae; _e_, eye; _vert_, vertex;
_oc_, ocellus; _fast_, fastigium; _c. fac_,
costae facialis; _c_, clypeus; _m_, mandible;
_l_, labrum; _mp_, maxilliary palpi; _lp_,
labial palpi; _ps_, prosternal spine; _p_,
pronotum; _m. epis_, meso-episternum; _m. epim_,
meso-epimeron; _co_, coxa; _tr_, trochanter;
_meta-epis_, meta-episternum; _meta-epim_,
meta-epimeron; _fem_, femur; _tib_, tibia;
_tar_, tarsus; _sp_, spiracle; _v_, ventral
valves of ovipositor. (Original W. B. Gurney.)]
The reproductive organs of the female consist of several anal plates
that are used after the manner of an auger to cut a circular pit in the
hard soil, the abdominal segments being extended while the operation is
going on; the eggs are deposited at the bottom of the hole, enclosed
in a similar exudation as that which encloses the eggs of the mantis,
and some of the plague locusts deposit two or more egg masses before
they die. These grasshoppers have been studied by many entomologists,
who have subdivided them into different groups. Brunner von Wattenwyl
places them under nine sub-families or tribes chiefly based on the
structure of the head. Saussure has described some of our species;
Walker, Stoll and Blanchard others.
[Illustration: =Fig. 23.=--_Locusta danica_ (Linn.)
The Yellow-winged Locust.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Yellow-winged Locust, _Locusta danica_, is common in open forest
country all over Australia, and usually makes a rustling noise as it
flies up; it is too well known to need describing; with its wings
closed it is a mottled, dull brown and green insect up to 2 inches in
length, with a short broad head and crested thorax; when the wings
are opened it shows a large patch of rich yellow banded with black.
The male is often fully a third smaller than the female. It has
been described under a great number of different names, but is now
considered the same insect as found in the South of Europe, Africa and
Asia.
The Blue Mountain Locust, _Oedaleus senegalensis_, might easily be
mistaken for a smaller dull coloured specimen of the last one, but
the yellow tint, when present, is very slight, and the wings have
the tips blackened as well as the inner band. It has a wide range
over Australia, and is also found in Africa from which place it was
described by Krauss.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 24.=--_Chortoicetes pusilla_ (Walker). The
small Plague-locust of the interior of Australia.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration:
=Fig. 25.=--_Chortoicetes terminifera_ (Walker).
The larger Plague-locust.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Large Coast Locust, _Acridium maculicollis_, is sometimes found in
gardens; it measures 3 inches to the tip of the wings, and is greyish
brown with darkly mottled elytra. _Locusta australis_ is like the
Yellow-winged Locust, with more regularly mottled elytra, and clear
transparent wings. The small plain Locust, _Chortoicetes pusilla_, is
under 1 inch in length; the male is of a general bright yellow colour,
and the female, somewhat larger, of a general greyish brown tint. It is
the species that for the last few years has done so much damage to our
grass and crops in the Western country. _C. terminifera_ is one-third
larger, and is of a general light brown mottled colour, with the wings
semitransparent, tipped with dull brown; it at times is one of our
plague locusts. The Rose-winged Locust, _Hyalopteryx australis_, is one
of our small but very noisy locusts, about 8 lines in length; when at
rest it is light brown mottled with darker tints, the expanded hind
wings are brightly shaded with rose pink and clouded with black. It is
found in open grass lands, and when disturbed rises with a very shrill
screech. The Red-legged Locust, _Cirphula pyrocnemis_, is a short broad
insect about 1 inch long; is of a general dark brown tint, with the
expanded wings dark yellowish brown: the head and thorax are roughened;
the abdominal segments are dull yellow with several black bands on
the sides: it is common on the open flats about Sydney in summer. The
common “Great Striped Locust,” _Cyrtacanthacris exacta_, measures
nearly 3 inches; it ranges all along the Eastern coast and is often
seen in secluded gardens; it has a broad dorsal stripe down the centre,
varying from yellow to dull green.
[Illustration: =Fig. 26.=--_Cirphula pyrocnemis_
(Stäl). The Red-legged Locust.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: Fig. 27.
Fig. 28.
=Figs. 27= and =28=.--Australian Grasshoppers.
27.--_Tryxalis rafflesii_ (Blanchard). The Slender
Narrow-headed Grasshopper.
28.--_Goniæa australasiae_ (Leach). The Ridge-backed
Grasshopper.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Long-nosed Locust, _Tryxalis rafflesii_, is very common in open
grassed flats; the female is nearly 3 inches long, with a slender
pointed head, and long pointed body, varying from all shades of
grass green to pale salmon colour. It is easily recognised by its
curious finger-like antennae, and grotesque head. The male is a very
slender, much smaller insect. The pink-winged Tryxalid, _Atrastemorpha
crenaticeps_, is much smaller; it has a pointed head of a uniform pale
green tint; the wings are brightly tinted with red, deepest at the
shoulders. The Ridge-backed Grasshopper, _Goniaea australasiae_, is a
large, stout, reddish brown insect about 2 inches long, which lives on
the hills in open forest; the male is a much smaller hopper, but both
sexes have the head, thorax, and closed wings forming a sharp ridge
down the back. In similar open forest country we find _Coryphistes
cyanopterus_, which usually rests on the tree trunks, with its slightly
roughened head, thorax, and mottled elytra closely resembling the bark.
It measures 2½ inches in length, but though it is very variable in size
and outward colouration, the wings when expanded always show a rich
blue tint. The Crested Locust, _Ecphantus quadrilobis_, is one of our
western forms that rests among the dry grass on the plains; it is dull
green to yellow, short and thickset; is 1½ inches long; with the back
ridged, and the crested thorax formed into 4 lobes. The spotted locust,
_Stropis maculosa_, is another of our western forms; it is broad and
thickset; about 2 inches long; of a uniform dark brown tint, with
the thorax barred, and the elytra mottled with large patches of light
yellow.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 29.=--_Coryphistes cyanopterus_
(Charpentier). The Blue-winged Locust.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration:
=Fig. 30.=--_Stropis maculosa_ (Stäl). The Spotted
Ground-locust of the interior.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
There are also many other curious forms of wingless, short-horned
locusts in the interior, belonging to several genera, and probably some
fine things that have never reached our museums.
Family 9. Long-horned Grasshoppers.
LOCUSTIDAE.
These grasshoppers are found not only among the grass but on low
shrubs, or in tree tops, feeding upon the foliage; while others, many
of them wingless, live underground after the manner of crickets. Among
those that frequent trees are some that, like the phasmids, have the
legs and wing-covers so wonderfully veined and spotted that they
are an exact imitation of the leaves of their food plant. They are
easily distinguished from the previous group by their long, slender,
thread-like antennae composed of a number of fine joints; in most cases
the body is softer; and in the female furnished with a sabre-like
ovipositor with which she generally deposits her eggs in rows along the
side of a leaf or twig, though others place them on the ground. The
basal portion of the thigh of the hind leg is generally thickest, and
most of the species have four jointed tarsi, with the ear process not
upon the base of the abdomen, but on the knees of the fore-legs. Some
are said to be carnivorous, and I have twice seen a large green species
which comes to the flowers of the stunted angophora devouring honey
bees, but probably more for the honey they contain than the blood of
the bee.
Brunner von Wattenwyl has written a great deal about these insects
and described a number of Australian species. Tepper is one of the
few Australian entomologists who has taken up this group, describing
some in the Transactions of the Royal Society of S. Australia: in the
Locustidae of the world Sharp groups them into fifteen tribes. Most of
these Orthoptera are solitary or found in pairs; some too have a very
musical note.
The Mountain Grasshopper, _Acridopeza reticulata_, is such a
curious looking creature that it has been figured and noted by many
naturalists. Both sexes are of a uniform dull brown colour, but very
different in structure; the male measures 2 inches; has long pointed
elytra, and well developed wings; the head is small; the antennae
slender and thread-like; the eyes stand out on the side of the head,
and the thorax is saddle shaped. The female is furnished with a very
short, rounded body richly mottled with blue, white, and red, covered
with a pair of rounded, short, shell-like elytra, but the wings are
wanting. When disturbed she stands on tiptoes, arches her body, raises
her elytra exposing all the bright tints of her body, which probably
act as a warning to her enemies.
[Illustration: Plate VI.--ORTHOPTERA.
Family LOCUSTIDAE.
1. _Acridopeza reticulata_ (Guérin), ♀.
1_a_. _Acridopeza reticulata_ (Guérin), ♂.
1_b_. _Acridopeza reticulata_ (Guérin), eggs.
2. _Alectoria superba_ (Brunner).
3. _Ephippitytha_ 32-_guttata_ (Serv.).
4. _Pseudorhynchus lessonii_ (Serv.).]
[Illustration: _Plate VI.--ORTHOPTERA._]
Another remarkable grasshopper is _Alectoria superba_, found in
the dry western country among the grass; it is a long, slender, green
insect, measuring 2½ inches; the elytra and legs are richly mottled
with bright reddish brown; the thorax is produced into a large circular
crest edged with bright red, a large boss below on either side,
and another projecting above the head. The female has a very small
lance-like ovipositor. The Speckled Green Grasshopper, _Ephippitytha
32-guttata_, is about the same length as the last, of a somewhat
lighter green tint, and has the elytra mottled with a double row of
black spots varying from 32 to 44 in number. The head is small, the
thorax short and somewhat saddle-shaped. It is found about Sydney
on flowering shrubs; and there is a darker variety which has a wide
range over the interior, to which Tepper has given the name of _E.
quadrigesima-guttatus_. The Small Green Grasshopper, _Caedicia valida_,
is one of our dainty, slender, green species found in the gardens,
where it sometimes damages the young fruit by gnawing patches off the
skin, or nibbles holes in the foliage; it produces a sharp musical note
uttered three times in succession.
The Large Green Leaf Grasshopper, _Locusta vigentissima_, figured by
McCoy, is also found on low shrubs in the summer; it measures nearly 3
inches, and is of a uniform dull green colour, with the head, legs and
antennae more or less yellow: the head is broad; the thorax stout; the
legs long and spiny; the elytra long, tapering to the tips; the wings
large, semitransparent; the abdomen short, in the female furnished
with a long sabre-like ovipositor. The Lance-headed Grasshopper,
_Pseudorhynchus lessonii_, has a wide range along the eastern coast
among the long grass; it is green, with the tips of the elytra marked
with yellow; the wings are small, and the front of the head produced
into a lance-like point. Among the foliage of the eucalypts in Southern
Australia there is a very handsome large grasshopper with the head
small, the thorax very square, and the elytra very leaf-like in form;
it has a curious bloom upon it like that upon many of the gum leaves,
and is a very fine case of mimicry.
The Genus _Anostosoma_ comprises a number of reddish brown wingless
locusts more like crickets in many ways, for they live chiefly in
holes in the ground, have long thread-like antennae, and stout spiny
legs. _Anostosoma australasiae_ is a very formidable looking insect
with immense head and jaws, originally described from Moreton Bay;
it is sometimes found about Sydney, measuring 3 inches in length; it
has antennae over 4 inches long. The smaller species, _Anostosoma
erinaceus_, is of a similar colour and form, but not more than 1½
inches in length; it is not uncommon in gardens.
_Paragryllacris combusta_ lives in hiding during the day under a
curled leaf spathe of a palm frond, or in a cavity in a tree trunk;
if in the last it often forms a white tough substance of a net-like
structure over the front, and if disturbed will snap at a grass blade
or straw and shake the net, making a distinct sharp sound. It is of a
uniform, yellowish brown tint, measuring about 2 inches to the tip of
the large curled wings closely folded over the body.
The curious Cave Locust, _Pachyrhamma sp._, with its small oval body,
and long slender antennae and hind legs, is always found in caves. It
is a dull brown wingless creature, whose slender thread-like antennae
are many times longer than the body.
Family 10. Crickets.
GRYLLIDAE.
These are the black field and house crickets which are so well known by
their shrill note; this is caused by the insect rubbing the stout wing
covers or elytra together; those of the males have a distinct circular
wavy neuration forming distinct ridges for this purpose.
Crickets are easily distinguished by their slender thread-like
antennae, short rounded heads, black wings folded down the back, and
spiny hind legs adapted both for creeping through the grass or jumping
out of the road of their enemies. The abdomen is furnished with a
pair of slender spined appendages on the sides, and the female with a
stiletto-like ovipositor composed of two grooved pieces by which the
eggs are deposited in the ground.
We have a number of field crickets in this country; Walker in his
catalogue of the family gives 12 species, of which _Gryllus
servillei_ is our common field cricket, sometimes swarming out
in sufficient numbers to do a great deal of damage to field crops
and vegetable gardens. It is of a uniform black tint, with a short,
shining, round head; it measures about 1 inch in length, and has a wide
range over Australia. The Mole Cricket, _Gryllotalpa coarctata_,
is found all over the interior, forming underground tunnels in the
sand along the edges of watercourses; it was collected in the Horn
Expedition in Central Australia, and is also found about Sydney. It
is of the usual dull brown tint, with hooded thorax and spade-shaped
fore-legs. Another curious little black cricket is common about the
edges of watercourses, and when disturbed often jumps in and swims
about on the surface; it belongs to the Genus _Nemobius_, and is
only ⅙ of an inch in length.
[Illustration: Plate VII.--ORTHOPTERA.
Family GRYLLIDAE.
1. _Gryllus servillei_ (Sauss.).
1_a_. _Gryllus servillei_ (Sauss.). (Elytron ♀.)
2. _Gryllotalpa coarctata_ (Walk.).
3. _Pachyrhamma sp._
4. _Nemobius sp._
5. _Paragryllacris combusta_ (Germ.).
6. _Anostostoma erinaceus_ (Gray).]
[Illustration: _Plate VII.--ORTHOPTERA._]
Order III.--NEUROPTERA.
Lace-winged Insects.
After excising the families usually treated as _Pseudo-Neuroptera_
from this order, these insects can be defined as the “lace wings,”
furnished with two pairs of delicate gauzy wings reticulated with a
network of fine transverse and parallel veins forming a great number
of more or less irregular cells. The head is furnished, with a few
exceptions, with stout jaws adapted to their carnivorous habits; large
eyes; and antennae of many different forms, sometimes short, thickened,
or clubbed, but in others long, slender, and filiform. The legs, suited
to their clinging habits when at rest, are generally slender, and the
body more or less elongate.
Most of them undergo a complete metamorphosis; the active larvae are
furnished with large sucking or biting jaws; in the terrestrial forms
they live among foliage or on the ground, and feed upon aphids, mites,
ants, &c., and when full grown pupate in regular cocoons. While some of
the aquatic forms go through a pupal stage in cells in the mud or under
stones, others, like the dragon flies, have no true pupal form, simply
going through a series of moults, and changing from an aquatic life to
an aerial one by crawling out of the water and emerging from the pupal
case, leaving it attached to the water plant.
Sharp places the Neuroptera in eleven families, further divided up
into a number of sub-families under five tribes. In excising the
_Pseudo-Neuroptera_ seven families remain, though the _Hemerobiidae_
includes a number of sub-families that by some writers are ranked as
families.
The Neuroptera are represented in Australia by many very handsome
and curious insects, of which the dragon flies are probably the most
typical and well known.
Family 1. Stone-flies.
PERLIDAE.
The Stone-flies are not an extensive group, and though the European
and American forms have been studied, very little is known about our
species. In England several species are much prized by fishermen as
tempting bait for fly-fishing.
The perfect insects have oblong, flattened bodies of uniform width
to the tip of the abdomen, terminating in a pair of long slender
tails or setae. The head is long, provided with large prominent eyes,
three ocelli, slender thread-like antennae, and weak mouth parts; the
fore-wings are slightly longer than the hind ones, which are very
broad and folded down the middle when closed. They are generally found
about watercourses in early summer, and lay an immense number of eggs
(5,000 to 6,000 some authorities state are laid by each female); these
eggs are dropped on the surface of the water. The larvae are very like
the perfect insects except that they have no wings; they are active
carnivorous creatures living in the bottom of swift running streams,
crawling under the stones, and feeding chiefly on the larvae of
mayflies.
Only four or five species have been described from Australia; I had
a number of specimens sent me from Hobart, Tasmania, the larvae of
which were said to be damaging the woodwork down a well. It has been
identified as _Eusthenia spectabilis_. This insect was named by
Westwood, and is figured in Griffith’s “Animal Kingdom,” (page 348,
plate 72). It measures about 2 inches across the outspread wings; its
general colour is dark brown, with the fore wings lighter, mottled with
brown at the base and the lower half dull red; the hind pair brighter
red with the tips blackish. The head is flattened, with long slender
many jointed antennae tapering to the tips. The thorax is slender,
flattened on the upper surface; the legs stout; and the tip of the
abdomen bears two slender jointed tails (setae). This insect is also
found in Australia. A second species, _Eusthenia thalia_, is described
from Tasmania by Newman; I have one from Gippsland Victoria probably a
new species. Several species have been described by Walker (Brit. Mus.
Catalogue, Neuroptera 1852) in the typical Genus _Perla_ from Tasmania.
Members of the Genus _Cupnia_ are often found upon the snow in Northern
Europe.
[Illustration: Plate VIII.--NEUROPTERA.
Family ODONATA.
1. _Tramea loewii_ (Brauer).
2. _Synlestes weyersii_ (Selys).
3. _Ischnura delicata_ (Selys).
4. _Rhyothemis graphiptera_ (Ramb.).
5. _Orthetrum nigrifrons_ (Kirby).
6. _Diplacodes (Diplax) bipunctata_ (Brauer).
Family SIALIDAE.
7. _Chaulcodes guttatus_ (Walk.).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate VIII.--NEUROPTERA._]
Family 2. Dragon Flies.
ODONATA.
Everyone has noticed dragon flies that sail and dart about over swamps
and rivers, the embodiment of grace and beauty in flying creatures. In
England and Australia they are popularly known as “horse-stingers,” a
very misleading name, for they cannot sting, and if they frequent the
vicinity of horses it is for the sake of the flies or gnats they can
capture. In America the country folk know them under the still more
peculiar name of “Devil’s Darning Needles,” while the French children,
who recognise their beauty and dainty form, call them “demoiselles.”
Westwood places the dragon flies in the family _Libellulidae_; but both
Kirby and Sharp call them _Odonata_; the former again divides them into
the _Libellulidae_ and the _Agrionidae_, and the latter subdivides them
into groups with the same characters, namely the _Anisopteridae_ and
_Zygopteridae_.
The members of the first group are those with the hind pair of wings
slightly larger than the front pair, and the second with wings of equal
size or the hind pair smaller. Specialists have further subdivided them
into seven smaller sub-families containing about 300 genera.
Dragon flies are widely distributed over the world, but are most
plentiful in the warmer zones; about 2,000 have been described from all
parts of the world, of which 107 species are recorded from Australia;
but as Billinghurst was able to collect 41 species in one circumscribed
district in Victoria (Victorian Naturalist No. 1, 1900), systematic
collecting would certainly add many more to our list.
In the early stages of their life dragon flies are aquatic; the female
deposits her eggs on the foliage of water plants, sometimes dipping
into the water to be sure they are submerged. The slender larvae with
wing pads in place of the future wings have somewhat the form of the
adults, and are carnivorous, feeding upon all kinds of smaller water
insects.
The dragon flies form a very distinct division of the Neuroptera; every
organ is beautifully adapted for their aerial life, their immense eyes
giving them an outlook on all sides, while the slender cylindrical
body does not impede their flight; and the great oar-shaped wings
strengthened with many stout nervures enable them to twist and turn in
the air with wonderful ease and rapidity.
The LIBELLULIDAE are thick-bodied dragon flies of medium size, and
comprise a number of fine species. The larvae are short broad
creatures with wide heads; they live in the mud on the bottom of ponds.
_Rhyothemus graphiptera_ belongs to a genus containing over 30 species
ranging from Africa to China, and the Eastern Archipelago to the New
Hebrides. It measures 2½ inches across the wings, which are yellowish
brown, beautifully mottled with darker tints; the front pair are
blotched at the base, a slender stripe in front running into the first
of 2 irregular transverse bands about the centre and tip; in the hind
pair the two apical bands have basal markings consisting of three small
irregular blotches: it is found in the northern parts of N.S. Wales.
[Illustration: =Fig. 31.=--Diagram of a Dragon Fly.
_a_, antenna; _ar_, arculus; _b.s_, basilar
space; _c_, costal nervure; _s.c_, sub-costal
nervure; _e_, eye; _f_, front; _m_, median
nervure (or radius); _s.m_, sub-median; _m.s_,
median sector; _m_, membranule; _n_, nodus;
_n.s_, nodal sector; _o_, occiput; _p_,
pterostigma; _p.s_, principal sector; _s.s_, short
sector; _s.t_, sector of triangle; _t_, triangle;
_i.a_, inferior appendage; _s.a_, superior;
_a.n_, antenodals. The numerals refer to the segments of
the abdomen. (Original R. J. Tillyard.)]
The Genus _Diplax_ contains a number of more delicate, short-winged
insects, of which _Diplax rubra_, a typical form, is common both along
the rivers and in the open scrub, often quite a distance from water.
It is a moderate-sized dragon fly, tinted with pale yellow at the base
of the hind wings, and has a distinctive bright red body. _Diplacodes
(Diplax) bipunctata_ has much the same habits, and a wider range
over the country; it is common about Sydney, and is slightly smaller
than the previous species, and of a general yellow tint. _Orthetrum
nigrifrons_ is a more thickset dragon fly about 2 inches across the
wings; the head and front of thorax are black, with the hind portion of
the latter and body deep blue; it is a very distinctive species along
the watercourses and in the open bush. _Orthetrum villosovittatum_ is
a slightly larger form found in Southern Queensland, with slightly
clouded wings, blotched close to the body with yellowish brown: the
head and thorax are brown, and the body is red.
* * * * *
The AESCHNIDAE contain the giants among the dragon flies: _Petalura
gigantea_ is our largest species, and varies much in different
localities; most of ours on the Blue Mountains measure about 5 inches
across the wings, but Tillyard captured them at Cairns N.Q. 6½ inches.
It is a very robust insect of a dull brown tint, with a single, broad,
pale stripe on the sides of the large square thorax, and when viewed
from the side seems to have the abdomen attached to the under-side of
the thorax. The pterastigma of the wing is long.
_Hemianax papuensis_ is typical of one of our large species, often
flying in numbers about Sydney hawking for gnats high up in the air
before a storm. It measures 4 inches across the wings, which have a
slight smoky tint.
_Aeschna brevistyla_ is about the same size as the previous species,
but the wings are clear, and the abdominal segments are marked with two
angulated white blotches, one on either side of the dorsal stripe. The
larvae are curious, elongate, oval creatures, with large heads, living
in the mud at the bottom of stagnant ponds and are common about Sydney.
* * * * *
The AGRIONIDAE are the delicate slender-bodied dragon flies with
oar-shaped wings, and narrow heads with the eyes standing out on either
side. _Lestes analis_ is our common type of the large genus; it is of
the usual slender form, with the body nearly as long as the expanse of
wings, and is of a general reddish brown colour. _Synlestes weyersii_
is a very beautiful slender creature nearly 3 inches across the wings,
and over 2 inches from the front of the head to the tip of the body.
It has transparent wings with an oval whitish pterastigma toward the
tips, and the whole head and body is deep rich metallic green. It flies
in a very graceful manner up and down the edges of the watercourses,
resting every now and then on a reed or overhanging twig, and is very
easily captured. _Ischnura heterosticta_ is our tiny, little, banded,
blue and brown dragon fly, with the female of a more sombre brown tint:
Tillyard has recorded two forms of females in this species, one taking
on the garb of the bright-coloured male.
_Ischnura delicata_, very similar in size and form, has the basal
two-thirds of the abdomen red and the apical portion blue. The larvae
of both these species are common in the ponds about Sydney in the early
summer. Tillyard (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1905) has recently added
three new species of the Genus _Austrogomphus_ collected in the Cairns
district N. Queensland.
Family 3. May-flies.
EPHEMERIDAE.
These delicate gauze-winged insects were named Ephemera from the old
idea that their life as perfect insects lasted only for a day; they
were born in the morning and died at the fall of day. Though their span
of life is short, as they possess only rudimentary mouths incapable of
absorbing food, and only live a short time after the eggs are laid, it
is generally a matter of a few days.
They have large prominent eyes; three ocelli; and minute antennae
consisting of two thickened joints surmounted with a needle-like hair
or bristle: the prothorax is small, the middle portion large; and the
somewhat small body, generally composed of ten segments, is provided
with a slender articulated hair-like tail on either side. The wings are
broadest at the base, rounded at the extremities, with the hind pair
small, in some genera the hind pair absent. The larvae live in burrows
in the mud at the bottom of ponds or watercourses, and when full grown
climb up the stalks of grass or plants and cast their pupal coverings.
Most of our species are only found in odd pairs, and do not assemble
in swarms as they sometimes do in England; but in 1885, in the Royal
Geographical Society’s Exploring Expedition in New Guinea, when
ascending the Fly River we met with great clouds of the large white
Mayfly, _Palingenia papuana_, flying along over the surface of the
water just as described by D’Albertis in his work on New Guinea;
specimens I collected are now in the Australian Museum.
The commonest species about Sydney is _Atalophlebia australasica_, a
small chocolate brown insect marked with black; the wings are vitreous
with black markings on the veins, the front margin tinged with umber
brown on the cross veins. It was described by Pictet in his “Natural
History Neuroptera” (1843–45): Walker has described another from
Tasmania: Eaton three more from different parts of the mainland: and
Burmeister one in his “Handbook of Entomology” as far back as 1839.
The members of this genus have a wide range from South America through
Africa, Japan, and Ceylon. A single species of the Genus _Coloburiscus_
has been described from Melbourne.
The chief work on these insects is Eaton’s “Revisional Monograph of
Recent Ephemeridae or May-flies,” Parts I.-V. (Transactions of the
Linnean Society 1883–87;) in this work he subdivides them into three
groups containing 55 genera and 270 species.
Family 4. Alder Flies and Snake Flies.
SIALIDAE:
This small division contains two groups that Westwood treated as two
distinct families, the _Sialidae_ and the _Raphidae_; but Sharp points
out, that in general structure and habits they are very closely related
to each other,--the latter chiefly differing from the former in the
remarkable elongation of the prothorax, and he thus only ranks them as
sub-families.
The Alder Flies have two pairs of broad wings, wide at the base, the
hind pair slightly smaller and capable of being folded behind; they
are all traversed by numerous veins forming irregular cells. They
are slow in their movements, and are to be found clinging to bushes
in the vicinity of water. Our commonest species is the _Chauliodes
guttatus_, described by Walker; it is a large, dull brown insect
with an elongated thorax and body; the head is furnished with long,
slender, annulated antennae, large prominent eyes on the sides, and
three ocelli on the summit. The wings are semiopaque, the fore pair
finely spotted with black, thickest on the front margin; the broader
hind pair are only lightly spotted at the extreme tip, with from 4 to 5
larger rounded spots about the centre. It measures over 3 inches across
the outspread wings, and 1¼ inches from the head to the tip of the
abdomen; it has a wide range from Victoria to Queensland.
The larvae are remarkable for having fringed filaments on the sides
of the abdomen; they crawl about in the mud or among the weeds in
water-holes, and are carnivorous, feeding upon other aquatic insects;
when ready to transform, the pupae come out of the water and crawl
under stones, or sometimes under the loose bark on tree trunks.
The Snake Flies are curious looking creatures with elongated necks, and
the female is provided with a very curious, long, curved ovipositor.
They are found under bark on tree trunks, both in the perfect and
larval state; they are unknown in Australia, but Howard states that an
attempt was made some years ago to send living _Raphidians_ from
California to destroy codlin moth grubs, but that nothing has been
heard of them since.
Family 5. Scorpion Flies.
PANORPIDAE.
These insects have the head turned down in front with the mouth parts
forming an elongate beak; large projecting eyes; and slender antennae.
The prothorax forms a slender neck to the larger mesothorax; the
wings are narrow and somewhat oar-shaped, traversed with a network of
veins; the legs are long and slender, except the hind pair, which are
thickened on the thighs and stoutly spined; the tarsi are large and
coated with a sticky membrane, which assists it in catching flies.
At first sight many of them might be taken for crane-flies of somewhat
clumsy build; in the European _Panorpa_ the males are furnished with
a peculiar anal appendage from which they take the popular name of
Scorpion Flies. Members of the Genus _Boreus_ are wingless and resemble
tiny grasshoppers; in America they are often found on snow. The family
is represented in Australia by _Bittacus australis_, which has a wide
range from Tasmania to Queensland, and is very abundant in the early
summer, hanging about the leptospermum and ti-tree bushes. It rests
among the foliage, with the large hind legs hanging loosely down below
but ready to strike out the moment an incautious fly comes within
range. The long flexible tarsi fold round the captive with the stout
spines transfixing it, while the Bitticus draws its leg round under
the head so that it can press its sharp beak into the victim and suck
up its blood. Its general colour is reddish brown marked with black;
the wings are clouded, narrow, rounded at the tips, and reticulated
with fine nervures. Nothing is known about the earlier stages in the
life-history of this insect, but specimens in captivity laid a number
of flattened bun-shaped eggs which did not hatch out.
[Illustration: Plate IX.--NEUROPTERA.
Family HEMEROBIIDAE.
1. _Nymphes myrmeleonides_ (Leach).
7. _Porismus strigatus_ (Burm.).
Family MYRMELEONIDAE.
2. _Glenurus erythrocephalus_ (Leach).
4. _Glenurus falsus_ (Walker).
5. _Glenurus circuiter_ (Walker).
6. _Glenurus pulchellus_ (Kirby).
Family MANTISPIDAE.
3. _Mantispa strigodes_ (Westwood).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate IX.--NEUROPTERA._]
Family 6. Ant-lions and Lace-wings.
HEMEROBIIDAE.
This interesting division of the Neuroptera comprises a number of
smaller groups, ranked by some entomologists as families, but now
generally regarded as sub-families. Westwood divided them into two
families, the first containing the true ant-lions; both Kirby and Sharp
treat them as one, but the latter places them in seven well defined
sub-families.
They come naturally together from the fact that all the larvae are
provided with large, curved, hollow, sucking jaws, and are carnivorous
in their habits, while the perfect insects have simple biting jaws.
They all have, in the perfect state, long slender bodies, provided with
two pairs of finely reticulated wings, folded over each other when at
rest; the head is short, with large projecting eyes; ocelli generally
wanting; and the antennae are composed of many short annular joints.
The MYRMELEONIDES are the true ant-lions, whose larvae in many species
construct funnel shaped pits in soft sandy soil an inch or two in
depth, at the bottom of which, buried in the loose soil, with only
the tip of their large jaws visible, they lie in wait for any ant or
other small insect that may happen to slip over the edge and tumble to
the bottom, where it is immediately seized in the ant-lion’s powerful
jaws and devoured; when however, as often happens, the trapped visitor
manages to regain its footing and nearly succeeds in clambering out,
the ant-lion presses its head downward like a spade and throws a
quantity of sand right at its prey, generally bringing its quarry
within reach again. It generally excavates its pit under the shelter
of a log or rock so that it is protected from the rain, and when full
grown pupates at the bottom of its shaft. The larva is a short thickset
little brown creature covered with tufts of short stout bristles; the
head is broad and rounded behind, attached to the heart-shaped body by
a neck-like thorax. They are easily captured by slipping a knife blade
under them and throwing them out when they are intent on catching a
struggling ant. In captivity they are easily kept in a saucer full of
sand, and have the power of going for weeks without food; when placed
on a smooth surface they always arch their heads and crawl backwards.
Most of our described species belong to the Genus _Glenurus_, all
slender elongated insects resting with their long narrow wings folded
over their backs against a twig or grass stem, and when disturbed
flitting away in a very awkward manner; they are very easily captured.
_Glenurus pulchellus_ is the commonest species about the coast, with a
wing expanse of about 2½ inches; its general colour is chocolate brown,
mottled and marbled with lighter tints; the fore wings are speckled
with black; the apical portion of the hind pair deeply blotched with
chestnut brown, encircling a white patch, with a second smaller one
nearer the extremity. _Glenurus falsus_ is a shade smaller; the fore
wings darker; and a single dark patch on the hind wings. _Glenurus
striola_ is a slightly larger species with semitransparent wings,
marked on the posterior margin of the hind pair with a narrow light
brown stripe. I found this species very plentiful in some swampy flats
near Brisbane, Q., in October, where they were resting on the rushes.
_Glenurus fundatus_ is our largest species, often measuring up to 4
inches across the wings, and is of a general uniform mottled grey tint
spotted with brown; it is common along the coast in North Queensland.
_Glenurus circuiter_ is easily recognised from all the others by the
shape of the fore wings, which are broadened to the tips, cut out
behind at the extremities, and both pairs are irregularly blotched and
spotted dark brown, giving it a very handsome appearance. _Glenurus
erythrocephalus_ has semitransparent wings, elongate and rounded at
the tips, the fore pair thickly covered with spots and blotches of
dark brown, the hind pair usually only marked with three spots, but
the spotting is very irregular and variable. It comes from the more
northern parts of N.S. Wales and Queensland.
* * * * *
The ASCALAPHIDES are all moderate-sized, clear-winged insects with a
stigma toward the tip, and curious long slender antennae clubbed at the
tips; they might be likened to dragon-flies with butterflies’ heads.
_Suphalasca sabulosa_ measures about 2½ inches across the wings; the
head and thorax are fringed with fine hairs, the stigma on the wings
black. It is generally found on bush land clinging to a grass stalk
or twig, with the wings folded down, and the slender body sticking
out at right angles. I have found the larvae living under the dry
bark attached to dead tree trunks, their short hairy bodies covered
with tufts of stout bristles, their large jaws pointing upward; and
from their situation they probably capture the large sugar ants. In
captivity they would remain for days resting against the side of the
box without any movement, and lived for several months without taking
any food, and finally formed a round cocoon.
The female places her eggs in a double row along the edge of a blade of
grass, and the young ones, when they hatch out, sit in the bottom of
the eggshell, all head and jaws, waiting for something to turn up, and
must often undergo long fasts.
_Stibopteryx costalis_ is a stout bodied insect with a wing
expanse of 3 inches, a large, dragon-fly-like head, and narrow rounded
wings banded with parallel bands of chocolate brown. It ranges from
Sydney right round Australia.
The NEMOPTERIDES are a very curious group of lace-wings, which have the
hind pair of wings produced into slender or clubbed appendages of most
peculiar form. Kirby (Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1900) has
listed all the known species from all parts of the world, 33 species in
7 genera.
_Chasmoptera hutti_, described by Westwood from Western Australia,
has a wing expanse of 1½ inches, and the hind pair are produced into
a spoon-shaped tail. _Croce attenuata_ is a smaller, dull coloured,
brown insect, with the fore wings like those of a mayfly, and the hind
pair forming a pair of antennae-like processes longer than the body.
It was taken by my correspondent, Mrs. Black, round a lamp, and comes
from North Queensland. It is described by me in the Proceedings of the
Linnean Society 1904.
The MANTISPIDES are lace-wings that in general form, imitate the
orthopterous mantis; with the same elongate neck, spined fore legs and
broad head, but the structure of the wings soon shows its affinity to
the lace-wings. We have some very fine species in Australia, which are
usually found hiding among the foliage of trees, and are generally
captured when beating the bush for beetles. Nothing is known about the
earlier stages of any of our species, but Brauer studied the larval
and pupal forms of the European _Mantispa_, and found that the eggs
were stalked; the larvae are long slender creatures with large jaws.
Westwood has figured and described a number of our species (Trans. Ent.
Soc. 1852).
_Mantispa biseriata_, one of our largest species, measures up to 2½
inches across the outspread wings. Its general colour is dull reddish
brown; the wings are mottled with very fine black dots, and the stigma
on the fore wing forms a dull red blotch. It has a wide range from
Victoria to North Queensland. _Mantispa strigipes_ is a smaller darker
species, with no distinct stigma but a stripe of dull red along the
front margin of both pairs of wings, thickest toward the extremities.
It ranges over Victoria and N.S. Wales.
The HEMEROBIIDES are well represented in Australia by some very
beautiful insects, which when at rest are recognised by the way in
which their wings are folded against each other, forming a ridge above
the back; the antennae, generally long, consist of a number of short
annular joints. The eggs are laid upon the food plant; the larvae feed
upon small insects.
[Illustration: =Fig. 32.=--_Croce attenuata_
(Froggatt). The Thread-winged Nemopteron.
(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)]
_Nymphes myrmeleonides_, described and figured by Leach in 1814, has
a somewhat robust body, long slender antennae and narrow head; the
wings, which have an expanse of 3 inches, are large, of equal size, and
semitransparent, except the tips, which are ornamented with an elongate
brownish blotch enclosing an irregular white spot in the centre. It is
a very ungainly insect when flying, with its large oar-shaped shining
wings; it has a very wide range along the eastern coast. The larvae
live under the shelter of logs hiding among the dust and dirt with only
their jaws projecting; specimens obtained near Armidale, N.S.W., lived
for some time in captivity, forming the usual spherical parchment-like
pupal case, from which the insect emerged about a month later.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 33.=--_Psychopsis illidgi_ (Froggatt). The
Painted Lace-wing.
(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)]
[Illustration:
=Fig. 34.=--_Psychopsis coelevagus_ (Walker). The
small Metallic Lace-wing.
(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Psychopsis_ was formed by Newman in 1840 (Newman’s
Entomologist p. 415) to contain the curious creamy white moth-like
insect _Psychopsis mimica_. It has broad rounded wings covered
with fine hairy veins shading from buff to grey or creamy white,
spotted with red on the base of the fore wings and a dull brown spot
on the centre of the hind pair; the head is turned down in front when
resting. It measures about 1½ inches across the outspread wings and
is found from South Australia to Queensland. I figured and described
all our known species (Notes on the Genus Psychopsis Newman, with
descriptions of new species) in the Proceedings of the Linnean
Society N.S.W. 1903, where I added two new species. _Psychopsis
coelivagus_ is our smallest species, measuring 1 inch across the
outspread wings, which are creamy white thickly mottled with a central
band of metallic coppery brown; it comes from S. Queensland.
_Psychopsis illidgi_ is one of the most remarkable looking of all
our Neuroptera, with its large rounded buff fore wings with confluent
ochreous yellow markings crossing them, and the usual dull spot in
the centre of the smaller hind wings. It measures about 2¾ inches
across the wings, and is a rare insect. Illidge has taken several
specimens that came flying in to the light at night on the top of Mount
Tambourina in South Queensland.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 35.=--Larva of _Psychopsis mimica_ (Newman).
Bred from the egg (much enlarged). (Original W.W.F.)]
_Psychopsis insolens_ and _P. meyricki_ are both dull coloured smaller
insects, the first found about Sydney and Brisbane, the latter on the
top of Mount Kosciusko, resting on the rocks.
The eggs are not stalked but are attached to the food plant; the young
elongated larva, furnished with stout projecting jaws, crawls upon the
foliage and feeds upon aphids. This Genus was considered peculiar to
Australia, until in the last few years two species have been described
from Africa and a third from Burmah.
The curious black mottled lace-wing, _Porismus strigatus_, has a
narrow red head furnished with long slender antennae and large rounded
eyes; the front portion of the thorax forms a regular neck. The narrow
elongate black wings, blotched and tipped with pale yellow shading into
white, are folded over the back forming a ridge when at rest on a tree
trunk. They are sometimes met with about Sydney, and are common in New
England toward the end of summer. I found larvae and eggs under logs in
that district which I believe to be those of this insect; the former
were stalked and deposited in a narrow semicircle attached to each
other; the larvae, of the usual tick-shaped form, covered themselves
over with bits of burnt ashes, and clung to the surface of the log,
where they easily escaped notice with their protective covering.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 36.=--Larva of _Porismus strigatus_ (Bohem).
The adult Lace-wing is shown in Plate VI., Fig. 7.
(Original W.W.F.)]
The Genus _Osmylus_ contains a number of slender insects with longer,
semitransparent, spotted, brown wings, and fine antennae clothed with
short hairs. The larvae, active little creatures, feed about among
the leaves destroying aphids. _Osmylus tenui_ measures about 1¼ inches
across the outspread wings, is of the usual dull brown tint, and is
found in Victoria.
In the Genus _Drepanopteryx_ the fore wings are short, broad, rounded
in front at the shoulders, and arcuate on the hind margin; the hind
pair are rounded, semitransparent, with a darker costal margin; when
resting upon a twig they tuck the head down under the thorax, and turn
the wings upward, almost standing on their heads; they could be easily
passed over from their resemblance to a brown leaf.
_Drepanopteryx binocula_ and _D. instabilis_ are found in N.S. Wales
and Victoria; the first has dark fore wings and measures about ¾ of an
inch; the second is somewhat smaller and lighter coloured.
[Illustration: Fig. 37.
Fig. 38.
=Figs. 37 and 38.=--Life History of the Brown Lace-wing.
37.--_Micromus Australis_ (Froggatt).
38.--Larva.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The CHRYSOPHIDES comprise the lace wings known as “Ruby Eyes” from
their rich metallic tint, or “Aphis Lions” on account of the voracious
habits of their larvae. They hide among the foliage in the day time,
and in summer often come buzzing round the lamp, several species
giving out a most objectionable smell when handled. They are generally
slender-bodied green or yellow insects with large delicate glassy
wings, folded over the back. They attach their eggs to the foliage on
long slender stalks, probably a means of protection against other
larvae that might otherwise find and devour them. The larvae are active
little creatures with large heads furnished with scythe-shaped jaws;
their rounded backs are covered with short stiff hairs, by means of
which they hold bits of dirt, sand, or wood, with which they cover
themselves when feeding upon the aphids or scale. If when in captivity
these bits are brushed off they run round and replace them bit by bit;
pushing the bits into the jaws with their fore legs, then turning their
heads backward, they drop each bit upon their backs, repeating the
operation until they are again completely covered. When full-grown they
spin a white hemispherical cocoon composed of fine white threads and
the longer hairs of the body, from which in summer the perfect insects
will emerge in a fortnight.
[Illustration: =Fig. 39.=--_Chrysopa ramburi_
(Schiner). The Green Golden Eye.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 40.=--Life history of _Chrysopa
ramburi_ (Schiner).
Larva; stalked egg; and pupa enclosed in hemispherical cocoon
covered with the remains of the aphis upon which it has fed
during the larval stage.]
The Green Lace Wing, _Chrysopa ramburi_, is our common orchard friend;
and where plentiful they soon clean the trees of aphid and scale
insects. Its general colour is bright green fading into yellow after
death; the large golden eyes are so bright that they can be seen
through the cocoon some time before it emerges. The Brown Lace Wing,
_Micromus australis_, is common among dead bushes, and also in summer
in orange orchards; it is much smaller than the last, only slightly
over ¼ of an inch across the expanded wings; is of a general light
brown colour mottled all over the wings with darker tints. The broad
head is furnished with large bronzy eyes, and slender hairy antennae
composed of 44 very short annular joints. Both the slender, brown,
ferret-like larvae and the perfect insects are very active little
creatures, always on the move. This species was described by me in the
Agricultural Gazette N.S. Wales, 1904.
Family 7. Caddis Flies.
TRICHOPTERA.
The larval forms of these interesting little creatures are common in
our creeks and water-holes, encased in their cocoons or sacks formed
of silken strands covered with bits of sticks, leaves, sand or small
stones; they may be often noticed floating on the surface or crawling
about under the water among the weeds and mud. These are protective
coverings, for though the head and front of the thorax, that are
projected in front when the larva is moving along, are hard and
leathery, the abdominal segments are covered with a thin integument,
and would soon fall a prey to the many carnivorous water insects in the
ponds if it were not for their case-bearing habits. These cases, unlike
those of the terrestrial case moths, are open at both ends, so that the
water can flow right through when the creature is crawling about.
They are known in England as “water moths,” or “caddis-flies,” and
are much sought for by anglers as bait for fly-fishing. The perfect
insects have two pairs of membranous wings with fewer cross veins
than other members of the Neuroptera; the hind pair are broadest and
folded when at rest; most of them are clothed with fine hairs instead
of scales. The head is small, with very long, slender, thread-like
antennae composed of many short indistinct joints, and the biting
mouth is rudimentary; the prothorax is short, with an elongate body
rounded at the extremity; and the legs are well developed, and more
or less provided with spines. The female deposits her eggs, enveloped
in a gelatinous mass, in the water, often carrying them about with
her attached to the tip of the abdomen for some time before they are
dropped.
Some of the smaller species are so wonderfully like small tinead moths,
that it takes an experienced eye, aided with a good lens, to pick them
out of a box when mixed up with small microlepidoptera; and from their
delicate form and small size most of my specimens have not been taken
as caddis-flies, but obtained from the leavings of insect boxes of moth
collectors.
Between the years 1874–80 McLachlan published his fine “Monograph of
the European Trichoptera,” illustrated with a great number of very fine
drawings; over 500 species are identified and described in this work.
According to Howard, about 150 species have been described from North
America.
McLachlan treats them as an Order in his work, dividing them into a
number of families, chiefly based upon the number of spines on the
legs, the joints of the palpi, and the ocelli.
Judging from my own collection of caddis-flies I should think that
Australia is rich in species, but they are a much neglected family
and I do not know of a single named specimen in any of our Museum
collections.
In the British Museum Catalogue of Neuroptera published in 1852, Walker
gives only four species from Tasmania and Australia: _Leptocerus
magnus_ and _L. oppositus_, which he describes from Tasmania, and
_Plectrotarsus gravenhorsti_, described by Koller from Australia; the
latter measures nearly an inch across the wings, and ⅓ of an inch in
the body, and is of a general yellow tint, thickly clothed with yellow
and black hairs; the fore wings are bluish black marked with white,
yellow at the base and along the fore border; the hind wings are yellow
but blackish toward the tips.
_Monopseudopsis inscriptus_, described by Walker, is a larger fly, of
a general black colour, with pale wings spotted with yellow, the hind
pair clouded. The locality of this species is given as Australia.
Order IV.--HYMENOPTERA.
Bees, Ants and Wasps.
This division contains an immense number of very interesting insects
which, though generally known as bees, ants, and wasps, comprise many
other just as important families; some are unfortunately popularly
called flies, such as saw-flies, gall-flies, and ichneumon-flies, but
all true flies have only one pair of wings. Hymenoptera are, with a
few exceptions, furnished with two pairs of semitransparent membranous
wings, sometimes shaded with black or yellow tints, devoid of hairs or
scales, but traversed by stout nervures forming irregular cells; the
hind pair are the smaller, and are furnished with a row of spines along
the front margin capable of hooking into the hind edge of the fore
pair, thus adding to their powers of flight.
[Illustration: =Fig. 41.=--Diagram of the Head of a Wasp.
_a_, eyes; _b_, clypeus; _c_, labrum;
_d_, mandibles; _e_, ocelli; _f_, insertion of
the antennae.
(Redrawn from Cresson’s “Hymenoptera of North America.”)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 42.=--Diagram of the Thorax of a
Wasp.
_a_, prothorax; _b_, mesothorax; _c_,
scutellum; _d_, postscutellum; _e_, metathorax;
_f_, tegulae; _g_, parapsidal grooves.
(Cresson’s “Hymenoptera of N. America.”)]
In a few anomalous groups we find the females wingless, such as
_Thynnidae_, _Mutillidae_ and others; in some like the fig insects
_Blastophaginae_, the males are wingless and blind; in the ants, while
the males and females are winged, the bulk of the community consists of
wingless workers forming a third sex or caste.
[Illustration: =Fig. 43.=--Diagram of Fore-wing of a Bee
(_Mellinus_).
1, Costal cell; 2, median or externo-medial cell; 3,
sub-median cell; 4, anal cell; 5, marginal or radial cell;
6, first sub-marginal or cubital cell; 7, second s.-m. or
cubital cell; 8, third s.-m. or cubital cell; 9, fourth s.-m.
or cubital cell; 10, first discoidal cell; 11, second d.
cell; 12, third d. cell; 13, first apical cell; 14, second
a. cell. _a_, Costal nervure; _b_, sub-costal
nervure; _c_, externo-medial nervure; _d_, anal
nervure; _e_, marginal or radial nervure; _f_,
basal nervure; _g_, first transverso-cubital nervure;
_h_, second t.-c. nervure; _i_, third t.-c.
nervure; _j_, transverso-medial nervure; _k_,
discoidal nervure; _l_, cubital nervure; _m_,
first recurrent nervure; _n_, second r. nervure;
_o_, sub-discoidal nervure; _p_, stigma; _q_,
posterior margin; _r_, apical margin. (Cresson, “Hym. N.
America.”)]
These insects are furnished with well developed antennae; large
compound eyes, in some groups composed of an immense number of facets;
usually 3 simple eyes or ocelli, but these are sometimes wanting; a
more or less tubular mouth adapted for sucking up food (commonly called
the proboscis), though mandibles are always present. The thorax is
stout and broad; the three primary portions, prothorax, mesothorax and
metathorax, are distinct on the upper surface with well defined lateral
or ventral plates. The legs are generally large, with spined tibiae,
and slender tarsi terminating in a double claw or hook, but varying
much in size and shape in the different families. The abdomen takes
all kinds of remarkable forms, from the thickened sessile body of the
sawfly to the slender stalked abdomen of the sand-wasp, and the female
is furnished with an ovipositor, sting, or saw at the extremity.
The Hymenoptera are considered by naturalists to be one of the most
highly developed or specialised orders of insects, on account of the
social habits of some of the chief families, and the care they display
in providing for the safety and food supplies of their larvae.
They undergo a complete metamorphosis: from the egg is hatched out a
soft, generally legless larva which when full grown, if in a protected
cell, is simply enveloped in a thin skin, but otherwise forms a stout
silken or parchment-like cocoon; the larva usually takes a considerable
time to change into the pupa; the change is not rapid as that of a
butterfly.
Australia is very rich in hymenoptera; most of the typical families are
well represented, and we also have a few very distinct groups peculiar
to this country.
There have been many schemes of classification and sub-divisions of
these insects proposed by various authors, and the present idea among
specialists seems to tend to a still closer definition of the families,
as exemplified in Ashmead’s recent Classification running through the
pages of the Canadian Entomologist; but in a book of this kind, I can
only deal with the most important divisions and refer my readers to the
work of such specialists.
Westwood divided the first section, _Terebranti_, in which the
females are provided with a more or less projecting instrument for
depositing their eggs, into two sub-sections, _Phytiphaga_, in
which the abdomen is sessile, and _Entomophaga_, in which the body
is stalked. Some of the French entomologists had previously suggested
dividing them up into five large families defined by the peculiarities
of the ovipositor or borer. Kirby used the same terms as Westwood, but
I have followed Sharp, who uses the names _Sessiliventres_ instead
of the first, and _Petioliventres_ for the second, for they
certainly express more clearly the form of the body of the groups under
observation. The first group contains four families.
Family 1. Stem-Sawflies.
CEPHIDAE.
The first group comprises what Sharp terms “Stem-Sawflies,” which are
not represented in Australia. They are slender little insects with
long antennae; the larvae feed in the stems of plants; one damages
wheat stems in Europe, another infests willows in America, a third is
recorded from Japan; but they are unknown in Australia.
[Illustration: Plate X.--HYMENOPTERA.
Family TENTHREDINIDAE.
1. _Phylacteophaga eucalypti_ (Froggatt).
2. _Phylacteophaga eucalypti_ (Froggatt), Larva.
3. _Perga dorsalis_ (Leach).
4. _Perga dorsalis_ (Leach), Larva.
5. _Perga lewisii_ (Westwood).]
[Illustration: _Plate X.--HYMENOPTERA._]
Family 2.
ORYSSIDAE.
This family consists of the single Genus _Oryssus_, of which only
20 species are known. They are remarkable for the curious situation
of the antennae on the under-surface of the head, the cylindrical
rounded abdomen, and the exposed needle-like ovipositor. Turner
has described one from Mackay, Queensland, in the Proceedings of the
Linnean Society N.S.W. under the name of _Oryssus queenslandicus_. It
is a small black insect measuring ½ an inch in length; with mottled
brown wings, and typical shape of the genus.
Family 3.
SIRICIDAE.
These handsome Sawflies are common in Europe and America, the larvae
living in timber; the members of the typical Genus _Sirex_ have long
cylindrical bodies rounded to the apex; the borer of the female extends
beyond the tip of the abdomen. One species, _Sirex australis_, has been
described from Australia by Kirby (List of Hymenoptera 1882). I have
never heard of another specimen being found, and believe the type is
unique.
Family 4. Sawflies.
TENTHREDINIDAE.
These are the typical stoutly built Sawflies, with the pronotum narrow,
and the thorax generally broader than the head; the abdomen sessile,
and provided in the female with a beautiful saw-like instrument
on the under-surface of the tip of the abdomen, with which she
slits the leaves to deposit her eggs in the tissue. The larvae are
caterpillar-like creatures usually furnished with three pairs of legs;
they feed upon the foliage of many plants.
Our species all belong to genera peculiar to Australia: Klug described
several in the Berlin Magazin in 1814; Leach figured and described
others in his “Zoological Miscellanies 1817”; Westwood described and
figured a number in an important paper in the Proceedings of the
Zoological Society 1880, others in his “Arcana Entomologica 1841”; and
Kirby added to them in his List of Hymenoptera, B.M. Catalogue 1882.
The Genus _Perga_ contains about 50 of our largest Sawflies, broad
thickset insects, with reddish or light brown opaque wings, and short
antennae forming an elongate club at the extremity. The larva is black
or brown clothed with short scattered shining bristles, black head,
three pairs of short stout legs, broad thorax, and abdomen tapering to
a rounded tip. They feed gregariously upon the foliage of eucalypts,
often stripping off all the leaves of the young bushes; they rest
in the day time clustered together in a bunch of 50 or more round a
branch, holding on with the legs; when disturbed they raise and rap the
tip of the abdomen against the leaves, at the same time discharging
a sticky yellow fluid from the mouth smelling strongly of eucalyptus
extract. They are very subject to the attacks of dipterous and
hymenopterous parasites, which these means of defence may keep away.
When full grown they bury themselves in the soil, and form elongate,
oval, parchment-like cocoons clustered together.
The Steel Blue Sawfly, _Perga dorsalis_, is slightly over 1 inch in
length; is of a deep metallic blue, marked on face and thorax with
bright yellow, and has stout reddish brown wings; the smaller male
has the upper surface of the abdominal segments clothed with silvery
pubescence. _Perga kirbyi_ is dark reddish brown, similar in form and
size to the last species; _Perga lewisii_, a much smaller yellowish
brown insect, flattened on the dorsal surface, is common about Sydney
upon the foliage of the “blood-wood” (_Eucalyptus corymbosa_), where
she lays her eggs in the leaf in a double row, and stands over them
until the tiny larvae hatch out and are able to move away; while thus
occupied you can pick her up, but she will not move away, but raise
her wings and fight like a hen over her chickens. Though this is our
commonest species, and I have taken hundreds of females, I have never
seen a male. _Perga cameronii_ is like the last species, but larger,
with more distinct markings on the back; it is found on the Blue
Mountains.
In the Genus _Pterygophorus_ about 10 species are described; they are
much smaller insects, with bright metallic blue colours marked with
reddish yellow; the male has the antennae produced into a comb or
feathery structure, those of the female are formed of short rounded
joints. The larva is a dull olive green creature covered with small
warty tubercules; the head is broad, and the abdomen tapers off into a
slender pointed tail; it has seven pairs of abdominal legs. It feeds
upon the foliage of _Leptospermum_, wild dock and other plants, and
when full grown bores into dead wood, pupating in a rounded oval cell.
The Ringed Sawfly, _Pterygophorus cinctus_, ½ an inch in length, is
dark blue marked with deep reddish orange on the thorax, with a ring
round the centre and tip of the abdomen of a similar colour; the wings
are marked and clouded with black.
[Illustration: Plate XI.--HYMENOPTERA.
Family TENTHREDINIDAE.
1. _Pterygophorus cinctus_ (Klug).
2. _Pterygophorus cinctus_ (Klug), Antenna ♀.
3. _Pterygophorus cinctus_ (Klug), Larva.
4. _Philomastix glaber_ (Froggatt).
5. _Philomastix glaber_ (Froggatt), Antenna.
6. _Philomastix glaber_ (Froggatt), Larva.]
[Illustration: _Plate XI.--HYMENOPTERA._]
The Pale Coloured Sawfly, _P. interruptus_, slightly larger, has the
thorax marked with orange yellow, and the abdomen deeply blotched with
the same colour, forming interrupted bands on the sides; both these
species are taken upon flowers in the summer months.
_Philomastix glaber_ has very curious larvae that feed upon the wild
bramble on the northern rivers of N.S. Wales; they have large heads,
no abdominal legs, and two slender rat-like tails on the tip of the
body. The sawfly measures 1 inch in length; the general colour is
shining yellow, mottled with dull metallic blue on the thorax and
abdomen; the semiopaque wings are barred with dark brown; the male has
shorter antennae composed of short funnel shaped segments. There are a
number of small species, belonging to the Genera _Eurys_, _Euryopsis_
and _Polyclonus_, found chiefly upon flowers; _Polyclonus atratus_,
sole representative of the Genus, has 18 jointed antennae, each
joint furnished with a hairy finger turning inward at the tips. The
Blister-leaf Sawfly, _Phylacteophaga eucalypti_, punctures the leaves
of small gum trees; the larva feeds in the tissue, and when full grown
pupates in a chamber in the centre, forming a distinct blister in the
leaf: in the pupal state it has power to bend the body and rap against
the side of the chamber. The sawfly measures ¼ of an inch in length;
the male is black with a red head; the slightly larger female has the
head and thorax reddish brown; the antennae have eight joints, long and
slender. They have long stout legs, and are very active when they first
emerge from the leaves, making a loud buzzing sound as they run about
and try to escape.
Family 5. Gall-flies.
CYNIPIDAE.
This is the first group of the _Petiolata_, which are often known from
their small size as _Micro-hymenoptera_. They are all small creatures,
differing from the succeeding families in that they are broadly
speaking plant eating, usually forming galls in which they live and
pupate. However, there are some that live upon the gall-making forms;
others live only upon the tissue of their cousins’ galls without
disturbing their host; and again some that are known as inqualines
(visitors that dwell in the cavity with the true gall-maker); so that
their life histories are somewhat complicated.
The typical gall-fly deposits her eggs in the tissues of the selected
plant by means of her ovipositor, which is beautifully adapted for the
purpose; she injects in some cases a fluid that keeps the wound from
closing up at once and so destroying the delicate egg. Most of the
Cynips galls are rounded woody excrescences. The Gall Wasps have wings
with few cells and no stigma; the front portion of the thorax is joined
to the second; the ovipositor is concealed; the antennae straight,
containing from 13 to 15 joints. I described three hymenopterons
forming galls on wattles (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1892), but these
insects submitted to Dr. Mayr some years afterwards proved to belong
to another family. The only species described from Australia are 3
named by Ashmead (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1900), which were collected by
Koebele without any exact locality being given; and _Hypodiranchis
aphidis_ described by me as a parasite of the common peach aphis in
the Agricultural Gazette N.S.W. 1904.
Family 6. Parasitic Wasps.
CHALCIDIDAE.
This is a very extensive family, the members of which differ from the
other small wasps in having the antennae elbowed, the first segment
often as long as all the others combined; the antennae may be simple,
but are often clubbed at the tips, and in the males of some groups
with the segments or joints feathered or furnished with slender
branching fingers. The delicate gauze-like wings are traversed by
very few veins, and the abdomen is produced into all sorts of curious
shapes, ornamented sometimes with remarkable anal appendages; and the
ovipositor of the female, though often short, is sometimes much longer
than the whole insect, and is usually prominent. These tiny little
creatures deposit their eggs in the eggs, larvae, and pupae of other
insects, wood galls, and excrescences produced by other insects, though
a few groups are plant feeders and even produce galls.
Most of them are very minute, and can only be collected by keeping
infested galls, leaves, eggs and cocoons in jars and breeding them out,
so that the majority of them escape the eye of the ordinary collector,
though among the most beautiful of all insects in rich colours and
delicate structure.
Walker described a number of Australian species in the British Museum
Catalogue, Hymenoptera 1846, others in his Monograph of the family
1839, and the Proceedings of other Journals (1863, &c.); but his usual
locality is simply “New Holland,” and without access to the types
one would have some difficulty in determining any species. Westwood
obtained and figured some of our largest; and Haliday others in the
“Entomologist” 1842; while the few others described are those obtained
by the zoologists on the various scientific expeditions visiting this
country. Ashmead has contributed the only modern paper (Pro. Linn.
Society N.S.W. 1900) on these and other parasitic hymenoptera collected
by Mr. Koebele and myself. The species in the Genus _Leucaspis_ are
large thickset chalcids, with the ovipositor curving round and fitting
into grooves in the dorsal surface of the abdomen. _Leucaspis darlingi_
was obtained by Westwood from the Darling Downs Queensland (I have
specimens from Mackay Q.): it is black mottled with yellow, and has
brownish wings; the hind legs are swollen: the antennae thickened; and
it measures ½ an inch. _L. australis_ was obtained by Walker from S.
Australia. Nothing is known about their habits, but _Leucaspis gigas_
in Europe lays its eggs in the nests of mud-dauber wasps, piercing
the clay walls with its stout ovipositor. _Trichoxenia cineraria_, a
slightly smaller black insect, is deeply punctured all over the dorsal
surface of the head and thorax; the wings are clouded at the apex; and
the upper surface of the body is thickly clothed with dense yellow
down, thickest toward the apex. Specimens in my collection were taken
about Sydney.
The typical Genus _Chalcis_ contains a number of short stout insects,
generally black, sometimes marked with yellow and brown; they are
easily distinguished by the globular form of the thighs of the hind
legs, which are sometimes nearly as large as the abdomen. These insects
are chiefly parasitic upon the larvae of small leaf-rolling moths:
_Chalcis vicaria_ is black, with the base of the tibiae and tarsi
yellow; it is common about Mackay Queensland. I have bred numbers of
_Chalcis phya_, a small black species with white mottled hind legs,
from the chrysalids of the lucerne moth (_Tortrix glaphyriana_).
Another undetermined yellow legged species has been bred from the
codlin moth pupa. _Eurytoma binotata_, a tiny black insect clothed
with a white pubescence, has the pronotum spotted with yellow, and the
antennae and legs marked with reddish brown; it can be bred from the
galls on the twigs of the turpentine gum. _E. eucalypti_, a smaller
black species, slightly over ⅛ of an inch, comes out of eucalyptus
galls collected at Uralla N.S.W. The members of the extensive Genus
_Megastigmus_ are all obtained from galls; they are more elongate in
form, with broad globular heads, the males with short cylindrical
bodies, but the larger females furnished with bristle-like ovipositors
turning upward often longer than the whole insect. _Megastigmus
brachyscelides_ measures ¹⁄₁₂ of an inch, and is black to dark brown
marked with yellow; it is bred from the large galls of _Brachyscelis
crispa_. _M. iamenus_, originally described from Tasmania, I have bred
from another gall coccid (_B. pileata_); also a larger light yellow
species bred from dipterous galls on the Snow-bush (_Aster ramulosus_)
has been named by Ashmead _M. asteri_; _M. brachychitoni_, ⅙ of an
inch, reddish brown and yellow, is common in the large fleshy galls on
the Kurrajong tree.
[Illustration: =Fig. 44.=--_Hypodiranchis aphidis_
(Froggatt). A cynips parasitic upon the peach aphis.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Stilbula peduncularis_ is a remarkable looking insect, with broad,
rich metallic coppery red head and thorax; the basal portion of the
abdomen forms a slender stalk with the apical tip produced into a small
oval club. I have had a closely allied form out of the pupal cocoon of
the red bull-dog ant.
The PERILAMPINAE comprise some of the largest and most remarkable
chalcids: _Thaumasura terebrator_ has been described and figured by
Westwood; my specimens came from S. Australia, and were sent by Mr.
Blackburn. It is a slender, rich metallic purple insect, about ¼ of an
inch in length to the apex of the flask-shaped body, which is continued
in a long jointed tail three times the length of the whole insect. _T.
femor-rubra_ is a smaller insect with a tail not so long as the body,
and of a general black colour with transparent wings and reddish legs.
_Dinoura auriventris_ is a very curious, metallic tinted species ¼ of
an inch in length, with the apical portion of the attenuated abdomen
produced into four flanges. I have bred a number of these wasps out
of the large wood galls of coccids (_Brachyscelinae_), chiefly _B.
pileata_. _Pteromalus puparum_ is an introduced parasite of butterfly
pupae, and is common about Sydney, where it infests that of the orange
feeding butterfly (_Papilio erectheus_). Another tiny little metallic
tinted chalcid, _Eupelmus antipoda_, infests the eggs of our common
mantis.
[Illustration: =Fig. 45.=--_Pteromalus puparum_
(Linn.). ♂ and ♀.
Parasitic Chalcids that destroy the pupae of many species of
butterflies.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
About twenty species of the cosmopolitan Genus _Tetrasticus_ are
described by Walker, chiefly from Tasmania. The allied _Tetrastichodes
froggatti_ is a very tiny creature, described by Ashmead from
shot-like galls on the leaves of eucalypts. _Euryischia lestophoni_,
a larger black insect with mottled wings, is interesting to economic
entomologists, as it is a secondary parasite of the Cottony Cushion
Scale (_Icerya purchasi_), feeding on the fly parasite.
* * * * *
The BLASTOPHAGINAE are remarkable little creatures, for there is a very
great difference in the sexes of the same species; the males, yellow
or brown, wingless, and blind, are more like white ants in general
appearance than chalcids. They breed in the interior of figs, and are
numerous in Australia. Saunders (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1883) described our
common species (_Pleistodontes imperialis_), found in the fruit of the
Moreton Bay fig about March. The tiny male, ¹⁄₁₂ of an inch in length,
is of the typical form and colour; the elongate, shining black female
(which is figured) is so different a looking creature that it would
never be taken for the opposite sex of the insect. Their life history
and remarkable habits have been described in the Agricultural Gazette
(June 1900). _Idarnis australis_, described in the same paper, is a
slender, bright, metallic green wasp, with a long tubular ovipositor
nearly twice the length of the whole insect, which she also uses by
pressing it down against the fig to jump like an acrobat, as well
as for puncturing the skin of the fruit. The insect I described as
the supplementary male of _P. imperialis_, is, Dr. Mayr tells me,
the wingless male of this species. Mayr in “_Neue Feigen-Insekten_
1906” states that he finds that my identification is wrong and this
is not the one named by Saunders but a new species which he calls
_Pleistodontes froggatti_, and places my _Idarnis_ in his Genus
_Sycoryctes_.
[Illustration: =Fig. 46.=--_Dinoura auriventris_
(Ashmead).
A parasitic Chalcid that destroys the gall-making coccids
(_Brachyscelinae_) by devouring the females and pupating
in the cavity. (Original, W.W.F.)]
[Illustration: Plate XII.--HYMENOPTERA.
Family CHALCIDIDAE.
1. Branch of Moreton Bay Fig (_Ficus macrophylla_).
2. Immature fig attacked by _Pleistodontes froggatti_
(Mayr), which are cutting their way into the fig. A female
_Idarnis australis_ on the right-hand side of the fig.
3. Section of fig, showing insects in the centre.
4. _Pleistodontes froggatti_ (Mayr). ♀.
5. Cutting plate (mandibular appendage) used by the insect to
cut into the fig.
6. Point of head, showing beak-like extremity, and the base of
the mandibular appendage where attached to the head.
7. Wings of _Pleistodontes froggatti_ (Mayr).
8. _Pleistodontes froggatti_ (Mayr). ♂.
9. _Idarnes australis_ (Froggatt). ♂.
10. _Idarnes australis_ (Froggatt). ♀.
11. _Idarnes australis_ (Froggatt), Wings.]
[Illustration: _Plate XII.--HYMENOPTERA._]
* * * * *
Additional species of CHALCIDIDAE have been added to our fauna by the
researches of Messrs. Perkins and Koebele (Bulletins 1, pts. 6 & 8
Hawaii 1905). In the _Encryritinae_ he describes 12 new species, most
of them bred from the pupae of the Dryinids collected in Queensland,
but a few from more southern regions. _Chalcerinys eximia_ is only
¹⁄₂₅ of an inch in length; is of a rich metallic green tint marked
with black and brassy-yellowish tints, and is furnished with long
antennae. It ranges from Bundaberg to Sydney. In the EUPELMINAE
he describes one new species parasitic upon the parasite fly,
_Pipunculus cinerascens_, under the name of _Anastatus pipunculi_. It
is a bright metallic green and purple little creature about ¹⁄₁₂ of
an inch in length. One species of the TETRASTICHINAE, which he calls
_Ootetrastichus beatus_, has been bred from the eggs of leaf-hoppers
from both Queensland and Fiji, while another parasite on the eggs of a
Jassid embedded in the branchlets of a Eucalyptus was bred in Southern
Queensland. Perkins describes it under the name of _Pterygogramma
acuminata_, a tiny creature not ¹⁄₂₅ of an inch in length, of general
brown and yellowish tints.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 47.=--_Megastigmus brachychitoni_ (Froggatt)
♀. A yellow and brown Chalcid, bred from the large fleshy
galls on the kurrajong trees.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration:
=Fig. 48.=--_Coelocyba viridilineata_ (Froggatt).
A pale yellow and green Chalcid infesting the large fleshy
galls on the kurrajong trees.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Five species of the parasitic wasps belonging to the MYMARIDAE are
described from Queensland. They are all tiny little creatures with
slender feathered wings and long legs. They deposit their eggs in
the eggs of different species of leaf-hoppers, and some species are
very abundant. Four species of the more robust parasites belonging
to the Genus _Aphanomerus_ are also described as egg parasites from
Queensland. After studying the galls and insects from the wattles
which I described in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society 1892, as
belonging to the Cynipidae, Dr. Mayr finds that the insects will not
fit into any known genera, so he has formed the Genus _Trichilogaster_
to contain _T. maideni_, which forms galls on the branchlets of _Acacia
longifolia_, and _T. a-longifoliae_, which aborts the flower buds
of the same wattle into oval or rounded red and yellow galls as big
as marbles. He describes a third species I sent him, _T. pendulae_,
forming rounded galls on _Acacia pendula_, and has made the remarkable
discovery that the tiny wasp deposits a female egg, which forms the
central cavity on the gall with a second male egg in a small cavity on
the side of the same gall, so that a male and female wasp is always
produced from each gall, and he thinks this will be the case with our
two common species when they are examined.
[Illustration: =Fig. 49.=--_Ceraphron niger_
(Curtis) ♂. A tiny black parasitic Chalcid that infests the
pupae of the leaf-mining fly (_Phytomyza affinis_).
=49a.=--Head of Female.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Family 7. Micro-hymenoptera.
PROCTOTRYPIDAE.
In general appearance these tiny creatures, some of the smallest in
the insect world, would seem to be almost identical with those of the
previous family; but Ashmead says: “If the anomalous group MYMARINAE
are removed there will be no difficulty in distinguishing at a glance
a Proctotrypid from a Chalcid,” and defines them thus: “In all true
Proctotrypidae the pronotum extends back to the tegulae, and the
ovipositor issues from the tip of the abdomen, the sheaths in a few
abnormal cases being conjoined and forming a more or less cylindrical
tube or scabbard for the reception of the two spiculae and the
ovipositor proper.”
Sharp on the other hand considers that this is one of the most
difficult groups of the Hymenoptera to define; to a specialist of
course they can be easily separated, but anyone who first takes up the
study of these Micro-hymenoptera (and bear in mind that we are talking
about insects, so small that when a collector breeds them out in jars
he has to liberate them upon a window pane that he may see them against
the light), he will I think endorse Dr. Sharp’s decision. Besides the
peculiarities of the abdomen previously noted, the antennae, sometimes
twice the length of the whole insect, are composed of from 7 to 15
joints, and in the typical groups, though the first joint may be long,
it is not elbowed as in the Chalcids, and is seldom branched. The
wings are delicate, without any nervures, except in a few small groups
where the veins are somewhat like those of small ichneumon wasps. The
hind legs are generally longer than the others, and though some have
the thighs swollen as in the Chalcids, they are as a rule much more
slender, and the abdomen is usually pointed.
They can be bred from galls, particularly those of small Gall-flies
(_Cecidomyia_), the eggs of all kinds of insects, and the larvae of
small beetles, moths, and other wasps.
In Ashmead’s “Monograph of the Proctotrypidae of North America” nearly
600 species are described, and a number have been added since these
were recorded in 1893. The Australian species are probably numerous,
judging from my own observations when studying gall-making insects;
but very few have been described. Westwood described four in his
“Thesaurus Entomologicus, Oxford 1874,” belonging to the BETHYLLIDES,
the peculiarities of which he defines, and figures with coloured
plates. Ashmead describes another (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1900) under
the name of _Ateleopterus longiceps_, obtained by me in a hollow twig
of a wattle tree; a shining black ant-like creature about ⅙ of an inch
in length, rusty red legs, and transparent wings clouded at the base,
probably parasitic on the larva of some wood boring beetle. _Sierola
antipoda_ was bred from the curious bract-like gall of _Cecidomyia
frauenfeldi_ on the twigs of Melaleuca bushes. A second species of this
genus was collected by Webster, and forwarded to Ashmead, who named it
after the sender.
In 1890 Riley described “An Australian Hymenopterous parasite of the
fluted scale” in “Insect Life” which he named _Ophelosia crawfordi_; it
is a tiny reddish brown wasp with a shining black body, and the wings
obscurely barred with smoky brown; it is easily bred from this mealy
bug, which it greatly keeps in check. _Goniozus antipodum_, described
by Westwood from S. Australia, is a little shining black ant-like wasp
which has been lately discovered destroying the grubs of codlin moth
both in S. Australia and N.S. Wales. The larvae feed upon the outside
of the grub, burying their heads in the tissue, and when full grown
spin a loose silken cocoon.
* * * * *
Perkins has recently added a number of new species to this family
belonging to the DRYINIDAE. In his Bulletins Hawaii 1905, Nos. 1 &
10, “Leaf Hoppers and their Natural Enemies,” he describes 45 new
species, chiefly collected by Koebele in Queensland, but some from
the neighbourhood of Sydney. These curious little proctotrypids
are parasitic upon the larvae and pupae of the small homopterous
insects commonly known as Leaf or Frog-hoppers (Families JASSIDAE and
FULGORIDAE). The adult wasp captures the insect, holding it with its
curious clawed feet while it deposits its egg in its body; when full
grown the larva spins a white silken cocoon, from which the active
winged insect emerges in about 18 days.
* * * * *
_Gonotopus australis_ is a tiny wingless ant-like creature about ¹⁄₁₂
of an inch in length, which attacks jassids and fulgorids feeding upon
grass and low herbage. This species comes from Bundaberg Queensland;
but Koebele has bred a second species about ⅛ of an inch in length, of
a general brownish colour, from a Jassid collected near Parramatta. The
curious little sacs or larval bags of these parasites can be readily
noticed projecting from the sides of the thoracic segments. Most of
these insects have well developed wings, but, according to Koebele’s
observations, they stalk their prey when looking for the host for their
egg.
Family 8. Larger Parasitic Wasps.
ICHNEUMONIDAE.
These are commonly known as Ichneumon Flies, and the family is a very
extensive one. They play an important part in the economy of Nature in
destroying thousands of the moth and other larvae that would otherwise
strip our fields and forests of their grass and foliage, and they
are therefore useful allies to the agriculturist; though they also
often destroy other beneficial insects as well as pests, and thus
discount their usefulness. Ichneumon Flies are moderately sized insects
furnished with long slender antennae composed of from 16 to upward of
60 joints, with the basal one often thickened, but never elbowed. The
wings are well developed, with a distinct stigma and numerous nervures
forming regular cells; a few species are wingless in both sexes, but
these exceptional ones have not been recorded from this country.
The legs are long, generally slender, and well adapted for running
about; the abdomen is usually long, rounded or cylindrical, joined
to the thorax on the under side, and more or less stalked, while the
ovipositor of the female is characteristic of the group and adapted or
modified for laying the eggs in or upon the different hosts they prefer
to adopt for their offspring; when they infest wood boring caterpillars
that are somewhat out of reach, the ovipositor is correspondingly long
and the sheath and “tails” produced so as to guide the eggs to their
resting place on the grub, out of the sight of the parent ichneumon.
When the species lays its eggs on the back of leaf-eating insects with
no protective covering, the ovipositor is generally short and stout,
the tip sometimes so stiff and sharp, that several species are credited
with stinging people when handled. The little wasp-grub, hatching from
the egg either deposited on the back or placed beneath the skin, feeds
upon the substance of the body of its victim without touching the vital
organs, so that in most instances where the caterpillar of a moth is
infested, it yet has the power to form its cocoon and pupate before
the wasp-grub has finished growing; the latter thus finishes its final
transformation in the destroyed moth pupa, and cuts its way out through
the side of the cocoon when ready to emerge. Usually, if it is a large
species, the ichneumon deposits only one egg in its victim, but in some
of the smaller ones half a dozen can be bred from a single cocoon. Over
6,000 species of these insects have been described from all parts of
the world, and in many countries, such as this, the native species are
still hardly known, and much confusion exists in their classification
on account of their parasitic habits and the number of different
hosts that the same species may infest; but now that so many economic
entomologists are at work all over the world, it will probably not be
long before they will have many admirers, and a rich field awaits the
entomologist who takes up the study of Australian ichneumons.
Cresson in his “Synopsis of the North American Hymenoptera” lists over
1,100 described species, while in Australia up to the time when Brullé
published his “Histoire Naturelle des Insectes, Hymenopteres,” in 1846,
only one or two had been described, to which he added eighteen species;
Kirby, Smith, Cameron and several foreign entomologists have added a
few more; and in Ashmead’s recent paper ten more Australian species are
described, which makes a very meagre list.
The Spotted Black Ichneumon, _Pimpla intricatoria_, is one of our
largest common species, having a wide distribution over Australia,
and it breeds in a number of different moths. It measures nearly 1
inch in length to the tip of the short ovipositor, and is of a uniform
black colour with red legs and antennae; the thorax and abdomen are
ornamented with pale yellow spots, those on the latter oval, forming a
row on either side.
The Dark-winged Ichneumon, _Rhyssa semipunctata_, is a more slender
species of about the same length; is of a uniform dull red colour
except the basal half of the abdomen, which is black with white
markings on the sides; the wings are clouded with brown, darkest on
the inner portion. These wasps always follow up the cut worms and
caterpillar plagues, and destroy immense numbers in the pupal stage.
The Spotted Ichneumon, _Mesotenus albopictus_, is somewhat smaller,
with slender stalked abdomen and the slender ovipositor turned
downward: the general colour is black, with the antennae marked with
yellow toward the apical portion; the head, thorax and abdomen are
richly marked with light yellow; light brown wings and red legs mottled
with black and yellow. This ichneumon breeds in a great number of
different cocoons, and frequently emerges from the oval cup-like ones
of the “Stinging Caterpillars” (_Doratifera_ and _Limacodes_).
The OPHIONINAE comprises a number of genera, of which the typical
species are reddish brown insects, with clear wings and curiously
curved, laterally flattened bodies, broadest at the extremity. They
are frequently noticed in numbers among the low scrub in the day time,
and in the summer evenings often fly into the house round the lighted
lamp. Six species of the typical Genus _Ophion_ are described from
Australia; but none of the Genus _Anomalon_ have been recorded.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 50.=--_Bassus laetatorius_ (Fabr.). An
Ichneumon wasp that destroys the pupae of Syrphid flies.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Bassus laetatorius_ is a well known Ichneumon which has a very wide
range over the globe, and is not a useful species, for it lays its eggs
in the larvae of Syrphid flies, which feed upon different kinds of
plant lice (_Aphis_) and are very useful insects to the gardener. It
measures about ¼ of an inch in length, with the head, thorax, tip and
base of the abdomen black, the rest reddish brown with yellow markings
on the head. The tibiae of the hind legs are very distinctly banded
with white, black, and reddish brown, giving it quite a distinctive
character.
Family 9. Small Ichneumons.
BRACONIDAE.
These are insects with very similar habits but easily separated from
the large ichneumon wasps by the structure of the fore wings, as they
have the outer cross veins wanting, thus showing two long outer cells,
which in the former are divided into two cells. The antennae are always
composed of more than fifteen joints, and the segments of the abdomen
are more soldered together. Many of them, like the _Microgasters_,
are very small, others are as large as many of the smaller true
ichneumons. This country is probably very rich in indigenous species,
while we have a considerable number that have been introduced with
their host insect; but hardly anything has been done in describing our
species. As far back as 1775 Fabricius named 4 species of the typical
Genus _Bracon_, to which only three other species have been added,
though over 500 species are listed in Dalla Torre’s Catalogue in the
cosmopolitan Genus _Bracon_ from other parts of the globe.
The typical Braconid is usually very small; many of them are no larger
than some of the Chalcids. Wherever the cabbage aphis or other plant
infesting insects such as caterpillars are to be found, these little
wasps can be observed hovering round, waiting for an opportunity to
deposit their eggs. They differ from the large ichneumons, in that
while the latter only deposit a single, or at most a dozen eggs upon
a victim, these often place hundreds in a large caterpillar, which,
emerging when full grown, form little white oval silken cocoons on the
top of the remains of their hosts, that are sometimes surrounded with
a mass of white fibre exactly like cotton wool. After a plague of cut
worms has passed over a paddock it is quite common to find clusters
of these little cocoons attached to the grass stalks; these have been
often sent to me from the country with the information that they were
the eggs of the plague caterpillars or cut worms.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 51.=--_Ephedrus persicae_ (Froggatt). A
Braconid wasp that lays its eggs on the bodies of aphids.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Bracon limbatus_, one of our larger typical species, is found in
Tasmania, and has a wide range over Australia. It measures about ½ an
inch from the front of the head to the tip of the abdomen, and is of
a general black colour on the upper surface, with dusky almost black
wings, and a red head. The under-surface is marked with brown, with
the thorax, thighs, and tibiae of the front and middle legs black;
the three slender curled hair-like tails forming the ovipositor being
longer than the whole insect. Eight other species of _Bracon_ are
described, several of which are also recorded from New Guinea and
New Zealand. Among the introduced species is _Lepolexis rapae_ of
Curtis, which is parasitic upon the cabbage aphis in Europe; it can be
collected in gardens about Sydney. Aphids containing these parasites
are always swollen, round, and apparently dead skins through which each
braconid eats its way.
Five species of the Genus _Agathes_ are described; they are remarkable
for their showy particoloured wings, and large size in comparison
with other members of this family. Ashmead has described a tiny black
species marked with yellow bred by me from the larva of a Noctuid Moth,
an undetermined species of _Agrotis_, under the name of _Apanteles
antipoda_; and a second larger one as _Apanteles australasiae_. In
his Genus _Microbracon_ he has described a dainty little black and
yellow creature that infests the larvae of our scale-eating moth
(_Thalpochares coccophaga_) under the name of _Microbracon thalpocaris_.
Family 10. Ruby Wasps.
CHRYSIDIDAE.
The popular and scientific names of these insects refer to the
brilliant metallic blue, green, golden or copper coloured tints
of their armour-plated bodies, which are also covered with coarse
punctures, finest upon the abdomen. They are stout thickset wasps with
short curled antennae and large eyes; the thorax is broad and closely
attached to the abdomen, the latter composed of from three to five
segments, the first generally much shorter than the second, with the
last toothed along the hind margin, and characteristic of the different
species; the under-surface of these plates is concave, with the tip of
the abdomen produced into a tubular process, so that when alarmed the
wasp can curl her body round into a ball, protected on all sides by
the armour-like integument; and as she lays her eggs in the nests of
other wasps and bees, and is sometimes caught in the act, this habit
is probably a wise provision of Nature which enables her to resist the
sting of the lawful nest maker.
Some of the earlier observers called them “Cuckoo Wasps,” under the
impression that their larvae, when hatched out in the nests of hunting
wasps or bees that filled the cells with insects or bee bread, fed
upon the stored food supplies, but later researches show that, though
the egg of both the lawful occupant and the intruder may be deposited
in the cell, the latter does not hatch until the former has devoured
all the food placed there by his mother and is ready to pupate; then
the ruby wasp baby comes out, attaches itself to the full fed larva
beside it, and sucks him dry, pupating in his skin.
Most of our species that I have bred out are parasitic in the clay
nests of the smaller Mason Wasps, _Odynerus_ and _Alastor_, though in
Europe many species live in the nests of bees. The perfect insects are
generally found crawling over or flying round old fences or stumps and
dead trees in the hottest part of the day. Our species were described
by F. Smith in 1874 in his revision of the family, in the Transactions
of the Entomological Society of London; a few others have since been
added to the list by Mocsáry, who monographed the Chrysididae in 1889;
and Gribodo in the Annals of the Mus. Geneva, 1879.
No member of the typical Genus _Cleptes_ common in Europe and America
is recorded from Australia; but two well defined species of the
beautiful ruby wasps of the Genus _Stilbum_ that has a world wide range
are described, _Stilbum splendidum_ confined to Australia and New
Caledonia, and _Stilbum amethystinium_, found also in Asia, Africa and
America. The great Genus _Chrysis_, which contains over 600 described
species, is represented here by about 27 species.
Family 11. Hatchet-bodied Wasps.
EVANIIDAE.
Under the recent classification of this family it now comprises three
very well defined genera, which have moderately thick antennae, not
elbowed, consisting of thirteen or fourteen joints; the nervures of
the wings not so well defined as those of the Ichneumons; and the
stalked abdomen attached to the upper part of the metathorax. They are
well represented in this country, and have been chiefly described by
Westwood and Schletterer.
[Illustration: Plate XIII.--HYMENOPTERA.
Family MEGALYRIDAE.
1. _Megalyra fasciipennis_ (Westwood). ♀.
Family ICHNEUMONIDAE.
2. _Pimpla intricatoria_ (Fabr.). ♀.
Family EVANIIDAE.
3. _Gasteruption sp._
Family MUTILLIDAE.
4. _Mutilla formicaria_ (Westwood). ♀.
Family CHRYSIDIDAE.
5. _Stilbum splendidum_ (Fabr.).
Family THYNNIDAE.
6. _Diamma bicolor_ (Westwood).
10. _Thynnus variabilis_ (Kirby). ♀.
11. _Thynnus variabilis_ (Kirby). ♂.
Family SCOLIIDAE.
7. _Trielus zonata_ (Smith). ♀.
8. _Discolia verticalis_ (Fabr.). ♂.
9. _Discolia soror_ (Smith). ♀.
Family SPHEGIDAE.
12. _Bembex tridentifera_ (Smith).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XIII.--HYMENOPTERA._]
The members of the typical Genus _Evania_ are generally shining black
insects, sometimes variegated with dull red markings; the head and
thorax are short and broad; the abdomen has the first segment produced
into a slender stalk, and the remaining ones forming a vertically
compressed hatchet-like body. They are parasitic upon the egg cases of
cockroaches; some with a very wide range have been introduced in
all probability with their cosmopolitan hosts, while they are often
found in the house flying on the window panes, evidently introduced in
the same manner. In the bush the perfect insects are commonly found on
flowering shrubs in the summer time. About 20 species are described
from Australia and Tasmania. _Evania princeps_ is of a uniform black
colour with dusky wings, and is recorded from most parts of Australia,
Woodlark Island and New Guinea. It is one of our largest species,
measuring ½ an inch in length, broad in proportion, and furnished with
very long spined legs.
The Genus _Gasteruption_, which takes the place of the Genus _Foenus_
in the earlier catalogues, contains 36 described species from
Australia; as they are rare insects, there are probably many more to be
discovered. Nothing is known about their habits for certain, but they
are supposed to be parasitic upon the larvae of wood boring insects;
I have generally found them flying round the trunk of a dead or burnt
tree. They differ from the former genus in having the head almost
globular, with antennae standing out straight in front, and large oval
eyes on the sides; the thorax is more elongate, rounded in front, so
that the insect appears to have a slight neck. The abdomen springs from
a rounded node on the thorax, with the basal segments slender, swelling
out gradually, and broadest at the tip; the females bear a very long
hair-like ovipositor. The legs are slender, the hind pair longest,
with both the thighs and apical half of the tibiae thickened in a very
distinctive manner. Ten species are described from Sydney; and one,
_Gasteruption pedunculatum_, is also common to New Zealand.
The Genus _Aulacus_ contains ten described species of smaller insects.
_Aulacus apicalis_ is parasitic upon the larvae of a longicorn beetle
(_Piesarthrius marginellus_). I have found as many as fifty, each
enclosed in a thin parchment cocoon, all matted together in a single
cavity. This little wasp has a long extended ovipositor, and measures
about ½ an inch in length; the head and greater portion of the abdomen
is black, the rest reddish brown, with a blotch of yellow on the upper
surface of the base of the abdomen; the hyaline wings are tipped with
black.
Family 12. Long-tailed Wasps.
MEGALYRIDAE.
These remarkable parasitic wasps, peculiar to Australia, are comprised
in a single genus containing 16 species, none of which are very common.
They are all shining black insects; the head short, broad and almost
rounded, the thorax broad and stout, both very rugose and clothed
with fine silvery hairs on the sides; the eyes large, circular, and
very prominent; ocelli small; the antennae composed of irregular wiry
joints; the wings semitransparent, generally banded with black, and
the transverse nervures wanting in the apical half; legs long, with
the thighs thickened. The abdomen is closely attached to the thorax,
cylindrical, tapering to the extremity, and in the females furnished
with an ovipositor often more than three times the whole length of the
insect, looking exactly like three black horse-hairs. These elongated
ovipositors are used for depositing their eggs in the wood-boring
larvae of longicorn beetles belonging to the Genus _Phoracantha_,
and probably others of like habits, which feed under the bark in the
sap wood of different eucalypts. The perfect insects are generally
found about flowers on low shrubs in summer.
_Megalyra shuchardi_ is of the usual black colour with silvery
pubescence; the wings are pitch black and opaque: the whole insect
measures slightly under 1 inch in length, with the ovipositor over
three inches. It is found in Victoria and New South Wales, and
also recorded from Melville Island on the North Coast. _Megalyra
fasciipennis_ was described by Westwood when he founded the genus,
in the Transactions of the Entomological Society 1841; and it is again
figured in Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, Insects, Vol. II. It is much
smaller than the previous one, of similar form, the legs and ovipositor
reddish brown, the wings hyaline, barred across the centre and clouded
at the extremities with blackish brown. The male is much smaller than
the female, with similar wings, but the body is more slender and comes
to a point at the tip, furnished with a curious bifid anal appendage.
This is the species we have found breeding from the longicorn larvae.
Six other species have been described, some by Schletterer (Berliner
Entom. Zeitschrift 1889); one, _Megalyra melanoptera_, closely allied
to Westwood’s dark winged species. In 1902 Szepligeti (Termes Z.
Fuzetek, xxv.) monographed the family and added one more; and Bradley
last year, describing the last new form (Trans. Ent. Society of London
1905) appends a translation of the former’s tabulation of all the
known species, seven in number. I have (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1906)
since added 8 new species to the list.
Family 13. Ants.
FORMICIDAE.
The ants are among the first insects that attract one’s notice in a
new country; civilization seems to agree with many species which form
their nests in the lawns or gardens, and even take up their quarters
in the house. Within the last decade a small introduced species has
appeared in the heart of London, and the small red ant, _Monomorium
pharaonis_, is a world wide pest in houses from Europe to Australia.
Ants live in communities forming nests in the ground, under logs or
stones, or in dead trees, and sometimes among the foliage of plants.
These communities consist of winged males and females, and wingless
aborted females known as workers, the bulk of the family consisting of
the latter; in some groups there are several varieties of workers, that
are often called soldiers on account of their great size and swollen
heads. In those species that are furnished with a sting both the
workers and winged females should be handled with care.
They are divided into five sub-families, based on the difference in
the structure of the segments of the body, absence or presence of
a sting, and a few other minor characters. The leading specialists
differ somewhat in the sequence of these groups; I follow Forel in
placing the _Ponerinae_ at the head of the family; and for a good
classification and definition of the genera would refer my readers
to Emery’s paper in the “Annales de la Societe Entomologique de
Belgique,” Vol. xl., 1896. All our species described before 1858 are
listed in Smith’s British Museum “Catalogue of the Formicidae,” where
he described a number of new species: Lowne described a number of new
species collected in the neighbourhood of Sydney in the Entomologist,
Vol. ii., 1865: Mayr in several papers, chief of which are
“Myrmecologische Studien,” “Neue Formiciden,” and “Die Australischen
Formiciden” added many up to 1876. Emery, Forel, and others have
since added to the list; and in Dalla Torre’s great “Catalogue of the
Hymenoptera,” published in 1893, all species described up to that date
are recorded. I have lately (1905) published a list of Australian
species (Miscellaneous Publications No. 889, Dep. Agr. N.S.W.),
including all Forel and others have added to our fauna, in which
nearly 400 species are recorded, without counting the large number
of races and varieties into which some of them are divided. From my
own researches I think a great many more will be found when they are
systematically collected in the tropical scrubs and the dry districts
in the interior, which as yet have hardly been touched.
* * * * *
The sub-family PONERINAE includes many large or medium sized ants with
elongated bodies furnished with only one constricted segment or node
at the base of the abdomen, and the latter terminating in a powerful
sting. The larvae are enclosed in stout silken cocoons. The Genus
_Myrmecia_ contains most of our largest typical species peculiar to
Australia, popularly known as “bull-dog ants,” “inchmen,” or “jumpers”;
about 34 species have been described, some of which have a very wide
range. The “Jumper,” _Myrmecia albo-cincta_, forms its nest under
the shelter of a low bush; it is a low mound with an opening on the
summit, and another on the side level with the ground; when disturbed
these ants come rushing out like a pack of dogs with a series of short
jumps, and attack everything they meet. It is one of the smaller
species, about ½ an inch in length, of a uniform black colour, with
only the front and hind portion of the thorax brownish red to yellow.
_Myrmecia forficata_ is our large red and black “bull-dog ant,” with a
very extended range like the previous one from Victoria to Queensland.
They measure up to 1 inch in length, and are of a uniform dull red,
except the eyes and abdomen, which are black. They live in rather large
colonies up to 200 in number, digging deep circular shafts or irregular
chambers under logs; when away from the latter, they form regular domed
mounds over the nests, which in summer contain the large, elongated,
oval, brown sacks enclosing the pupae, and often a number of winged
males and females; the former with small heads and jaws, the latter
with jaws as large or larger than those of the workers. _Myrmecia
gulosa_ is of a lighter red colour, with the tip of the abdomen black.
_M. tarsata_ is our common black bull-dog ant, with yellow jaws, and
antennae and tips of the legs reddish brown; it has a great habit of
hunting up and down the larger tree trunks, and drops to the ground at
the least alarm; when disturbed in the nest, if the first two or three
are captured, the others will usually retreat down their burrows, and
not show fight like the other species. Sharp notes the bull-dog as
forming large mounds (Cambridge Natural History); but I think he was
misinformed, as the nests of the Mound Ant, _Iridomyrmex detectus_,
are often confounded with these ants. The Genus _Odontomachus_
contains a number of curious slender black ants with large heads and
long projecting jaws; they are more tropical in their range, but _O.
ruficeps_ and its varieties are found from the Darling River N.S. Wales
through Queensland to North Australia.
The “Green-head,” _Ectatomma metallicum_, is a common ant of medium
size that lives in small communities under stones or logs, and often
makes nests in the dry banks of lawns in our gardens. Though somewhat
sluggish, they sting sharply if they crawl on one when resting on the
grass. About 28 species and many varieties of this genus occur in
Australia; one in New Zealand; and 3 in New Caledonia. The members
of the Genus _Ponera_ are remarkable for their extended range; we
have several species or varieties in Queensland closely allied to
species from South America, Borneo, Europe, and Africa, while three
are recorded from New Zealand; _Euponera lutea_, a slender pale yellow
ant with the abdominal segment constricted, lives in small communities
under stones or roots. It ranges from Sydney to Fremantle, round to N.
Queensland. _Pachycondyla piliventris_ is a large, hairy black ant with
large head and rounded body, roughened, and clothed with fine rusty
down. They are generally found under stones in communities of a dozen
or so, and when exposed or disturbed pretend to be dead, with their
legs folded up under the body; they are common about Sydney.
Six species of the Genus _Sphinctomyrmex_ are found chiefly in the
North. They are somewhat rare ants; I have found two species, both
small, slender, dull brownish yellow insects living under stones; _S.
froggatti_ in a vineyard near Sydney; and the second, _S. hednigae_, in
the New England district under large stones.
* * * * *
The second sub-family, DORYLINAE, comprises ants with the antennae
placed close together in the front of the head, the abdomen elongated,
with the first segment forming an irregular node. This group
contains some very remarkable ants in Africa and America, but is
only represented in Australia by two species belonging to the Genus
_Ænictus_, both of which are described from specimens collected by
Turner at Mackay, Queensland.
* * * * *
The third sub-family, MYRMICINAE, is well represented here; they are
all small or medium sized ants, with the base of the abdomen formed
into two small nodes, and the sting rudimentary; the pupa naked and not
enclosed in a cocoon. Many of them live in very large communities.
The members of the Genus _Meranoplus_ are tiny little brown ants with
rounded heads and bodies, resembling some of the small wingless female
Mutillid in shape and habits, for though they form irregular galleries
under stones or in dry banks, they are generally found running up and
down tree trunks; when touched they curl up the body and sham death.
_Meranoplus oceanicus_, reddish brown, is common in N.S. Wales; _M.
pubescens_ has a very wide range right round Australia.
* * * * *
_Monomorium pharaonis_ is our tiny red house-ant introduced from
Europe, now world wide in its range; and when once it becomes
established in a house is a difficult pest to destroy. _M. rubriceps_,
a much larger species but under ¼ of an inch in length, is bright
reddish brown, with the nodes very small and the apical portion of
the abdomen black, and broadly rounded. It is found crawling upon the
trunks of trees, and has a wide range from Sydney to Cape York. The
typical tree-trunk ants included in the Genus _Podomyrma_ are much
larger ants, sluggish in their habits, forming their nests in tree
stems and always found crawling about the trunks. They are broad-headed
ants with short stout jaws toothed at the tips; the thorax is widest
in front, tapering to the narrow pedicle of the broadly rounded
abdomen; the thighs of the legs are thickened in the centre. _Podomyrma
gratiosa_, under ½ an inch in length, is bright reddish brown, rugose
and spined on the front margin of the thorax, with the abdomen black,
smooth, and shining; it is widely distributed over Australia from
Adelaide to Cape York. _P. adelaidae_ is a smaller species with black
legs, and a distinct oval brown blotch on either side of the black
abdomen; it is common in South Australia and Victoria. _P. bimaculata_
is still smaller, with the blotches on the abdomen smaller and more
oval; I have had it from Kalgoorlie W.A., and Wagga N.S. Wales.
[Illustration: Plate XIV.--HYMENOPTERA.
Family FORMICIDAE.
1. _Iridomyrmex detectus_ (Smith).
2. _Polyrhachis semi-aurata_ (Mayr).
3. _Myrmecia gulosa_ (Fabr.).
4. _Ectatomma metallicum_ (Smith).
5. _Iridomyrmex rufoniger_ (Lowne).
6. _Camponotus nigriceps_ (Smith).]
[Illustration: _Plate XIV.--HYMENOPTERA._]
The Genus _Pheidole_ is well represented in Australia by 22 species and
many varieties found in all parts of the country, forming irregular
chambers and galleries under stones and logs; they are tiny reddish
brown ants, with a very large headed form of soldiers often four or
five times the size of the ordinary workers. The winged forms are
also very large in proportion. _Pheidole bos_ is dark reddish brown,
the soldiers furnished with very large swollen heads; it ranges from
Western Australia to Victoria. _P. anthracina_ is a darker coloured
form, ranging from the northern portion of N.S. Wales into Queensland.
The members of the Genus _Cremastogaster_ are very small black, brown,
or dull yellow coloured ants with longer legs, and heart-shaped bodies;
they live in large communities in nests under logs and stones. _C.
fusca_ is black with reddish tarsi, and a reddish tint on the thorax;
it comes from Queensland. _C. pallipes_ and _C. ruficeps_ are
lighter coloured, found under stones about Sydney.
_Sima laeviceps_ is a very curious elongated shining black ant with
reddish brown antennae and tarsi, which ranges up the Queensland coast
to N.W. Australia, and is found crawling about on tree trunks, when
touched curling its body up like a wasp and shamming death.
* * * * *
The sub-family DOLICHODERINAE comprises a number of small or medium
sized ants living often in very large communities and having naked
pupae. The base of the abdomen consists of a single small node
with no constriction between the two following segments; sting
practically wanting (rudimentary). The typical Genus _Dolichoderus_
is represented here by five species widely distributed. _D. doriae_
is common about Sydney living in large communities under logs, often
clustered over each other like a swarm of bees; they collect on the
leaves of eucalypts, upon which the sugar lerp psylla, (_Spondylaspis
eucalypti_) constructs its larval scales, and suck or lick up the
sugary exudation. This ant measures ¼ of an inch in length; the head
and thorax are black and roughened; the legs reddish brown, and the
flattened heart-shaped abdomen clothed with a silvery pubescence.
_Leptomyrmex erythrocephalus_ might well be called the “Silly Ant” from
the aimless manner in which it rushes about with its head stuck up in
the air, and its abdomen curled over its back. They live in underground
nests sometimes deep down, but others live under stones; they are
slender-bodied, long-legged black ants under ½ an inch in length, with
an oval red head, rounded behind with long slender antennae, and the
front of the thorax produced into a slender neck. In some varieties the
whole of the thorax, legs, and head are yellowish brown.
The typical Genus _Iridomyrmex_ contains 18 distinct species, some
of which have been subdivided into three or four varieties or races;
most of them are small, except our “Mound Ant,” sometimes known as the
“Meat Ant,” _Iridomyrmex detectus_, which is the commonest and most
widely distributed ant in Australia. They construct large mounds a
couple of feet above the surface of the ground, and two or three yards
in diameter; they are formed of the soil excavated from beneath when
forming their network of irregular open galleries; the upper surface is
pierced with numbers of rounded vertical shafts, up which they swarm
in countless thousands and attack any intruder, biting savagely with
their stout sharp jaws and making things generally unpleasant for the
stranger. When a mound is situated in open grassed country, one can
trace regular bare roads leading off from the nest, worn smooth by the
regular stream of ants passing backward and forward day after day. It
is too well known to need description, but measures about ⅓ of an
inch in length, and is of a general brownish purple tint, with the
head light reddish brown. Smith described the worker under the name of
_Formica purpurea_, and the male as _F. detectus_, so in most Museum
collections it will be found under the former specific name. Forel has
made a new variety, which he calls _Var sanguineus_, of the coastal
form found in North Queensland, with the head and thorax light reddish
brown.
Most of the other species are small black ants: _Iridomyrmex rufoniger_
is very common in the bush and in the gardens; a variety which Forel
has called _domesticus_ is the common black ant that comes into
the house in Sydney, and is a regular pest in the summer in many
districts. _Tapinoma minutum_ is about as large as the “Mound Ant”;
black; the head and thorax deeply pitted and corrugated; the abdomen
slightly constricted in the centre, smooth and shining. It comes from
Townsville, N.Q.: a second species, _T. melanocephalum_, taken in
Cairns, is also found in Samoa and the Tonga Islands.
* * * * *
The last sub-family, CAMPONOTINAE, is a large division well represented
in Australia; they live in more or less large communities, and with
a few exceptions have the pupae enclosed in cocoons. The base of the
abdomen forms a single node, and there is no constriction between the
second and third abdominal segments; the sting is wanting, and the anal
orifice is fringed with hairs. In the works of early entomologists a
number of our ants were described under the Genus _Formica_, but they
have been gradually identified and placed in their proper genera, until
we only have about half a dozen still remaining in this genus, probably
more on account of the difficulty of identifying them than because they
really belong here.
The Genus _Acantholepis_ is represented by four species all described
by Forel from specimens I have collected and sent him from N.S. Wales,
so that their range seems to be restricted. They are all small, reddish
brown, smooth, shining ants; _A. bosii_ was found under stones at
Cooma, N.S.W.
The Green Tree-ant, _Oecophylla smaragdina_, found in tropical Africa,
India, and New Guinea, is common in the tropical scrubs on the coast
of North Queensland. They live in large communities among the foliage
of the trees, in nests formed by webbing the leaves together into an
irregular mass varying in size from a cricket ball to a man’s head. The
material with which they make these nests is obtained by the workers,
by squeezing the pupae and using the secretion they discharge. The
winged female measures nearly ¾ of an inch in length, has a broad
thorax and large oval body; the worker is only about ¼ of an inch,
and slender in proportion, but for his size is the most pugnacious
creature in the insect world; if one damages a nest pushing through the
scrub, down tumble a swarm of green tree ants on one’s head and neck,
and wherever they drop they stick their jaws in and hang on, and each
one has to be picked off in detail. In these forests they destroy an
immense number of insects, catching the little bees as they come out
of their nests in the tree trunks, and dragging the small beetles off
the twigs by main force. I have often seen half a dozen hanging on to
the legs of a stout weevil, apparently trying to wear him out, for they
would remain for hours in the same position, and probably succeeded in
the end.
The great Genus _Camponotus_ contains about 400 described species from
all parts of the world, of which about 60 are recorded from Australia.
Most of them are found in open forest country, forming their nests in
the ground, under logs or stones, or near the butts of trees. Several
of our common species are known as “sugar ants,” as they come about at
night and invade the pantry and store room in search of sweets; but
they are omnivorous in their tastes, and will often come round the
camp fire at night, prowling about for the small moths that flutter
round, often rushing right into the edge of the ashes to capture a moth
when it falls with singed wings. _Camponotus intrepidus_ is one of our
largest species, varying from black to reddish brown in tint, and is
thickly clothed with short hair. They form nests in the open sandstone
country about Sydney, sometimes raising a little mound or producing
a fragile funnel-shaped structure above the opening leading into the
nest. The Sugar Ant, _Camponotus nigriceps_, is the commonest house
species; it forms large chambers under stones or logs in which they all
cluster together. The general colour is black, with all the abdomen
except the base dull yellow, but the variations of the yellow and black
are common; it measures to ¾ of an inch in length.
_Camponotus inflatus_ is the curious “honey ant” of Central Australia
figured and described by Lubbock in his “Bees, Ants, and Wasps.” The
naturalists on the Horn Exploring Expedition obtained a number of this
and other species, described by me in the Zoology of this Expedition.
The ordinary members of the “honey pot ants” are of the usual normal
form, but certain individuals of each nest of these species are crammed
with a honey secretion (probably obtained by the workers from aphids or
psyllids), until the abdomen swells out of all proportion to the rest
of the ant; the honey pot ants remain hanging about in the bottom of
the nests like a number of bottles of honey, incapable of leaving the
nest; the supply is probably used as food for the larvae. Spencer says
that the blacks dig up these nests and look upon the “honey pots” as
great luxuries. The honey is sweet with an acrid taste like the honey
of our native bees. They are apparently common in Central Australia;
Miss Ormerod sent me some from England which she had received from a
correspondent at Kalgoorlie; and recently Mr. Field of Tennant’s Creek
sent me a fine red species from the far north.
_Camponotus claripes_, a smaller pale coloured species, generally
makes its galleries at the base of a tree trunk, and has a very wide
range from Victoria to North Queensland. I found the cocoons of this
species in a nest at Howlong infested with full grown red velvet mites
(_Trombidiidae_), which occupied the whole space.
The Genus _Polyrhachis_ contains a number of black ants of fair size,
most of which build their nests in dead logs, and live in rather
large communities, but others form small nests by matting the foliage
of trees together; the latter are confined to Queensland, and are
generally smaller shining black forms. The true “wood ants” are more or
less covered with bright metallic pubescence and fine hairs, and with
the hind portion of the thorax and the node of the abdomen ornamented
with a pair of slender spines.
_Polyrhachis ornata_ is black, with the thorax and base of the spines
richly tinted with gold; it comes from Queensland. _P. ammon_, ranging
from Victoria to Queensland, is clothed with pale golden pubescence
lightest on the head and thickest on the abdomen. _P. semi-aurata_ has
both the head and thorax golden, with the abdomen smooth, black and
shining. _P. laevior_ is one of the smaller tree nesting forms, and is
smooth and shining without any metallic tints, and the thoracic and
abdominal spines are very small. _P. turneri_, also a northern form,
has the head golden, and large well developed spines.
Family 14. Solitary Ants.
MUTILLIDAE.
Though these interesting little creatures were once placed in the
Formicidae, and are still popularly known as “Solitary Ants” in Europe
and “Cow Ants” in America, they are now classified as the first family
of the fossorial wasps. Unlike the true ants, they are solitary in
their habits and probably all parasitic in other insects’ nests. Until
quite recently they were all placed in the Genus _Mutilla_, in which
about 1,000 species have been described from all parts of the world,
and about 130 from Australia; the earlier ones by Messrs. Westwood and
Smith, the later ones by Andre, who has had the great advantage of
obtaining a great many specimens from Mr. Gilbert Turner, who was able
to sex the species, add valuable notes about their habits, and give
the exact locality of the specimens collected. Turner, who was a most
careful observer, after some years of collecting was not positive where
they passed the earlier stages of their existence, but told me that he
believed that some of them were parasitic in the nests of ants. Several
of the European _Mutillidae_ are known to be parasitic in the nests
of bees: I have on several occasions dug the females of the smaller
species out of moss at the foot of tree trunks, and our two largest
species are generally found under stones in open chambers, while on hot
summer days both sexes of _Mutilla cordata_ and several other species
are found running up and down the tree trunks.
The males are furnished with two pairs of dark or semiopaque wings.
The head is rounded; the antennae curving round; with large eyes and
ocelli; the thorax broad, but showing the segmental divisions, and the
abdomen rather short and rounded, without any pedicle; the legs stout,
and spined on the middle pair. The whole insect is rugose and deeply
punctured or roughened, and more or less clothed with pubescence and
longer hairs. The females are wingless, with shorter curled antennae,
very different in size, sculpture, and even colouration to the males
of the same species; with the body more elongated and terminating
in a long powerful sting. Andre remarks upon the brilliant metallic
colouration of many of the Australian species, which is much more
pronounced than in those from other parts of the world. He also says
that they resemble the American species in the fact that they can be
divided into two groups by the configuration of the eyes.
Within the last few years specialists have subdivided the Genus
_Mutilla_ into a number of new genera; and Andre places nearly
all the Australian species in the Genus _Ephutermorpha_, but for
simplicity I retain the old name.
_Mutilla rugicollis_, described by Westwood many years ago, is
our largest species, measuring in the larger female over ¾ of an inch
in length. She is black, very deeply punctured, thickly clothed with
black and silvery white hairs, the latter forming white patches on the
hind portion of the head, sides and under-surface of the abdomen, and
has a dorsal row of five distinct spots down the back. The male is much
smaller, with somewhat similar but not so distinct white markings, and
is furnished with dark brown wings, which are hyaline, close to the
sides of the thorax.
_Mutilla quadrisignata_ has about the same measurements as the
female of the last species; with blackish hairy covering, except on
the under surface of the abdomen, and four dark, reddish brown, oval
spots forming a square on the dorsal surface. Both these species have
a wide range over Australia. _Mutilla ferruginata_ is a smaller
species with a similar deeply punctured surface; is of a uniform dull
rusty red colour, thickly clothed with darker brown hairs; the legs
and antennae deeper coloured than the body. _Mutilla cordata_ is
typical of the smaller active forms that frequent tree trunks; the male
is black with dark wings and slender abdomen, and measures about ⅓ of
an inch in length; in this case much larger than the female, which has
a rounded body with the centre of the dorsal surface occupied with a
large rounded golden blotch. I have found the best time to collect
these insects is in the hottest part of the day, when they are running
up and down the larger tree trunks; but they are very active, and drop
at the least alarm, so that it takes some practice to capture them.
Family 15. Flower Wasps.
THYNNIDAE.
These handsome flower wasps are closely allied to the members of the
previous family, as they have similar wingless females of such peculiar
shapes that, if examined alone, they would never be taken for the
consorts of the large wasp-like _Thynnus_, with its long stout
antennae, well developed legs, and large powerful wings. The males fly
about the flowers of leptospermum and eucalypts, and when captured
bite and pretend to sting by turning up the tip of the abdomen, which
ends in a horny, harmless process. Fortunately, when hunted for in the
summer, most of our commoner species can be taken _in copula_ with
the smaller female, with which he flies about quite easily; when caught
the female immediately detaches herself and falls to the ground, where
she crawls out of sight, so that care must be taken by the collector to
keep each pair captured in a box by themselves, or else when once mixed
up it is impossible to determine unknown species. Australia is the
headquarters of this group, for of about 400 described species, 300 are
peculiar to this country; the others are chiefly confined to Brazil and
Chili in South America, with a few from Asia and the Islands. Smith
has described a great number in the British Museum Catalogues; Westwood
others; and Guerin those collected during the Voyage de Coquille in
1830; but as many of these were determined from single specimens of one
sex, it is certain that when a collection of sexed specimens can be
compared with the types, the number of species will suffer considerable
reduction.
Nothing definite is known about the earlier stages of their
development; I have however obtained cocoons composed of a stout silken
case enveloped in a thin outer second papery covering, oval in form,
with a nipple-like projection at the extremity, from which I have bred
one of our large species. These cocoons are buried several inches in
the ground like those of the _Scolias_, so that the females, which
are furnished with short, stout, spiny legs well adapted for digging,
probably lay their eggs in lamellicorn larvae living in the loose soil.
A number of our common species are plentiful on the flowering
Leptospermum and Melaleuca bushes, and many of the smaller ones
may be found feeding upon the honey dew covering the foliage of
small eucalypts that are infested with scale insects. _Thynnus
variabilis_, our commonest species, is a very handsome wasp
measuring over ¾ of an inch in length, and nearly 1¾ across the
outspread wings; the general colour is brown; the front of the head,
hind margin of thorax, and broad bands or double dots across the
abdominal segments bright yellow; the semiopaque wings reddish brown.
The female, very broad in proportion, is shorter than the male; she
is reddish brown; the abdominal segments are rugose and blotched with
yellow, forming transverse bars of rounded dots on the hind portion.
The antennae are short and curled; the head broad, with a stout thorax;
and she has short hairy legs. _Thynnus leachellus_, slightly
smaller, is found in the vicinity of Sydney. The abdomen is broader and
shorter in proportion; the general tint is black, richly marked on the
head and thorax with bright yellow, and each of the abdominal segments
carries a narrow transverse band of the same colour, broken by a dorsal
stripe of black. The female is much smaller, short and thickset;
is of a general reddish brown colour; the abdomen is marked with
yellow blotches and bands, only the last one divided as in the male.
_Thynnus flavilabris_, somewhat larger, is quite black, with only
the face marked with deep yellow; the wings are dark, smoke-coloured;
and the hind margin of the thorax is thickly covered with white hairs.
_Thynnus brenchleyi_ is a type of the North Australian forms; it
is nearly as large as _T. variabilis_, but has the whole upper
surface smooth and shining, the hind margin of the thorax and the base
of the abdomen truncate and fitting close against each other. The head
and prothorax are bright yellow, the rest black. This handsome insect
was described by Smith in the Zoology of the Voyage of the Curaçoa, and
it was said to come from the northern coast of Western Australia; my
specimens were taken near Charters Towers, North Queensland. A female,
sent with this species as its mate, is black, marked on the head, sides
of thorax, and abdomen with yellow, and is furnished with a curious
fringe of pale buff hairs on the hind margin of the thorax, and along
the front of the first abdominal segment.
In the Genus _Rhagigaster_ the males are more slender in form; the
abdomen, elongated and deeply constricted or corrugated at the junction
of the segments, is usually black, with more or less dark coloured
wings: the females are very small in proportion.
Among the most remarkable is the “Blue Ant,” _Diamma bicolor_. In
this case the female is most common; about Sydney I have caught scores
of females, but so far have never taken a male. She measures 1 inch in
length, and is of a rich metallic blue to purple colour, smooth and
shining, the antennae and legs reddish brown. She is furnished with
a fine pair of jaws and a powerful sting, more formidable than that
of any ant, and when disturbed turns over on her back and shows fight
with both jaws and sting. The male, much smaller in size, is black,
with red legs and black tarsi; the wings are semitransparent with black
nervures. The whole upper surface of head and thorax is rugose, and the
insect very ant-like in general appearance.
Mr. Roland Turner is at present engaged in working up the Australian
Thynnidae at the British Museum, having his own and my collection
of specimens to identify; probably this combined collection is the
largest in existence, and contains an immense number of sexed specimens
collected in the field, as we have both spent a great deal of time over
these typical Australian insects.
Family 16. Hairy Flower Wasps.
SCOLIIDAE
These insects are easily distinguished from the Thynnidae in being
thickset hairy wasps; both sexes are furnished with wings in which the
neuration is distinct at the base, but the nervures fade out before
they reach the tips; the thorax is broad, rounded in front, with a very
short pedicle attaching it to the stout abdomen. The legs are stout,
compressed, very hairy, and spiny, with one stout spur on the tibiae
of the middle pair of legs well adapted for burrowing. The males are
easily distinguished from the females in being more slender in form,
with longer straight antennae (in the latter sex short, thickened,
and curling round the sides of the head); and the legs are slender,
with fewer spines. Several species are plentiful about the Sydney
gardens and bush, where they can be easily captured on the flowers. In
observations made by earlier entomologists, their life history seems
to have been confused with those of the long legged sand wasps, which
burrow in the ground and form regular nests provisioned with other
insects and spiders; but the SCOLIIDAE form no true nest;
the female burrows into the ground or under logs, where she finds the
larvae or white grubs of the larger lamellicorn beetles, on which
she deposits a single egg, first carefully stinging the beetle grub
(according to Fabre, the French naturalist, who studied the habits of
several European species). The young wasp hatching out attaches itself
to the helpless grub in such a manner that it does not injure the
vital organs, and by the time it has devoured its host it is ready to
pupate, spinning a brown silken cocoon which fits into the cavity first
occupied by the unfortunate beetle grub; when fully developed it digs
its way up to the surface.
About 50 species have been described from Australia; Smith listed and
described a number of new species (British Museum Catalogue Hymenoptera
1855): Saussure described several in the same year (Memoires de la
Societe de Physique, &c., Geneve), and later on others in the Annals
of the Entomological Society of France 1858. In 1864 he and Sichel
monographed the family: Smith described 8 more four years after: and
Kirby going through the British Museum Collections in 1889 revised the
Genera and added another to our list.
_Discolia soror_ is our commonest shining black species; the
female measures over 1 inch in length, and is easily identified by its
beautiful, iridescent, opaque, dark blue wings. It may be often seen in
our gardens on the flowers or hovering in numbers over a dead stump,
looking for beetle larvae in which to deposit its eggs. _Scolia
fulva_ is our largest species; the female measures up to 1½ inches
in length, and is broad in proportion; it is black and reddish yellow,
but so thickly clothed with coarse reddish hairs that it is more the
latter tint; and the semiopaque wings are reddish brown. This species
is figured and described by Gray in Griffith’s Animal Kingdom 1832.
_Scolia radula_ is a smaller black species, under 1 inch in
length; the head, apex of thorax, base of abdomen and most of the
under-surface are clothed with grey hairs, but the hind margin of the
head and dorsal surface of abdomen are clothed with reddish brown; the
latter is orange yellow above, but marked with black at the base and
tip.
[Illustration: =Fig. 52.=--Life History of a Flower Wasp.
1. _Dielis formosa_ (Guérin). ♀. (1a.--Life size.)
2. „ „ Larva.
3. Pupal Cocoon, showing opening whence the wasp has emerged.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Dielis 7-cincta_, one of our commonest species, often clustering
in numbers on flowering shrubs in the gardens, was described by
Fabricius, and is the male of _Dielis (Scolia) formosa_ which was
not described till 1846 by Guérin. The male, ⅔ of an inch in length,
is very slender in form, of a general black colour, clothed with fine
grey hairs, and marked with light yellow on the head and thorax, with
five broad bands of the same colour on the body. The female, under 1
inch in length, is black, with the abdomen marked on the upper surface
with reddish yellow somewhat variable in its distribution, and clothed
with reddish brown hairs, thickest on the head and thorax. This insect
has been found in Queensland destroying the underground grub of the
Sugar-cane Beetle (_Lepidoderma albo-hirtum_).
Family 17. Sand Wasps.
POMPILIDAE.
This group is well represented in Australia, and widely distributed
over the country; about 60 species have been described: several
collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1775 were described by Fabricius;
Smith, in the Catalogue previously noticed, in a series of papers
between 1862–69 in the Transactions of the Entomological Society, other
Journals, and a British Museum publication (New Species of Hymenoptera
1879) published after his death, has described most of our species;
Saussure in the Hymenoptera of the Reise Novara; and later Kohl has
enriched our list.
[Illustration: =Fig. 53.=--_Salius (Priocnemus)
bicolor_ (Fabr.).
Large sand-burrowing wasp, that attacks cicadas.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The typical genera _Pompilus_ and _Salius_ comprise a number
of large yellow and black wasps with coloured wings tipped with black.
They have long legs well adapted for running over the ground, and may
be seen any warm sunny morning hunting about for spiders, with their
antennae and wings constantly on the move as they rush about. They
will attack the largest spider whether on the ground or hidden in a
tree trunk; one large black undetermined species even ventures down
the nests of the Trap-door Spiders and drags them forth. Sometimes one
of the larger ground spiders shows fight, and it becomes a duel to the
death, the wasp now and then being captured by its intended victim.
They often place the spider in any suitable cavity with their eggs,
but others form extensive burrows in the soil. _Salius (Priocnemus)
bicolor_ is one of our largest yellow and black species, often
measuring 2 inches across the wings, but variable both in colouration
and size. She forms a burrow as large as a mouse hole, several feet
in length, with quite a large mound of excavated soil outside the
entrance; when emerging from the chamber she looks a most formidable
creature, but unless captured never attempts to attack anyone. She
sometimes stores her nest with cicadas many times larger than herself,
which she rides down to their tomb before they are quite dead. The
young larva is usually attached to the cicada’s breast when hatched
out; but I have never been able to keep any alive after being dug out
of the nest. This wasp has a curious habit of flying round and dragging
a cicada off a branch when it is sucking up the sap; taking its place,
she calmly stands over the spot and drinks up the sap that exudes from
the puncture the dispossessed cicada had made in the bark. The members
of the Genus _Pepsis_ are large black wasps with a beautiful
metallic lustre on the wings; they are chiefly confined to the tropics,
but Saussure has described one species, _P. australis_, from this
country.
Family 18. Smaller Sand Wasps.
SPHEGIDAE.
Westwood placed these wasps and the POMPILIDAE in a single family,
but Kohl, while separating the latter, has grouped a number that were
once ranked as families, under the SPHEGIDAE, calling them simply
sub-families, thus making this a much more extensive division, the
SPHEGIDAE proper forming only a part of the whole.
Dalla Torre in his Catalogue treats them as a sub-division of the
CRABRONIDAE; but Sharp takes Kohl’s classification, which I
follow.
The _Sphegides_ are easily distinguished by the peculiar structure
of the abdomen; the basal portion is produced into a slender rod-like
stalk or pedicle, with the apical part forming a rounded or oval tip;
they are very active creatures with the habits of the larger sand wasps.
The world-wide Genus _Ammophila_ is represented in Australia by
four described species; they make their nests in sandy ground, digging
out a straight burrow with an enlarged chamber at the end, which they
store with different kinds of caterpillars they capture on the plants
while hunting; these they sting but do not kill, but though paralysed
and incapable of motion, remain alive long enough to furnish the baby
wasps with a supply of fresh food.
_Ammophila suspiciosa_ is a slender black insect under 1 inch
in length; the thickened tip of the abdomen is dull red. This is our
common species found all over the western country. _A. instabilis_
is a larger black species with semiopaque wings and reddish legs; the
tubular portion of the body and base of the thickened part are reddish
brown: this one is a northern form found in Queensland.
_Pelopaeus laetus_ is a very handsome black and yellow wasp with a
somewhat similar shaped body tipped with black; it is very variable in
size, the largest measuring about 1 inch in length. It has a wide range
over Australia, and differs from the former insects in being a regular
“mud dauber,” forming a regular clay nest consisting of a number of
different cells, each of which is filled with paralysed spiders. It is
a very friendly insect, often flying into the room on a summer day; and
will build its nest on the edge of a roof or wall.
The typical Genus _Sphex_ contains a number of fine black wasps
more or less clothed with silver or golden pubescence on the head and
thorax, with the slender pedicle at the base of the thorax very well
defined, and the hind portion of the abdomen almost round or oval. They
form underground burrows branching out into a chamber at the end, in
which they store all kinds of different insects, each species seeming
to have a preference for its particular choice. _Sphex vestita_,
one of our largest species, has the face thickly clothed with silvery
pubescence; it is often common in sandy patches in gardens, where it
hunts for small orthopterous insects, and is particularly fond of a
species of small brown cricket which lives in the long grass. _S.
opulenta_ is a smaller species about ¾ of an inch in length, with
the face and back of the thorax bright silver, and the dorsal surface
of the latter coppery. About 30 species are described from Australia,
some of which have a very wide range over the interior.
The LARRIDES are medium sized black wasps with the abdomen not
stalked, but coming to a point at the junction with the thorax, and
often ornamented with golden or silvery pubescence forming bands on the
body.
Shuckard described a number of our species belonging to the Genus
_Pison_ (Trans. Ent. Society 1837–40), where he gives some account
of the group. Smith in the same Transactions, 1869, catalogued those
previously described, and added a number of new species; and also added
the Genus _Parapison_, containing species from India, Ceylon
and Australia. The European _Tachytes_, which Westwood says are
captured in sand banks, are represented here by three species, all
shining black insects about ½ an inch in length. Saussure (1855), and
Kohl later have described others.
_Pison spinolae_ and _P. decipiens_ are both black wasps
with silvery bands upon the sides of the abdomen; the latter are the
smaller. They are both common about Sydney, and have a very wide range
over the country; they are very fearless insects, flying into the
house, and wherever they come upon a convenient hole in the rung of
a chair, or even a key hole, will set to work and line it with clay,
forming an irregular chamber, which they store with small spiders,
deposit the egg, and after closing it up fly away quite satisfied.
Sometimes they form a row of round clay cells on a coat or other
garment hanging on a wall.
The NYSSONIDES comprise a smaller group of closely allied
forms, differing chiefly in the venation of the wings. Smith has
described most of our species. The members of the Genus _Gorytes_
are represented by five described species; all small, active, bee-like
insects with coppery fasciae upon the abdomen; several of these are
known in the bush as “policemen flies” from their habit of coming round
and catching flies upon one’s clothes and even snapping one off the
back of one’s hand; these flies are killed with their stout jaws and
deposited in their nests constructed in the ground.
The curious, large, reddish brown wasp, _Stizus pectoralis_, from
Queensland, at first sight might be taken for a _Thynnus_, but the
distinct form of the body, and the antennae thickened toward the tips,
show that it could not belong to the flower wasps. It is now placed in
the allied Genus _Sphecius_.
The PHILANTHIDES are easily distinguished from the other
groups by the curious rugose or punctured integument which makes them
look as though coated with armour plate, and the curious constrictions
or rings between the abdominal segments, becoming smallest toward
the tip. They are generally black or reddish brown, marked with pale
yellow spots and bands. With the exception of one species of the Genus
_Philanthus_ all ours have been placed in the world-wide Genus
_Cerceris_. I have generally captured them about flowers, or
flying round bushes infested with scale insects that were throwing
off honey dew, which sweet secretion has a great attraction for small
hymenoptera of many different families. Eight species are described
by Smith and Saussure; there are probably many new species to be
recorded. Nothing is known about their habits in this country, but
the European species form nests in the ground, which they provision
with small beetles; and each species is said to confine its attention
to a different group of beetles; one uses only small weevils; another
carries off chrysomalids, and so on with each species.
The CRABRONIDES are another small group, and under the present
classification all our species have been placed by Smith in the
world-wide Genus _Crabro_. They are medium sized black wasps with broad
stout heads and unstalked bodies, generally banded with orange, red, or
yellow; they form burrows in the stems of plants, which they store with
captured flies. Five species have been described from Australia and
Tasmania.
The BEMBECIDES are very handsome, smooth, shining wasps of fair size,
with broad bodies, rounded and broadly pointed at the extremity. They
are generally met with along sandy pathways and roads, flitting along
in front of one, settling on the ground and rising again, so that
they are easily captured with a net. They make shallow burrows on the
roadside in which they place flies, which they capture with their
powerful jaws.
Nearly all our species have been described by Smith in the British
Museum Catalogue Hymenoptera 1856, and the Annals and Magazine of
Natural History 1873. Under 20 species are recorded from Australia.
_Bembex tridentifera_ was described by Smith from Moreton Bay,
Queensland, but it has a wide range southwards to Victoria. It measures
just under ¾ of an inch in length; is of a general black colour; the
face yellow with a black trident-like mark above and two black spots
below the antennae; the legs yellow lightly marked with black; the
upper surface of the thorax spotted and barred with yellow, and the
abdomen beautifully banded with irregular white bands on the 2nd to
4th segments, with the first and last only marked on the sides. _B.
vespiformis_ ranges from West Australia to S. Australia, is somewhat
smaller than the last, and viewed from above is black, with very faint
markings on the thorax, and a broad white band on either side of the
first segment of the abdomen almost meeting on the back.
DIPLOPTERA.
The true wasps have the antennae generally elbowed and thickened toward
the tips, and the eyes notched. They have the wings folded like a
fan in repose, but can fly well, and have legs and feet adapted for
walking. Some species are solitary in their habits, and consist of
males and females only; others live in large communities, and, like the
ants, comprise males, females, and workers, the latter aborted females.
Family 19. Solitary Wasps.
EUMENIDAE.
This group is well represented in Australia; they are well known
to residents in the country from their habit of constructing clay
nests under the shelter of the verandah or the eaves of the houses.
They usually appear in pairs, and rapidly build up the structure,
flying backward and forward with their earthen loads; from this habit
they get the name of “Mud Daubers” in America, and “Mason Wasps” in
this country. A number of our species are described and figured in
Saussure’s “Monograph des Guepes Solitaires” published in 1851.
The Genus _Eumenes_ contains a number of very handsome insects that
are easily recognised from the basal portion of the abdomen forming
a more or less slender stalk, and the apical portion rounded at the
junction and tapering to a sharp point at the tip. They build clay
nests containing a number of cells, and store them with caterpillars,
which they do not appear to be able to paralyse in the same manner as
the large sand wasps, for they are capable of movement after they are
enclosed in the cell. By some wonderful instinct, the female wasp does
not deposit her egg haphazard among the wriggling grubs that would
easily damage it, but suspends it by a fine stalk to the roof of the
cell in such a manner, that when the little wasp larva hatches out, it
can safely reach down and feed upon the nearest caterpillar, until it
has finished the last bit, when it spins a thin parchment cocoon and
pupates in the cavity which before was its larder.
_Eumenes bicincta_ has a wide range over Australia; it measures
about 1 inch in length; the stalk is not quite so long as the base
of the abdomen, and is of a uniform deep orange yellow colour, with
the top of the head, centre of thorax, and broad band in the middle
of the abdomen black. _Eumenes latreillei_, a larger species,
has the stalk of the abdomen shorter and thickened, with the basal
half of the body from the stalk black. _Eumenes servillei_, the
smallest of the three, is more slender in shape, has more black upon
the thorax, and the stalked portion of the body is variegated with
black. _Eumenes arcuatus_ is a more northern species common in
Queensland; it measures over 1 inch in length, and is the only one
with blackish wings; it has a very long slender stalked abdomen. It is
black, mottled on the head and thorax with yellow; and the abdominal
segments are barred on either side with yellow, which appear to form
regular slender bands across, but do not actually meet in the centre.
Two of our handsomest mason wasps belonging to the Genus _Abispa_
measure 1 inch in length, but are so stout in form that they appear
much larger; they are black and deep orange yellow, with dull yellow
wings tipped with black, and the stout broad thorax fits close against
the base of the abdomen. _Abispa splendida_ has the front half of
the first abdominal segment black, with the hind portion yellow, while
in _Abispa ephippium_ the whole of the first abdominal segment
is yellow. They both build very large, solid, clay nests generally
containing two rows of cells, about 6 in number, above each other,
with thick partitions between them; the outer surface is rounded on
the sides; each cell is stored with caterpillars upon which the larva
feeds, and finally pupates in a reddish brown parchment-like cocoon.
The Genus _Rhynchium_ comprises about six described species,
handsome insects not unlike the former in general form, but with the
abdomen more tapering. _Rhynchium mirabile_ measures ¾ of an inch
in length; it is of a general black colour, the head marked with,
and collar of thorax, yellow; and the hind margin of the abdominal
segments is ringed with slender bands of orange yellow. _Rhynchium
superbum_ is a smaller insect of similar form and colour, with the
basal half of the abdomen black and the hind portion rich yellow. Both
these species come from Queensland.
The Genus _Odynerus_ contains a great number of small thickset
wasps, that make clay nests of various shapes, sometimes very delicate
in structure, forming a finger-shaped row of clay cells or rounded
cup-shaped chambers; while some species make use of a hole in the
wood or wall and simply coat it over with clay. Australia is rich in
species, some of which have a very wide range. _Odynerus bicolor_,
one of our commonest species, is black, with the collar of the thorax,
legs, and all the abdomen except the basal segment, dull reddish
yellow. _Odynerus nigro-cinctus_ is of a general dark orange
yellow colour, with the head and centre of abdomen black. The closely
allied species forming the Genus _Alastor_ differ slightly in the
venation of the wings, but their habits are identical; about 30 species
have been described from Australia, chiefly by Saussure, some of which
are figured in colours in his Monograph. These wasps may be captured
round water-holes in the summer months, and may sometimes be found
resting upon grass stalks in the early morning.
Family 20. Social or Paper-nest Wasps.
VESPIDAE.
These typical wasps are found all over the world, and next to the
bees have probably received more attention from the casual observer
than most of the other groups. Each community consists of males,
females, and workers, and though the structure of their nests differs
considerably in the various groups, the social economy is the same.
The female first starting the nest constructs a stout stalk at the
apex attached to a twig or roof, and constructs a six-sided cell from
which the whole mushroom-shaped nest is built. In each little cell she
deposits an egg from which the legless white grub emerges, attaches
itself to the roof of the cell and hangs head downward, being fed
by the mother wasp until full grown with food chiefly composed of
masticated spiders, when it pupates under a silken cover spun over
the apex of the cell. As soon as it emerges it sets to work to help
on the nest, so that the community rapidly increases in numbers. The
nest of _Polistes tasmaniensis_ sometimes measures six inches in
diameter. Some confusion as to the identity of this species and _P.
variabilis_ seems to exist, but from Saussure’s description, our
common species appears to be _P. tasmaniensis_.
[Illustration: Plate XV.--HYMENOPTERA.
Family VESPIDAE.
1 & 5. Nests of _Polistes tasmaniensis_.
2. _Icaria gregaria_ (Sauss.).
3. Slender nest typical of Genus _Icaria_.
4. _Polistes tasmaniensis_ (Sauss.).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XV.--HYMENOPTERA._]
The widespread Genus _Vespa_, though it is recorded from as far
down as Java, is unknown in Australia. We have however allied species
belonging to the genera _Icaria_ and _Polistes_. Those of the
genus _Icaria_ are the smaller wasps, the largest well under ½ an
inch in length; most of them are reddish brown, or mottled with black
and yellow; the abdomen is contracted into a stalk at the base, then
becomes rounded, with the apical segments small and telescopic, so that
when retracted it looks as if it were damaged. They all form similar
nests commencing with the usual stalk, but, unlike the larger
_Polistes_, the cells follow on in rows, forming finger-like
nests. _Icaria gregaria_, our commonest species, forms these
slender nests up to six inches in length. It is a dull reddish brown
wasp mottled with black on the thorax and legs, with the apex of the
abdomen lightest in colour.
Some of the members of the Genus _Polistes_ grow to a considerable
size, and armed with a powerful sting are very formidable insects;
several of the largest form small stalked nests on the under-side of
fallen logs; when hunting for insects and turning over dead wood one
is liable to disturb a family party and find it wise to beat a hasty
retreat. They differ from the previous group in having no stalk to
the abdomen, which is very slender at the base, rounded to the middle
and tapers to a pointed apex. _Polistes tasmaniensis_, our most
sociable species, is very fond of building her large nest (previously
noticed) under one’s verandah, or the porch over the door, and is quite
ready to attack any one when disturbed. It is one of the smallest
species, measuring under ¾ of an inch in length; is of a general dark
brown colour marked with reddish brown; the abdomen is irregularly
banded, with the first basal band finest. _Polistes tepidus_, one
of our largest wasps, is almost black, with face, tips of legs, and
thorax marked with dark orange yellow, and the abdomen banded with
rusty red. _Polistes humilis_ is of an almost uniform yellowish
brown tint, with the face marked with black. In the Queensland Museum
there are some very large paper-nests of some undetermined wasps that
have a regular comb-like structure containing thousands of cells, and
which are several feet in length.
Family 21. Shining Wasps.
MASARIDAE.
These curious wasps stand quite alone as the last group of the true
Vespidae, and are a comparatively small family, comprising several
distinctive genera containing altogether sixty species found in the
Mediterranean region, South and North America, and Australia.
They are wasp-like in waist, with the antennae thickened toward the
tips or clubbed; the wings contain two sub-marginal cells; and the feet
are furnished with curious toothed or rather hooked claws. The European
species are known to build nests in the ground, forming a tunnel ending
in a clay cell in which the larvae live and are fed by the mother in
the same manner as the true wasps forming the papery nests; others
construct clay chambers attached to twigs.
Shuckard when he formed the typical Australian Genus _Paragia_
named it “in allusion to its deceptive habit, which is precisely that
of a Vespa.” Saussure wrote a monograph on the Masaridae forming
the third part of the Vespidae published in 1856; Smith has also
contributed to our knowledge of Australian species in the British
Museum Catalogue 1857, and subsequently in several papers in the
Entomological Society of London between 1864–1869.
Seventeen species have been described in the Genus _Paragia_, but
nothing has been recorded about their habits or life history: several
are described from Tasmania and New South Wales, but all the specimens
in my collection come from the northern part of Australia.
_Paragia decipiens_ was described and figured by Shuckard in the
Transactions of the Entomological Society, 1837; it measures under ¾ of
an inch in length, and is of a general black colour, with the front and
sides of the thorax spotted with yellow, and the whole of the smooth
rounded abdomen of the same bright colour except the base, which is
black; the wings are smoky brown, with the nervures black. _Paragia
bicolor_ is a larger insect measuring nearly 1 inch in length; the
head and thorax are black, and the abdomen bright metallic blue; the
under surface and sides of the first three segments, and the base of
the thorax, are marked with bright yellow.
Family 22. Bees.
ANTHOPHILA or APIDAE.
The Australian region is rich in bees peculiar to the country; and
while we have representatives of many of the foreign groups, yet
several well-known genera, such as _Apis_, _Bombus_, _Eucera_,
_Colletes_ and _Osmia_, though ranging over the greater part of the
world, are unknown in Australia.
The classification of the bees is still somewhat unsatisfactory.
Latreille termed them MELLIFERA, honey gatherers, or ANTHOPHILA, lovers
of flowers: Westwood and others, while keeping this as a group name,
subdivided them into two large families, ANDRENIDAE, short-tongued
bees, and APIDAE, long-tongued bees, dividing the last family into
five smaller groups based upon their different structure and habits.
The European bees have been since placed under six headings; while in
Dalla Torre’s Catalogue dealing with the bees of the whole world, there
are no less than fourteen sub-families. Most of our species have been
described by Smith, in the British Museum Catalogue, Hymenoptera 1853;
others in the Transactions of the Entomological Society 1862–68, and
New Species, British Museum 1879. Cockerell (Ann. & Mag. Nat. History
1905) described a number of new species of our bees examined by him in
the British Museum Collections, and added some interesting information
on species already described; as many of these specimens were collected
by Turner, Walker, and myself and sent to the British Museum, the
Australian localities are given.
None of the short-tongued bees store up honey, but form cells or
burrows in the ground, walls, cavities in rocks, or the stems of
plants, in which they form a row of cells or little chambers each
containing an egg and sufficient bee bread for the development of the
larva. Some of these bees are parasitic, and live at the expense of
the industrious species, crawling into the open nests and laying their
eggs upon the food supply of the rightful occupant; these are popularly
known as “cuckoo bees.”
The members of the Genus _Prosopis_ are handsome, shining black or
steel blue bees, marked with bright yellow upon the face and thorax.
With the additions that Cockerell has made to the list, nearly fifty
species are described from Australia, and a number are common in
the vicinity of Sydney. _Prosopis vidua_, our largest species, but
considerably smaller than the honey bee, is found upon the crimson
flowers of the bottlebrush (_Callistemon_). It has the head and thorax
black, with a yellow spot on the face and the base of each fore wing;
the abdomen is bright metallic blue. A smaller undetermined species
may be often noticed hovering round and entering holes in the soft
sandstone rocks where it appears to nest. _Prosopis metallica_, a
shining black species, smaller than _P. vidua_, with face and shoulders
broadly marked with yellow, was bred out of a row of half a dozen brown
papery cocoons placed in an empty burrow formed in the branch of a
wattle tree by the larva of some longicorn beetle.
_Lamprocolletes plumosus_ and several other species of the genus
frequent the flowers of the Leptospermum. It is a handsome dark brown
bee, under ½ an inch in length. The abdomen has a metallic sheen, and
the head and thorax are clothed with fine down.
_Hylaeoides concinnus_ is a very remarkable looking black bee, with
clouded smoky wings, marked with bright red on the face, and with bands
of the same colour on the base and tip of the abdomen. I have usually
captured this bee upon bushes; it bears such a decided superficial
resemblance to a small clay nesting (_Odynerus_) wasp, that this may be
a case of protective mimicry. The Genus _Paracolletes_ has been added
to by Cockerell, who describes twelve new species in his recent papers.
_Paracolletes crassipes_ was described by Smith from W. Australia, but
it is common on low scrub in the early part of the year on the Blue
Mountains N.S.W. It is a handsome black bee about ½ an inch in length,
with the head and thorax thickly clothed with pale buff hairs, and the
abdominal segments banded on the upper surface with dull brown.
_Gastropsis (Oestropsis) pubescens_ is nearly as large as a honey bee,
with curious thickened antennae, slender at the basal joint. It is
somewhat flattened on the upper surface and clothed all over with a
dense coat of pale buff coloured hairs, only showing indistinct brown
bars on the abdomen. I know nothing about the habits of this curious
bee; it has been described from Western and South Australia.
The Genus _Halictus_ is represented by about thirty described species;
nothing has been recorded about the habits of our species, but most
of the European form galleries in the ground connected with a large
excavation or chamber in which the larvae are placed in cells.
_Halictus floralis_ is a small bee with a reddish brown body; the front
of the head, antennae, legs, front and middle of thorax are light
yellow. _H. bicingulatus_ is black with the legs reddish brown, and
the segmental divisions of the abdomen light coloured. They are found
on grass and field flowers. _Nomia australica_, under ½ an inch in
length, is common on the flowers of the _Leptospermum_; it is a dull,
metallic blue bee with antennae, labrum, legs, and extreme tip of
abdomen reddish brown. The latter has a greenish sheen, and is somewhat
heart shaped, terminating in a fine point. Cockerell has added six new
species to our list, most of which are described from Queensland.
_Exoneura froggatti_ is a little bee not much over ¼ of an inch
in length, black with smoky rings, reddish legs and a curiously
sack-shaped reddish brown abdomen, broadest near the apex, but
contracted to a point at the tip. I have frequently cut them out of
small burrows in the dead stems of wattle trees. _Exoneura bicolor_
is a slightly larger species, with a darker, broader abdomen, and it
comes from Queensland. Cockerell has added three more new species, all
from the neighbourhood of Sydney. The great Carpenter Bees of the Genus
_Xylocopa_ are represented by four species, which are more common in
Queensland and the northern parts of Australia; but one species at
least, _Xylocopa aestuans_, ranges southwards. It is of the typical
broad form with dark coloured wings; the upper surface of the thorax
is clothed with yellow, other portions with black hairs. _Xylocopa
bryorum_ is a larger species measuring about 1 inch in length, with a
wing expanse of nearly two; the whole of the upper surface is thickly
clothed with golden yellow hairs, the brown beneath giving it a
greenish tint. The wings are light brown with black nervures, and the
hairs on the legs and under-surface are dark brown to black.
The closely allied Carpenter Bees of the Genus _Lestis_ are peculiar
to Australia. The male of _Lestis bombylans_ measures over ½ an inch
in length, and is of a rich metallic green, with the front of the face
striped with white; the thorax and base of abdomen are clothed with
golden hairs, those on the front of the thorax forming a double bar;
the hairs on the front pair of legs yellow, those on the hind pair
black; the wings are brown with faint iridescence. The female has the
face silvery, but no yellow down upon the thorax; the abdomen is deep
purple; and the wings almost opaque, varying from dark brown to rich
metallic violet colour in different lights. The second species, _Lestis
aerata_, is slightly larger, with the stripe on the face of the male
yellow, and all the legs fringed with yellow pubescence, while the
female is of a uniform brassy green, with wings light coloured, more
like those of the males, and only showing a slight iridescence. Both
species have a wide range; those about Sydney form their nests in the
dead flower stalks of the grass trees (_Xanthorrhoea_). It begins by
boring a circular hole 3½ lines in diameter towards the centre, then
turns downward, excavating all the pith to a depth of about 4 inches,
and then works out about the same distance above the opening, so that
the full length of the chamber is 8 inches, with an average of ½ an
inch in diameter. This is divided off into a row of cells, each about
½ an inch in length, with a ball of bee bread and an egg deposited
in the far end; each cell is separated by a stout wad of triturated
pith. I have never found the centre of the chamber in front of the
opening closed up with cells, a space always being left unoccupied on
both sides. The larvae are of the usual cylindrical form, attenuated
at the extremities, and of a dull white colour, about ½ an inch in
length, and can be found in all stages of development in November. The
pretty banded bees, formerly known under the name of _Anthophora_, but
now placed in the Genus _Podalirius_, are world wide in their range.
All our species have the head and thorax clothed with a dense coat of
buff or pale yellow hairs, and the body banded with black and blue of
various tints. _Podalirius emendatus_, our largest species, is found
on the northern rivers of N.S. Wales and is common in Queensland; it
has the head and thorax covered with rusty red pubescence, and the low
abdominal bands broad. _P. cingulatus_ is slightly smaller, with the
pubescence pale buff, the abdominal bands much the same; _P. pulcher_,
much smaller, with the pubescence darker, is our commonest species
about Sydney. _P. aeruginosus_ has the whole of the abdomen as well
as the head and thorax thickly clothed with a dull greenish yellow
pubescence. My specimens of this species come from Mackay, Queensland.
Five new species are added to this genus by Cockerell.
The Genus _Crocisa_ contains a few very handsome moderate sized bees of
a uniform black colour with smoky rings, and brightly marked bodies.
_Crocisa albo-maculata_, our largest species, has the face, upper
and under surface, and legs thickly marked and spotted with white
pubescence. It is a somewhat rare insect about Sydney. _C. lamprosoma_
is a smaller bee with the marks and spots pale blue, those upon the
abdomen forming a more regular pattern of four well defined rows.
In _C. nitidula_ the pubescence forms rich metallic blue spots and
blotches, most brilliant on the upper surface of the abdomen, where
they run right round the basal segment and form a regular row of short
bands on either side but not meeting on the dorsal surface. It is found
in New South Wales and Queensland.
[Illustration: Plate XVI.--HYMENOPTERA.
Family APIDAE.
1. _Xylocopa aestuans_ (Linn.). ♂.
1. _Xylocopa aestuans_ (Linn.). ♀.
2. _Lestis aeratus_ (Smith). ♀.
2. _Lestis aeratus_ (Smith). ♂.
5. _Crocisa nitidula_ (Fabr.).
6. _Crocisa lamprosoma_ (Boisd.).
7. _Sarapoda bombiformis_ (Smith).
8. _Megachile pictiventris_ (Smith).
9. _Megachile blackburni_ (Froggatt).
Family ANDRENIDAE.
3. _Hyleoides concinna_ (Fabr.). ♀.
10. _Paracolletes crassipes_ (Smith).
Family EUMENIDAE.
4. _Abispa splendida_ (Guérin).
11. _Odynerus nigro-cinctus_ (Saussure).
12. _Rhynchium mirabile_ (Saussure).
14. _Eumenes arcuatus_ (Fabr.).
Family SPHEGIDAE.
13. _Ammophila impatiens_ (Smith).
Family PHILANTHIDAE.
15. _Cerceris sp._
Family VESPIDAE.
16. _Polistes tepidus_ (Fabr.).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XVI.--HYMENOPTERA._]
The great Genus _Megachile_ contains the leaf-cutting bees, so called
from the curious habit they have of cutting circular pieces out of the
leaves of growing plants with which they line their nests; these are
sometimes built in excavations in old walls, or dead wood, or simply
constructed like a cigar under stones. About 30 species have been
described from Australia; the two largest are _Megachile monstrosa_,
figured in Brenchley’s “Cruise of the Curaçoa,” published in 1873; and
_M. blackburni_, described by me from specimens obtained from Central
Australia by the Elder Exploring Expedition. _Megachile mystacea_, a
medium sized species found in Queensland and Northern Australia, is
also recorded from India; it is black, with the head and face clothed
with silvery hairs, and the whole of the abdomen covered with rich
reddish brown pubescence; while _M. pictiventris_ has the hind margin
of the thorax clothed with silvery hairs, the apical half of the
under-surface with reddish brown hairs which extend to form a fringe
round the extremity. _M. chrysopyga_ is a native of Tasmania and
Victoria. I found a nest of this species under a stone in the latter
State, which could be lifted up bodily without breaking. It was about
the shape and length of an ordinary cigar, and consisted of about nine
cells containing the larvae. These cells, like a series of shallow
thimbles, were enfolded in the outer shell of looser leaf.
The Genus _Coelioxys_ comprises a number of curious bees that in
general appearance are so very like the “leaf cutters,” that a French
naturalist having bred one out of a Megachile’s nest described it as
the male form of the species. They are now known to be parasitic in the
nests of these bees in Europe, so that the similarity in form may be
of great protective value to them. They differ chiefly in the form of
the abdomen, which in the males is produced into forked spines at the
extremity, and in the females into a sharp point.
I have two undetermined species in my collection from Queensland
obtained some years ago, but until last year the presence of this group
had not been recorded from Australia. Cockerell recorded (1905) two
species from this country; _Coelioxys albolineata_, measuring about ⅓
of an inch in length, comes from Queensland, and is of the usually grey
and brown tints.
The last group we have to deal with are the Australian stingless honey
bees, belonging to the Genus _Trigona_, which range all over Australia.
They collect quantities of dark coloured somewhat acid flavoured honey,
which they store up in little jug-shaped cells of dark brown wax,
forming an irregular comb attached to the walls of the cavity in which
they have constructed their hive by a network of irregular rods of wax.
They generally choose a cavity in the heart of a large gum-tree with
a small opening from the outside, and before commencing to make their
comb they plaster up all the cracks and inequalities of the chamber
with the sticky sap or gum of the Turpentine Tree (_Syncarpia_). This
chamber is usually about the size of a man’s head, and the comb as
a rule contains not more than a pint or two of honey. This is the
typical nest found in N.S. Wales, but in the tropical scrubs of North
Queensland many of them form a small funnel or spout projecting round
the opening, composed of a waxy-substance an inch or more in length. As
the green tree ants often capture these bees and are always swarming
over the tree trunks, this is probably a necessary protection. The
honey gatherers of _Trigona carbonaria_, our common species, are black,
thickset little bees measuring about ⅙ of an inch in length. They are
fearless little creatures when at work, and will allow themselves to
be picked off the flowers without any attempt to fly. Several species
have been recently added to our fauna, and though Dalla-Torre in his
Catalogue places the members of the genus Trigona in the _Melipona_,
which until then had only contained the allied stingless bees of South
America and the tropics, Cockerell retains them in the old genus,
describing a new species from Port Essington, and recording a species
known in Ceylon (_Trigona canifrons_) also from the north coast of
Australia.
Order V.--COLEOPTERA.
Beetles.
This group is the best known of all the orders, for nearly every
entomologist starts collecting as a “beetle hunter.” They are the most
frequently observed because they are found everywhere; there is hardly
a log or stone that does not shelter some beetle; they infest all kinds
of timber, damage the living trees in the forest, devour foodstuffs,
stored grain, skins, furs and drugs; others are attracted to all kinds
of decaying animal or vegetable matter; while hundreds either in the
larval or perfect state are to be found all through the year upon the
flowers, foliage, or bark of trees and plants.
Thus they are readily collected, and when obtained are much more easy
to look after and keep than the more delicate insects, on account of
their stout horny structure.
Beetles are typical insects in that the head, thorax, and abdomen are
very well defined, and can be readily distinguished from each other;
the insect is more or less protected with a stout horny integument.
But the joints are flexible, so that though the parts fit close and
the body appears ensheathed in regular armour plate, most of the
species are very active. They are all furnished with cutting, biting,
or chewing jaws, and are therefore called mandibulate insects; and
with very few exceptions have well developed eyes and antennae, the
latter produced into all kinds of curious shapes in some groups, but
usually slender, filiform and many jointed. The thorax consists of one
solid segment, the three portions, so apparent in some insects, being
soldered together to form one uniform mass when viewed from above. The
large abdomen is said to contain ten distinct segments on dissection,
but when viewed from the under-surface generally only five can be seen.
Instead of the thin flying, or membranous fore-wings of other insects,
the first pair in the beetles are transformed into two horny plates
completely covering the dorsal surface of the abdomen and called the
elytra. When at rest they fit close together over the back, but can
be readily opened out in flight. Though of little use in flying, they
probably assist a large heavy beetle in balancing or steering through
the air, and always cover the two large pointed membranous hind flying
wings, which when not in use are folded up beneath them. In some
beetles the elytra are not divided, but form a solid shield; and the
hind wings are wanting, or if they exist are simple pads. The various
families have the head, mouth parts, and legs admirably adapted to
their different habits and diet.
Their larvae are also as variable in form as the perfect insects; many
are active, slender grubs with three pairs of legs, and large powerful
jaws, as in the carnivorous species; elongate cylindrical jointed
creatures with scaly heads, or short and wrinkled grubs like the wood
borers; others quite slug-like feed upon the surface of the foliage;
and a few are clothed with fine hairs.
[Illustration: =Fig. 54.=--Diagram of a Water-Beetle,
showing the Dorsal surface.
1, Labrum; 2, clypeus; 3, head; 4, prothorax; 5, maxillary
palpus; 6, antennae; 7, eyes; 8, elytron; 9, wings; 10,
scutellum; 11, abdominal segments; 12, scutellum of the
metathorax; 13, claws of the feet or the fore leg; 14, tarsus;
15, tibia; 16, femur; 17, middle leg; 18, spines or spurs on
tibia; 19, tarsus; 20, hind leg.
(Redrawn from Westwood [Griffiths’ Animal Kingdom].)]
In the pupal state, for all beetles undergo a complete metamorphosis,
they are inactive, mummy-like creatures showing the outlines of the
future beetle, with the wings, antennae, and legs closely folded down,
and the whole enveloped in a thin membrane. Some form regular cocoons
from the material among which they feed; others seal up at both ends
the cavity in which they have been feeding before they pupate; but many
do not even take this precaution.
The classification of the Coleoptera has been undertaken by many
entomologists. In Gemminger and Harold’s great Catalogue of the
Coleoptera, seventy-five families were enumerated; Sharp has recently
adopted eighty, but when it comes to the larger sub-divisions none
of them agree. Westwood in his Classification has an alarming array
of sections, tribes, stirps, and sub-families: Kirby gives fourteen
sections in his Text Book; while Sharp simplifies the matter by forming
six series, some of them on the old lines, but his third series is
apparently more of a dumping ground than anything else for those that
will not fit into the other five, for it includes such dissimilar
families as the Staphylinidae, Buprestidae, Coccinellidae and many
others.
As Masters’ Catalogue of the Described Coleoptera of Australia is the
list used by all Australian collectors, I shall follow his grouping
of the families (originally based on that of Gemminger and Harold),
defining the groups of each important or distinct family, though
through want of space many of them can be only briefly noticed.
There have been so many describers of Australian beetles, that their
names alone would take some enumerating; so that I propose to omit them
here and notice them later on when dealing with the families upon which
they have worked. Australia is rich in large and handsome specimens,
which attracted the attention of the colonists at a very early date
in the history of the country, and quite a number of collections were
made and the specimens forwarded to England. Most of the exploring
expeditions that traversed the back country had a collector of some
sort on their staff, and it was usually beetles that formed the bulk of
the entomological specimens obtained. Again the Scientific Exploring
Ships, fitted out by our own and foreign countries, that visited the
different ports, collected many zoological specimens, so that many
of our larger beetles were known and described many years ago. Over
7,200 are listed in Masters’ Catalogue, and since its publication some
thousands have been added to our list.
Family 1. Tiger Beetles.
CICINDELIDAE.
This family is well represented in Australia by about forty-five
species, chiefly described by Macleay (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1871),
and later on (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 1887–8); and Count Castelnau
(Trans. Royal Soc. Victoria). The typical Tiger Beetles are slender
graceful insects, with broad short heads, furnished with large
projecting eyes, and great powerful jaws; the thorax is produced into a
cylindrical neck; and the short rounded elytra cover large wings.
[Illustration: =Fig. 55.=--_Megacephala cylindrica_
(Macleay).
The Metallic Green Tiger Beetle.
(Original photo. Burton.)]
The larvae are elongated creatures, with large curving jaws; they
live in burrows in the ground, generally in the vicinity of a
waterhole or creek where there is a sandy shore; here they remain
hidden during the day, and come out at night to capture and devour
the less powerful insects they come across. One of our largest and
most handsome species is _Megacephala cylindrica_, found in the
western country, where it hides deep down in the cracks of the soil;
it lives chiefly upon ants. It measures over ¾ of an inch in length,
and is of a rich metallic green colour: the mouth, antennae and legs
are brownish yellow. A second species, _M. frenchi_, has been
recently described by Sloane, and ranges from North West Queensland
into Western Australia. The Genus _Tetracha_ contains a number
of handsome, shorter, broad-bodied Tiger Beetles with green metallic
tints and reddish brown or yellow legs, and similar coloured markings
on the wing covers. They form burrows, like their larvae, along the
sandy margins of rivers and water-holes, coming out and running along
the water’s edge at twilight, and often flying into the lamp at night.
_Tetracha australis_ has a wide range from the Murray river to the
interior; I have dug them out of the sand round an artesian bore near
the Queensland border. It is smaller than the previously described
one, which it somewhat resembles in general colour, but can be easily
distinguished by the larger jaws, shorter body, and the elytra tipped
with yellow near the apex.
_T. australasiae_ and _T. hopei_ are smaller species, dull
green, marked with reddish brown on the wing covers; they are found in
North West Australia, while several other species are recorded from
Queensland.
The _Cicindela_ are not common about Sydney; two species, however,
are to be found; _Cicindela ypsilon_, about ½ an inch long, is
so named from the dark markings on the cream-coloured wing cases
resembling the Greek E; they are to be found running about on the
seashore in hundreds in midsummer, and can easily be caught by throwing
a handful of sand over them: though so numerous, I have never been able
to find their larvae. In captivity one ate raw beef quite readily,
burying its jaw in the strange food and sucking up the juice.
_C. circumcincta_ is a smooth, dark green beetle with the outer
edges of the wing covers marked with yellow; it is sometimes taken
about Sydney, but is not very common.
The smallest Australian species is _C. tenuicollis_, described
by Macleay from specimens I collected on a sandy flat near the
Barrier Ranges in N.W. Australia; it is a rich, metallic red insect
with slender legs and small thorax. On a sandy road near Cairns, N.
Queensland, several small species were so plentiful that they often
flew up in clouds, and I have taken scores in half an hour with a
butterfly net.
The tropical Genus _Distypsidera_ is represented by about a dozen
species, chiefly confined to North Queensland, where they hunt over the
stems of trees; when approached they run round the trunk to keep out of
sight; they are broader and more thickset than the _Cicindela_,
and their eyes are very large and prominent; _D. flavicans_ is the
only one that comes down as far as Northern N.S. Wales.
The researches of Hacker in North Queensland have added several new and
interesting species of Tiger Beetles from the Coen River, some of which
are closely allied to New Guinea forms.
Family 2. Carnivorous Ground Beetles.
CARABIDAE.
These are broader and thicker set than the Cicindelidae, varying in
size from several inches to a line in length; the head is smaller than
the thorax; and most of them are black or reddish brown, while others
are richly marked with metallic tints.
They are most numerous in open forest country, hiding under logs or
stones during the day and hunting over the ground at night: when camped
in the bush, where logs are plentiful, the entomologist can often trap
many interesting species by sinking empty tins into the soil, into
which they readily tumble.
The larvae are slender creatures with three pairs of simple legs; their
bodies are protected with stout horny plates, and the head is furnished
with large powerful jaws; they are found in the same situations as the
adult beetles, and devour all kinds of insects that they can capture;
the larger ones even eat small frogs. This family has been divided
into a great number of sub-families which it is hardly necessary to
enumerate here.
Australia is very rich in _Carabidae_; over 1,600 species have been
described. Chaudoir described many in Russian and Belgian; Newman,
Westwood, Pascoe, Hope, and Bates in English; Castelnau, Macleay,
and Sloane in Australian scientific journals; so that the literature
dealing with these beetles is very scattered, but the references can be
found in Masters’ Catalogue.
_Calosoma schayeri_ is our type of this cosmopolitan genus. They live
in cavities in cultivated fields, and are very useful insects where
numerous, for they devour the larvae and pupae of many species of
cut-worms. It measures about 1 inch in length, has a small head, narrow
rounded thorax, and very broad, short, rounded abdomen; the whole is
bright metallic green. It has a wide range over Australia, and may
sometimes be even taken in the Sydney streets.
The Genus _Pamborus_ contains many distinctive black beetles, some of
which are marked with coppery green tints; they measure up to 1 inch
in length, and are broad in proportion. When captured, many of them
discharge an acrid fluid or gas that stains the fingers reddish brown.
_Pamborus viridis_ is black, with the wing covers thickly ridged with
parallel punctured striae marked with green.
_P. alternans_ is a larger beetle, 1¼ inches long, with the same
small head, and rounded thorax tapering and narrow behind; the
coppery-tinted elytra have very broad parallel ridges.
[Illustration: =Figs. 56–59.=--Typical Carabidae.
56. _Helluo costatus_ (Bonelli). The Desert-Carab.
58. _Hyperion schroetteri_ (Schreib.). The Forest-Carab.
57. _Trichosternus renardi_ (Chaud.). The Scrub-Carab.
59. _Catadromus australis_ (Casteln.). The Swamp-Carab.
(Original photo. Burton.)]
_Drypta australis_ is a small beetle about 5 lines in length; it has a
pointed head, large projecting eyes, and the thorax forms a cylindrical
neck hardly broader than the head; the wing covers do not quite cover
the tip of the abdomen. In general colour it is yellowish brown, with
the antennae, legs, a broad stripe down the centre and the edges of
the wing covers dark purple to black; the wing covers are very finely
striated and punctured. They live on the edges of swamps, and sometimes
fly into the lamp at night.
A beetle with a very wide range is _Helluo costatus_; it is a medium
sized brown beetle; the head and thorax are about the same length, the
latter rounded on either side in front but narrowed behind; the wing
covers are flattened, broadly ridged, and not reaching to the tip of
the abdomen.
[Illustration: =Fig. 60.=--_Pheropsophus
verticalis_ (Dejean).
The Yellow Bombardier Beetle which discharges an acrid gas
when disturbed.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Our Common “Bombardier Beetle,” _Pheropsophus verticalis_, is another
widely distributed species; it measures over ½ an inch in length, and
is of a general dark brown tint, with the head, antennae, and thorax
dull yellow; the wing covers, which do not reach to the tip of the
abdomen, are blotched on either side and the tip with the same colour.
It can be found in any damp spot under stones or logs; and as soon
as disturbed, it discharges a small cloud of vapour with a distinct
report, and which feels quite warm to the fingers.
The Genus _Scopodes_ contains a number of tiny beetles that are common
on the plains and about crabholes and swamps.
_Scopodes sigillatus_ has the wing covers roughened, and measures about
2 lines in length; with its large projecting eyes it might be mistaken
for a small Tiger Beetle.
We now come to a group, PSEUDOMORPHIDES, comprising a number of genera
that live under the loose bark on tree trunks; they have adapted
themselves to their confined hiding places, so that they have become
flattened and rounded, and even remarkable in colouration; and so,
unless a collector carefully examines them, he would never at first
sight think of including them among the Carabidae.
The Genus _Silphomorpha_, in which over 40 species have been described,
are yellow and black, or yellow and brown beetles up to ½ an inch in
length; all their parts fit close together into a convex or oval form
very like some of the water-beetles.
_Silphomorpha colymbetoides_ and _S. nitiduloides_ are found about
Sydney. The first has the head and thorax reddish brown, the elytra
pale yellow broadly blotched in the centre with black: the second, much
larger (¼ of an inch in length) is blackish, and the centre only of
each wing cover blotched with dull yellow.
The members of the Genus _Adelotopus_ are mostly black, narrow, and
shield-shaped, with the tips of the wing covers truncated; while in
_Philophloeus_, though very thin and flattened, they have the head
and thorax well divided from the broad abdomen; and are dull yellow,
striped, and barred with darker brown.
Turning from these we come to the giant of all our carabs, _Hyperion
schroetteri_, which lives in cavities in tree trunks, where it is often
found by splitters in the red gum forests in Victoria and N.S. Wales. I
have taken it at night round the camp fire on the Murray frontage. It
is shining black, and measures 2½ inches in length, but being narrow
in proportion it appears much longer than it really is; while with its
large elongate head and immense jaws it is a very formidable-looking
creature.
The next in order is a large and interesting group, the SCARITIDES,
which are not only wingless, but have the wing covers soldered together
into one solid armour plate; their legs are adapted for digging, and
many of them live in underground tunnels of considerable length. In
most species the head, armed with large powerful jaws, fits close into
the thorax, so that they move together; and in some groups the insect
appears to be formed only of two parts, for the head and thorax taken
together are as long and broad as the abdomen. After a heavy fall of
rain in the interior, some species may be found in numbers under logs
and stones, driven out of their holes and deep burrows. They are much
sought after by collectors; and Macleay, Blackburn, and Sloane have
described a number of curious species.
_Eutoma tinctilatum_, found about Sydney, and typical of the elongate
slender Scaritides, was described by Newman many years ago, and figured
by Westwood in his “Arcana Entomologica 1841”; it is a shining black
beetle about 8 lines in length.
_Carenum bonelli_, the commonest Sydney species of this genus, measures
about ¾ of an inch and is broad in proportion; it is black, with bright
metallic green tints on thorax and elytra.
The members of the Genus _Philoscaphus_ are short and broad, with the
elytra covered with rows of warts.
_P. tuberculatus_ has a wide range over the western country; it
measures over 1 inch in length; is black; the head and thorax are
broader than the body; the latter oval, with the elytra finely rugose.
[Illustration: =Fig. 61.=--_Euryscaphus lobicollis_
(Sloane).
The Great Ground Scaritid Beetle, found in the interior.]
The Genus _Euryscaphus_ contains the giants of the group.
_Euryscaphus titanus_, a shining black beetle, is nearly 2 inches
in length, and measures ¾ of an inch across the elytra; while _E.
lobicollis_, a smaller beetle, has the body still broader in proportion
to its size; both these and several other fine species are not uncommon
on the Western Australian goldfields about Kalgoorlie.
The allied CLIVINIDES, recently monographed by Sloane (Proc. Linn.
Soc. N.S.W. 1896) are like elongate miniature Carenums furnished with
dilated fore-legs adapted for digging; they are generally taken along
the edges of swamps and watercourses under logs or the debris on the
soft mud. They are world wide in their distribution, and are most
plentiful in the warmer portions of the globe: Australia is rich in
species: Sloane lists 55 species in his paper.
_Clivina basalis_ has a wide range over S. Australia, Victoria, and
N.S. Wales; it measures ¼ inch; is black, with the basal portion of the
elytra and the legs red.
_C. australasiae_, slightly larger, is all black; it has a similar
range, and is also recorded from New Zealand and Lord Howe Island.
The next group comprise the typical _Chlaenius_; they are rather
long-legged beetles with a small head and somewhat heart-shaped
thorax forming a slight neck behind, and with a broad, oval, convex
abdomen. They are active beetles, generally found under stones or wood
near water-holes; many of them have a greenish dull metallic tint.
_Chlaenius puncticeps_ is black, with the legs and an irregular blotch
at the apical half of each wing cover dull yellow. _C. maculifer_, from
Queensland, is smaller; _C. laeteviridis_ is dull green with the edges
of the wing covers yellow; _C. marginatus_ is a larger and brighter
green beetle with the wing covers marked with yellow in a similar
manner.
_Promecoderus concolor_, typical of the genus, is a shining black
beetle about ½ inch in length, of a curious cylindrical shape with
the head turned down in front. These beetles are found all over the
interior in dry country under stones or logs. The allied Genus _Parroa_
was formed by Castelnau for several curious beetles taken in the
interior near the Paroo River. _Parroa noctis_, from Kalgoorlie, W.A.,
measures over 1 inch in length, and is a rounded solid-looking black
beetle. The bulk of the species once included in the Genus _Harpalus_
is now divided up into a number of groups; most of the small black
carabs running about in the suburban gardens in the early summer belong
to this division.
The FERONIDES comprise a number of our largest carabs: _Catadromus
australis_ measures nearly 2 inches in length, is broad in proportion;
it is shining black with the wing covers broadly ridged, and their
margins and the hind portion of the thorax richly marked with bright
metallic green. _C. lacordairei_ is smaller, and similar in general
form, with the thorax smaller and the metallic colouration on the
thorax running right round to the hind margin of the head. Both these
beetles are found along the edges of swamps and lagoons in the Murray
country living under dead logs, where their black banded larvae may
also be found, sometimes feasting on small frogs.
All the beetles known under the Genera _Homalosoma_ and _Trichisternus_
have been placed in the new Genus _Castelnaudia_ by the Russian
entomologist Tschitscherini, as both the former names were
preoccupied. This group contains many large handsome beetles, chiefly
confined to our coastal forest country, where they live under dead logs.
_Castelnaudia renardi_ is one of the common species in the Tweed River
scrubs; it measures 1½ inches in length; is black with the parallel
striae on the elytra widely apart; the head very large, is turned down
and furnished with long powerful jaws.
_C. imperiale_, from Southern Queensland, is a very handsome species;
it is about the same size as the former but has the thorax and elytra
more flattened; and the head, thorax, and margins of the wing covers
are rich metallic green.
In November I took several specimens on the top of Mt. Tambourine,
S. Queensland, under deeply buried logs by the roadside, where they
live in broad excavated galleries; in two nests I found three larvae
and eggs. The former, probably by their size only a few weeks old,
were elongate, flattened, light brown to ochreous coloured creatures,
with the head and dorsal surface of segments chocolate brown. The
head is broader than long, flattened, and furnished with long curved
brown jaws, and has also a stout incurved tooth near the base of
each jaw. They were very active creatures and lived for over a month
in captivity. The eggs were dull yellow, ⅜ of an inch long, broadly
rounded, and were enclosed in a thin clay shell like the rind of an
orange.
The Genus _Notonomus_ has been recently revised by Sloane (Pro. Linn.
Soc. N.S.W. 1902); in this paper he enumerated 72 species, a number of
them previously undescribed. These beetles are apterous, and confined
to the coastal forests of Eastern Australia. Sloane says: “From the
Grampians in Western Victoria, along the coast of Eastern Australia as
far north as the Burnett River in Queensland, and many species are very
restricted in their range.”
_Notonomus australasiae_ is one of the commonest species around Sydney;
it measures under ¾ of an inch in length, and is of a uniform black
colour; the broad thorax is arcuate behind the head, swelling out and
broadly rounded on the sides; it has a rich blue metallic tint, and
a distinct medium suture; the wing covers are distinctly striated,
forming broad parallel ridges.
Passing over a number of more or less important genera we finish with
the Genus _Bembidium_, which contains a number of small active beetles
generally found along the edges of swamps.
_B. ocellatum_ is a shining black beetle under ⅙ of an inch in length,
with a broad head, and the thorax rounded on the hind margin.
Family 3. Water Beetles.
DYTISCIDAE.
This group contains the first division of the Water Beetles; these have
the antennae bare and filiform; short palpi and undivided eyes; the
legs fringed with hairs, the front pair not longer than the hind pair,
adapted for swimming. They live in the water both in the larval and
beetle stage; the former are slender, elongate creatures, with a body
consisting of twelve segments; the head is broad and furnished with
powerful hollow jaws; they are very voracious creatures, devouring all
sorts of aquatic insects, and even the smaller and weaker of their own
species. When full grown they pupate in cells which they form in the
soft mud.
These beetles are perfectly at home in the water, and breathe by coming
to the surface; turning head downwards, and with the tip of the wing
covers slightly raised, they draw in a supply of air which occupies a
cavity on the back, and when the elytra are closed down, the beetle can
remain under water until the supply is exhausted. Many species can be
easily captured in the water with a small hand-net; on a warm summer
night numbers leave the water and come flying in to the lighted lamps.
Many are very small, few over ½ an inch in length; they are quite as
numerous in the colder waters of the globe as in the tropics, and many
species have a very wide distribution.
We have representatives of most of the typical genera; our species have
been described by Clark (Journal of Entomology 1862), and Sharp (Trans.
Dublin Soc. 1882).
The members of the Genus _Bidessus_ are small, brown, boat-shaped
beetles not much over ½ an inch in length; about 18 species are
listed in Masters’ Catalogue; _Bidessus bistrigatus_ has the head
marked with black and the wing covers clouded with dark brown; it
has a wide range over Australia. _Antiphorus gilberti_ is more than
twice the size, has the wing covers mottled, and is common in the
waters of Victoria and South Australia. _Macroporus howetti_ is dark
brown, more shining and slightly larger, the dark markings forming
two irregular black bands connected by a dorsal stripe. _Hydroporus
collaris_, from the north-west coast of Australia, measures under 2
lines in length; it is all black with the dorsal surface convex and
finely rugose. _Platynectis 10-punctata_ was described by Fabricius
at a very early date from Australia; it is common along the edges of
the Murray lagoons, where it is to be found in the soft mud under the
water-weeds. It is a smooth, shining black beetle, with very convex
wing covers. _Rhantus pubescens_ is an oval beetle, under ½ an inch
in length, of a dull brown colour, with the whole of the wing covers
granulated with black. _Colymbetes lanceolatus_ is a more elongate
insect of a similar brown colour, the back of the head and wing covers
marked with irregular parallel black lines, thickest in the middle.
_Copelatus acuductus_ is a larger shining black beetle, typical of the
genus, of which about twenty species are described from this country.
_Cybister tripunctatus_ is one of our largest species; it measures over
1 inch, and is broad and flattened in proportion; it is of a blackish
or dark olive colour, margined right round from the front of the head
to the tips of the wing covers with a dull yellow stripe. As children
we often pulled these beetles out of the water hanging on to the bait
used for catching crayfish, and we called them “clocks,” why I do not
know. This species has a very wide range over Australia, and it is
recorded from Lord Howe Island. It was once known under the name of
_C. gayndahensis_. A second species has been described by Blackburn
under the name of _C. granulatus_ from the Northern Territory of South
Australia. _Eretes australis_ is another widely distributed species; it
measures about ½ an inch; is broad and flattened, and is of a general
yellowish brown tint, marked with black between the eyes, and the wing
covers are finely punctured with close black spots.
Family 4. Whirligig Beetles.
GYRINIDAE.
This family, small in number of species, is well known to all lovers of
Nature, for it contains the water beetles that float about in shoals on
the margin of any quiet stream or waterhole, or dart about like bits of
silver, twisting and turning round in most remarkable gyrations, from
which they take the popular name of Whirligig Beetles.
They are distinguished from the last family (which they resemble in the
earlier stages of their development) in having very short antennae;
the fore-legs much longer than the two hind pairs; and in having the
eyes on either side divided, thus having two eyes looking down into the
water and two above, so that they can see both sides at the same time,
an admirable adaptation of vision for beetles living so much on the
surface of the water and liable to be attacked from above or below. The
tip of the body is not covered by the elytra, and when diving downward
they carry a bubble of air attached to the extremity. These beetles
are well represented in Australia, and have been described by Clark
previously mentioned, Regimbart (Annals Soc. Ent. France 1882), Macleay
(Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1871), and Boisduval in the “Entomology of the
voyage de l’Astrolabe.” Our common species about Sydney, _Macrogyrus
canaliculatus_, is of the usual boat-shaped form, silvery black, with
the wing covers finely striated; it measures about ½ an inch in length.
_M. oblongus_ is a somewhat smaller species not so broad in form; is
browner, and the wing covers are very slightly striated; it is also
found in the vicinity of Sydney. _M. paradoxus_ was described and
figured by Regimbart from Australia with no exact locality, but I have
collected it on the North West coast of Australia, and seen others from
Southern Queensland, so that it has a wide range. It is not much over ¼
of an inch in length; is dark olive; the outer margin is dull yellow,
and it has a few fine striae on either side of the elytra. I have
found the pupae of one species, probably _M. oblongus_, in clay cells
attached to a bit of board on the bank of a waterhole in the western
country of N.S. Wales.
Family 5. Clubbed-horned Water Beetles.
HYDROPHILIDAE.
This family is also known under the Group _Palpicorna_ in reference to
the clubbed antennae, and made to include a second family, which are
very closely allied but are terrestial in their habits.
These beetles have five jointed tarsi; short clubbed antennae, with the
palpi slender and much longer than the antennae. Most of the beetles
are vegetarian in their diet, though many of them in the earlier stages
of their existence are carnivorous.
These are the largest of the Water Beetles; and the typical species
are ovate and very convex in form; the thorax very broad; the tibiae
slightly spined on the edges, terminating in a stouter spine at the
apex; the tarsi ciliated. They are poor swimmers when compared with the
two last groups.
Most of our species have been described by Macleay (Trans. Ent. Soc.
N.S.W. 1871), and Blackburn (Pro. Linn. Soc. 1888). _Hydrophilus
latipalpus_ is of the usual boat-shaped form; shining black; and the
wing covers are very finely marked with punctured parallel striae. It
measures nearly 1½ inches, and is found about Sydney. _H. albipes_ is
a much smaller beetle of similar form and colour; it is found in the
Murray River districts.
Family 6. Rove Beetles.
STAPHYLINIDAE.
These peculiar beetles can be readily distinguished from most of the
other families by their abbreviated elytra, which do not protect more
than a third of the abdomen leaving the hind portion quite bare; while
the well developed hind wings are tucked away out of sight under them,
but can be quickly extended and used for flight. The apical segments
of the abdomen are very flexible, and most species have the habit
of turning up the tip of the body when running along; others have
the power of discharging a strong scent, in some cases with quite a
pleasant odour.
They are slender elongate insects with stout jaws, and the antennae
thickened or clubbed at the extremities; the tarsal joints are variable
in number. Rove Beetles are found in many different situations, but
chiefly upon the ground in the vicinity of manure, decaying vegetable
matter, dead animals, and even on the seashore hiding under stones and
seaweed, though most of them only seek these places to devour other
small creatures, for they are carnivorous in their habits. Some of the
foreign species are found living in the nests of ants, but I do not
think any with this peculiarity have been recorded from Australia.
The principal writers on our Staphylinidae are Macleay (Trans. Ent.
Soc. N.S.W. 1871), and Fauvel in his work on “Les Staphylinides de
l’Australie et de la Polynesie” (1878). In 1886 Olliff commenced his
revision of the Staphylinidae of Australia (Proc. Linn. Soc.), but this
only ran into the third part and was never finished. Others have been
described by Blackburn (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. 1887). About 400 species
have been recorded from this country representing most of the typical
sub-families.
The Genus _Aleochara_ contains a number of small short black beetles
with thickened antennae; those in _Homalota_ are even smaller but more
slender; several species are found under cowdung.
_Quedius luridipennis_ measures over ⅓ of an inch in length; the
shining black head and thorax are almost globular, the latter the
larger; the broad flattened fore wings are red; the margins of the
abdomen are flanged and slightly spined, and the tip fringed with three
tufts of bristles.
The Devil’s Coach-horse, _Creophilus erythrocephalus_, is our largest
common species and has a very wide range; it measures over ¾ of an inch
in length and is very broad in proportion; its general colour is black
with the head bright red, the eyes and a rounded spot between them
black; the elytra have a metallic purple tint. It can be often found in
stables, or hunting round dead animals in the bush; when disturbed it
cocks up its head, turning up the tip of its body at the same time in a
very comical manner, from which habit the allied European species has
probably derived the above popular name.
_Actinus macleayi_ is slightly longer but more slender, and is our
most beautiful species of this somewhat dull coloured family; the
head and thorax are rich metallic coppery green, the elytra deep
metallic purple; the basal portion of the abdomen is black, and the
tip, antennae, and legs bright yellow. It is a native of the tropical
scrubs of North Queensland; in the neighbourhood of Cairns I captured
specimens in tins I had baited with bits of meat and had sunk in the
ground to trap Carabidae, and into which they had been attracted by the
food.
_Xantholinus erythrocephalus_ lives in the stems of rotting grass
trees, where the beetles can be collected in all stages of development;
the beetle measures over ½ an inch in length; is of a much more
elongate form; black; the elytra dull red, and the tip of the abdomen
yellow.
_Paederus cruenticollis_ is one of our commonest species, and is
often found under stones in the bush; it is a very distinctly marked
little beetle about ¼ of an inch in length, slender in form with long
thickened antennae; black, with the thorax and centre of the abdomen
red, and the elytra deep metallic blue.
_Sartellus signatus_ is a curious little yellow beetle quite unlike the
typical Rove Beetle; it is short and rounded in form, with the fore
wings much longer than usual; is of a uniform light yellow colour,
with a curious reddish brown mark in the centre of each elytron. It
is common on our sandy beaches, where it hides under the seaweed and
rubbish and feeds chiefly upon dead barnacles.
Family 7. Ant Beetles.
PSELAPHIDAE
This group includes a number of small beetles that have the elytra
usually not covering more than half of the abdominal segments; the
antennae thickened toward the tips; maxillary palpi large, and the
tarsi three jointed. The ordinary collector is very apt to pass over
these small creatures, but many interesting forms are found in this
country by sifting rubbish, or examining debris along the water’s edge,
which can be gathered up in a stout bag and afterwards shaken over a
sheet of white paper. I have captured them along the edges of lagoons
in summer time by pouring buckets of water over the dry cracked mud,
and as they were drowned out gathering them into small tubes. They can
also be taken with a sweeping net when on the wing; in Europe many
species are found in ants’ nests. Westwood believes that they feed
chiefly upon _Acari_ and other small creatures.
Large numbers have been described from this country, chiefly through
the researches of the Rev. R. L. King (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1865).
Messrs. Sharp, Westwood, Schaufers and Blackburn added to this number;
while in 1900 Raffray published his Monograph on the family (Pro. Linn.
Soc. N.S.W. 1900), in which he described 45 new species, and brings the
number known up to 200.
_Pselaphus lineatus_, a reddish beetle, measures 1½ lines in length,
and is found about Sydney; it has a wide range over N.S. Wales,
Victoria, and South Australia.
Lea (Pro. Royal Soc. Victoria 1905) records four species of the Genus
_Articerus_ found in ants’ nests, all of which appear to have a wide
range; _A. curvicornis_, originally described by Westwood from ants’
nests in Melbourne, is also found in Tasmania, S. Australia and N.S.
Wales.
Family 8. Comb-horned Beetles.
PAUSSIDAE.
These are remarkable looking beetles, easily distinguished by their
broad flattened toothed antennae curving round on either side. The
head is short and angular on the sides; the thorax flattened; and the
elongate elytra truncate at the apex and not quite covering the tip of
the abdomen. Most of the species are of moderate size, and reddish
brown in colour; they are confined chiefly to Africa, the East Indies,
and Australia. Most of the African species are said to dwell in ants’
nests, but though I have had several records of species being found
under stones in ants’ nests, most of ours are found under logs, bark,
or crawling about on the grass or ground. This family attracted the
notice of entomologists at a very early date; Latreille formed the
family to contain the two genera _Paussus_ and _Cerapterus_, which he
called _Paussili_, afterwards changed by Leach to _Paussides_. Donovan
described the first species from this country in 1815. Westwood has
written a great deal about them; he monographed the family (Proc.
Linn. Soc. 1849–1850); in his “Arcana Entomologica” he described a
great many from Australia and other countries; others in the “Annals
of Natural History,” 1851; and again figured others in his “Theosaurus
Entomologica,” Oxen. 1874. Macleay added 32 new species (Trans. Ent.
Soc. N.S.W. 1873), all belonging to the Genus _Arthropterus_; while
Blackburn placed 3 more to the list 1891–1892, one of them in the
typical Genus _Paussus_.
_Arthropterus brevis_ is one of our smallest species; it measures
slightly over ¼ of an inch in length; the antennae are rather short and
broad; the thorax broad and rounded on the sides; the elytra expanded
slightly to the truncate tips, leaving the apical portion of the
abdomen exposed. This is our commonest species, and can be sometimes
obtained in numbers near Sydney under the papery bark of the ti-trees.
_A. humeralis_ comes from the Wellington district, and measures under
¾ of an inch; the antennae are large; the head angular; the body
long, narrow, and rounded to the extremity, with the elytra short and
truncate above the tip of the abdomen. General colour dark reddish
brown, lightly clothed with short scattered brown hairs.
Family 9. Ant Beetles.
SCYDMAENIDAE.
The members of this family are minute creatures of which little is
known. Sharp says: “Allied to the _Silphidae_, with the hind coxae
separated, and the facets of the eyes coarser; tarsi five jointed; the
number of abdominal segments visible six.”
It is owing to the Rev. R. L. King that we first knew anything about
this group in Australia; he described about 15 species (Trans. Ent.
Soc. N.S.W. 1864); to which 2 more have been added by Macleay and Sharp.
_Heterognathus carinatus_ was described by King from the nest of small
black ants found in the neighbourhood of Parramatta; Lea has lately
recorded it from the nests of ants (_Iridomyrmex nitidus_) taken in
the Mallee country of North Western Victoria. He says: “It can be
distinguished from all its congeners by the prothorax having a short
longitudinal carina at the base, on each side of which is a transverse
impression.”
Family 10. Burying Beetles.
SILPHIDAE.
The typical European species are popularly known as Burying Beetles
from the curious habit they have of excavating the ground beneath any
small dead bird or animal they find, and finally burying it under
the soil. This family contains a number of interesting beetles both
large and small; the antennae are thickened or clubbed; the tarsi 4
or 5 jointed; and the whole dorsal surface flattened. They are poorly
represented in this country, but there are several large distinctive
species found about dead animals or decaying vegetable matter. A large
number of blind Silphids are found in the caves of Europe and America,
but I have never found any as Australian cave fauna.
Thirteen species have been described from this country by a number of
different writers, chief of which is Blackburn (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A.
1891–94).
_Necrodes osculans_ comes from Queensland; I found it common about
Cairns, feeding amongst decaying matter in the scrub. It measures over
1 inch; is a broad flattened beetle of a general black colour; the
elytra mottled with dull orange, ribbed, and truncate at the extremity,
showing the tip of the abdomen. The head is small, turned down in
front, but furnished with large clubbed antennae; the thorax is finely
punctured and rounded in front.
_Ptomaphila lachrymosa_ is a dull reddish brown beetle, with the centre
of the head and thorax black, the head small and somewhat hidden by
the large flattened thorax; the elytra round, somewhat depressed; both
marked with irregular parallel black ribs and bosses; they feed about
dead animals. Length about 1 inch.
In the following family, TRICHOPTERYGIDAE, only two species are
described, one from Tasmania, and the other from West Australia.
They are minute beetles with fringed wings, the middle joints of the
antennae smallest.
Family 11. Round Fungus Beetles.
SCAPHIDIDAE.
The members of this family are small, broad, short insects that live
in fungus, and are very active. Macleay described several species from
Gayndah (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1871): Reitter and other foreign
writers have added to the list.
_Scaphidium punctipenne_, though described from Queensland, is also
found in the neighbourhood of Sydney. It is a small rounded seed-shaped
insect, but with slender legs and slightly clubbed antennae; its upper
surface is deep orange yellow irregularly barred with black.
Family 12. Mimic Beetles.
HISTERIDAE.
When touched these beetles contract their legs and pretend to be dead,
from which habit they take their family name from _Histris_, the
Latin for a stage mimic. They are shining black, or metallic coloured
beetles; many are flattened and broad in shape, with the elytra
truncate at the apex, leaving the tip of the abdomen uncovered; the
exposed integument is however very much thickened, and all the parts
fit close together; the antennae are thick, clubbed at the apex; the
legs short and stout. Most of the flattened forms are found under bark,
others in or under dead animal matter; both the beetles and their
larvae are carnivorous.
This family is well represented here: Macleay described some from
Gayndah; Marseul described others in the Annals Museo Genevre 1879, and
the Annals Ent. Belg. 1870; Schmidt in the Ent. Nachr. 1892; and a few
are described by other writers.
_Hololepta sidnensis_, one of our commonest species, can be collected
in early summer by chopping up the dead grass tree stems; but I have
never been able to find the larvae. It measures ½ an inch, and is
shining black; it is very much flattened and broad in proportion to
its length; two stout horns project in front of the eyes, coming
together at the tips; the thorax is slightly impressed in the centre,
and punctured on the sides; the elytra is smooth and shining, but the
exposed abdominal plates are spotted with large punctures. Many of this
genus are found under bark or crawling about on tree trunks.
_Platysoma strongulatum_ is a broadly flattened black insect about ⅙ of
an inch long; the head is small; the thorax truncate; the elytra smooth
in the centre, with four distinct striae on each side, straight at the
apex, with the tip of the abdomen turning downwards. This is another
common Sydney species found at the base of the flower stalks of the
“grass trees” (_Xanthorrhoea_).
_Saprinus laetus_, typical of another group, is a short, thickset,
rounded, oval beetle, ¼ of an inch in length, with the upper surface
convex; the head is small, shining green; the thorax broad, bright
metallic pale copper; and the short truncate elytra and exposed tip
of the abdomen deep metallic green. This almost seed-shaped beetle is
usually found under dead birds or animals lying in the bush. It has a
very wide range over Australia.
Family 13.
PHALACRIDAE.
Only one species of this family is listed in Masters’ Catalogue,
described by Erichson from Tasmania in 1842; but in Blackburn’s paper
(Trans. Royal Soc. S. Australia 1891) 16 new species are described
from all parts of Australia. They are short oval beetles, very small,
the largest not much over ¹⁄₁₂ of an inch in length; black or brown in
colour.
_Litochrus palmerstoni_ is of a uniform ferruginous colour, with the
apex of the elytra pale testaceous; without the punctures of the other
species; of the typical oval form; and only ⅘ of a line in length and
¹⁄₂₄ of an inch in width. This tiny creature comes from the Northern
Territory of S. Australia.
This family is not an important one, but is well represented in Europe
and America, where the larvae live in flowers, boring their way down
the stems and pupating in earthen cocoons.
Family 14. Fruit Beetles.
NITIDULIDAE.
These are all small black or brownish beetles that breed and feed upon
decaying vegetable matter, and some are very partial to ripe fruit.
Some have well developed wing covers, but in others these are very
short, reminding one of the smaller Rove Beetles, but the club of
each antennae consists of three joints, and fewer abdominal segments
are exposed to view. About eighty species have been described from
Australia, chiefly by Reitter (Verh. Ver. Brünn, 1874–75, and other
Journals); Murray in his Monograph of the Family; Macleay (Trans. Ent.
Soc. N.S.W. 1871); and Blackburn (Trans. Royal Soc. S. Australia 1891).
_Brachypeplus binotatus_ is one of our commonest species, widely
distributed over Australia; it is a typical form of the family, about
⅕ of an inch in length; of a general dark brown colour, with reddish
brown antennae and legs; the abbreviated wing covers leaving the
abdominal segments exposed, the latter marked with deep orange yellow.
Olliff (Agricultural Gazette N.S. Wales 1893) describes and figures
this beetle and its larva, which he describes as feeding upon the
fungus on the damaged sugar cane.
[Illustration: =Fig. 62.=--_Pochadius pilistriatus_
(Macleay).
Living in the seed pods of the Kurrajong.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Carpophilus_ contains 11 described species, most of which
have a wide range over Australia; two are well known about Sydney
from their habit of crawling into damaged fruit and feeding round the
stone, causing it to decay very rapidly; they are also said to cluster
round the fruit stalks, and by gnawing the base cause the fruit to
drop. _Carpophilus pilipennis_ is a small reddish brown boat-shaped
beetle, with the wing covers cut off at the hind margin, exposing the
tip of the abdomen; it measures 1½ lines in length. _C. aterrimus_ is
a somewhat larger flatter species of a uniform black colour, with the
whole of the upper surface finely punctured; the legs and antennae are
reddish brown. The abdomen is not so pointed as in the first species
and much more of it is exposed on the dorsal surface. A curious little
species, _Pocadius pilistriatus_, about ⅙ of an inch in length, is an
elongate rounded brown beetle clothed with fine hairs. It feeds and
breeds in the seed cases of the Kurrajong; the larvae are reddish brown
grubs, elongate in form; they have three jointed antennae, and short
black jaws, with well developed legs, and the tip of the abdomen bears
two pairs of spines, the first pair erect, the second at the extremity
but turning upwards.
Family 15.
TROGOSITIDAE.
These are beetles of moderate size with five jointed tarsi, the first
so small that unless closely examined it is not noticeable. They are
found chiefly under dead bark or wood, but are carnivorous in their
habits, and very dissimilar in form.
[Illustration: =Fig. 63.=--_Lophocateres pusillus._
A tiny introduced Beetle belonging to the Family
_Trogositidae_ that attacks dried fruit.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The cosmopolitan “Cadelle,” _Trogosita mauritanica_, frequently found
in bagged wheat, where the larvae gnaw out the embryo of the grain, is
world wide in its range. It is a flattened, shining, black beetle; it
was once placed among the _Heteromera_; and at first sight might be
taken for a flattened carab.
The Genus _Leperina_ contains a number of curious, elongate beetles
flattened on the under surface; the dorsal surface is convex, and
rounded at the extremities, with the integument covered with mottled
grey, brown, and black tufts of scales imitating moss, and probably of
a protective character, for they are generally found clinging to bark.
_Leperina decorata_ was described by Erichson from Tasmania in 1842,
but it has a wide range over the mainland. It measures from ¼ to ½ an
inch in length; its ground colour is light chestnut brown mottled with
black; the sides of the thorax deeply blotched with creamy white, and
the back marked with indistinct patches of whitish scales.
[Illustration: =Figs. 64 and 65.=--Life History of the
Cadelle.
64. _Trogosita mauritanica_ (Linn.).
65. „ „ Larva.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Pascoe described some of ours (Annals of Nat. Hist. 1872), and the
Journal of Entomology 1860. Macleay described others in 1871; Reitter
in 1876–77; Olliff (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1886); and later Blackburn
(Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. 1891).
Family 16.
COLYDIDAE.
These are small, reddish brown or black beetles, elongate in form, with
four jointed tarsi, the coxae of the two pairs of fore-legs globular,
and those of the hind legs transverse. They are usually found under
dead or decaying bark, or among rotten wood. Several members of the
Genus _Bothrideres_ are found about Sydney; they have the thorax
flattened and the elytra ribbed.
About 70 species of this family have been described from this country,
chiefly by Macleay 1871; Pascoe in the Journal of Entomology 1860;
Reitter in 1877 in several German journals; and later by Blackburn
1891; and Olliff in the Memoirs of the Australian Museum 1889 on
species from Lord Howe Island.
Family 17.
RHYSODIDAE.
This family consists of only a few known species; Olliff has described
one species, _Rhysodes lignarius_ (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1885), a
pitchy black shining beetle about ⅓ of an inch in length; it was found
in rotten wood at Yass, N.S.W.
Family 18. Bark Beetles.
CUCUJIDAE.
The members of this group are very curious beetles, most of our species
being found under dead bark on the trunks of the smooth gums; both the
beetles and their larvae have adapted their form in such a remarkable
manner to their surroundings that they are often as flat and thin as
a bit of paper, while others living in more roomy quarters are quite
normal in shape.
_Hectarthrum brevifossum_ is a slender, somewhat cylindrical, shining
black beetle, with thickened antennae composed of eleven bead-shaped
joints; the head is depressed in front, with the thorax more
elongated, and the slender ribbed elytra rounded at the tips.
_Platisus integricollis_ is a reddish brown beetle, the basal joints
of the antennae elongated and the apical ones bead-shaped; the head is
angular, buried in the short broad thorax; the body is flattened, with
the elytra slightly ridged round the edges. The larva is as flat as
a knife blade, with a large head armed with stout jaws; the thoracic
segments are furnished with short thick legs; it has seven simple
flattened abdominal segments, with an eighth spade-shaped one, on which
is a four-pronged trident-like process standing up at the apex, and
a small spine at either side. The insects both in the beetle and the
larval stage are often to be found under the same bit of bark.
_Brontes lucius_, found in the same situations, is a darker reddish
insect with the antennae very long and slender; the front of the thorax
is spined on the sides; the elytra slightly convex, elongated and
rounded at the extremities. _B. militaris_ can be easily distinguished
from the last species by its darker colour, more flattened smooth
elytra, with two oval light brown blotches on the basal half of the
wing covers. About 60 species are described from Australia; among the
chief writers are Grouvelle (Bull. Soc. Ent. France 1877); and other
Journals 1876–1883, &c.; Olliff (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1885); Reitter
1878, and Blackburn 1892.
Family 19.
CRYPTOPHAGIDAE.
In Masters’ Catalogue only one species (_Cnecosa fulvida_) is recorded,
described by Pascoe in the “Journal of Entomology” 1865, from Sydney.
Since then Blackburn has described 12 more species (Trans. Royal Soc.
of S.A. 1887). They are all minute beetles which feed upon mould. In
Europe the larvae of several genera live in the nests of bumble bees,
and the perfect insects in flowers.
Families 20–21.
LATHRIDIDAE and MYCETOPHAGIDAE.
These are composed of minute beetles found on fungus. Macleay in 1871
described some; Blackburn others (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. 1887–1891);
most of these were found in fungi or under bark. They are very small,
the largest about ⅒ of an inch in length. In Europe the larvae of some
species are covered with curious hairs, and the perfect beetles of
others live in ants’ nests; but nothing is known about the habits of
our species.
Family 22. Bacon Beetles.
DERMESTIDAE.
This is a well-known group, for the hairy larvae do a great deal of
mischief to sheepskins by gnawing holes in them when they are piled on
each other; getting into bacon and other animal foods; even gnawing
holes in bones. The beetles have somewhat short antennae clubbed at the
tips; five jointed tarsi; the coxae of the fore-legs conical, the hind
ones cylindrical.
The typical Genus _Dermestes_ contains 5 species found in Australia;
most of them have been introduced from other parts of the world, and
several have penetrated far into the interior.
_Dermestes cadaverinus_ measures over ⅓ of an inch; the upper surface
is clothed with pale pubescence, and the under-surface thickly clothed
with white hairs. Its general form is elongate; the head is tucked
under the front edge of the thorax, which forms a slight hood.
_D. vulpinus_ is slightly larger; has the same elongate form; is black,
with the dorsal surface covered with short brown hairs, and the under
surface with more buff coloured pubescence. Both these species have
a very wide range, and can be found under dead animals in the bush,
in sheepskins, bacon, &c., and I have even taken larvae in bags of
grain. Under favourable conditions these beetles increase in countless
numbers; quite recently, Mrs. Black, writing from N. Queensland,
says that toward the end of the drought when the country was covered
with bones and dead stock, whenever the station hands camped to eat
their dinners, these beetles would swarm out in thousands from under
logs and stones to pick up the bits of food scattered about. Gilbert
in Gould’s “Birds of Australia,” records a similar instance on the
Hautmann’s-Abrolhos Islands off the coast of W. Australia, a great
nesting place for the Noddy Tern, where immense numbers of the young
birds are killed by the lizards, which only eat the brain and marrow.
The remains cumbering the ground were food for _Dermestes lardarius_,
which swarm over the islands in immense numbers.
This is the common European Bacon Beetle, and is listed in Masters’
Catalogue as found in Australia, but I have never seen an Australian
specimen of this very distinct beetle, and think Gilbert may have
mistaken the species.
The members of the Genus _Trogoderma_ are small, broad, and rather
flattened black beetles, generally found under bark on tree trunks in
the dead pupae of moths upon which they feed.
_Trogoderma froggatti_ is short and broad; it measures under ⅙ of an
inch; is a shining black beetle, with the elytra clothed with dark
scattered hairs; it was bred from larvae taken close to Sydney. _T.
apicipenne_ is slightly larger, and darker black, very thickly clothed
with black hairs; a dull red blotch on either side of the apical half
of the elytra gives it a very distinctive character. These beetles and
their hairy larvae feed upon the remains of dead caterpillars under the
dead bark, pupae and other organic matter.
The _Anthrenus_ are known as “Museum beetles,” for they are the
greatest pests that curators of Museums have to deal with; their small
hairy larvae attack every kind of specimen, and are most destructive to
pinned insect collections, though the adult beetles are generally found
in the gardens frequenting flowers.
_Anthrenus varius_ is our greatest pest; it is an introduced species,
variable in size, the largest measuring about 1½ lines; it is almost
round, with the small head furnished with clubbed antennae tucked
down when at rest or disturbed; the ground colour is black, but it
is so thickly clothed with grey and brown pubescence that it has a
mottled buff appearance. Blackburn states that this is the species that
has been confounded with _A. museorum_, which he says is not found
in Australia. _A. nigricans_ is about the same size; black, with a
delicate fascia of fine white hairs which give it a very distinctive
character.
About 44 species of Dermestidae are recorded from Australia: Fabricius
and Linneaus described the earlier ones: Macleay others from Gayndah
1871. Reitter described more in several German publications: and
Blackburn all the later ones (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A. 1891).
Family 23. Pill Beetles.
BYRRHIDAE.
These are small beetles, found under stones. They take their popular
name from their rounded form, which is more noticeable from the fact
that their legs and antennae are retractile. Thirteen species are
described from this country.
_Microchaetes sphaericus_, described by Hope from W. Australia, is also
found in N.S. Wales; it is a small, rounded, black beetle, under 2
lines in length; is very rugose on the upper surface, which is covered
with tufts of brown scales which give it a curious roughened appearance
and a brown tint.
Family 24.
GEORYSSIDAE.
This family is a small obscure group. They are small beetles with
short clubbed antennae, inhabiting damp wet ground. Only a dozen are
described from all parts of the world, two of which are peculiar
to Australia. King described one from Parramatta under the name of
_Georyssus australis_: Macleay the second from Gayndah, Queensland.
Family 25.
PARNIDAE.
These are aquatic beetles living under stones or close to water; they
are thickly clothed with fine silky hairs like a waterproof coat; their
antennae are thickened, and sometimes very short. Six species were
described by King (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1864); and two others by
Messrs. Blackburn and Lea (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1894–95). Most of
these belong to the typical Genus _Elmis_, the members of which are
found clinging to stones under water.
[Illustration: Plate XVII.--COLEOPTERA.
Family LUCANIDAE.
9. _Lamprima latreillei_ (W. S. Macleay).
11. _Cladognathus arfakanus_ (Lansb.).
Family CETONIDAE.
4. _Trichaulax macleayi_ (Kratz).
7. _Eupoecila inscripta_ (Janson).
8. _Chlorobapta besti_ (Westwood).
10. _Diaphonia olliffiana_ (Janson).
Family RHIPIDOPHORIDAE.
2. _Pelecotomoides conicollis_ (Castelnau).
Family SCARABAEIDAE.
1. _Bolboceras proboscidium_ (Schreibers).
3. _Onthophagus australis_ (Guérin).
5. _Trox dohrni_ (Harold).
Family TENEBRIONIDAE.
6. _Zopherosis georgii_ (White).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XVII.--COLEOPTERA._]
Family 26.
HETEROCERIDAE.
This group contains a number of small beetles that are semi-aquatic
in their habits; these are also clothed with fine hairs, and have
short clubbed antennae with the two basal joints enlarged. They are
found burrowing in mud or wet sand close to water. Only seven species
are recorded from this country, most of them belonging to the Genus
_Heterocerus_; Westwood described two (Proc. Ent. Soc. London 1874):
Macleay another from Gayndah 1871: and Blackburn four others (Trans.
Roy. Soc. S.A. 1887–91).
Family 27. Stag Beetles.
LUCANIDAE.
This is the first group of the Lamellicorn beetles, which are defined
by the structure of their short antennae composed of 9–10 joints
ending in a three-jointed lamellated club. In the Stag Beetles the
antennae are ten-jointed, and in the typical forms have the mandibles,
especially in the males, produced in front of the eyes like horns.
Australia is rich in these beetles, both in number and beauty of form
and colouration. The chief writers upon them are Macleay (Proc. Linn.
Soc. N.S.W. 1885); and Westwood (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1885–63–71).
_Rhyssonotus nebulosus_ is a dark brown beetle mottled with black upon
the dorsal surface; the small narrow head is furnished with projecting
horns with several distinct points; the thorax is broad, curiously
divided into rounded areas interspersed with depressed punctured
patches; the body is rather short; the wing covers very indistinctly
ribbed and mottled with black. It measures slightly over 1 inch in
length, and has a wide range over N.S. Wales and Southern Queensland.
I have bred this beetle from the fleshy white grub of the usual
Lamellicorn Beetle type taken under rotten logs.
In the Genus _Lamprima_ we have 12 described species of our beautiful
“Gold Beetles,” which in the larval state live in rotten wood, from
which the beetles emerge and crawl up the twigs of the young gum
saplings; in favourable localities they can often be taken in great
numbers while mating. They are all rich metallic green, gold, blue,
or coppery in tint; the horns, projecting and turning up in front,
are clothed with fine hairs along the inner margin; the thorax is very
convex, rounded on the sides; the fore-legs very robust; the body not
twice the length of the thorax, and rounded at the apex. Many species
are so variable that it is probable that when carefully studied the
number of species will be much reduced.
_Lamprima latreillei_ is our commonest species; it measures 1¼ inches
in length; the head is rich coppery red, the rest metallic green; the
thorax deeply and coarsely punctured. It is however a very variable
species both in size and colouration; in a large series we can find
them all shades to metallic blue; with stout horns or long horns; and
ranging from the dimensions given to ½ an inch smaller.
_L. rutilans_ is the southern form found in Victoria: _M. insularis_
is only found in Lord Howe Island. _Phalacrognathus muelleri_, one of
the largest and most beautiful of all our beetles, was named by Macleay
after Baron von Mueller, from specimens obtained from Cairns, North
Queensland; it could be best described as a giant gold beetle, 2 inches
long; of a brilliant green and coppery red tint. The male has the horns
greatly produced in front of the head.
_Lissapterus howittanus_ measures nearly 1½ inches, and is broad in
proportion; the abdomen is shorter than the head and thorax combined;
the horns curve round in front and are thickened and serrate at the
base; the rugose head forms a ridge in front, fitting closely into the
punctured thorax. The female is about 1 inch in length; has the head
more flattened, and furnished with short, stout, toothed mandibles.
This curious beetle is peculiar to Victoria.
The Genus _Ceratognathus_ contains 7 species of our smallest Stag
Beetles, none of which measure ½ an inch; they are black or brown;
the mandibles of the male are produced into short curved horns with
a square flange on the outer basal margins. I obtained the larvae of
the species named after me by Blackburn in considerable numbers in the
outer bark of _Eucalyptus robusta_. The larva is a white, shining,
semitransparent grub with a slender abdomen; the pale brownish head is
round and slightly elongate, with stout three-toothed mandibles; with
long slender legs; and with the dorsal surface of the body clothed with
fine ferruginous spines interspersed with hairs.
_Figulus regularis_ is a small, shining, elongate black beetle
measuring slightly over ½ an inch; it has short angular mandibles,
finely punctured thorax, and striated elytra. It has a wide range over
Australia, and is very common under decaying logs.
The PASSALIDES are a group of what might be called flattened hornless
Stag Beetles (some of very large size), that are found under rotting
logs. _Aulacocyclus kaupi_, measuring 1¼ inches, is shining black; has
short curved mandibles in front; the head is excavated in the centre,
with a short, bent, finger-like horn curving forward above the hollow;
the thorax is broad; and the elytra ribbed. The larva is dull white,
long, slender, and somewhat cylindrical; it has a small head, and very
long legs furnished with sickle-shaped claws. When full grown, they
pupate in elongate, oval, smooth, brown cocoons of earth and woody
matter.
Kaup in 1871 published a Monograph of the _Passalidae_, in which many
of our species are described.
Family 28. Digger and Chafer Beetles.
SCARABAEIDAE.
The group contains an immense number of handsome beetles, among which
are some of the giants of the beetle world, though there are also
many tiny ones; most of them in the earlier stages of their lives are
thick, fleshy, white grubs that live in the ground or decaying woody
matter, and sometimes do a great deal of damage to the roots of grass
and cultivated crops. Though these beetles vary much in form and size,
they have the antennae always produced at the tip into a laminate or
pectinate club, which when expanded forms a comb or brush-like process.
Kirby divides this family into eleven sub-families; Westwood into ten;
while Sharp reduces them to five, which is quite sufficient for our
purpose.
The first comprise the COPRIDES, or true Dung-burying Beetles; they
feed upon animal droppings, boring vertical shafts beneath fresh dung,
and carrying portions several inches under ground; on this they not
only feed, but also deposit their eggs in rounded balls of the same
material. In the more tropical parts they are also attracted to dead
animals, which they feed on in the same manner. They have a shovel-like
rim round the front of the head, often ornamented above with spines or
horns both on the head and thorax, particularly in the male sex; and
their legs are admirably adapted for digging.
The Sacred Beetle, worshipped and carved on the monuments by the
ancient Egyptians, _Ateuchus sacer_, is typical of the group.
_Cephalodesmius armiger_ is a black beetle, about ⅓ of an inch in
length; it has a small head produced in front along the outer margin
into four spines or horns standing out straight in front, the two
middle ones longest; the thorax is finely punctured; and the wing
covers are slightly striated.
_Temnoplectron rotundum_, about the same length, is a shining black
beetle; the head is flattened and turned down; the whole of the dorsal
surface is smooth, and the wing covers are oval toward the apex.
The Genus _Onthophagus_ contains most of our typical Dung Beetles; over
60 species have been described, chiefly by Macleay, 1864–1887–1888, and
Harold 1869.
_Onthophagus pentacanthus_ is ¾ inch in length; the male has a large
slender horn rising up from the centre of the head; a curved shorter
one on either side; and a short two-pronged process in the centre of
the thorax, which is finely granulated above, and clothed with reddish
hairs on the under side.
_O. kershawi_ has the head armed with a similar horn but without the
side ones on the thorax; the central ones are longer and more slender
than those on the process of the previous species. _O. cuniculus_,
one of our commonest species, is only about ¼ inch long; the head and
thorax are bright metallic green; the central portion of the latter
is produced (in the male) into a conical point; the wing covers are
shining black and rugose. Another common species, _O. granulatus_,
is slightly smaller; it has the dorsal surface flattened; the head
and thorax dull metallic blue; and the wing covers are mottled, light
chocolate brown and finely granulated; the whole insect is covered with
short reddish hairs, lightest on the dorsal surface. _O. rufosignatus_,
which I once took in numbers busily engaged burying a dead wallaby in
N.W. Australia, is slightly over ¼ inch in length; it is black with the
centre of the thorax and sides of the elytra richly blotched with red.
The members of the Genus _Bolboceras_ are even more remarkable in
regard to the peculiar forms into which the head and thorax are
produced in many species; most of them are reddish brown, and thickly
clothed with coarse reddish hairs on the under surface. In structure
they are somewhat similar to the former species. They are commonly
taken at night flying to the lamp or camp fire.
_Bolboceras sloanei_ is a broad hemispherical beetle, just under 1
inch in length; the male has a great horn standing up in the middle
of the head, and a shorter one on either side of the thorax, with an
excavation above and below them; the female is about the same size
without any appendages, and the front of the thorax is hollowed out
and the hind portion very rugose. _B. proboscidium_ is common in the
southern districts; it is smaller than the last species; of a darker
reddish tint. The male has the front of the head produced into a
lance-shaped process, standing out straight; this tapers toward the
tip, which turns down like a hook, and has a short blunt spine on the
upper surface. The female has a small truncate head, quite unlike the
male. About 30 species were described in Masters’ Catalogue; Blackburn
in his Monograph of the group lists 43 species (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.
1904).
[Illustration: =Fig. 66.=--_Phyllotocus macleayi_
(Fischer).
The Honey Beetle, common on flowers in summer time.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Members of the Genus _Trox_ feed chiefly on decaying animal matter,
and are to be found under dead animals, and a few in caves among the
accumulated dung of bats; they are curious dull brown insects, convex
and rounded on the upper surface; the head is so small and retractile
that it appears to be wanting. _Trox dohrni_, from Central Australia,
one of our largest species, is just under 1 inch; is almost black,
covered with a regular armour plate of shining black bosses and ridges
all over the dorsal surface. _T. australasiae_, our common species, is
about half the length, and is dull brown, with the bosses on the elytra
more regular and ridged.
* * * * *
The MELOLONTHIDES are mostly small beetles with the tip of the abdomen
not always covered; they feed chiefly upon the foliage of plants.
The Genus _Phyllotocus_ contains about 27 described species of small
reddish brown beetles with long black or yellow legs: some species are
very abundant about Sydney, swarming over the flowers of native scrubs;
they even come to the garden plants to feed upon the honey.
[Illustration: =Fig. 67.=--_Diphucephala aurulenta_
(Kirby).
The Metallic Green Wattle Beetle. In Tasmania it damages
young apples by eating off the skin.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Phyllotocus macleayi_ has even been found swarming round bee-hives,
probably attracted by the smell of the honey. It is a smooth, shining,
yellowish brown beetle about ⅓ of an inch in length, with the apical
portion of the wing covers blackened. _P. marginatus_ is smaller than
the last, and of the usual dull reddish colour; the head, centre of
thorax, and stripe down the centre of the wing covers black; the whole
lightly clothed with fine hairs. _Diphucephala aurulenta_, typical
of another group of bright, metallic coloured, broad bodied beetles,
measures ¼ of an inch in length, and has the dorsal surface of a rich
reddish-copper tint, thickly and coarsely punctured; the under surface
and legs are deep green, clothed with fine grey hairs. It is common
upon the foliage of the black wattle about Sydney. _D. rufipes_, a
smaller beetle, is coppery green with reddish legs; is not uncommon
about Sydney. _D. colaspidoides_, a southern species, is metallic
green; the thorax smooth; the elytra deeply and thickly marked with
punctured striae. _Maechidius tibialis_, representing another group,
is a flattened, reddish brown beetle over ⅓ of an inch; the head is
produced into two shell-like flanges in front of the eyes; the thorax
is finely punctured; and the elytra ribbed, with closely punctured
striae. I have found both the beetle and its larva, a soft white grub,
in numbers in the open galleries of the termitaria built by our common
White Ant (_Termes lacteus_) in the Shoalhaven district, N.S.W., where
they seemed to live in harmony with the swarms of White Ants.
_Xylonychus eucalypti_ is a large cockchafer-like beetle about 1 inch
long; it is of a delicate pale grass-green colour; its under surface
and legs darker and thickly clothed with fine hairs. This beetle feeds
about Sydney upon the foliage of the Swamp Mahogany (_Eucalyptus
robusta_), and is not uncommon in early summer. The members of the
Genus _Liparetrus_ are small, dark reddish brown, or almost black
beetles, often thickly clothed with fine hairs; the wing covers are
generally shorter than the abdomen. Many species swarm over the tops of
the young gum trees devouring the foliage. Nearly 100 species of this
extensive group have been described from Australia, chiefly by Macleay
and Blackburn (Proc. Linn. Soc. of N.S. Wales, 1886–1888).
_Liparetrus marginipennis_, common about Sydney, is black; it measures
under ⅓ of an inch; the elytra, except the basal edges, are dark
reddish brown; the whole insect is thickly clothed with light brown
hairs that form a fringe round it. _L. hispidus_ is a smaller dark
brown beetle, thickly clothed with dull yellow hairs.
_Lepidoderma albo-hirtum_ is a large cockchafer; it measures 1¼ inches;
all the dorsal surface of the head and thorax and both dorsal and
ventral portions of abdomen are reddish brown; ventral surface of head,
thorax and legs black. The whole of the upper and portion of the under
surface are so thickly clothed with fine pale scales that it has a
uniform grey tint. The larva, a large white grub, is a well-known pest
to the Queensland sugar planters, for it eats off the roots of the
growing cane; they are so numerous in some districts that as much as a
shilling a pint is paid for these sugar cane grubs.
* * * * *
The RUTELIDES comprise a number of large beetles, popularly called
Cockchafers; some species swarm out in immense numbers, stripping the
foliage off the native bush and sometimes attacking the shade-trees
in the gardens. Most of their larvae are large, white, subterranean
grubs, either feeding on roots of grass and plants, or living in or
under decaying logs. Dr. Ohaus has just published a “Revision des
Anoplognathides” 1904, in which he describes 72 species included in
13 genera. _Repsimus aeneus_ has a dark blue to coppery tint; the tip
of the abdomen is reddish, and the hind legs are thickened. They are
found clinging to low bushes, and are common about Sydney.
[Illustration: =Figs. 68.= and =69=.--Life History
of the Shining Cockchafer.
68. _Anoplognathus porosus_ (Dalm). 69. Larva. 69a. Pupa.]
_Calloodes grayanus_ is a very handsome bright green beetle with the
outer margins of the thorax and wing covers edged with yellow; it
measures 1¼ inches long; is found in Queensland, but seldom in numbers.
The two beautiful, little, metallic gold coloured species placed by
Macleay in this genus have been removed by Ohaus into _Anoplognathus_,
which now contains 41 species. Among these are our large reddish brown
cockchafers. _A. viridaeneus_, the “King-beetle,” is our largest
cockchafer; it measures 1½ inches and is broad in proportion; has
a general bright metallic reddish golden sheen; and the tip of the
abdomen is deep green. It is usually found clinging to the foliage of
the smaller gum trees in early summer. _A. velutinus_ takes its name
from the velvety patches of curious little white scales scattered
all over its dull brown coat; it is found about Sydney, but is not
plentiful.
[Illustration: =Fig. 70.=--_Pentodon australis_
(Blackburn).
The larva and adult feed upon grass roots and sometimes
damage growing corn.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_A. porosus_ is a light brown beetle; the wing covers are marked with
tiny dark spots that form irregular, short, parallel lines; the head
and thorax are shining; it is ¾ of an inch in length. It, and _A.
analis_, a large reddish shining beetle furnished with a tuft of hairs
at the tip of the abdomen, are two of our commonest species; their
larvae have been found destroying strawberry plants by eating off their
roots; and they are frequently met with when digging over the garden in
early summer.
_Anoplostethus opalinus_, just under 1 inch in length, is a very
beautiful pale opaline green beetle, and is peculiar to Western
Australia.
[Illustration: =Figs. 71= and =72=.--Life History
of the Queensland “Elephant Beetle.”
71. _Xylotrupes australicus_ (Thorn), Larva. 72.
_Xylotrupes australicus_, Male Beetle.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
* * * * *
The DYNASTIDES contain the giants of the family, and in several genera
the males have the head and thorax greatly enlarged and produced into
blunt spines and horns; while the female has them of the usual rounded
form. _Oryctes barbarossa_ is one of our largest black lamellicorns; it
comes from N. Australia. _Pentadon australis_ is a shining black beetle
about ¾ of an inch in length, which has been found damaging young
maize plants about Sydney. The Queensland Elephant Beetle, _Xylotrupes
australicus_, in the larval state feeds upon decaying vegetable matter,
from which the beetles emerge and climb up the first tree to hand, and
upon which they cling during the day, but come buzzing round to the
lamps at night. The male measures 2 inches in length; is of a uniform
black colour; the head curves out in front into a double-pronged horn;
and the front of the thorax is produced into a second swollen one
curving downward over the horns on the head, arcuate and toothed on
either side of the tip. The female as usual in this group is smaller,
and the head and thorax are of the ordinary rounded structure.
* * * * *
The CETONIDES comprise the beautiful “Rose Chafers,” with their
shorter, broader, flattened bodies, small heads, and the angular thorax
broadest behind. Australia is rich in these flower-haunting beetles,
and some species are very abundant in the summer months. A great number
were at one time placed in the Genus _Schizorrhina_, but in 1880 Kraatz
in a paper on the revision of the family (Deutsche Ent. Zeit. xxiv.)
divided them into a great many new genera, in some cases with very
little reason.
[Illustration: =Fig. 73.=--_Merimna atrata_ (Lap.
et Gory).
A Buprestid Beetle that has the curious habit of flying into
the fire.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The members of the Genus _Lomaptera_ are chiefly found in the more
tropical parts of this continent, and are easily distinguished from
the other groups by the shape of the thorax, the hind margin produced
into an angular wedge into the centre of the elytra; while in the other
typical Rose Chafers the thorax is truncate, and a wedge-shaped piece
separated from the thorax occupies the centre of the back. _Lomaptera
wallacei_ is of the usual flattened form; uniform rich shining green;
and measures just an inch in length. It is found upon flowers in the
tropical scrubs of North Queensland. _L. duboulayi_, about the same
size, is of a duller green tint, with the outer margin of the head,
thorax, elytra and under-surface dull yellow: _L. cinnamea_, slightly
smaller, is of a uniform shining reddish brown colour.
_Dilochrosis atripennis_ is one of our largest typical cetonids; it
measures over 1½ inches in length and is broad in proportion; it is
shining black, with the sides of the thorax and elytra, except a stripe
down the centre (broadest in front), rich reddish brown. It is not
uncommon about Cairns, N. Queensland, and ranges down, according to
Masters, to the extreme north of N.S. Wales. The Fiddler, _Eupoecila
australasiae_, about ¾ of an inch in length, is black and reddish
brown, marked upon the thorax and elytra with green stripes, forming
a fanciful resemblance to a lyre upon the back, from which it takes
its popular name. The larvae of this and the following species, (thick
fleshy white grubs) feed in the rotting trunks of dead grass trees,
forming stout oval cocoons in the larval stage; and the beetles are
very abundant upon the Angophora flowers in the early summer.
[Illustration: =Fig. 74.=--_Cisseis leucosticta_
(Kirby).
A Leaf-eating Flower Beetle, common on the Black Wattle.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Micropoecila cincta_ is another common species about Sydney; is
slightly smaller; of a general black colour, the outer edges of the
thorax and wing covers broadly margined with reddish yellow; and its
life history and habits are identical with the “Fiddler.”
_Polystigma punctata_ is one of our smaller common species; is of a
dull yellow colour irregularly but finely spotted all over the upper
surface with black dots. A second species, described under the name of
_P. octopunctata_, is I think only a variety; my specimens all come
from the Shoalhaven, N.S.W. _Cacochroa gymnopleura_, about the same
size, is black, rather downy on the under surface; and is remarkable
for having a variety as common as itself, with reddish brown thorax and
elytra.
The members of the Genus _Trichaulax_ are remarkable for having
the elytra deeply furrowed, and these depressions filled with
close short hairs. They are all large fine beetles over an inch in
length; _Trichaulax philipsii_, taken about Sydney on the flowers
of the blood-wood late in the summer, is marked with grey hairs. _T.
marginipennis_ is common to N.S. Wales and Queensland; it has bright
reddish hairs completely clothing the tips of the wing covers and
abdomen.
_Diaphonia dorsalis_ is a large common species, of a general black
colour, with the upper surface of the thorax and elytra yellowish brown
variably marked with black in the centre. It often comes flying about
the garden with a loud hum, and even sometimes comes in through the
open window.
_D. olliffiana_ is a very rare species about the same size, with the
upper surface reddish brown and the wing covers irregularly marked with
black blotches. All the specimens known, about half a dozen in number,
come from the same locality, Colo Vale, N.S.W., and nothing is known
about their habits. _Glycyphana brunnipes_ is common on the flowering
scrub about Sydney, and has a wide range round the coast of Australia;
it measures about ⅓ of an inch, and varies from dull brown to green in
colour, irregularly spotted and marked.
Family 29. Jewel Beetles.
BUPRESTIDAE.
This is one of our largest and most typical groups of the Coleoptera,
containing a great number of large beetles rich with metallic tints,
chiefly found upon flowering shrubs, and most plentiful on the coastal
districts of Victoria, New South Wales, and West Australia. They are
elongate in form, with the head short, fitting closely into the broader
thorax, and furnished with large eyes and slender, slightly serrate
antennae. The abdomen is long with closely fitting wing covers, and
well-developed wings which enable them to fly well, though they usually
drop to the ground when disturbed. The larva is a slender flattened
white grub with small black jaws and head; the thoracic segments are
very broad behind and rounded to the much narrower abdominal segments.
They are wood borers, feeding in the sapwood under the bark, and
finally burrowing into the solid timber where they pupate; some of the
smaller ones feed in dead wood; and a few form regular galls upon the
roots or branchlets of shrubs.
[Illustration: Plate XVIII.--COLEOPTERA.
Family BUPRESTIDAE.
1. _Stigmodera fortnumi_ (Hope).
2. _Stigmodera macularia_ (Donov.).
3. _Stigmodera pascoci_ (Saunders).
4. _Stigmodera thoracica_ (Saunders).
5. _Cyria imperialis_ (Donov.).
6. _Stigmodera variabilis_ (Donov.).
7. _Calodema regalis_ (Lap. et Gory).
8. _Chalcophora vittata_ (Waterhouse).
9. _Julodimorpha bakewelli_ (White).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XVIII.--COLEOPTERA._]
The Banksia beetle, _Cyria imperialis_, has a wide range and is common
about Sydney upon the foliage of the stunted honeysuckle bushes
(_Banksia_); the larvae feed in the stems. It measures 1½ inches in
length; is of a uniform shining black colour, richly marked on
the upper surface with bright yellow forming four irregular bands
across the elytra, and the under surface is lightly clothed with grey
hairs. The Genus _Diadoxus_ contains two very distinct species, the
larvae of which feed chiefly on the stems of our native cypress pines,
and sometimes attack and destroy introduced pine trees. _Diadoxus
scalaris_, very variable in size, measuring from ¾ to 1¼ inches, is
a slender pale yellow beetle, with the hind margin of the head and
thorax marked with black, and the wing covers so thickly mottled with
reddish brown that the yellow only forms a row of blotches down the
back. It has a wide range from N.S. Wales to West Australia. _Diadoxus
erythrurus_ known in the west as the “pine scrub beetle,” is a much
smaller insect slightly over ½ an inch; the head and thorax are almost
black; the wing covers are dark, the basal portion has a double blotch
of yellow on each side followed by a row on either side of three spots;
the under surface has a greenish tint when alive. The larvae of this
species first feed round the stem under the bark, cutting the sap wood,
and where the infested tree is small, cause it to snap off.
The large rich metallic green or coppery _Chalcophora_ are more
tropical beetles, the largest of which are restricted to Queensland and
North Australia; Masters lists 24 species in his catalogue, chiefly
described by Saunders (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1872), and Waterhouse in
the same Journal three years later.
_Chalcophora vittata_ measures nearly 1¾ inches in length, and is broad
in proportion; its general colour is deep metallic green, with the head
and thorax shaded with rich coppery tints; the elytra are finely ribbed
and are powdered with a yellow pubescence lining the parallel striae,
and also forming two spots on the sides. _Chalcophora farinosa_ is a
smaller and more slender species with a narrow thorax, and pointed wing
covers; in the neighbourhood of Cairns, N.Q., I used to take them in
the early morning resting on the wild banana leaves.
_Nascio parryi_ is a small black beetle with a long thorax of a
uniform width; the wing covers are short in proportion, and curiously
marked with reddish orange. It is generally found upon the foliage of
eucalypts, but nothing is known about its life history. The members
of the Genus _Melobasis_, of which about 30 have been described, are
small, brilliantly coloured metallic green and gold beetles. _Melobasis
splendida_, not much over ¼ of an inch in length, is bright green, the
thorax and elytra marbled with dull purple. The larvae feed in the dead
branches of _Acacia longifolia_.
_Julodimorpha bakewelli_ is found in South and Western Australia; it is
a large handsome beetle with a deep coppery red thorax and deep yellow
wing covers. It is elongate, but more cylindrical in form than the
_Stigmodera_.
The typical Australian Genus _Stigmodera_ contains about 240 described
species which are found in open scrubby country where flowering shrubs
are abundant; the extensive scrubs round Sydney, and similar class of
country on the west coast of the continent are the head quarters of
most of the larger species. _Stigmodera tibialis_ measures 2 inches in
length, and is broad in proportion; the head, thorax and under surface
black, with the wing covers reddish chestnut with two irregular bands
of dull orange yellow across the apical half. _S. heros_ is half an
inch longer, one of the giants of the group; it has the under surface
dark bronzy brown, the dorsal surface deep dull red; the thorax finely
punctured, and the elytra coarsely striated. Both these beetles range
from South to Western Australia. _S. pascoei_ is a handsome rare
species from Western Australia, measuring under 1 inches in length; it
is of a rich yellow tint with the upper surface of the head, thorax,
and legs rich metallic coppery red, and the apical third of the finely
striated elytra black with a fiery red sheen. _S. thoracica_, slightly
smaller, is black on the under surface except the sides of the thorax
and tip of abdomen; the dorsal surface is yellow, except the head, a
band through the centre of the thorax, and the tip of the wing covers
which are bluish black. _S. fortnumi_ is one of the few large species
found in the interior; it measures 1¾ inches in length, and is broad
in proportion; the under surface is rich metallic green marked with
yellow; the upper surface yellow with the greater part of the thorax
and three broad bands across the elytra deep metallic blue.
_Stigmodera grandis_ sometimes measures 2 inches, and is the largest
species found about Sydney; its general colour is dark bronzy brown
with the outer edges of the thorax and elytra margined with yellow.
The common jewel beetle, _Stigmodera variabilis_, is very abundant
when the _Angophora_ is in bloom; its general colour on the under
surface, head and thorax is bronzy black, with the edge of the latter
and the wing covers bright yellow; the markings upon the latter are
most variable; specimens are sometimes thickly barred with black,
others without a spot upon them, so that it is difficult to get two
alike. _S. macularia_ is purple to black, with the wing covers bright
yellow deeply pitted all over with purple dots. _S. jacquinoti_ might
be easily mistaken for the last, which it resembles both in size and
markings, but the tips of the wing covers are produced into sharp
spines; and the markings are coarser; it is a much rarer beetle than
the former, which is one of the commonest large species. _S. gratiosa_
is the type of a group from W. Australia, all of a rich metallic green
tint with deeply punctured wing covers; it has the head and thorax
bronzy green and very finely punctured, with the elytra green and very
coarsely punctured; its length is about ½ an inch, and it is short and
broad in proportion. This brilliant little beetle is plentiful in some
districts, and specimens set in gold are often used for earrings and
brooches, for which its solid integument makes it adaptable.
_Calodema regalis_ from the scrubs of Southern Queensland and the
extreme north of N.S. Wales, is possibly our most beautiful beetle in
shape, size, and colour. Measuring nearly 2 inches in length and broad
in proportion, the whole of the under surface, head and thorax are
rich metallic green, with two conspicuous blotches of dark red on the
dorsal surface of the thorax; the wing covers are bright yellow, almost
smooth, slightly spined at the tips, with a very fine pencil of green
down the sides of the inner edges.
The members of the Genera _Ethon_ and _Paracephala_ form galls; the
first are short, thickset beetles of a dull coppery tint, with wavy
markings on the wing covers. _Ethon corpulentus_ and _E. marmoreum_
make rounded galls upon the roots of _Dillwynia cricifolia_, sometimes
as many as twenty on one plant clustering round the base of the stem.
_E. affinis_ forms galls upon the stems of _Pultenea stipularis_.
_Paracephala cyaneipennis_ forms galls on the branches of the stunted
Casuarina (_C. distyla_), growing about Sydney. It is a slender dull
metallic green beetle about ⅓ of an inch in length. The Genus _Cisseis_
contains a number of very pretty little metallic tinted beetles, the
larvae of which feed in the wood of _Acacias_ and other small shrubs,
and the perfect beetles feed upon the foliage. _Cisseis 12-maculata_, a
pretty deep blue-black beetle covered with large white spots, is found
on the grass tree; _C. leucosticta_, _C. similis_, and _C. maculata_
upon the black wattle.
Family 30. False Click Beetles.
EUCNEMIDAE.
The beetles in this group form a sort of connecting link between the
Flower Beetles and the Clicks: many of them are very like the latter,
but they cannot jump; they have a large terminal joint in the palpus,
and the antennae when resting are hidden in the grooves along the under
side of the thorax.
Sixteen species are listed in Masters’ Catalogue, all of which, with
one exception, are described in Bonvouloir’s Monograph of the family
(Annals of the Soc. Entom. France 1871–7).
Family 31. Click Beetles.
ELATERIDAE.
These beetles are found in many different situations, upon flowers,
hidden under bark, or in cracks on the tree trunks. They are well
known from their habit of flying in to the lamp at night, and falling
on their backs go skipping all over the table. They are elongate in
form, with slender serrate antennae, and a small head deeply sunk into
the thorax, which is rounded in front, truncate on the hind margin and
with a slight spine on the edge; while on the under side the thorax is
furnished with a process that fits into a groove in the first segment
of the abdomen, which enables it to get enough leverage, by pressing
the head down when on its back, to jump a considerable distance upward.
The larvae are slender, cylindrical, shining brown grubs popularly
known as “Wire Worms,” and some European species are said to do
considerable damage by eating off the roots of grass and crops.
About 350 species have been described from Australia, most of them
dull brown or black in colour, though a few are brightly tinted or
marked. _Agrypnus mastersi_ measures 1 inch, and is of a uniform brown
colour clothed with fine buff down; it ranges from Queensland to
Western Australia. The Genus _Lacon_ contains a great number of short,
broad, dull brown clicks usually found under bark or stones. _Lacon
caliginosus_, half an inch in length, is dull brown; it ranges from
Tasmania to Queensland. _Alaus gibboni_ comes from the Richmond River;
it measures 1¾ inches, and is broad in proportion; its true colour is
black, but it is so thickly clothed with fine short grey down that it
is almost a dull white. _A. sericeus_ is a smaller beetle clothed with
an admixture of buff and chocolate down; I have found them pupating
in decaying bark on dead trees on the Richmond River. _Tetralobus
cunninghami_ is typical of a group of the large cylindrical “clicks,”
in which the male has feather-like antennae, and the thorax is rounded.
It is 1½ inches long, dark brown, with the under surface of the thorax
clothed with reddish hairs. These large clicks are generally found
in the interior on the trunks of trees. The Genus _Monocrepidius_
contains a number of slender black or brown insects usually living on
flowers or foliage. _Ophidius histrio_, 1 inch long, is black, richly
marked with dark yellow lines forming four parallel bars down the
thorax, and a more irregular lance-shaped pattern on the wing covers;
this is another fine species from the Northern Rivers, N.S.W. _Anilicus
semiflavus_ is found on the Angophora flowers about Sydney; it is ½ an
inch long, black, with the basal half of the elytra bright red.
Family 32. Feather Horns.
RHIPIDOCERIDAE.
This is not a big family; the species are confined to the warmer parts
of the world, and are chiefly distinguished by the peculiar structure
between the tarsal claws, and the beautiful feathery antennae of the
males. _Rhipidocera mystacina_, our typical form, is ¾ of an inch
in length, elongate in form, with narrow sloping thorax and large
feather-like antennae; the general colour is black, with the sides of
the thorax and whole of the wing covers thickly spotted with white
downy dots. I have often taken this insect in numbers in the North-West
of Victoria.
Family 33. Fire-Fly Beetles.
MALACODERMIDAE.
The members of this family have a softer integument than most beetles.
They do not all emit light; the true “fire-flies” and “glow-worms”
belong to the sub-family LAMPYRIDES.
The Genus _Metriorrhynchus_ contains about 50 small, elongate,
flattened beetles of a dull red colour marked with black; the wing
covers are deeply ribbed but soft and flabby. The larvae are curious,
smoky black creatures with blunt spines along the sides of the body,
and live under stones or logs. _M. rufipennis_, one of the largest, is
¾ of an inch in length; the head and thorax are black and roughened;
the wing covers are light red, deeply ribbed and reticulated:
Waterhouse figured and described many of these (Trans. Entom. Soc.
1877). Our true fire-flies belong to the Genera _Luciola_ and
_Atyphella_. On these Olliff has written an interesting paper entitled
“New Species of Lampyridae with notes on the Mount Wilson Fire-fly”
(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1889). Our fire-flies are small, light brown
beetles, which during the day cling to the foliage, flying about at
night, emitting a bright flash of phosphorescent light from the tip of
the abdomen as they move their wings. Several species are found on the
Blue Mountains and in the tropical scrubs of North Queensland; they are
very brilliant after night-fall: _Luciola flavicollis_, ¾ of an inch,
is our common species. The Soldier Beetles, chiefly belonging to the
Genera _Telephorus_ and _Selenurus_, are common upon low bushes and
flowering shrubs. _Telephorus pulchellus_, ½ an inch in length, is a
slender, dull orange coloured beetle; the dorsal surface is shining
blue black except the apical half of the thorax, which is bright
yellow. This beetle sometimes appears in great numbers; I have seen the
Melaleuca scrub on the Blue Mountains black with them.
Family 34. Hunting Beetles.
CLERIDAE.
There are many handsome little beetles in this family which spend their
time hunting over logs, tree trunks, or in flowers to catch smaller
insects which they devour; most of them lay their eggs in the bodies
of the pupae of wood moths and other insects. A freshly fallen tree is
a good locality to look for Clerids, as they find many small beetles
attracted by the withering bark: in Europe the larvae of several groups
infest the nests of wild bees.
_Natalis porcata_, 1 inch in length, is black covered with a whitish
down, and is found under the dead bark on tree trunks; it is probably
parasitic upon the grubs of longicorn beetles (_Phoracantha_).
_Cleromorpha novemguttatus_ measures only ⅕ of an inch; it is rich
metallic blue, lightly clothed with black hairs, and the elytra spotted
on either side with white dots: it is common in the flowers of the
_Angophora_ in early summer. The Genus _Aulicus_ contains a number of
bright metallic green or blue beetles which live on flowering shrubs;
about 20 species are described, chiefly by Cheverolet (Memoirs of the
Cleridae 1878). _Aulicus instabilis_, one of the smallest, is only ¼ of
an inch in length; it has a wide range over Australia. _Trogodendron
fasciculatum_ is another widely distributed species, and may be often
seen flying about in the height of summer; if captured it bites most
viciously. I have on several occasions pulled its body off, leaving
the head with the jaws buried in my finger: it is parasitic on the
pupae of our large wood moths. It is variable in size, about 1 inch in
length, thickset and broad in proportion; is dark brown, with bright
yellow antennae, and broad black fasciae at the base and apical half
of the elytra. _Zenithicola obesus_, ⅓ of an inch in length, is like
the last in general form, but with dull yellow thorax and shining black
elytra marked with white: _Z. australis_, a slightly larger species,
has a black thorax. The members of the Genus _Eleale_ are elongate,
dark metallic green or blue beetles clothed with fine hairs and deeply
punctured wing covers; they also live among flowers. _Tarsostenus
zonatus_ is typical of the small, slender, cylindrical clerids that
infest the gall-making coccids, and are often bred from these galls.
It has a bright reddish brown head and thorax, and green wing covers
barred across the centre with white. _Lemidia hilaris_, ⅙ of an inch
long, is a short broad beetle of a shining black tint, with the basal
half of the elytra red. The Red-legged Ham Beetle, _Necrobia rufipes_,
an introduced species, is found all over the world. In the interior it
swarms under dead animals, feeding upon fresh bones; and is also often
found about cheese and other preserved foods in the pantry.
Family 35. Anobiums.
PTINIDAE.
These beetles are small insects, with the head hidden under the
thorax; they have filiform, pectinate or slightly clubbed antennae;
and several species are world wide in their range, for as they live
in all kinds of dried food stuffs they are easily introduced into new
countries. _Gibbium scotius_ is a curious little beetle hardly over
¹⁄₁₂ of an inch in length, with a bright shining brown body, and the
legs and antennae covered with yellow scales; it feeds upon feathers,
and is often found in birds’ nests. _Anobium paniceum_ is known as the
“Biscuit Weevil,” but feeds upon all kinds of things; I have found
it in boots, seeds, drugs, botanical specimens, and it is said to
have been found burrowing through sheet lead. The Cigarette Beetle,
_Lasioderma serricorne_, is another little brown beetle common in
Sydney in waste tobacco. Olliff has described a number of Australian
species (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1886); and Westwood others (Ent. Soc.
1869), among which are several members of the Genus _Ectrephes_, which
live in ants’ nests.
[Illustration: =Fig. 75.=--_Sitodrepa (Anobium)
panicea_ (Fabr.).
The omniverous drug-store beetle (Introduced).
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Family 36. Powderpost Beetles.
CIOIDAE.
[Illustration: =Fig. 76.=--_Lyctus brunneus_
(Douglas).
The Beetle so destructive to Rattan furniture.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Though small in size and number of species, these are very important
beetles on account of the damage they do to rattan furniture and
sapwood in unseasoned timber. _Lyctus brunneus_, a small elongated,
reddish brown beetle about ⅙ of an inch in length, lives and breeds in
wood, and is only too common about Sydney. A second species has been
described from South Australia by Blackburn.
Family 37. Auger Beetles.
BOSTRYCHIDAE.
[Illustration: =Fig. 77.=--_Bostrychopsis jesuita_
(Fabr.).
The Auger Beetle which attacks dead or dying trees. Orange
tree stem in which a number have been feeding.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
These beetles are easily recognised by their curious cowled thorax,
with the head turned down beneath, and the last 3 joints of the
antennae forming a well-defined club; the body is long and cylindrical,
adapted for burrowing in dead wood. Specimens of these beetles
can generally be found upon fallen trees or freshly-cut timber.
_Bostrychopsis jesuita_, one of the largest of the group, about ½
an inch in length, is black, cylindrical, with the rounded thorax
rugose in front, and the tip of the wing covers truncate. _Bostrychus
gibbicollis_, about ⅓ of an inch, is dark reddish brown, with a spined
thorax and the tips of the wing covers produced into blunt teeth.
_B. cylindricus_, about the same size and similar colour, has elytra
furnished with three curled spines on each side. It has been found
damaging wine casks. In the Genera _Apate_ and _Rhizopertha_, also
found in dead timber, we have a typical form in _Apate collaris_,
measuring ¼ of an inch in length, with a dull yellow thorax, dark brown
wing covers spined at the tips.
[Illustration: =Fig. 78.=--_Bostrychus cylindricus_
(Macleay).
The Wine-cask borer.
(“Agricultural Gazette.” N.S.W.)]
Family 38. Mealworm Beetles.
TENEBRIONIDAE.
This is a very large family of beetles, generally dull brown or black
in colour, but varying much in shape; many of the more typical forms
are found under logs and stones, and might easily be mistaken at first
sight for carnivorous carab beetles until the mouth parts and head are
noticed. They have somewhat thickened antennae placed on the sides of
the head; some have wings, others are wingless; most of them are slow,
heavy beetles, very easily captured. The larvae are usually slender
shining cylindrical brown worm-like creatures living in rotten wood, of
which the introduced Mealworm is a typical example. Our species have
been described by a great many English and foreign writers, chief among
which are Pascoe, in the Journal of Entomology 1869, and Annals of
Natural History 1869–80; Hope in the Transactions of the Entomological
Society of London 1842–48; Bates in the same journal 1873; and later
on in the Proceedings of the Australian Societies by Macleay and
Blackburn. Carter has within this last year described a number of new
species (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1905–6).
The Ironbark Beetle, _Zopherosis georgii_, is found in the northern
scrubs of N.S. Wales, generally climbing on tree trunks; it is an
elongated, flattened, dull brown beetle, slightly over 1 inch in
length; the antennae thickened, and the whole of the upper surface
covered with rounded irregular knobs; it is not unlike a caricature of
a large click beetle.
The members of the Genus _Pterohelaeus_ are smooth, shining,
tortoise-shaped black beetles, found under dead bark on the trunks of
trees. _P. piceus_, common in S. Australia and N.S. Wales, is just
under 1 inch in length, but broad in proportion.
[Illustration: =Fig. 79.=--_Helaeus subserratus_
(Blackburn).
The Tortoise Beetle.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Helaeus subserratus_, from Western Australia, is typical of a very
curious group not only wingless, but having the elytra and abdominal
segments soldered together into a broad flattened box with a wide thin
flange running right round, continued round the thorax, and overlapping
in front of the head, which latter is turned down and is thus situated
in a regular frame; this one is dark brown, with the outer flange
lighter coloured; it measures 1⅓ inches in length, and is broad and
rounded in form. These beetles are usually found in the driest parts
of the interior, where they live under stones or logs among the dust,
and in spite of their size, remain so motionless that they can be very
easily overlooked.
_Saragus floccosus_, found on tree trunks in the north of N.S.W., is
a smaller tortoise-shaped insect, under ¾ of an inch; is convex and
keeled down the centre of the thorax; and the elytra have a more
narrow flange running right round but curving in and rounded on either
side of the head. When alive, it has the whole of the upper surface
covered with loose flocculent matter like soft sawdust, evidently
as a protective covering, but this is easily brushed off when dead.
_Hypaulax tenuistriata_ is one of the common large black beetles found
under dead bark; it measures about 1 inch in length; the head is small,
projecting; the thorax broad, rounded, shining; and the broad wing
covers are distinctly ribbed with punctured striae.
_Chartopteryx childreni_ is one of our most remarkable and rare
species; it is 1 inch long; the only specimen I have seen alive,
I caught alighting on a tree trunk at Mosman, near Sydney; it is
elongate, broad, oval in form, with the head and thorax turned down,
and the convex, shining, black elytra deeply punctured and clothed with
dull yellow moss-like material; the head and thorax are ornamented
with fine white hairs, forming an elongated mark on either side of the
latter and two parallel lines down the centre of the head and thorax.
_Blepegenes aruspex_ is a shining coppery black coloured beetle
measuring ¾ of an inch; it is slender in form, remarkably like a carab,
with a small thorax that is produced into a spine on either side; the
elytra are deeply ribbed; it is found under logs in the Illawarra
district, N.S.W.
_Cardiothorax howitti_ is also found under logs; it is an elongate
beetle, black with a dull purple tint on the thorax, which is flattened
and almost round, a regular rim running round the margin; it is arcuate
behind the head, and produced into a spine on the hind margins; the
wing covers are elongated to the apex, and ribbed. The members of the
extensive Genus _Adelium_ are found under logs; some species are quite
common, clustering together in considerable numbers; they are all black
or coppery tinted. These beetles are about ¾ of an inch in length; the
thorax is roughened, and the wing covers more or less striated.
The Genus _Chalcopterus_, which now includes most of those described
as _Amarygmus_, are black or brightly metallic coloured beetles; the
head and thorax are small and curve downward; the wing covers are
large, convex, and pointed at the tips. They are found crawling about
on tree trunks, or hidden under dead bark, and give out a very pungent
offensive odour when handled. _Chalcopterus variabilis_ measures ½ an
inch in length; its head and thorax are black, the elytra rich coppery
red, and it is common about the Sydney scrubs.
The common Mealworm, _Tenebrio molitor_, has a world-wide range; it
was introduced into Australia at a very early date, and not long ago
a packet of seeds imported from England was found on examination by
one of the inspectors of the Agricultural Department N.S.W. to be full
of the shining wireworm-like larvae of these beetles. It is a common
beetle in stables and produce stores.
Family 39.
CISTELIDAE.
These are delicate, elongate, long-legged beetles, with weak
integument, and are closely allied to the TENEBRIONIDAE, only differing
from them in having comb-like or pectinate claws on the tarsi; and
their larvae are like wireworms. The Genus _Atractus_ comprises a
number of slender beetles of bright metallic tints common upon the
flowering shrubs in summer; _Atractus viridis_, ½ an inch in length,
is bright metallic green, with the thorax and shoulders tinted with
coppery red, the wing covers deeply marked with punctured striae. _A.
virescens_ is a smaller species with a more dull metallic coppery
tint. The members of the Genus _Allecula_ are larger beetles, with
long slender legs and antennae, shining brown or black in colour,
with finely striated elytra; the larvae are slender, dark, shining
brown wireworms living in decaying wood. _Allecula subsulcata_ is
slightly over ½ an inch in length, of a uniform black colour, with the
last three joints of the antennae and the last two of the tarsi pale
ferruginous. The larvae breed in the rotten stems of dead grass trees,
and the beetles are generally found hiding among the foliage.
Family 40.
LAGRIIDAE.
This is another small group containing few species, but _Lagria
grandis_ is one of our very common beetles, and can be collected on
low scrub anywhere about Sydney. The larvae are to be found under logs
or among damp leaves on the ground, and are thickset, black, shining
creatures. covered with short reddish hair on the upper surface; short
antennae standing out in front; and the tip of the abdomen is produced
into a pair of pointed spines. The beetle is light reddish brown,
closely covered with fine confluent punctures and short scattered brown
hairs. It is slightly over ½ an inch in length, with a small head,
slender, narrow thorax, and with the front of the wing covers forming a
broad shoulder in front.
Family 41.
ANTHICIDAE.
These are small ant-like beetles, with the head having a regular neck
and the thorax narrow and elongate; most of them are found among
rubbish upon the ground, or along the edges of creeks and watercourses.
It is chiefly owing to the researches of King, who collected and
described a great number of the species found about Sydney (Trans. Ent.
Soc. N.S.W. 1869), that we know much about this family.
Family 42.
PYROCHROIDAE.
This is a small group containing some beetles with the head attached
to the thorax by a neck, and with the wing covers much broader than
the thorax: _Lemodes coccinea_ is a pretty little bright red beetle
with black legs and antennae, the latter tipped with white; it measures
slightly over ¼ of an inch in length; is common under logs in the
Illawarra district. Another species, _L. splendens_, has recently been
described by Lea (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1906) from specimens obtained
by me at Noundoc, N.S. Wales.
Family 43. Pintails.
MORDELLIDAE.
This group, in which the _Rhipidophoridae_ are now included, are very
distinctive beetles; they have the head tucked down in front; the
thorax large, broad, and rounded at the base, with the hind margins
angular and fitting closely into the wing covers, which taper down
to the apex; the end of the abdomen forms a stout spine-shaped tip
extending beyond the wings.
They are very active little beetles; several species are very numerous
and swarm over the flowers of the low scrub. _Mordella leucosticta_, ½
an inch in length, is black; the whole of the upper surface is thickly
spotted and marked with dull white, and the legs and under surface
are also mottled. _M. limbata_ is a much smaller black beetle ⅙ of an
inch in length, and has a pale silvery sheen: _Tomoxia flavicans_,
from the northern rivers, is a shorter broader insect. _Pelectomoides
conicollis_ is 1¼ inches in length; is of a uniform dull brown colour,
with pectinate antennae; the head is small, turned down, and the thorax
is broad and rounded. This fine beetle is found about Sydney. Lea has
described and listed the members of this family (Trans. Ent. Soc.
London 1902).
Family 44. Oil and Blister Beetles.
CANTHARIDAE.
The true Blister Beetle is a slender insect with soft integument,
and a small head produced into a neck behind; the thorax is small in
proportion to the slender rounded abdomen and wing covers. A number of
species have been described from this country by different writers,
among whom Fairmaire has been chief (Stett. Ent. Zeit. 1880). Most of
them belong to the Genus _Zonitis_, of which about 40 species have been
described. _Zonitis bipartita_, under ½ an inch in length, has the
head, thorax, base of the wing covers, and under surface of abdomen
orange yellow, with the abdomen and rest of the elytra dark shining
blue: _Z. brevicornis_ is a very similar insect, but has the whole of
the wing covers deep metallic blue.
The true Oil Beetles are more rare; unable to fly, they are found
crawling about on the ground with the body distended and the wing
covers overlapping each other at the base. Nothing is recorded about
the larvae of our species of this family, but in other countries they
are known to feed upon the eggs of locusts; others attach themselves to
bees, and are thus carried into their nests, where they devour the eggs
and afterwards the honey.
The OEDEMERIDAE are somewhat similar looking insects to the Blister
Beetle; _Ananca puncta_ is found in the northern parts of N.S. Wales;
it is a very slender long-legged beetle over ½ an inch in length, of a
general dull yellow colour, with the head, thorax, and legs mottled
with dull blue, and the whole of the elongated wing covers dull blue
except a dorsal stripe of the prevailing yellow which widens out
towards the apex.
Family 45. Woodborers.
SCOLYTIDAE.
[Illustration: =Fig. 80.=--_Hylesinus fici_ (Lea).
The Fig-branch Beetle, better known under the name of _H.
porcatus_ (Chap.).
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
This is a group the members of which are allied to the Weevils, but
differ in having a short broad snout with clubbed antennae, and
the tibiae toothed on the outer edge. Only a few species have been
described from this country, but several of them are well-known
pests, and like the smaller species of the Auger Beetles are usually
attracted to dying trees. In the Genus _Hylesinus_ we have one,
_H. porcatus_, which attacks the terminal buds of both the wild
and cultivated figs. It is a short thickset black beetle, about 2
lines in length, with the head turned down to the fore-legs, and the
clubbed antennae 5 jointed; the head and thorax are rugose, and the
wing covers finely striated; the whole insect is lightly clothed with
fine hairs. The Ambrosia Beetle, _Xyleborus solidus_, is a common
beetle in the bush, and has lately turned its attention to fruit trees;
boring into the branch and then gnawing a chamber right round under the
bark, she deposits her eggs at the end of the burrow, at the same time
killing the branch and causing it to snap off. This beetle is about
⅛ of an inch in length, of a uniform black colour, with the legs and
antennae reddish brown. It is stout and cylindrical in form; the head
is turned down in front and hidden from above; the rounded thorax is
nearly as large as the body, covered with short rasp-like points in
front; the wing covers are flattened and squared off at the tips.
[Illustration: =Fig. 81.=--_Xyleborus solidus_
(Eichhoff).
The Scolytid Beetle that damages the Apple tree Branches.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Family 46. Slender Weevils.
BRENTHIDAE.
These are remarkable looking beetles, very long and slender in form,
with the snout never turned down but standing out straight in front
of the head; the antennae not elbowed, but composed of a number of
bead-like joints attached near the tip on either side; and the jaws
situated at the extremity of the snout. In many of the larger forms the
males are much bigger than the females, and have the snout much longer;
they are chiefly found in the tropical scrubs, two small species
however coming from the south. _Trachelizus howetti_, a shining reddish
brown beetle about ¼ of an inch in length, has the antennae thickened
to the tips; and _Cordus hospes_, a larger beetle of a somewhat darker
colour, is found under dead bark on the tree trunks, and also sometimes
in ants’ nests. _Ectocemus pterygorrhinus_ comes from North Queensland,
and is common on the low scrub about Cairns where timber has been
felled; it is somewhat short and thickset; the male is about 1¼ inches
in length, with the tip of the rostrum produced into an angulate
process, and very long cylindrical antennae. The general colour is
dark reddish brown, with the wing covers ornamented with four parallel
rows of shining dull yellow bars. _Ithystenus hollandiae_, also from
Cairns, is found in similar situations; it is very long and slender,
1½ inches long, blackish brown, with two parallel light reddish brown
lines down the centre of the wing covers, and the extremities produced
into a tooth at either side. _Homocerus fossulatus_, found under rotten
bark, is of a general dull brown colour; is thickened and flattened,
with the wing covers much roughened. The male measures about 1¾ inches
in length, but the female is much smaller. _Mesetia amoena_ is a very
pretty, slender, bright reddish yellow beetle, with the head, legs, and
sides of the thorax black, and a dark medium stripe down the thorax
and elytron. It is about 1 inch in length, and is common in the scrubs
about the Richmond River N.S.W.
Family 47. Carnivorous Weevils.
ANTHRIBIDAE.
These beetles are allied to, but very distinct from, the true weevils,
and are usually found on the trunks of dead trees, where they hunt for
and devour the small wood-boring beetles that are attracted to the dead
twigs, or which breed out of fungus. They have a short blunt snout, and
many have long slender antennae which are not elbowed; they are most
plentiful in the northern scrubs and forests.
_Ecelonerus albopictus_ is typical of those with short antennae clubbed
at the tips; it is a stout thickset dark brown beetle, thickly covered
with pubescence, and the whole of the under surface, front of thorax
and middle and tip of the body blotched with white pubescence. It
measures over ½ an inch in length, and is found in the northern parts
of N.S. Wales.
_Ancylotropis waterhousei_ is a good example of the long-horned forms;
it measures over ½ an inch in length, but looks shorter as its head and
thorax are curved downwards. It is a very slender beetle of a uniform
brown tint, but thickly clothed with buff and grey down; the thorax
tapers to the front, and the head is elongated but swells out again in
front, and is furnished with long slender antennae. _Doticus pestilans_
is known as the “Dried Apple Beetle,” from the habit that the beetle
has of laying its eggs in any dried immature apples that are left over
the season upon the trees; in its native state the larvae breed in
the large wattle galls. It measures only about ⅓ of an inch, and is a
short, thickset beetle, with the head turned downward, furnished with
slender clubbed antennae. The general colour is reddish brown; it has
a raised ridge on either side of the wing covers; the fore-legs are
curiously prolonged with large tarsi, and it has a peculiar jumping
habit. Pascoe has described most of our beetles belonging to this group
(Journal of Entomology 1860, and Annals and Magazine of Natural History
1859).
[Illustration: =Fig. 82.=--_Doticus pestilans_
(Olliff).
The Jumping Anthribid or “Dried-apple Beetle.”
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Family 48. Weevils.
CURCULIONIDAE.
The Weevils or Snout Beetles are one of the largest and best defined
groups of the Coleoptera, and though they comprise a great number of
very different looking beetles in shape, they all have the front of
the head produced into a more or less elongated snout with the jaws
placed at the tip, and with the distinctly elbowed antennae standing
out on either side of the snout, forming a regular angle. Most of
them are provided with well developed wings, the elytra being usually
very solid; and the whole insect is encased in thick armour plate
integument. The majority are slow, sluggish beetles, that trust as a
rule more to their shape and protective colouration harmonising with
their surroundings, than to their activity. They feed chiefly upon
foliage and bark, and when at rest cling to the twigs or stalks of
their food plants, falling at the least alarm to the ground, where
they remain perfectly motionless, with their legs and antennae tightly
closed until the danger has passed.
Those living in the dry western country are represented by curious
wingless forms with very short stout snouts, and are usually found
under logs and stones in open grass lands; while in the tropical scrubs
they are chiefly arboreal, and frequently richly coloured. They are all
vegetarian in their habits both in the larval and perfect states; some
infest seeds, others destroy the buds, foliage or roots of plants and
do a great deal of damage to farms and gardeners’ crops. About 1200
described species are listed in Masters’ Catalogue, and a great number
of new species have been added during the last few years by Messrs.
Blackburn and Lea in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of N.S.
Wales, and Transactions of the Royal Society of S. Australia. Pascoe,
one of the most prolific writers on this family, described a great many
between the years 1869–1883 (Journ. Linn. Soc. & Ann. Nat. Hist.). They
have been divided into a number of sub-families, among which only the
most important can be noticed here.
The remarkable Long-necked Weevil, _Rhadinosomus lacordairei_, measures
under ½ an inch in length; is of a uniform dull reddish brown tint
with a silvery white spot on either side of the rounded elytra, which
are produced into a spine on each side. It breeds in the cavity in the
large _Brachyscelid_ galls, feeding on the woody tissue; Lea says that
in Tasmania it is a pest to strawberry growers.
The members of the Genus _Myllocerus_ are dainty little oval weevils
found resting upon grass stalks or among the foliage of small shrubs
peculiar to North Queensland and North West Australia. _Myllocerus
carinatus_ is about ⅓ of an inch in length, and is finely striated and
densely clothed with metallic green scales. _Catasarcus spinipennis_
is another West Australian insect of a brownish buff tint, with the
abdomen broadly rounded; and the hind portions of the elytra covered
with sharp spines. About 40 species of this genus are described, all
of which with one exception are confined to West Australia. _Cherrus
ebeninus_ is one of the large stout black weevils common in the bush
around Sydney, where it is usually found clinging to the twigs of the
blood-wood, _Eucalyptus corymbosa_. It is black, with broad rugose
thorax and ribbed wing covers.
[Illustration: =Figs. 83= and=84.=--_Wattle
Weevils._
=83.= _Rhinotia hœmoptera_ (Kirby). The Red Weevil.
=84.= _Leptops tribulus_ (Fabr.). The Wattle
“Pig-beetle.”
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Leptops_ contains a large number of very characteristic
beetles feeding upon the foliage of wattles and other scrub trees. They
are usually grey, buff, or dark brown insects with thickened snouts
and broad bodies. The Apple-root Borer, _Leptops hopei_, is sometimes
a pest to the orchardist, damaging the roots of his apple trees; the
beetle emerging from the soil crawls up the tree trunk, and laying her
eggs upon the leaf, turns the edges over and gums them together with a
sticky secretion; the young grubs hatch and crawl down to the roots.
_L. tribulus_, often called by the Sydney boys the “Wattle Pig,” feeds
upon the foliage of the black wattle; it is a much larger species,
about 1 inch in length; dark brown to black in colour; the broad
rounded body covered with short blunt spines, thickest towards the
apex. The Grey-banded Leaf Weevil, _Ethemaia sellata_, described from
S. Australia, has a wide range over the interior. The larvae are pale
green legless creatures about ⅓ of an inch in length, lightly clothed
with short hairs; they remain buried in the soil, coming out at night
to feed upon plants, but if disturbed by a light they will drop to the
ground and bury themselves very quickly. The beetle is ⅓ of an inch in
length, dark brown, shaded with grey, which forms an irregular pattern
on the thorax, legs, and elytra; rugose, deeply pitted; and the whole
surface is clothed with white and brown scales.
The AMYCTERINAE are a large group of weevils with such short thick
snouts that they are quite unlike the typical forms generally found
in open forest country among grass or hiding under logs or stones;
they are wingless, the elytra soldered together forming a very thick
solid integument. Macleay described a great number (Trans. Ent. Soc.
N.S.W. 1865). _Psalidura elongata_, common in the interior, measures
slightly over 1 inch in length; is of a uniform black colour with a
reddish brown tint; the short head and flattened thorax are finely
granulated, with the elytron closely ribbed and punctured. _Talaurinus
tuberculatus_, about ⅔ of an inch in length, is black, very coarsely
granulated on the thorax, with the whole of the flattened elytron
thickly covered with blunt tubercules. Nearly 90 species or this
genus have been described, chiefly by Macleay, ranging all over
Australia. _Amycterus draco_ is one of the most remarkable armour
plated species in the interior; it is black, with a small deeply
ribbed head and angulated thorax; and the broad, somewhat elongated
elytron is turned down at the extremity and covered with rows of
raised bosses. _Acantholophus echinatus_, as the generic name implies,
represents a group containing a number of species covered with spines
that extend even over the upper surface of the head and thorax. The
Genus _Cubicorrhynchus_ contains the smaller ground beetles, almost
cylindrical, with short rounded head and thorax: they dwell under
stones, and when exposed lie quite motionless as if dead, their dull
brown tints matching the ground. _C. morosus_, about ⅓ of an inch in
length, is of the usual form and colour, with a very wide range, and
often very numerous in grass lands.
The GONIPTERINAE comprise a number of diverse forms found upon foliage
clinging to the twigs. The Genus _Oxyops_ contains a number of stout
moderate-sized beetles which are remarkable for the curious habits
of their legless slug-like larvae, which, covering themselves with
a slimy secretion, crawl about over the surface of the eucalyptus
leaves, feeding upon the epidermis and covering their backs with their
excrement; when full grown they pupate on the ground among the rubbish
beneath their food plant. _Oxyops concreta_ has a narrow short head
with the thorax broadest behind; the elytra broadly swollen, rounded,
deeply striated, and clothed with fine scales. _Bryachus squamicollis_
has a wide range over Australia, and is usually found clinging to the
twigs of stunted gum trees; it measures about ½ an inch in length;
is of a uniform dark chocolate brown, but thickly mottled all over
with fine grey and black scales. This beetle forms rounded cells of
a brown gummy substance (very much like large Lecanium scales) which
are attached to the twigs, in each of which she places three eggs;
from these emerge pale yellow oval larvae; when full grown the larva
is an oval smooth rounded grub of a purplish tint, legless, flattened
on the ventral surface, and with the head hidden from above, like a
“pear-slug” larva; when adult it falls or crawls to the ground, and
pupates among the rubbish. Mr. Gurney first discovered the curious
egg-capsules on trees in the Bogan River district N.S.W. _Gonipterus
gibberus_ is a small reddish-brown beetle with a white blotch on either
side of the elytra; it has an elongated head and thorax, and is usually
found clinging tightly to the tip of a eucalyptus twig. _Aterpus
cultratus_, typical of the next group, measures ⅓ of an inch in length;
the dorsal surface is flattened; is of a general dull brown tint, with
the head, front of the thorax and tip of the abdomen buff. Usually
found under dead bark on tree trunks, its larva forms a loose cocoon of
bits of bark on the stems of Melaleuca bushes. _Lixus mastersi_, the
weed weevil, is very common in neglected gardens, as its larvae feed in
the roots of _Amaranthus_ and _Chenopodium_, causing them to swell out
into cylindrical galls; the beetle is ⅓ of an inch in length, slender
and cylindrical in form, of a light brown tint, but when freshly
emerged is covered with a yellow mealy pubescence which soon rubs off.
The “Botany Bay Diamond Beetle,” as Donovan described it, _Chrysolophus
spectabilis_, is one of our commonest and at the same time one of
the most beautiful of our weevils. It has a very wide range all over
Australia, and is found wherever the black wattle thrives, but also
feeds upon many other species. It is very variable in size, measuring
to 1 inch in length; is of a uniform black tint, but so thickly covered
with patches of bright metallic green scales, that in freshly emerged
specimens it seems more green than black. It deposits its eggs about
the butt of the wattle tree buried in the bark; the stout fleshy grubs
form irregular tunnels in the wood.
The Elephant Beetle, _Orthorrhinus cylindrirostris_, whose stout
fleshy grubs do a good deal of damage to citrus trees, has a very wide
range over Australia: it is a dark brown weevil, covered on the dorsal
surface with fine buff and grey scales; the thorax is covered with
irregular bosses which form ridges on the elytra. It measures about ½
an inch in length, and has a long slender snout turned down in front,
and very long fore-legs terminating in large feathered tarsi; in its
native state it feeds upon gum trees. _O. klugi_ is a much smaller
species that feeds and breeds in wattles, but is also known as an
orchard pest, infesting the canes of vines, and also eating the leaf
buds.
[Illustration: =Fig. 85.=--_Chrysolophus
spectabilis_ (Fabr.).
The Botany Bay Diamond Beetle.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Eurhamphus fasciculatus_ is one of our largest and most remarkable
looking weevils; it measures 2½ inches in length, and is of a general
black tint, but the greater portion is finely clothed with grey and
rusty red scales, which give it a uniform buff tint; it is further
clothed with tufts of long soft reddish brown hairs forming a raised
ridge down either side of the thorax, and are scattered in rows on the
elytra intermixed with small tufts of long grey hairs, giving it a very
remarkable spiny appearance. It is a rare insect as a rule, ranging
from Pine Mountain, Queensland, to the Clarence River, N.S. Wales; but
many years ago Masters when collecting in the north came upon a large
dead pine tree in the scrub literally covered with hundreds of these
great weevils boring into the dead timber with their long slender
snouts, making a distinct scratching sound. It is therefore probable
that they are confined to the strip of country where the Hoop or
Maryborough Pine grows, and breed on it.
[Illustration: =Fig. 86.=--_Myrmacicelus
formicarius_ (Chev.).
The Ant-like Weevil.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Tranes sparsus_, ⅓ of an inch in length, is common among the coarse
palm-like foliage of the Currawong; it is of a uniform reddish brown
tint with a slender snout, rounded flattened thorax, and oval,
flattened, finely striated elytra. A smaller black species, _T.
xanthorrhoeae_, is found in the foliage of the grass trees. The Genus
_Belus_ contains a number of very slender weevils with the snout
standing out in front of the head, long antennae, thickened thighs,
and the slender elytra coming to a point at the apex. They feed upon
wattles, and are very active, flying about in the heat of the day.
_Belus semipunctatus_ is about ¾ of an inch in length; of a uniform
dark reddish brown tint, with a broad white stripe down each side
of the thorax and down the centre of the back, with small spots on
each side. _B. bidentatus_ is a stouter thickset beetle; and is of a
darker brown colour, with a rounded buff spot on either side of the
wing covers. _B. plagiatus_ is a smaller almost black species, richly
variegated with reddish yellow spots and blotches; it comes from the
more tropical scrubs of N.S. Wales and Southern Queensland. _Rhinotia
hoemoptera_, a very handsome slender cylindrical weevil, is about ¾ of
an inch in length, with the snout furnished with thickened antennae
turned down below the head; it is rich black with bright brick red
wing covers which have a fine dorsal black stripe down the centre. The
curious large-headed larvae feed in the stems of the Sweet-scented
Wattle, _Acacia suaveolens_. _Eurhynchus acanthopterus_ is the type
of another group, which has a shorter snout, and the head broad and
rounded, fitting closely into the somewhat attenuated thorax; the body
is broadly oval, and the wing covers furnished with short conical
spines in the centre of the back. It measures about ½ an inch, and
is of a uniform reddish brown tint. The Ant Weevil, _Myrmacicelus
formicarius_, usually found crawling about on the trunks of wattle
trees, is a shining black weevil about ⅙ of an inch in length, and is
as ant-looking as its names suggest. The Genus _Balaninus_ represents
the tiny little rounded weevils with very long slender snouts adapted
for feeding upon seeds. _B. amoenus_ is black spotted with white; is
almost oval in form, and about ⅙ of an inch in length. It feeds upon
the ripe fruit of the little yellow fig, _Ficus rubiginosa_.
The Genus _Laemosaccus_ contains a number of short flattened weevils
of a general black or dark brown colour ornamented with white or buff
down; they are generally found feasting upon the bark of freshly fallen
tree-trunks, particularly wattle and eucalypts, in which they also bore
holes and deposit their eggs. _Laemosaccus electilis_ measures ¼ of an
inch in length; is black with white pubescence on the under surface,
and white markings on the tips of the wing covers, which are finely
striated. My specimens come from Condobolin, N.S. Wales.
The members of the Genus _Haplonyx_ contain a number of curious,
short, broadly rounded beetles generally found clinging to the twigs
of eucalypts, but their larvae breed in the fleshy galls of the
Brachyscelid coccids, where they destroy the gall makers and pupate
in the cavity. _Haplonyx centralis_ is a typical dark brown species
with a large white circle occupying the centre of the back. _Perissops
ocellatus_, about ½ an inch in length, comes from the Tweed River N.S.
Wales and Southern Queensland: it is of a general light brown tint; is
oval and rounded in form, with the wing covers marked with buff, so
that when viewed from behind it resembles a pair of eyes and nose on a
man’s face.
[Illustration: =Figs. 87 and 88.=--Kurrajong Weevils.
=87.=--_Axionicus insignis_ (Pascoe).
The Mimic Bark-weevil.
=88.=--_Tepperia sterculiae_, (Lea).
The Seed-pod Weevil.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Axionicus insignis_ is always found upon the trunk of the Kurrajong
tree hidden in the crevices of the bark, where in spite of its size
(¾ of an inch in length) it is very difficult to detect, owing to the
exact blending of its white grey and brown markings with the tints of
the bark. It lays its eggs in the injured bark; the larvae are typical
obese legless white grubs; they feed between the bark and the wood
often in such numbers as to kill large branches. They pupate in regular
oval cocoons formed of gnawed wood and bark. _Tepperia sterculiae_
breeds in the seed pods of the Kurrajong, and is a smaller but
somewhat similar tinted beetle clothed with brown and grey scales, the
latter forming a well defined patch toward the apex of the wing covers.
The two species of the Genus _Enteles_ are smaller, smooth, shining,
black beetles, with the head and legs curving underneath the body;
they are both found in the semi-tropical scrubs of the north. _Enteles
vigorsi_ is marked with two white transverse lines crossing the elytra;
while _E. ocellatus_ has more parallel lines crossing the transverse
ones, making an eye-like pattern upon the back. The Grass-tree Weevil,
_Trigonotarsus rugosus_, is 1½ inches in length; is of a uniform
black colour; and of the typical Calandra or palm weevil shape, with
a slender curved snout, and small head sunk into the thorax, with the
dorsal surface of the thorax and elytra flattened. The obese white
larva feeds in the roots of the grass-trees. Allied to this are the two
tiny cosmopolitan grain weevils, _Calandra orizae_ and _C. granaria_,
which are destructive pests to all kinds of grain and other food stuffs.
Family 49. Longicorns.
CERAMBYCIDAE.
The longicorn beetles from their number, variety, size, and the damage
they do to timber and plants, are well known beetles, and have always
been a favourite group with collectors. They are usually elongate
in form, with powerful gnawing jaws, and long slender many-jointed
antennae standing out in front of the head, the basal joint often half
encircled by the large compound eye; the elytron is always divided down
the centre, and the large hind wings well adapted for flight are folded
beneath them; the legs are strongly developed, well adapted either for
running about or clinging to their food plant.
They deposit their eggs in bark or timber; the larvae burrow into
the tissue beneath, upon which they feed; they often remain, long
cylindrical or flattened naked grubs, for several years before they
pupate in the end of their last gallery.
They are divided into three large sub-families by modern entomologists;
our species have been chiefly described by Newman in “The Entomologist”
1842; “Annals of Natural History” 1840; and a number of other Journals.
Pascoe contributed a great many papers to over half a dozen of the
leading entomological societies in England between 1857 and 1875. Hope,
in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London 1841, and
other Transactions, added largely to our list, while Messrs. Boisduval,
Germer, White, Saunders, and others described odd specimens. In our own
Journals, Macleay and Blackburn have also dealt with these beetles.
The PRIONINAE comprise a number of large broad thickset beetles with
the front coxae large and transverse, and the prothorax having well
developed side margins. The determination of several of our commonest
species was a matter of some doubt, so I submitted most of our common
forms to Professor Lamare of Brussels, who has identified them and
enabled me to speak with some authority.
_Sceleocantha glabricollis_ is one of the shortest thickset forms;
about 1¼ inches in length; of the usual uniform reddish brown tint;
the small shining thorax furnished with a fine spine on either side;
and the broad rounded elytron finely granulated. It is found along the
southern coast of N.S. Wales. The common large white grub which bores
in the trunks of the honeysuckle (_Banksia serrata_) growing along
the coast of the south-east of N.S. Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, is
the larva of _Paroplites australis_ described in 1842 by Erichson; in
most of our Museum collections it is known as _Macrotoma servilis_.
It is variable in size, measuring to 2 inches in length, and is of
a dull dark brown tint, with a flattened rugose thorax with serrate
edges. _Eurynassa australis_ is a large somewhat slender species 2¼
inches in length; the broad flattened dull coloured thorax is marked
in the centre with two shining triangular patches pointing toward the
head; the reddish brown elytra are finely granulated. _E. odewahni_ is
a smaller species, with the thorax more constricted, shining, rugose,
and serrate on the margins; it is found in the interior, and has an
extended range westward from N.S. Wales to W. Australia. _Agrianome
spinicollis_ comes from the north-east of N.S. Wales; it is a broader
more flattened form, about 2 inches in length; the thorax is rounded
and serrate on the sides; and the general colour is light reddish
brown. _Iotherium metallicum_ hardly measures over ½ an inch; is of a
rich metallic purple tint; the thorax is produced into a broad spine on
the sides; and the wing covers are broadly round at the apex. The male
is a much smaller coppery tinted beetle, and was described under the
name of _Phaolus macleayi_; it is usually taken on grass stalks in open
forest country.
[Illustration: =Fig. 89.=--_Eurynassa odewahni_
(Pascoe).
The great brown Longicorn.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The CERAMBYCINAE comprise a much larger division of the longicorn
beetles, differing from the last group in having the first coxae not
greatly extended transversely; the thorax not margined, and the last
joint of the maxillary palpus usually broad. _Pachydissus sericus_ is
a slender silvery dark brown beetle about 1¼ inches in length, with
the tip of the wing covers spined and the basal joint of the antennae
thickened. It is generally found clinging to the rough bark of tree
trunks. They deposit their eggs in the bark of _Acacia longifolia_; the
larvae bore all through the trunk and larger branches; they have a wide
range over the southern half of Australia.
[Illustration: =Fig. 90.=--_Pachydissus sericus_
(Newman).
The Silvery Longicorn, breeding in the stems of _Acacia
longifolia_.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Phoracantha_ contains a number of typical dark yellow or
mottled brown beetles which in the larval state feed between the bark
and sapwood of different gum trees when the trees are dead or dying;
several species are common in firewood blocks about Sydney. The beetles
are remarkable for long antennae fringed on the inner edge with fine
hairs and short spines at the joints, and a single large spine on the
sides of the thorax. _Phoracantha recurva_ has a very wide range from
the North-west coast to Victoria; it measures under 1 inch in length;
is of a general dull yellow tint, with the apical half of the wing
covers crossed with a broad band of reddish brown. _P. tricuspis_ is a
much larger, darker reddish brown beetle with mottled wing covers that
lives in the timber of the ironbark gums. _P. semipunctata_, smaller
than the last, has a regular pattern of dark brown on its back; it
is common about Sydney N.S.W., and has a wide range over Australia.
_Epithora dorsalis_ is remarkable for its very long fringed antennae,
and is easily distinguished by its uniform reddish tint marked across
the centre of the wing covers with a broad patch of dull yellow. It
also has a wide range over the continent, and is often taken about
Sydney in summer on flowering shrubs. _Aphanasium australe_ is a
slender, light reddish brown beetle, under ¾ of an inch in length,
the larvae of which feed in the stems of the prickly Hakea bushes.
_Piesarthruis marginellus_ is a very distinctive dull reddish brown
insect with the centre of the wing covers pale brown; the smaller
more slender male is furnished with remarkable feathered antennae.
The larva breeds and pupates in the centre of the branches of _Acacia
longifolia_, and can be easily reared from infested wood, though it
is very rarely found on the food plant, for as soon as it emerges it
crawls up to the top of the tree and clings to the branchlets.
_Strongylurus thoracicus_ is a handsome brown longicorn brightly marked
with white on the sides of the thorax. Its larva is very destructive
in gardens, cutting off large branches of white cedar and pittosporum
bushes.
In the Genus _Uracanthus_ the beetles are long and slender, with
almost cylindrical bodies, and the thorax contracted slightly behind
the head. _Uracanthus triangularis_ in Victoria confines its attention
almost exclusively to the branches of the black wattle; but in N.S.
Wales I have bred it from a number of different shrubs. It measures
about 1 inch in length; is of a general uniform reddish brown colour,
but so thickly clothed with fawn-coloured pubescence that there is
only an angular bare reddish patch on the sides of the wing covers.
_U. cryptophagus_, the largest known species, is nearly twice the
length, more cylindrical in form, and of a uniform buff tint. In its
native state it fed in the northern scrubs of N.S. Wales upon the wild
lemon, from which it migrated to the cultivated orange, and the larvae
burrowing through the branches did a great deal of mischief to the
trees. _Syllitus grammicus_ is a slender reddish brown beetle with six
parallel grey lines running down the elytra, and is under ½ an inch in
length. _Lygesis mendica_ breeds on the twigs of the black wattle in
the neighbourhood of Sydney. It measures under ½ an inch in length;
is of a uniform reddish brown colour, and has a slender head and long
cylindrical thorax. The wing covers are rounded at the tips, and the
whole insect is clothed with stout white hairs. _Macrones rufus_ is a
long, slender, bright reddish brown beetle about 1¼ inches in length;
the thorax is roughened into rounded bosses; the body is narrow in the
centre, but swells out into a rounded apex; the wing covers narrow,
and not reaching to the tip of the abdomen give it a very wasp-like
appearance. It is usually taken upon flowers in the summer months.
[Illustration: =Fig. 91.=--_Strongylurus
thoracicus_ (Pascoe).
The Pittosporum tree borer, and larva.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 92.=--_Lygesis mendica_
(Pascoe).
The slender grey-haired Longicorn.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 93.=--_Uracanthus
cryptophaga_ (Olliff).
The great Orange-tree Borer.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Hesthesis_ contains a number of brightly marked yellow
and brown beetles that mimic flower-wasps both in colour and shape,
and are found in similar situations upon flowering shrubs. The wing
covers are shortened into rounded pads only covering the shoulders,
while the wings are exposed. _Hesthesis vigilans_, under ¾ of an inch
in length, is black, mottled on the thorax, and barred with two bands
of bright yellow on the abdomen, and one on the front of the thorax.
_H. ferruginea_, slightly larger, is bright yellow banded with black;
and _H. cingulata_, about the same size, is black, blotched upon the
thorax, and marked with three white bands on the abdomen. _Distichocera
macleayi_ has the smaller male black with feathered antennae, and
deeply ribbed wing covers tapering to the apex. The female, nearly
1½ inches in length, and broader and thickset in proportion, has the
dorsal surface clothed with rusty red pubescence. _D. maculicollis_ is
a much smaller species, hardly over ½ an inch in length in the male,
which is of a dull black faintly marked with white; the larger female
is rusty red except a parallel stripe of black down the centre of
the thorax. This species breeds in the stems of _Kunzea corifolia_;
commencing under the bark the larva gnaws irregular passages backwards
and forwards, finally hollowing out several large parallel chambers
toward the centre of the stem, in one of which it pupates. Among the
most beautiful of our flower haunting longicorns are the members of the
Genus _Tragocerus_, with stout angular thorax and broad deeply ribbed
wing covers almost truncated at the extremities. _T. lepidopterus_ is
variable in size and colouration in the sexes, the smaller male being
darker coloured than the large reddish brown female, which measures
nearly 1¾ inches in length; both have the wing covers mottled with
little patches of grey hairs. _T. spencei_ is a smaller species without
the white patches, but having dark wavy bands crossing the centre of
the back.
The members of the Genus _Clytus_ are active little ant-like beetles,
common in the more tropical parts of Australia, running up and down
on freshly fallen tree trunks in the bright sunlight, or hunting over
flowering shrubs; some are richly marked with golden yellow or red
on the rounded thorax. _Clytus curtisi_, measuring under 1 inch in
length, is black spotted and mottled with white. One of our commonest
and most widely distributed flower haunting longicorns is _Aridaeus
thoracicus_, a reddish yellow beetle with short rounded thorax, and the
wing covers crossed in the centre with two black V-shaped bands. It is
very variable in size, the largest measuring nearly 1 inch in length.
_Purpuricenus quadrinotatus_ is a very handsome black and bright red
beetle about ¾ of an inch in length, with a short broad almost globular
thorax, and a short body round at the apex. It is common along the
Flinders River N. Queensland upon low scrub, and I have taken them in
all variations of red and black; usually the head and thorax are black,
with the wing covers red blotched with black; a variety with the thorax
red is described as a distinct species.
The LAMIINAE comprise the third division which, usually stout and broad
in proportion, are found chiefly upon branches or twigs feeding upon
bark; and are frequently very numerous upon fallen timber in forest
clearings. They differ from the former group in having the front coxae
round and deeply embedded; the maxillary palpi pointed at the tips; and
the fore tibiae with a more or less distinct groove on the inner side.
_Microtragus mormon_ is typical of several closely allied genera of
short, thickly coated longicorns, with the rounded slightly spined
thorax and the tapering body ridged or coarsely punctured; they are
found upon logs or tree trunks on the ground, and somewhat resemble
the ground weevils. This species comes from Kalgoorlie, W. Australia,
but has a wide range over the western country; it is of a dull reddish
brown tint, and measures about 1 inch in length. _Ceraegidion horrens_,
not uncommon in the Illawarra district N.S.W., is a smaller darker
coloured beetle covered with stout spines upon the dorsal surface
of the thorax and elytra. The Genus _Monohammus_ contains a number
of very fine brown or mottled beetles with long stout antennae; the
small rounded thorax produced into a blunt spine on either side; and
the broad wing covers arcuate at the tips and sometimes spined on the
sides. _M. holotephrus_ is of a uniform dull buff tint and measures
over 1 inch in length; it comes from S. Australia and Queensland. _M.
ovinus_ is a much smaller species with the thorax spined on the summit
and sides; it is of a pale brown tint finely mottled with grey. It
has a wide range, being recorded from Kalgoorlie W.A., N.S. Wales,
Queensland, and S. Australia.
[Illustration: =Fig. 94.=--_Batocera frenchi_
(Blackburn).
The great Fig-tree Longicorn.
(Original Photo. Burton.)]
The tropical Genus _Batocera_, containing many of the largest and most
handsome of our longicorns, is well represented in our semi-tropical
scrubs. _Batocera frenchi_ has a very wide range from the Northern
Coast of N.S. Wales to Cape York. The great white grubs burrow in the
trunks of native figs and other forest trees, and the collectors in
Cairns, N. Queensland, capture the beetles by cutting down fig trees
and waiting for them at twilight when they come to feed upon the bark.
This species measures over 2 inches in length, has a spined rugose
thorax, broad wing covers, and immense stout spined curved antennae;
its general colour is slate grey to dark brown, with the elytra marked
with irregular oval white spots. _B. sapho_ is a more reddish brown
beetle, somewhat more slender, and with fewer spots on the wing covers:
it is found in the forests of Cape York, N. Queensland. _Rosenbergia
megacephala_ is larger still, and is of a beautiful creamy white tint,
with the basal portions of the elytra finely spotted with black; the
thorax is deeply ridged and spined: it is found at Port Darwin N.A.,
and Cairns, Queensland. Horace Brown informs me that this large beetle
frequents fig trees in the forests of N. Queensland, where they can
often be detected by the number of small branches scattered beneath,
which have been cut off by their powerful jaws. _Thyada barbicornis_ is
a very handsome greyish brown mottled beetle with an oval blackish spot
on each side of the elytra, and the antennae are so thickly fringed
with fine hairs that it forms a regular brush toward the extremities;
it measures under ¾ of an inch in length, and is common on the foliage
of native figs on the Tweed River N.S.W.
The Genus _Hebecerus_ contains a number of moderate-sized, grey or
brownish mottled beetles, many of which lay their eggs in the bark of
the wattle trees; the larvae feed and pupate in the tips of the dead
twigs. _Hebecerus australis_, a thickset greyish brown species about ½
an inch in length, has a wide distribution over Australia, and has been
described under half a dozen synonyms: _H. marginicollis_ is a smaller
beetle, with the sides of the thorax marked with buff. _H. crocogaster_
is smaller still, of a similar general tint, with the antennae barred
with grey and brown.
The Genus _Symphyletes_ contains a number of large and handsome
longicorns that are found clinging to twigs and branchlets; many of
them in the larval state burrow in the stems of wattles, gum trees
and other smaller shrubs. _Symphyletes neglectus_ is an elongate
dull brown beetle about 1 inch in length; it girdles the branches
of _Acacia longifolia_, laying its eggs under the bark of the dying
portion in which the little grub feeds in the early part of its life.
_S. nigrovirens_ is a much smaller beetle, with the head, thorax, and
base of the elytra clothed with dull yellow hairs; the rest of the wing
covers is deep green striped with white on the sides. It feeds upon a
number of small shrubs, but its commonest food plant is the stunted
prickly wattle (_Acacia juniperina_). _S. solandri_, a larger beetle
clothed with a dense coat of fine buff hairs, breeds in the flower
stalk of the grass tree, often cutting it right through and causing the
upper half, beneath which it pupates, to fall off. _S. vestigialis_
measures ¾ of an inch; it is brown, richly mottled with buff and grey.
It feeds upon wattles; it has a wide range over Southern Australia.
[Illustration: =Fig. 95.=--_Hebecerus
marginicollis_ (Boisd.).
The White-cheeked Longicorn.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Penthea_ comprises a number of more thickset beetles with
similar habits, and which have the upper surface of the thorax and
wing covers granulated or ribbed and these are either covered with a
dense pubescence or mottled all over in a very characteristic manner.
_Penthea vermicularia_, one of the commonest and with a very wide
range, is black with the antennae banded, and the elytra covered with
irregular wavy white markings. It is very variable in size, 1¼ inches
to under ¾ of an inch in length. _P. saundersi_, found in W. Australia,
is much larger, of a more shining dark chocolate brown tint, and more
deeply impressed with well defined spots, blotches and irregular buff
coloured markings. _P. sannio_, smaller than the last and with a more
constricted thorax, has the whole of the upper surface clothed with a
creamy grey pubescence overlaid with deep orange red, and irregular
dark lines crossing the wing covers; this beautiful beetle is a
native of Queensland. _Rhytiphora argus_ takes its name from the dark
brown eye-like spots all over its back showing through the rich buff
pubescence; it also ranges over a large part of Queensland. _Depsages
granulosa_ resembles a _Penthea_ in its robust form; it measures
over 1½ inches in length; is of a uniform dark dull brown tint, with
the elytra covered with fine granules or bosses. It is common about
Sydney, found clinging in summer time to the stems of gum saplings.
_Zygrita diva_ is a handsome little dark orange yellow coloured beetle
irregularly marked and mottled with black. It is very common upon grass
stalks in the open forest country of North Australia.
[Illustration: =Fig. 96.=--_Symphyletes
vestigialis_ (Pascoe).
The Buff-painted Longicorn.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Family 50. Plant-eating Beetles.
CHRYSOMELIDAE.
These foliage-destroying beetles have a regular, thickened, more or
less oval or rounded form, with the thorax sometimes forming a neck;
but in other groups are rounded and fit closely into the head and
abdomen. The head, buried up to the eyes in the front of the thorax, is
furnished with short stout biting jaws, and slender filiform antennae
composed of many short segments; the tarsi are generally four jointed.
They are as a rule small insects, rarely measuring over ½ an inch in
length; their prevailing colours are red, yellow, or brown, marked with
black or bright metallic tints. They lay their eggs on the foliage
or twigs of their food plants, upon which the larvae feed when they
emerge, and when full grown crawl down and pupate in the soil beneath.
This is a very large family; about 18,000 species are described from
all parts of the world, and most of the typical groups are represented
in this country. We have had a number of workers on the Chrysomelids:
Baly (Ann. Nat. History 1862), (Jour. Linn. Soc. 1864), and (Trans.
Ent. Soc. of London 1877): Clark in the “Journal of Entomology” 1864:
Marsham (Trans. Linn. Society 1808): Chapius has described a number
(Soc. Entom. Belgium Vol. xvii.), and (Journal, Museum Godeffroy
xiv.): while Lea (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1904) has monographed the
CRYPTOCEPHALIDES; and Blackburn revised the Genus _Paropsis_ (Pro.
Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1896 and 1901), adding many new species.
The SAGRIDES are very distinctive beetles, with the thorax elongated
in front and broad behind; some of the more tropical forms are of rich
metallic tints, with the thighs of the hind legs greatly enlarged; and
our beautiful representative species, _Sagra papuana_, is known to
collectors in the North Queensland scrubs as the “Kangaroo Beetle.”
It measures 1 inch in length, and the swollen hind legs fringed with
reddish hairs and a large angular spine are fully another inch in
length. It is a uniform deep metallic blue. _Carpophagus banksiae_
measures ½ an inch in length; is of a uniform dark reddish brown,
with the elytra irregularly striped and banded with dark yellow; the
thighs of the hind legs are thickened, and the under surface is clothed
with fine grey hairs. It has a wide range, and is found about Sydney
clinging to the low scrub. _Mecynodera coxalgica_ is a larger, broader,
dull reddish brown insect, clothed with a lighter tinted pubescence,
and is found in similar localities.
The CRYPTOCEPHALIDES are a group of short, oval or truncate beetles,
with long slender antennae: the sexes often differ in size and
markings; they are usually found feeding upon the tender tips of
the branches of wattle, young gum, and other low shrubs. _Elaphodes
tiqrinus_ is a small, oval, reddish brown beetle, thickly clothed with
golden yellow pubescence forming a mottled pattern over the elytra; it
feeds upon the foliage of the black wattle. The members of the Genus
_Ditropidus_ are small oval beetles, similar in shape and habits, black
and shining; over 100 species have been described from Australia. The
Genus _Cadmus_ contains some very handsome ovate insects, with long
slender antennae; they chiefly frequent the young eucalypts: the larvae
have the curious habit of living in jug-shaped cocoons fitting closely
to the body, with the horny flat forehead closing the opening at the
apex; when moving along the fore-legs are extended like those of a
bag-moth. _Cadmus rubiginosus_, our largest common species, is under
½ an inch in length; it is of a general reddish brown colour, with
darker markings. _C. litigiosus_ is a smaller yellow beetle; the head
and thorax are black above, and the elytra yellow, finely punctured
and spotted with black. The Genus _Cryptocephalus_ comprises a number
of similar shaped beetles with smaller wrinkled head and thorax, and
the tip of the abdomen truncate. _Cryptocephalus scabrosus_ is black,
very rugose on the upper surface, with the tip of the elytra tinged
with reddish brown: it measures about ¼ of an inch, and is common
about Sydney. _C. viridinitens_ is slightly larger, of a uniform dark
metallic green on the upper surface.
The EUMOLPIDES are represented by one of our most beautiful species,
_Spilopyra sumptuosa_, common on low scrub on the northern rivers of
N.S. Wales: it is about ½ an inch in length, and is of a fiery coppery
red and deep metallic tint, giving out beautiful shades of colour in a
bright light.
The Genus _Edusa_ contains a number of bright metallic coloured beetles
of oval form, which are chiefly found among the foliage of eucalypts.
_Edusa distincta_ is of the usual bright coppery red tint, with
greenish head and thorax; it measures nearly ⅓ of an inch in length.
_Rhyparida didyma_ is a dull yellow beetle, with a narrow parallel
stripe of black down each side of the elytra; it is of the usual
elongate oval form with the head turned down in front. They are found
clinging to grass stalks; this and several other species are common on
the North West coast of Australia.
The CHRYSOMELIDES are one of the typical groups; many of them are
rich in bright metallic tints; are either rounded or oval in form;
and their larvae are active six legged grubs that crawl about the
foliage. _Aesernoides nigrofasciatus_ is a handsome, broad, convex,
black beetle, with the elytra crossed with three broad irregular
bands of dark orange yellow; it measures nearly ½ an inch in length,
and is common on several shrubs in the Northern River scrubs. The
Genus _Phyllocharis_ contains a number of more elongated beetles with
thicker antennae; they are chiefly found upon grass. _Phyllocharis
cyanicornis_ measures slightly over ⅓ of an inch in length; the general
colour is dark orange, with the antennae and legs black; and the
dorsal surface of the thorax and elytra are irregularly blotched with
shining blue-black. It has a wide range over Australia and Tasmania.
_P. cyanipes_, a larger species from N. Australia, has the head,
thorax, blotch on each side of base, and tips of elytra light yellow,
with the rest of the wing covers shining black. _Lamprolina perplexa_
is a smaller, elongate, metallic, dull bronze coloured beetle, with
yellow head and thorax; it is common upon the foliage of the native
blackthorn, _Busaria spiniferous_.
The larvae of several species of the Genus _Calomela_ feed upon the
foliage of the black wattles: they are short, squat grubs, with black
heads and small green oval bodies. _Calomela paralis_ measures 2½ lines
in length; its general colour is dark orange yellow, with a broad
parallel band of rich metallic green occupying the centre of each wing
cover and tapering down to the tips; the elytra are deeply and finely
punctured. Twenty-five species are described from various parts of
Australia, chiefly by Baly (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1856–1863: and Ann. and
Mag. N.H. 1862).
The Genus _Paropsis_ is the most extensive and characteristic of all
our plant-eating beetles, and some of our common species are very
plentiful about Sydney. Marsham wrote a monograph of the species
(Trans. Linn. Soc. 1808), placing them in the Genus _Notoclea_; in
Masters’ Catalogue 269 species are listed; since then, Blackburn has
revised the Genus (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1896–1901), and added a
number of new species.
The beetles are found chiefly upon the foliage of young eucalypts, and
lay their yellow spindle-shaped eggs in a ring round the small twigs:
the young larvae when first hatched cluster together, but as they
increase in size they scatter all over the foliage upon which they
feed. They are very active, short, stout grubs, with three pairs of
well developed legs; when full grown they crawl down and pupate in the
soil. The beetles are very convex and broadly rounded; most of them are
more or less yellow, brown, or black in tint; some are very richly and
delicately shaded with metallic tints, which however unfortunately fade
after death. _Paropsis variolosa_, one of our largest species, measures
¾ of an inch in length, and is nearly as broad in proportion; it is of
a general yellowish brown tint mottled with lighter yellow and closely
punctured; the under surface except the legs is black. _P. alternata_
is a smaller, dark brown beetle, the elytra banded with parallel
lines of black and reddish brown: _P. immaculata_ is about the same
size; dull reddish brown, with the outer half of the elytra darkest;
it is usually found feeding upon the foliage of the black wattle. _P.
liturata_ is slightly smaller than the last, with the wing covers
irregularly spotted with pale yellow. It is common on the eucalypts
about Sydney, and has a wide range over the State. The small green
larvae of _P. pictipennis_ feed upon the foliage of _Leptospermum_; the
beetle is a small form, dull yellow marked with bright spots, but fades
into a dull brown when dead.
[Illustration: =Fig. 97.=--_Calomela paralis_ (Lea).
The Green Striped Wattle Beetle.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The HALTICIDES are popularly known as “flea beetles,” as they have the
thighs of the hind legs swollen out into rounded lumps which enable
them to jump to a considerable distance: specimens are often found
feeding upon sedges about watercourses. _Nisotra submetallica_ is a
tiny, shining green beetle, with a light reddish brown head and thorax;
it is often a pest in the herb bed, where it feeds upon mint. _Arsipoda
macleayi_ is a much larger, deep metallic blue beetle with very large
thighs; it has been found eating the surface of vine leaves in the
Gosford district N.S.W., and covering them all over with brown blotches.
The GALLERUCIDES comprise several very destructive garden pests, among
which is the well known Pumpkin Beetle, _Aulacophora olivieri_,
a reddish yellow and black beetle often called a “lady-bird,” and
which in many parts of Australia swarms over the young melons and
cucumbers and devours the flowers and foliage. _Monolepta rosae_ is
a delicate pale yellow beetle, with the front half of the elytra
shaded with rose red; it has a wide range, and on the northern rivers
congregates in great numbers at times, eating up the young foliage of
the citrus trees. The Fig-leaf Beetle, _Galleruca semipullata_, lays
its spindle-shaped eggs in patches on the leaves of both the wild and
cultivated figs, upon the surface of which the dirty yellow coloured
larvae feed, finally crawling down the trunks and pupating in the
ground. The beetle measures about ⅓ of an inch in length; is of a dull
ochreous yellow, with the outer margins of the broad elytra striped
with dull bluish black. _Hoplostinus viridipennis_ is a much smaller,
dull brownish yellow beetle, with shorter, rounded, deep metallic green
elytra. It feeds upon the foliage of the nettle trees growing in the
scrubs of the Northern Rivers, N.S.W.
[Illustration: =Fig. 98.=--_Paropsis immaculata_
(Marsham).
A typical Leaf-eating Beetle.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 99.=--_Monolepta rosae_
(Blackburn).
The Painted Leaf Beetle.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The HISPIDES are a very distinct group of the plant-eating beetles,
whose larvae are sometimes very destructive; they bore into the foliage
or stalks of plants, feeding in, and not upon the plant tissue. The
beetles might be divided into two sections; those that are short and
broad shouldered like _Monochirus multispinosus_, which measures ⅙ of
an inch in length, is black in colour, with the whole of the dorsal
surface covered with short fine spines, and is common upon grass blades
on the South coast of N.S. Wales; and the elongate almost cylindrical
forms found on sedges belonging to the Genus _Euryspa_. These beetles
are remarkable for the situation of their antennae, which are very
close together at the base, and stand straight out in front of the
head. _Brontispa froggatti_, belonging to the latter section, is a very
serious pest on the cocoa nut palms in New Britain and Solomon Islands.
The CASSIDIDES are curious ladybird-like beetles of a general yellow or
light brown colour spotted or marked with black, with the outer margins
of the elytra spreading out into an encircling flange or rim. They are
confined to the more tropical forests of Queensland, but one species,
_Aspidomorpha deusta_, comes into the northern scrubs of N.S. Wales; it
is of the usual shape and mottled tints, measuring about ¼ of an inch
in length.
Family 51. Fungus Beetles.
EROTYLIDAE.
The larvae of these beetles can be often found in numbers feeding in
the different kinds of woody fungi that grow upon tree trunks, old
fences, and fallen logs. If these infested fungi are collected and kept
in a box the beetles can be very easily bred out. They can be readily
recognised by their elongate, boat-shaped form, and clubbed antennae.
_Episcaphula pictipennis_, one of our commonest species, is black, but
thickly mottled with deep orange red forming three interrupted bands
across the elytra. It measures about ¼ of an inch. _Thallis janthina_
is a smaller, shining, blue black beetle, slightly roughened on the
elytra; it breeds in the large, spongy, white fungus growing on the
tree trunks known as “punks.”
Family 52. Lady-bird Beetles.
COCCINELLIDAE.
These well-known beetles differ from the last family (which many of
them resemble in outward appearance) in having 3 jointed tarsi, and the
short usually 11 jointed antennae (occasionally 8–10) being slightly
clubbed at the tips. In their habits however they differ in being
carnivorous both in the larval and adult state, with the exception of
the members of the Genus _Epilachna_, which are phytophagus. They are
all small rounded beetles; the short head fits close into the thorax,
which in turn rests against the front of the elytra: most of them are
yellow, spotted or marked with darker yellow, metallic blue or black,
and are slightly pubescent. These insects are well known in our gardens
to the children as “lady-birds,” and the quaint rhyme of “Fly away
lady-bird” is said to have originated in the hop fields of Kent: after
the hop picking, the dead plants, where the common English lady-bird
was abundant feeding upon the hop aphis, were burnt off, and this was
a warning by the children to them to fly away before the fires were
started. They have been closely studied by economic entomologists
because they are the natural enemies of so many aphis and scale insects.
[Illustration: =Fig. 100.=--_Epilachna 28-punctata_
(Fabr.).
The Spotted Leaf-eating Lady-bird.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Over 2,000 species have been described from all parts of the world,
and in the latest list given by Lea (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1901), 110
are recorded from Australia. Mulsant published his great work (Species
Coleopteris Trimeres Securipalpes) in 1850: Crotch published his
“Revision of the Coccinellidae” in 1874; in both of these will be found
descriptions of Australian species. Blackburn (Trans. Royal Soc. S.A.
1892) and Lea previously quoted, added a number of new species to our
fauna.
[Illustration: =Fig. 101.=--_Epilachna
guttatopustulata_ (Fabr.).
The Potato-leaf Lady-bird.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 102.=--_Leis conformis_
(Boisd.)
The Common Spotted Lady-bird.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Epilachna_ contains all our plant-feeding lady-bird
beetles, two of which are common. The 28-spot lady-bird, _Epilachna
28-punctata_, has a wide range extending from China and India to all
parts of Australia; it measures about ⅓ of an inch in length, is of a
dull yellowish brown tint marked with rounded black spots, and clothed
with a fine pubescence. Crotch says: “This species varies almost to
infinity, and gradually runs into the common 6-spotted type, so that
I cannot give any structural differences.” Its curious gregarious
larvae are dull yellow covered with black spined tubercles; about
Sydney they are often found upon the foliage of the trumpet flower
(_Datura stramonium_), but in the north of N.S. Wales often damage the
foliage of potatoes. _E. guttatopustulata_ ranges from Tasmania to
North Australia, and is a common insect in the Richmond River scrubs,
N.S.W.; it is a large beetle, easily recognised by the large, rounded,
yellowish red blotch on the sides of the elytra.
[Illustration: =Fig. 103.=--_Thea galbula_
(Mulsant).
The Yellow-shouldered Lady-bird.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 104.=--_Verania frenata_
(Erichson).
The Striped Lady-bird.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The typical _Coccinella repanda_ measures ⅕ of an inch in length; it
is a little, rounded, bright yellow beetle, with the head and thorax
blackish, the elytra striped down the centre, and marked on either side
with two irregular black V-shaped blotches. It has a wide range over
Australia, and feeds upon all kinds of aphids, sometimes appearing
in great numbers all over the country. _Leis conformis_ is a larger
species, of a uniform bright orange yellow, thickly spotted with black.
It is a common garden insect, where the clusters of its slender yellow
eggs may be often noticed attached to the bark of aphis infested
trees; and its elongated, smoky tinted larvae, blotched on the sides
with orange, may be often watched feeding upon rose or peach aphis.
_Thea galbula_ is a dainty little lady-bird, with the dorsal surface
bright pale yellow, marked with black in the centre of the thorax; the
dorsal stripe down the centre of the elytra connects two pairs of black
blotches crossing the centre and base. It measures about ⅙ of an inch
in length, and is at times common in our gardens. _Verania frenata_
is ⅙ of an inch; it is yellow, with the thorax black behind, and with
three stripes of the same colour down the elytra. It has a wide range
from Tasmania to New Caledonia and the Malayan Islands.
The Genus _Orcus_ contains a number of metallic blue-black lady-birds
which feed chiefly upon scale insects; their larvae are grey and black
creatures with the dorsal surface covered with fine spines; several
species are common on scale infested citrus trees. _Orcus chalybeus_,
measuring about ⅛ of an inch in length, is of a uniform deep metallic
steel blue. _O. australasiae_ is a larger species with two rounded
yellow spots on each side of the elytra. _O. bilunulatus_ is a still
larger insect, with only one yellow blotch on either side of the front
of the thorax.
[Illustration: =Fig. 105.=--_Orcus chalybeus_
(Boisd.).
The Steel-blue Lady-bird.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 106.=--_Orcus australasiae_
(Boisd.).
The Six-spot Blue Lady-bird.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Novius cardinalis_ is a tiny red and black lady-bird, very variable
in its black colouration; it was better known as _Vedalia cardinalis_,
when it was collected in great numbers and forwarded to America to
destroy the Fluted or Cottony-cushion Scale (_Icerya purchasi_), which
had been introduced from this country into California and damaged the
orange trees. It has since been introduced into other parts of the
world, and is now cosmopolitan. The Genus _Rhizobius_ contains a number
of small black beetles finely punctured and clothed with pubescence,
that gives them a rusty tint. _Rhizobius ventralis_ is very common
in the bush upon young eucalypts that are infested with _Eriococcus
coriaceous_; it measures about ⅙ of an inch in length and is very
pubescent. _Cryptolæmus montrouzieri_, a great foe to all kinds of
mealy bugs, has been introduced into Hawaii with good results. The
larvae are flattened brown insects that cover themselves with short
white overlapping filaments, so that their identity is quite lost;
they frequently swarm in thousands upon the trunks of scale infested
Auracaria pines, pupating in such numbers that they form large white
patches over the tree stems. The beetle is ¼ of an inch in length;
is of a uniform black tint, with the head, thorax and tip of the
elytra light yellow. The Genus _Scymnus_ contains many of our smallest
species: _Scymnus vagans_ is a minute black beetle only ¹⁄₂₄ of an inch
in length, which can be found on mite infested foliage. _S. notiscens_,
more than twice the size, is common both on wattles and orange trees;
it can be easily identified by the distinct reddish blotch in the
centre of each wing cover.
Order VI.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Butterflies and Moths.
Butterflies and moths are scale winged insects, and are among the
giants of the insect world; they can be defined as insects with two
pairs of membranous wings well adapted for extended flight, clothed
with scales overlapping each other like the slates on the roof of a
house, flattened and rounded on the surface of the wings, but more
or less hair-like upon the body. The head is usually provided with a
tubular proboscis or mouth, that can be curled up like a watch spring
when at rest, and is admirably adapted for sucking up the honey from
flowers when expanded.
The caterpillars may be smooth and naked, or thickly clothed with
spines or hair; with few exceptions they feed upon the foliage or
wood of plants: after undergoing a series of moults they either
spin a cocoon, bury themselves in the ground, or (if wood borers)
close themselves up in the burrow where they undergo a complete
metamorphosis. If the larva of a butterfly, the caterpillar attaches
itself to a twig by the tip of its tail and casts the larval skin,
which slips off, leaving the naked transformed pupa simply enclosed
in a stout, close-fitting pupal jacket. Some species of moths appear
in such numbers at times that they do a great deal of damage to plant
life, and are very serious pests.
Lepidoptera on account of their beauty and size have always been very
popular with entomologists, and large numbers have been collected from
all parts of the world, so that this is one of the best known orders.
Sharp estimates that 50,000 species are described, and every year adds
to this long list.
They are divided into two great groups, somewhat artificial, but
definable as RHOPALOCERA, butterflies; and HETEROCERA, moths.
RHOPALOCERA.
Butterflies.
The typical butterflies are usually slender-bodied insects, with
filiform and more or less clubbed antennae, delicate legs, and large
richly tinted wings; they fly about in the bright sunlight, visiting
flowers and feasting upon the nectar that they find in the blooms.
They have large compound eyes so that they can see very well; and the
slender tubular mouth is very highly developed in all butterflies. The
eggs are laid upon the food plant: the caterpillars are generally more
or less elongated, and naked or covered with scattered tubercles rather
than hairy; when full grown they attach themselves to the under side
of a twig or leaf by the tip of the abdomen. Some groups are furnished
with a silken girdle round the middle attached at each end to the leaf
or twig; and another section roll themselves up in leaves. They do not
form a cocoon, but as the larval skin slips off, it reveals the regular
pupal form fitted with a skin-like jacket through which the indistinct
lines of the rudimentary wings, legs and antennae can be traced. The
pupa may remain in this quiescent state for several months before the
butterfly splits the skin and emerges, a perfect, fully developed
insect.
As many of our butterflies have an extended range, some of them were
originally described from other countries, and when captured here were
named as new species; so that a good deal of confusion has existed in
the proper identification of some of our common species as to whether
they were Australian or only varieties of foreign species. In 1805
Donovan figured some of our commonest species in his “Insects of New
Holland.” After Kirby’s “Catalogue of Rhopalocera” was published in
1871, Masters compiled and issued a list of our Australian species.
In 1878 Semper published his list of Australian species; and in 1891
Miskin produced his “Catalogue of the Australian Butterflies,” in
which he included and described some new species (No. 1, Annals of the
Queensland Museum); this remained our working list until Waterhouse
published his “Catalogue of the Rhopalocera of Australia” as No. 1
Memoir of the New South Wales Naturalists’ Club 1903. In Waterhouse’s
list a great many changes have been made in the genera and species;
a number of our well-known names have vanished, with very little
explanation; for example, _Pieris teutonia_, our common white,
appears under the name of _Belenois java_; this is unavoidable
to a certain extent in bringing Catalogues up to date, but is very
confusing to beginners in the work of classification.
For a list of the writers upon, and references to our butterflies, the
student is referred to Waterhouse’s Catalogue.
I am indebted to Messrs. Anderson and Spry for notes on the life
histories of some of the southern species described in their “Victorian
Butterflies” (Melbourne 1893).
Family 1. Brush-footed Butterflies.
NYMPHALIDAE.
This group comprises a number of large or medium sized butterflies that
are known as “Fritillaries,” “Emperors,” “Admirals,” and many other
popular names in England, and are generally brightly coloured; many
have a very wide range over the world. The fore-legs of both sexes
are imperfect, the male with one or two, the female with four or five
tarsal joints. The larvae are usually spiny, or clothed with hairy
warts; and the pupae are suspended by the tail. Sharp places them in
eight sub-families, four of which are well represented in Australia.
The DANAINAE are brightly coloured butterflies of a general reddish
brown tint with blackish markings; the larvae are smooth cylindrical
caterpillars with the tips of the body ornamented with a fleshy tail.
The Genus _Danais_ contains six species, of which the best known in
Eastern Australia is the “Monarch” or “Brown Gypsy,” originally a
North American insect but now almost world wide in its range; it is
known under at least four names, and though usually figured as _Danais
archippus_, its correct name is _Danais menippe_. The handsome banded
black and cream coloured larva feeds upon the introduced “bladder-weed”
(_Gomphocarpus fruticosus_), and turns into a beautiful pale green pupa
with metallic markings. This large, deep reddish brown and black lined
butterfly is too well known to require description.
[Illustration: Plate XIX.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Family PIERIDAE.
1. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Eggs on foliage.
2. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Eggs enlarged.
3. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Caterpillar.
4. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Caterpillar (enlarged).
5. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Pupa (enlarged).
6. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Pupa on leaf.
7. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Showing upper surface.
8. _Pieris teutonia_ (Fabr.). Showing under surface.
This butterfly is now known under the name of _Belenois
java_ (Sparrman).]
[Illustration: _Plate XIX.--LEPIDOPTERA._]
_D. petilia_, a much smaller butterfly, has broader white markings
on the tip of the fore wings and none round the edges of the hind
pair. It has a wide range over Australia, across Asia to Europe. The
caterpillar is of a lavender colour and feeds upon the cotton grass;
it transforms into a beautiful green chrysalis marked with scattered
golden spots and a band of the same colour round the abdomen. _D.
hamata_, a fine pearly blue and black species, is recorded by Olliff
from Cape York to as far south as Shoalhaven, N.S.W., but is a rare
insect in the south.
Fourteen species of the Genus _Euploea_ are described, of which
_E. corinna_ is a mottled black and white species, very abundant
in sheltered gullies in N. Queensland, also ranging southward to
Sydney. The larva feeds on a creeper (_Mandevillia_); it is a slender,
dull-coloured caterpillar with four pairs of fleshy tentacles on the
back. The pupa is suspended to a leaf, and is a rich, bright metallic
silver.
* * * * *
The ACRAEINAE contains a single species, belonging to the typical
Genus _Acraea_, which is found from North Queensland to Sydney. _A.
andromacha_ measures 2¾ inches across the wings; is blackish brown; the
fore wings are transparent with dull brown markings; the hind pair are
opaque, creamy white, edged with brown; it always looks as though badly
rubbed. It has a range from New Guinea, Fiji, and Samoa into Australia.
The yellowish brown caterpillar clothed with branched fleshy spines,
feeds upon the passion vine, and is not uncommon in Sydney gardens.
* * * * *
The NYMPHALINAE comprise a number of handsome butterflies, which differ
from the previous ones in having the cells of both pairs of wings open
or imperfectly closed. The larvae are very variable, some being slender
hairy caterpillars or armed with spines and tubercles; others are short
and cylindrical, furnished with horns upon the head.
The fine East Indian Genus _Cethosia_ is represented by three species:
the Crimson-winged Butterfly, _C. cydippe_, is not an uncommon insect
in North Queensland frequenting the clearings on the edge of the scrub;
it measures 3½ inches across the large rounded wings, the hind margin
of the second pair being deeply scalloped; the central portion of both
surrounding the body is bright red, the outer deep purple, with white
markings toward the tips of the front pair; and the under surface of
both is barred and spotted. _Cynthia ada_, ranging from Brisbane to
Thursday Island, is a large light ochreous yellow butterfly, with a
dark line diagonally crossing both wings from the middle of the fore
pair to the level of the tip of the body; a double band of crenulated
markings encircle the wings; and there are a pair of eye spots on the
hind ones. _Cupha prosope_ is the representative of another northern
genus ranging from the Richmond River N.S.W. to Thursday Island. It is
a medium sized butterfly with dark orange coloured wings, the front
pair tipped and edged with black; all the under-surface is pale orange
yellow, mottled and barred, with a row of eye spots round the edge of
the wings. The Australian Fritillary, _Argynnis inconstans_, measures
about 3 inches across the wings; it is of a uniform dull yellow colour
with a double row of black spots along the edge of the wings, with the
inner portion covered with an irregular pattern of spots and dashes.
It is common along the cleared tracks in the Queensland jungle, and
has been recorded from as far south as Hunter River, N.S. Wales.
_Pyrameis kershawi_, figured and described by McCoy from Victoria, is
found throughout Australia, and is so closely related to the “Painted
Lady,” _P. cardui_, of Europe, that it was until lately only considered
a variety. It measures under 2 inches across the wings; its general
colour is dull brown mottled and barred with black and white. The
larvae feed upon “everlastings” (_Heliochrysum_) and the introduced
cape weed; they are slender brown creatures covered with black spines,
and the chrysalis suspended by the tail is marked with shining golden
spots. _P. itea_, slightly larger than the previous species, has the
edges of both pairs of wings scalloped; the fore wings are black, each
with three small yellow spots at the tip, and a large elongated patch
crossing through the centre, with the inner portions of both pairs
bright ferruginous brown, and a row of four small black eyes on the
hind wings. The slender spiny caterpillars feed upon the foliage of
nettles. The angulated chrysalis is often marked with golden spots.
The Genus _Junonia_ contains two common butterflies, one _J. villida_
found all over Australia; it measures about 2 inches across the wings
and is of a general brown tint edged with delicate white and grey
markings, and ornamented with a pair of eyes on each wing ringed with
yellow. It has a curious habit of flying along the track in front of
one, settling on the ground, then flitting ahead again. The cylindrical
somewhat stout larva is blackish brown, spined behind the head and
clothed with fine hairs; it feeds upon rib grass (plantains). The
short stout chrysalis is light brown marked with darker spots. _J.
albi-cincta_ does not come south of Brisbane; it is about the same
size, with the eyes upon the wings smaller, and the hind wings mauve,
giving out a bright metallic sheen. The Brown Leaf-winged Butterfly,
_Doleschallia australis_, is nearly 3 inches across the wings, which
are elongated and oval in form, with the tip of the hind pair produced
into a tail; the upper surface is dull reddish brown with yellow in
the centre, while the under surface is greyish brown mottled with wavy
lines, with a central larger bar crossing the centre and running out
into the tail. It flits about in the undergrowth, a conspicuous insect
when on the wing, but the moment it settles and folds its wings over
its back, it is lost to sight, for its leaf-like wings, when closed
with the tail forming a stalk, so closely resemble the foliage, that
while it remains at rest it is very difficult to detect. It ranges
from the Richmond River to North Queensland. The Blue-eyed Butterfly,
_Hypolimnas bolina_, ranges from Cape York to Sydney, but is a rare
insect about the latter place. It differs in the sexes both in size
and markings; the male is rich velvety black; has both wings deeply
scalloped, a double white spot towards the tip of each, with a blotch
of opaline white in the centre encircled with iridescent violet blue.
The play of colour in this beautiful butterfly flashing about in the
bright sunlight with its ever changing tints of blue and black, makes
it one of our most striking species. The female is somewhat larger;
has the central markings on the fore wings more elongated and lighter
coloured, with a blotch of fulvous red below it; the hind wings are
much whiter in the centre and are only slightly clouded with blue.
_Neptis shepherdi_, ranging from Brisbane to Cape York, has the typical
delicate black wings spotted and striped with white. The Tailed
Emperor, _Charaxes sempronius_, is our sole representative of the
genus, the home of which is Africa and the East Indies; it is nearly 4
inches across the wings, the inner portions of which are creamy white,
the outer edges, tips and margins black, and with a row of creamy spots
along the edges and two spots behind. The marginal black edging on the
hind wings is broad, shaded on either side with pale blue, which covers
the broad scallops in the wings; there are two stout wedge-shaped
tails on each hind wing, and a bright reddish-yellow blotch on each
inner edge. The larva is a very curious, short, stout, pale green
caterpillar, with a slightly forked tail, and four short stout horns
on the top of the head; it feeds upon the foliage of the black wattle.
This species ranges from Sydney to Derby, N.W. Australia, where I took
a specimen upon a baobab tree which is now in the Macleay Museum;
Waterhouse gives Cairns, Q., as its northern limit, but this gives it a
much extended range.
* * * * *
The SATYRINAE are chiefly small butterflies, black, brown, or sometimes
white, generally marked with eye spots, and the wings are rounded. The
larvae feed upon different grasses, and are smooth or clothed with fine
short hair: the head is round; and the body tapers to each extremity,
and ends in a forked tail.
The Genus _Mycalesis_ contains five species; they are all reddish-brown
butterflies of small size, that flit about in open forest country, of
which _Mycalesis terminus_ is a very good type: it measures 1½ inches
across its dull, rusty red wings, which are indistinctly marbled, and
darkest at the tips; the edges of the hind pair are marked with fine
black lines. On each wing are a pair of small eyes, the hind one on
each wing being largest; these also show on the under surface, and
those on the hind wings are encircled with silvery lines. It is a
northern species found along the coast of North Queensland. _Tisiphone
abeona_ is a common species in Victoria and on the eastern coast of
N.S. Wales, usually found flitting along damp gullies, never flying
high or in open country. It measures about 2½ inches across the wings,
and is of a uniform dark brown tint: the front wings are ornamented
with two eyes, the first smallest; a broad irregular band of yellow
bisects the wings about the middle, crossing behind the eyes; the hind
wings are plain, with a small eye on the inner margin, and are slightly
scalloped round the edges. The delicate green caterpillar has a small
rounded head; it is broadest in the centre, tapering to the head and
forked anal extremity. It feeds upon the sedges. The chrysalis is of
a delicate emerald green tint, with the edges of the wings outlined
in yellow. _Ypthima arctous_ ranges from Sydney to Cape York; it is a
small, dull brown insect with a very large eye on the tips of the fore
wings, and a very small one on the hind pair.
The Genus _Heteronympha_ contains seven species, all of which have a
wide range along the coast; the Yellow Wood Nymph, _H. merope_, being
one of the commonest in all open forest country from Tasmania to
Brisbane; it is remarkable from the fact that the sexes differ both in
size and markings. The male measures 2½ inches across the wings, which
are of a general dull tawny yellow colour mottled with black and brown,
the fore pair in a scroll-like pattern, the hind ones only barred
along the edges and slightly touched with black. The female, ½ an
inch broader, has the greater part of the fore wings black, enclosing
two yellow patches fading into tawny yellow toward the basal portion,
and with a large yellow angular blotch standing out on the posterior
sides; each wing in both sexes has a small eye towards the tip. The
dull brown larvae feed upon various grasses, and hide close to the
roots. The chrysalis is not attached to the food plant, but rests in a
frail network on the ground. _H. mirifica_, found between Sydney and
Brisbane, is about the same size as the female of the last species; it
also haunts sheltered country. It is of a uniform, blackish brown tint
with small eye spots and a broad irregular white stripe across the
middle of the fore wings.
The Genus _Xenica_ is peculiar to Australia; it contains nine species,
four of which are confined to Tasmania, several being found only on
the higher portion of the mountain ranges. They are all small, tawny
yellow or reddish brown butterflies of small size, spotted and mottled
with brown, and have small eyes upon the tips of the wings. _Xenica
achanta_, one of the largest, measures about 2 inches across the wings,
and is of a uniform dark orange yellow, with the apical portion of the
fore wings marbled with dark brown; the hind pair are regularly mottled
all over; and the margins of both are edged with two fine black lines;
it ranges from S. Australia to Queensland. Several smaller species have
been described from the Australian Alps. _X. correae_, described by
Olliff from Mt. Kosciusko, feeds upon the native fuschia: _X. fulva_,
also described by Olliff, is the male of this species.
Family 2. Horned Butterflies.
LIBYTHEIDAE.
This family contains only a single genus, representatives of which
are found scattered over all the warmer parts of the world, but the
largest and most brightly coloured forms are found in New Guinea. They
are remarkable for the formation of the palpi, which, standing out in
front like a beak, are four times the length of the head; the wings are
angulated, and the pupa hangs by the tip of the abdomen. One species,
_Libythea nicevillei_, ranging from Port Moresby across to Cape
York, represents the family in Australia.
This group appears to form a connecting link between the Nymphalidae on
the one hand, and the Lycaenidae on the other.
Family 3. The Blues.
LYCAENIDAE.
The “blues,” “coppers,” or “hair-streaks” are so named on account of
their rich colourations or wavy markings on the under side of the
wings. Though often passed over by the ordinary collector because of
their small size, they are much sought after by lepidopterists for
their beauty and bright metallic tints. Their bodies are slender, and
the wings somewhat fragile; though they can fly well, they usually
prefer to flit about the bushes and sheltered gullies, and when they
settle have the habit of folding their wings in an erect position above
the body, so that unless disturbed they are not very noticeable. The
prevailing colours are metallic blue, or coppery red, with eyes upon
the wings in some groups, while others are ornamented with dainty
feathery tails, or lobes upon the hind wings. The colours and markings
of the sexes often differ in the same species on the upper surface, but
always correspond on the under-side. The legs are more developed than
in the Nymphalidae, the tarsi of the male somewhat aborted, but that of
the female complete. The larvae are curious, short, slug-like, greasy
grubs, dull brown or green; some of them are gregarious, clinging to
the twigs by day and feeding at night. The pupae are attached to the
twig by the tip of the abdomen and girthed with a silken thread round
the middle.
In Miskin’s Catalogue 110 species were given under 18 genera; in
Waterhouse’s list 114 species are recorded, divided into 31 genera.
Waterhouse has monographed this family, where descriptions of all
the known Australian species will be found (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.
1902–1903). A number are rare and restricted in their range, and many
are confined to the rich tropical scrubs of North Queensland. The Genus
_Danis_ contains six species, most of which are confined to North
Queensland; _Danis taygetus_ is a very distinctive little butterfly,
common in the Queensland scrubs, and extending as far south as the
Richmond River, N.S.W. The male has the fore wings pale violet blue,
with the centre of the hind ones white, the edges of both pairs black;
in the female both pairs are marked with white with a faint shade of
blue; on the under surface the centres of the wings are white edged
with black, with a broad band of bright metallic blue occupying the
lower half of the hind pair encircling a row of black spots. The Genus
_Miletus_ contains fifteen species: _M. delicia_ has the upper surface
brownish black, with the base of the fore and centre of hind wings
pale metallic blue; the under side is dull yellowish brown, variegated
with angulated blotches or spots forming bands round the wings and
a parallel stripe across the front of the fore pair. This butterfly
ranges from Victoria to Queensland. _M. ignita_ has a very wide range
over the southern parts of Australia into Queensland; it was figured
and described by Leach in 1817. _Candalides absimilis_ is a medium
sized insect; the male has the upper surface dull blue with the
edges fringed with white; the female is dark brown with an oval patch
of white in the centre of both wings and metallic tints round the
body; the under surface is pale bluish white marked with fine wavy
lines round the wings. It is found from Victoria well into Northern
Queensland. _Polyommatus boeticus_ has had many names, for not only has
it a very wide distribution over Australia, but it extends over Asia,
Africa, and Europe. It is of a uniform brown tint; has the centre of
both wings shaded with pale metallic blue; the hind one terminates in
a fine slender tail, with two eye spots at the base; the under side is
creamy white with slate grey lines and eye spots touched with blue.
[Illustration: Plate XX.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Family PIERIDAE.
1. _Terias hecabe_ (Fabr.).
Family PAPILIONIDAE.
2. _Papilio sthenelus_ (Macl.).
Family NYMPHALIDAE.
3. _Junonia albi-cincta_ (Butler).
5. _Pyrameis itea_ (Fabr.).
6. _Pyrameis cardui_ (Linn.).
7. _Danais petilia_ (Stoll.).
Family HESPERIDAE.
4. _Trepezites symmomous_ (Hubn.).
Family LYCAENIDAE.
8. _Chrysophanus aenea_ (Miskin).]
[Illustration: _Plate XX.--LEPIDOPTERA._]
_Lucia lucanus_, one of the smaller forms, has all the upper surface of
a dull ochreous tint, with the centres of the fore wings pale yellow. A
fine fringe of hair-like scales of alternate tufts of black and white
gives it a delicate pencilled appearance; the under surface is mottled
and brownish, the white of the fore wings showing through. It has a
wide range from South Australia to Mackay, Queensland, and is common
about Sydney. _L. pyrodiscus_ has the upper surface black, with the
centre of the fore wings and the greater part of the hind ones dull
red. The whole of the under surface is purplish and finely marbled with
a very fine tail on the outer edge of the hind pair. It ranges from
Victoria to N. Queensland.
The Genus _Ogyris_ contains eleven species, most of which are recorded
from the southern portion of Australia. _Ogyris abrota_ has the upper
surface dark brown with a patch of pale metallic green in the centre
of each fore wing; the hind pair are all brown and scalloped along the
edges; the under side is pale creamy white mottled with wavy lines. The
larva feeds upon the foliage of _Loranthus_; it measures about an inch
in length; is of a uniform dark yellowish brown, with the upper surface
rough, clothed with fine bristles; they feed at night, and pupate in
the usual manner of all members of this family.
The Genus _Ialmenus_ contains eight species, among them several of our
best known “Blues”: _Ialmenus evagorus_ ranges from South Australia
into Southern Queensland, and was figured by Donovan in his “Insects
of New Holland” in 1805. It is described by Olliff under the name of
the “Imperial Blue,” but I would suggest that the “Black-wattle Blue”
would be a much more distinctive name, for all along the coast the
short, dull green, slug-like grubs may be met with, congregated in
little groups clinging to the twigs of this wattle. Hundreds of ants
are always swarming over them attracted by the secretion they discharge
from glands on the back.
[Illustration: =Figs. 107= and =108=.--Wattle
Butterflies.
107. _Ialmenus ictinus_ (Hewitson).
The Inland Wattle Butterfly.
108. _Ialmenus evagorus_ (Donovan).
The Coastal Wattle Butterfly.]
The presence of ants is probably of great value to the larvae, for
they keep parasitic insects and birds from molesting them. When full
grown they sling themselves to the twigs to pupate, and are often so
numerous that the branches are covered with pupae hanging like bunches
of grapes. The butterfly measures nearly 2 inches across the wings,
which on the upper surface are black on the margin, with the rest pale
metallic blue shading into white in the centre; the hind pair are
scalloped and produced into fine feathery tails with spots of dark
orange yellow at the base; the under side is pearly grey, banded and
spotted with black. _I. ictinus_, with identical habits, about the
same size, takes the place of this species in the inland districts.
_Pseudalmenus myrsilus_ is a handsome little butterfly with the centres
of the wings deep orange divided with dark nervures, and the hind
pair with long black tails; it is found from Tasmania to the southern
districts of N.S. Wales. The last species of this family, _Liphyra
brassolis_, is only found in North Queensland; its larvae live and
pupate in the arboreal nests of the “Green Tree-ants.” An interesting
account of the life history of this butterfly is given by Dodd in the
“Entomologist” 1902.
Family 4. The Whites and Yellows.
PIERIDAE.
The members of this family are popularly known as “Whites” and
“Yellows” on account of their prevailing colours. Both sexes have six
perfect legs, and are butterflies of moderate size, with the hind wings
rarely crenulated or produced into tails. Their larvae are slender,
hairy caterpillars with small heads, and are often gregarious in their
habits; the pupae are sharply angulated to each extremity, attached
both by the tail, and a silken girdle round the body of their food
plant.
In Miskin’s Catalogue 34 species are listed, contained in 7 genera;
Waterhouse reduces them to 31 species, and discards several well-known
genera.
The Genus _Terias_ contains all the small “Yellows,” which are low
flitting, dainty, little butterflies found in the tropical jungle, but
equally at home in the far western scrubs and open forest land. _Terias
smilax_, our smallest species, is common about Sydney, and has a wide
range both north and south from Adelaide to Rockhampton. It is bright
yellow, with the black markings in the fore wings extending to the tips
of the hind pair. The Mottled Yellow, _T. hecabe_, is much larger than
the last; is of a bright yellow colour with the black markings coming
round to the edge of the hind wing and swelling out into a rounded
patch; the hind wings are lightly edged with black, and on the under
side are thickly mottled with yellowish brown spots. It extends from
Sydney to Queensland, and has a wide range out northward and eastward
among the islands.
The Genus _Elodina_ contains several small, pearly white butterflies,
with wings edged with black. The small white, _Elodina angulipennis_,
is found about Sydney, ranging as far north as Mackay, Queensland. Our
common white butterfly known under the name of _Pieris teutonia_, and
the sole representative of that well defined genus, has been recently
identified as _Belenois java_, and as Sparrman described it some few
years before Fabricius, this well-known name will unfortunately have to
give way. This butterfly has a wide range over Australia, especially in
the interior, where several native shrubs belonging to the _Capparidae_
are plentiful; upon these the slender brown and yellow caterpillars
feed. This is the species that sometimes comes flying over the eastern
coast in immense swarms. It measures 2½ inches across the wings, and
is black and white on the upper surface, with the under portion more
mottled with black and canary yellow. It ranges from Australia to
Fiji, Tonga, and the Malay Archipelago. The smaller Whites, which have
the under side of the hind wings of a more uniform yellow tint, are
represented by _Appias (Tachyris) ega_, first described by Boisduval in
1836; it has an extended range from Victoria to Cape York, Queensland.
The typical Genus _Delias_ is represented in Australia by 8 species,
three of which can be collected from Sydney to Cape York, and two
others from South Australia northward. The Painted Delias, _D.
harpalyce_, first figured by Donovan in 1805, measures 3 inches across
the wings, which on the upper surface are creamy white, broadly
margined on the apical half with black, the fore pair banded with a
row of white spots; on the under surface the white markings above are
much broader, and the hind wings are blotched with a bright red band
surrounded with black but lined with white. The larvae feed upon the
native mistletoe (_Loranthus_) which grows upon the she-oaks, and are
slender, dark coloured caterpillars covered with fine hairs. They are
gregarious in their habits, often 20 to 30 in a family, and not only do
they keep together when feeding, but they spin a curious web over the
denuded twigs of their food plant to which they attach themselves when
pupating. The pupa is dark brown, slightly over 1 inch in length, armed
with short black spines along the sides of the body, and the front of
the head is furnished with a curious two-pronged fork.
The Tinted Delias, _D. argenthona_, is a Queensland species, with the
outer half of the hind wings on the under surface black, enclosing a
number of bright red blotches; while on the hind wings of the Striped
Delias, _D. mysis_, the red forms a continuous broad curved band round
the tips. In the Yellow-tinted Delias, _D. aganippe_, the wings of
the male on the upper surface are creamy white, while those of the
female are tinged with yellow, and the black extends further into the
wing; on the under surface both sexes have the wings blackish, mottled
with large white blotches, and yellow markings; a patch of bright red
on the shoulders; and with a row of rounded spots of the same colour
running round the hind wings. The larvae feed upon the foliage of
_Loranthus_. The Dusky Delias, _D. nigrina_, generally flies high, and
is not so easily caught; it has an extended range from Sydney to North
Queensland; the upper surface is of the usual colour, but the whole of
the under surface of the wings is dull black washed with grey; there is
a band of yellow on the fore pair, and the hind pair is marked with
the same colour and a horse-shoe band of red. The larvae when full
grown are almost black spotted with yellow, and with fine white hairs;
they are gregarious and also feed upon the _Loranthus_.
_Catopsilia (Callidyras) pomona_ is a large light butterfly, with the
upper surface creamy white tinged with yellow, and with dusky spots
toward the tips of the wings; all the under surface is dull yellow,
with a few white spots, and with pale purple markings, forming a darker
patch in the centre of each wing. It is found from Sydney northward
through the Malay Peninsula, and into Ceylon.
Family 5. Swallow Tails.
PAPILIONIDAE.
The members of this group of butterflies are popularly known as
“Swallow Tails” from the peculiar structure of the hind wings of the
typical species, which are produced at the tips into spatulate lobes or
tails; though in a large number these tails are wanting. They are all
furnished with well developed legs; antennae distinctly clubbed; and
the pupae are attached both by the tip of the body and a silken girdle.
In this family many of the largest and most beautiful insects in the
world are congregated.
The Bird-winged Butterflies (_Ornithoptera_) are represented by
three more or less distinct species from the mainland, and a fourth
from Darnley Island. _O. richmondia_, typical of the group, is the
southern form, ranging from the Richmond River, N.S.W., into Southern
Queensland. The smaller male measures about 6 inches across the wings,
which are rich velvety black, with a bright green stripe along the
front of the fore wings; the whole of the body is golden; and the hind
wings except the black margins and four black spots are of a slightly
brighter tint. The large female is of a uniform dark blackish brown
with white markings on the wings. _O. (cassandra) euphorion_, found
from Mackay to Cairns, N.Q., is somewhat larger, with a second stripe
of green on the fore wings, and a row of golden spots on the hind pair.
The large black caterpillars have short black fleshy spines along the
sides of the body, with the front ones bright red.
Rippon has recently monographed the Ornithoptera, and places
our species in the Genus _Troides_, but I prefer to retain the
original name, under which our species are so well known. The Genus
_Papilio_ contains 18 species in Miskin’s Catalogue, reduced to 15
in Waterhouse’s list, many of them with a very wide range. _Papilio
sarpedon_ is common in Sydney gardens, and extends away up the coast
to India and Ceylon. Olliff called it the “Wanderer” from its rapid
restless flight. It is of a general black colour, with sharp angular
fore wings, and rounded crenulated hind wings coming to a blunt
finger-like tail at the tips. The centre of both pairs of wings is pale
green forming a broad elongate stripe, widest in the centre, and with a
row of fine crescent-shaped spots down the sides of the hind pair. The
larvae are short, green, slug-like creatures with a patch of yellow on
the back; they feed upon the foliage of the camphor laurel.
The Black Orchard Butterfly, _Papilio erectheus_ (now known as _P.
aegeus_), is a larger black insect with an irregular band of white
crossing the tips of the fore wings; the centre of each hind one is
occupied by a rounded mauve patch; the edges are crenulated, tipped
with white, and have a red eye-like spot on the inner margin. The
female is much larger; has the inner portion of the fore wings black,
but the outer portions dusky white; the hind wings are black at the
base, banded with white shaded with black, and have a row of red spots
round the margins. The mottled orange green larva is furnished with a
broad head, from which shoot out a pair of retractile fleshy horns when
touched, at the same time giving off a musky scent. They feed upon the
foliage of orange trees, and when numerous are a nuisance in the plant
nurseries. The larvae of Macleay’s butterfly (_Papilio macleayanus_)
feed upon the foliage of the Sassafras in the Illawarra district, and
range from Tasmania to Cairns N.Q. The butterfly is somewhat after the
same slender shape as _P. sarpedon_, but has the hind wings produced
into slender swallow tails. The portion of the wings surrounding the
body is pale green, the outer parts black, with three small green
patches toward the front of the fore pair, and a row of small spots
along the lower edges of the hind pair.
The Imperial Swallow Tail, _Papilio ulysses_, measures 5 inches across
the wings, which are rich metallic blue margined with deep velvety
black, and are produced into long swallow tails behind. It is found
in the tropical scrubs of North Queensland ranging up into the Malay
Archipelago, and for shape and colour is one of the most beautiful
butterflies in the world, but should be seen in its native haunts
to fully admire its beauty as it goes floating through the tropical
brushes.
[Illustration: Plate XXI.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Family NYMPHALIDAE.
1. _Heteronympha merope_ (Fabr.). ♂.
2. _Heteronympha merope_ (Fabr.). ♀.
3. _Danais hamata_ (Macl.).
4. _Cethosia cydippe_ (Linn.).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XXI.--LEPIDOPTERA._]
The last of this genus I shall notice is the very distinct yellow
and black butterfly, _Papilio sthenelus_, which has a wide
range from South Australia to Queensland, and is one of the very few
large butterflies found far inland. The Painted Gauzewing, _Eurycus
cressida_, is a rare species in N.S. Wales, though recorded from as far
south as Sydney, but is abundant in the tropical northern scrubs. The
male has the fore wings denuded of scales and semitransparent, with the
shoulders and two spots in the front black; the hind ones are black
mottled with white and red, the latter colour also on the sides of the
thorax and tip of the abdomen. The female is smaller, of a dull brown
colour, with semitransparent wings, looking very much like a small
rubbed specimen of the male; the amateur collector generally discards
them under that impression.
Family 6. Skippers.
HESPERIDAE.
These butterflies are popularly known as “Skippers” on account of the
peculiar way they fly, so different from all the other groups. They
have broad, short, thickset heads and bodies; and the antennae, wide
apart at the base, are produced at the tip into an irregular club
or pointed hooked process. The legs are perfect in both sexes and
often spined; most of them are brown or reddish yellow, more or less
variegated. The larvae are long, cylindrical, naked caterpillars, with
the head hard and horny; the prothorax narrow, forming a regular neck.
When full grown they attach themselves by the tail to the leaf, which
they roll round themselves into a primitive kind of cocoon.
Messrs. Meyrick and Lower have lately revised this group (Trans. Roy.
Soc. S.A. 1902), and list 79 species that they identify, and note
a number of others that are so badly described that they cannot be
determined.
_Netrocoryne repanda_, one of our largest species, of a uniform light
brown tint, has the tips of the wings darkest, the centres of the fore
pair marked with large translucent blotches of a pale yellow tint, and
a single spot in each hind one. It has an extended range from Sydney to
N. Queensland.
The Genus _Hesperilla_ contains 31 species, some of which are very
local, while others have a very wide range: _H. picta_ is about 2
inches across the wings; its general colour is dark brown with a dull
greenish tint on the body, ornamented with five yellow spots on the
fore wing; the centres of the hind ones and the hind margins of the
same yellow colour, and with the markings on the under surface more
numerous. _H. ornata_ is a smaller species, of a general dark brown;
the fore wings carry a number of spots and four angular golden yellow
blotches; the hind pair are reddish orange mottled on the under surface
of the body, the tips of the fore and the whole of the hind wings with
pale yellow. It has an extended range from Victoria up to Cooktown
N.Q. _Trapezites iacchus_, one of our commonest species, described by
Fabricius in 1775, measures 1¾ inches in length, and is of a uniform,
dull brown colour shaded with yellow; the fore wings are blotched
with small irregular marks; those on the hind pair are parallel and
confluent. The under surface is dull yellow; the fore wings are mottled
and the hind ones marked with four to five small purple spots ringed
with black. It has a wide range from Tasmania over Australia. _T.
symmomus_ is a darker, larger species very similar in the markings,
only the yellow spots are more defined. It does not range further north
than Brisbane.
[Illustration: =Figs. 109= and =110=.--Earlier
stages of the Palm Skipper, _Pamphila augiades_
(Fielder).
109. Larva. 110. Pupa.]
_Apaustus lascivia_ is one of the small dull brown skippers washed with
yellow, with pale slender transverse bars crossing the centre of the
wings; the body is marked with white; the under surface is dull yellow,
with the tips of the fore wings darkest. The larvae of _Pamphila
augiades_, another common species in the Sydney gardens, and found as
far north as Bowen, Queensland, feeds upon the foliage of young palms;
that of _Erynnis sperthias_ is found on the same plant.
_Badamia exclamationis_ is a light brown species with the fore wings
narrowed to the extremities, and the hind pair arcuate on the edges.
It measures 2 inches across the wings, and ranges from Sydney to
Cape York. In the Genus _Hasora_ we have several large skippers, all
northern species, with the upper surface dark; the under surface richly
marked with purple and pale golden yellow in _H. discolor_; and with
simple silvery stripes on the under surface in _H. hurama_.
HETEROCERA.
Moths.
Moths differ from butterflies in having the abdomen stout and thickset,
and not pinched or constricted in front at the junction with the
thorax; and the antennae, instead of being clubbed or thickened at
the tips, are either slender filiform appendages or are uniformly
thickened, pectinate, or feathered; when of the latter form they are
much more pronounced in the males.
[Illustration: =Fig. 111.=--Head of Hawk Moth.
_a_, upper lip; _b_, mandibles; _c_,
proboscis; _d_, lower lip; _e_, antennae; _f_,
eyes.
(Redrawn from Duncan’s “Transformations of Insects.”)]
Most moths are nocturnal in their habits; in the day time they are
usually found hiding among the foliage or resting in dark corners,
and many can be obtained by shaking the bushes over a net. The larger
species may be killed at once in the cyanide bottle, but must be
transferred to a box as soon as they are dead, for they rub very
easily; the smaller forms can be placed alive in glass-topped or chip
boxes, and afterwards killed, and then mounted before they are stiff.
The members of a few groups fly about in the daylight; for instance
_Agarista glycine_, our vine moth, but they are exceptions. The
beautiful hawk moths only flit about at twilight, and are known as
“crepuscular” moths.
This great group contains some giants of the insect world, such as some
of the Atlas Moths of India, and Wood Moths of Australia, which are as
big as small bats; while among the Micro-lepidoptera we come to many
tiny creatures which require to be examined with a lens before their
identity can be established.
The typical moth caterpillar constructs a stout silken bag or cocoon,
within the shelter of which it casts its skin and becomes a well
defined pupa; but there are many which bury themselves in the ground,
or pupate in cavities in timber that form no true cocoon but simply
undergo their transformations in such secure hiding places.
[Illustration: =Fig. 112.=--Wings of Moth.
_=A=_, Fore wing: _c.m_, costal margin;
_o.m_, outer margin or termin; _i.m_, inner margin;
_a.a_, apex; _o.a_, outer angle or tornus; _c_,
discoidal cell; _d_, discocellulurs.
_=B=_, Hind wing: _c.n_, costal nervure; vein
12 fore wing, 8 of hind wing; _s.n_, sub-costal nervure;
_m.n_, median nervure; _1a_, _b_, _c_, three
branches of internal nervure; _2_, _3_, two branches
of median nervure; _4_, _5_, _6_, three branches
of radial nervure; _7_, _8_, _9_, _10_,
_11_, five sub-costal branches of fore wing; _7_
sub-costal nervure of hind wing.]
Moths are well represented in all parts of Australia, but are most
numerous in well wooded country: a considerable amount of work has
been done in this group by Messrs. Lewin, Scott, Walker, Meyrick,
Lower, Turner, and others in Australia, and Messrs. Guérin, Boisduval,
and many other foreign writers. I have in the arrangement of the
families followed Lower’s Catalogue of Victorian Heterocera (Victorian
Naturalist Vol. x. 1893--Vol. xiv. 1898).
Family 1. Connecting-link Moths.
CASTNIIDAE.
The members of this group comprise a few insects that form an
intermediate state of development between butterflies and moths;
for while there is no doubt that they are moths, they have hooked
or thickened antennae like the “Skippers,” somewhat similar habits,
and even the general colouration. They are chiefly confined to South
America and Australia. _Euschemon rafflesiae_ is one of the
largest hesperid-like forms; is black, blotched with white, and is
found in the northern parts of Australia.
The Genus _Synemon_ contains a number of small reddish brown moths
which flit about over the grass, just like small butterflies: _Synemon
sophia_ is about 1½ inches across the wings, which are brown, slightly
marbled in front, and the hind pair blotched with dull yellowish
brown; it is common on the grassy flats along the eastern coast. _S.
hesperoides_ is common in Victoria in similar localities; is about the
same size, but of a darker brown colour; the fore wings marbled with
fine wavy grey lines, and the hind ones with a rusty red tint.
Family 2. Butterfly Moths.
URANIIDAE.
These are large usually day-flying moths with slender antennae; broad
wings, the hind pair crenulated and produced into tails; the abdomen
like that of a stout butterfly, and never extending beyond the hind
wings.
The typical species (Genus _Urania_) are found in America, others in
Madagascar; but our beautiful forms belong to the Genus _Nyctalemon_,
one species of which, _Nyctalemon orontes_, is very common in North
Queensland. In the neighbourhood of Cairns a score of this species can
often be taken in the early morning resting on the low scrub, and small
swarms of them can often be seen flying across the rivers in the middle
of the day. This species is a very handsome large velvety black moth
marked with broad dull green bands, and having short creamy swallow
tails. Several very beautiful species are also found in Southern New
Guinea.
Family 3. Day Moths.
AGARISTIDAE.
This family has been lately revised by Hampson (Catalogue of the
Lepidoptera Phalaenae Vol. I. British Museum 1898); he divides them
into 55 Genera containing 225 species, of which some typical forms are
peculiar to Australia; they are conspicuously coloured and further
noticeable from their habit of flying in the daytime. The members of
this family are chiefly confined to the tropical parts of the Old World
and the Australian region; in America a few only are found in Mexico
and Brazil.
[Illustration: =Fig. 113.=--_Phalaenoides glycinae_
(Lewin).
The Caterpillar and Adult of the Vine Moth.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Vine Moth, _Phalaenoides (Agarista) glycinae_, better known under
the old generic name of _Agarista_, is one of our regular vine pests
in the caterpillar state, devouring the foliage and young grapes.
The moth lays her eggs upon the vine canes; the grubs when full grown
measure up to 2 inches; are of a general deep greenish yellow tint,
with the whole of the upper surface covered with small tubercles each
bearing a single hair; and they have a band of bright red blotches
round the dorsal surface of the anal segment. They bury themselves
in the ground, forming a dark reddish brown chrysalid enclosed in a
primitive cocoon or covering of particles of earth. The moth measures
2¼ inches across the wings, and is of a uniform black colour marbled
on the head, thorax, and sides of the wings with white; the fore wings
are tipped with white, and an irregular transverse bar of pale yellow
is followed by a smaller blotch through the centre; in the hind pair
the outer margins are irregularly edged with white. _Phalaenoides
tristifica_, formerly known under the name of _Agarista lewinii_, is
slightly smaller; the fore wings are more mottled, and the hind pair
have an irregular white spot in the centre by which it can be easily
identified. _Cruria donovani_, also smaller than the Vine Moth, has
the fore wings mottled with a number of small white blotches, and a
broad irregular patch in the centre of the hind ones. _Eutrichopidia
latina_ comes closer still to the Vine Moth in size and colour, but
can also be easily recognised by having a single broader, irregular,
dull yellow band across the outer half of the fore wings. The Painted
Day Moth, _Agarista agricola_, attracted the attention of our earliest
entomologists by its brilliant colouration, and was described and
figured in colours by Donovan in his “Insects of New Holland” 1805, and
again by Dr. Leach in his “Zoological Miscellanies” published in 1815.
It has a wide range from Sydney northward, and the several sub-species
placed under this name extend its range to New Guinea and Timor. This
is now the sole type of the Genus _Agarista_, in which so many of our
species were formerly placed; it is a handsome black moth; measures
up to 3 inches across the wings, the fore-pair of which are richly
blotched with pale yellow, deep orange, and blue; in the hind pair
the centre is bright red and blue, and the margin is white. The head
and thorax are pale yellow above; the legs and under surface red; the
tip of the abdomen dark orange. The larva is a handsome dark coloured
caterpillar clothed with scattered and curious long clubbed hairs.
[Illustration: Plate XXII.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Family NOTODONTIDAE.
1. _Danima banksiae_ (Lewin).
Family AGARISTIDAE.
2. _Hecatesia fenestrata_ (Boisd.).
6. _Agarista agricola_ (Donov.).
Family HYPSIDAE.
3. _Nyctemera amica_ (White).
Family SPHINGIDAE.
4. _Cizara ardenia_ (Lewin).
8. _Hemaris hylas_ (Lewin).
Family LIPARIDAE.
5. _Darala ocellata_ (Walker).
Family SYNTOMIDAE.
7. _Syntomis annulata_ (Fabr.).
Family CASTNIIDAE.
9. _Synemon hesperoides_ (Feld).
Family PYRALIDAE.
10. _Zenckenia recurvalis_ (Fabr.).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XXII.--LEPIDOPTERA._]
The Genus _Hecatesia_ contains our curious “whistling moths,” which
fly about just at dusk, making sharp continued notes like the calls
of some of our small cicadas. The sound is said to be produced by the
male rubbing his curiously clubbed antennae against a pellucid ridged
area in the front of the fore wings. Hampson doubts this, and says
it is probably caused by rubbing the tarsal spines against the ribbed
space. _Hecatesia fenestrata_ is a pretty little moth, about 1 inch
across the wings; is of a general dark brown tint; the outer margins of
the fore wings are provided with a broad semi-lunate ribbed band (the
musical apparatus) in front, and two white lines behind; the centre
of the hind pair and abdomen richly blotched with reddish yellow; the
head, antennae, centre of thorax, and outer margins of the wings marked
with white.
Three species of this Genus are recorded from Australia, two of which
were described from the west coast, while _Hecatesia fenestrata_ has a
range from South Australia into N.S. Wales.
Family 4. Ringed Moths.
SYNTOMIDAE.
The typical Genus _Syntomis_, in which Hampson places all our species
that were previously described under the Genus _Hydrusa_, comprises
about 138 species, chiefly confined to Africa, Asia, the Malay
Archipelago and Australia; 12 species are recorded from this country.
They are all rather small moths of a general black or brown tint
mottled with orange yellow or lighter brown.
_Syntomis annulata_, about 1 inch across the outspread wings, has a
very wide range from the Philippines through New Guinea and Australia,
and naturally varies much in different localities; our variety is of a
blackish tint, with six orange spots in the fore wings, and two more
angular blotches on the hind ones; the abdomen is regularly banded with
orange and black. _S. aperta_ measures 2 inches across the wings, which
are of a brownish tint with large blotches of orange yellow occupying
the greater portion of the surface, divided from each other by slender
lines. It ranges from New Guinea and Queensland round to S. Australia,
and has been captured out west about Bathurst, N.S.W.
_Euchromia creusa_ is a very handsome form about 2 inches across the
narrow fore wings, which are black with two large transparent divided
spots forming a double row across them, and another very small one at
the base: the hind pair have two similar blotches. The head, thorax,
and basal portion of the abdomen are black, shot with metallic blue;
the basal abdominal segments are crimson, finely barred with black.
This beautiful moth has a wide range over the Malay Archipelago
and the Pacific Islands, coming down to Thursday Island and North
Queensland.
Many of the foreign species in the larval state feed upon lichens or
grass.
Family 5. Burnet Moths.
ZYGAENIDAE.
These moths form an extensive family represented in most parts of the
world; they are also day-flying moths, and some are very brilliant in
colour. In England some of them are known as “Burnet Moths” and “Green
Foresters.” They have long narrow wings, and the antennae thickened
toward the middle.
Most of our species belong to the Genus _Procris_, which are also
very abundant in Southern Europe. They are small creatures measuring
under 1 inch across the wings, and are of a general dark brown tint
with greenish markings. _Hestiochora bicolor_ is a curious little
moth remarkable for its bright colouration, which has a wonderful
resemblance to one of our small parasitic wasps (_Braconidae_). The
wings are clouded with black; the head and front of the thorax are red,
the hind margin of the latter black; the abdomen black and white.
Family 6. Hawk Moths.
SPHINGIDAE.
The hawk moths have a stout rounded abdomen tapering to a point;
thickened antennae; stout narrow pointed wings; the proboscis or
sucking mouth-tube very long, curled up under the head when at rest,
but capable of being uncurled in front of the head to suck up the
nectar from the deepest tubular flower while the moth is hovering over
it. They hide during the day, and are most active just at twilight,
when they dart about, over, and around the flowering shrubs. Their
caterpillars are very handsome thick cylindrical grubs marked with
brilliant eye spots and stripes of various striking colours, and are
easily distinguished by a curious curved fleshy horn on the dorsal
surface of the tail segment.
They take their scientific name from the fanciful resemblance of their
stiff horny pupae (which are naked and generally buried in the sand
beneath their food plant) to the Egyptian Sphinx, and their popular
names of “hawk” and “humming-bird moth” from their powers of flight.
Our species have been divided into five sub-families, and in Miskin’s
“Catalogue of the Australian Sphingidae” (Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland)
42 species are listed under 13 genera; to which list a few species have
since been added.
The first group contains what are popularly called the “Clear-winged
Hawk-moths,” from the large bare scaleless areas in the wings; they fly
about in the daytime with a loud humming noise, very much resembling
some of the Carpenter-bees when hovering over the flowers. _Hemaris
kingi_ is marked with black and yellow, and has a thick tuft of stiff
hairs on either side of the abdomen; it is not uncommon in Southern
Queensland. _H. hylas_ is a similar stout moth with unspotted wings
which has an extended range across Queensland to Japan, Asia, and
Africa; while a third species, _H. janus_, ranges from Brisbane to
Rockhampton. In the Genus _Macroglossa_ 4 species are recorded from
Queensland, some of which extend into our north coast scrubs.
In the second group we have a very distinctive little banded hawk moth,
_Cizara ardenia_, which ranges from New South Wales into Southern
Queensland; most of my specimens come from the Illawarra scrubs,
N.S.W., where the larva feeds upon the wild vine. Its ground colour is
dark brown with narrow grey bands running round and crossing the middle
of the wings, with a curious eye spot on the shoulders. The Genus
_Chaerocampa_ contains a number of large handsome hawk moths, some of
which are introduced species world wide in their range; about 17 are
recorded from Australia. The Silver Stripe, _Chaerocampa celerio_, is a
common European species, that is well known here. French describes the
caterpillar as a vine pest in Victoria; it is a cylindrical greenish
to purple tinted grub with eye spots on the hind segments. The moth
measures 3 inches across the wings; its ground colour is greyish fawn,
with four slender lines of silvery white forming a stripe down the
centre of the fore wings, and the body marked with silver spots; the
hind wings are bright pink. _C. oldenlandi_, which comes close to this
species, feeds upon vines in N.S. Wales. It differs in having no short
oblique silvery stripes on the front of the fore wings, hardly any red
on the hind ones, and has an unbroken silvery dorsal stripe down the
abdomen. _C. erotus_, about the same size, has dark reddish brown
fore wings, slightly marbled, and the hind pair yellow, darkened on
the hind margins; its larvae sometimes feed upon sweet-potatoes. _C.
scrofa_ is a much smaller species of a lighter brown colour, with the
hind wings dull brick red, darkest along the hind margin. This is one
of our commonest species with a wide range over Australia; the brown
small-headed larvae feed upon grass and low herbage. Among our most
striking forms are the two species of the Genus _Coequosa_, both about
the same size, sometimes measuring up to 7 inches across the wings.
_Coequosa triangularis_ is of a reddish brown and grey tint, mottled
on the hind wings with bright yellow, the darker brown forming a large
angular patch in the centre of the fore wings; _C. australasiae_ is
of a light buff or fawn colour, more marbled, with the wedge-shaped
blotch merging into the colouration of the tip of the wing; and the
hind pair yellow, only edged with brown on the hind margin. The
caterpillar of _C. triangularis_, our commoner form, is dull green,
with a rough granulated skin and a small elongate head; the tip of the
abdomen is furnished with a pair of stout plates used as claspers to
cling to its food plant; above this on either side is a black shining
bead-like eye, which is only an ornamental process, but this often
leads people to think that this is the head end, and in some places it
is known as the double-headed caterpillar. It feeds upon the foliage of
_Persoonia_ and _Acacia_, and when touched has a habit of swinging its
body round, as if trying to strike; when full grown it is enclosed in
a black shining pupa-case hidden among the rubbish beneath the trees.
The Genus _Macrosila_ contains 4 species, two of which are not uncommon
in N.S. Wales. The She-oak Hawk-moth, _M. casuarina_, measures up to
5 inches across the wings, and is of a general greyish mottled brown
colour, with a darker blotch in the centre of the fore wings, which
are slightly mottled with black toward the tip; and the hind wings are
often very dark brown.
The Convolvulus Hawk-moth, _Protoparce convolvuli_, ranges all over the
world, the caterpillars feeding upon the convolvulus; and it is also
sometimes quite a pest upon sweet-potatoes. The moth measures 3½ inches
across the wings, and is of a general dark grey colour thickly mottled
with dark brown; the abdomen has a broad brown stripe down the centre
with short transverse white, pink, and black bars on either side.
The Privet Hawk-moth, _Sphinx ligustri_, has light brown fore wings,
the abdomen and hind wings being marked with pink and black. It, like
the vine hawkmoth, has a world wide range, and the caterpillars, with
their delicate green tint beautifully striped with white, are very
common in our gardens toward the end of summer on privet and other
garden shrubs. In spite of their large size, they are very difficult to
detect until the damaged foliage calls attention to their presence.
[Illustration: =Fig. 114.=--_Protoparce convolvuli_
(Linn.).
The Hawk-moth of the sweet potato and convolvulus.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Family 7. Wood Moths.
HEPIALIDAE.
This is a very distinct group, the members of which usually have
long deflexed wings rounded at the extremities, and the neuration of
both pairs of wings alike; the tongue is generally obsolete; ocelli
absent; the tibiae without spurs; while the abdomen is very long and
cylindrical in the typical forms. They lay their eggs upon the bark of
different forest trees; the little caterpillars, after feeding for a
short time on the surface, tunnel into the tree trunk, becoming fleshy
naked grubs which bore cylindrical chambers of various forms in the
timber, in which they sometimes remain for years, finally pupating in
the burrows. The moth develops and escapes in the summer from the pupal
case, which is frequently found projecting from the hole in the trunk
or root after it has emerged. The moths are generally found clinging
to the tree trunks, where they are easily captured. They frequently
come to the light at night, but are difficult things to kill and mount,
on account of their size and the ease with which the scales rub off.
The females of some species lay many thousands of eggs. If these eggs
are not removed from captured specimens and the bodies stuffed before
setting, they generally become greasy and spoil in a very short time.
On account of their large size and beautiful colouration the wood
moths have attracted a great deal of attention; Scott figured and
described a number in his “Australian Lepidoptera,” part of which
has been published by the trustees of the Australian Museum N.S.W.
Meyrick published a revision of the family (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.
1889), which is much more satisfactory, and has been followed in these
notes. The moths, which Meyrick considers to be the ancestral forms
of the _Bombycina_, have a world wide distribution, and are well
represented in Australia.
Donovan in his “Insects of New Holland” described one under the
name of _Hepialus australasiae_, which is now known as _Perissectis
australasiae_. With outspread wings it measures up to 3½ inches across;
the body and fore wings are of a general dark yellowish colour, marbled
and mottled with dark brown, and the hind wings have a reddish tint.
The Genus _Porina_ contains 8 described species from this country;
others are recorded from New Zealand and Africa; they are smaller moths
of a general brown, yellow, or grey tint.
The Genus _Hepialus_ comprises a number of very beautiful moths with
all kinds of delicate green, yellow, pink, and silvery shades of
colour. The moth lays her eggs upon a tree stem; the newly hatched
larva eating off the surface of the bark forms a matted web under which
it bores into the centre of the branch, and then makes a vertical
shaft downward, varying in length from a few inches to several feet,
in which it feeds and pupates. The best method to obtain specimens of
these moths is to collect the infested branches or stems, cutting them
off a foot or more on either side of the silken webs (which often form
a regular ring round the stem), and placing them in several inches of
damp sand in a box, with a sheet of glass over the top. The wood thus
dries slowly and does not damage the delicate pupae or larvae from
which, if collected at the proper time, the perfect moths of several
species will readily breed out. The males and females of the same
species differ from each other in size, colour and markings.
[Illustration: Plate XXIII.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Family HEPIALIDAE.
_Leto staceyi_ (Scott).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XXIII.--LEPIDOPTERA._]
Lewin’s wood-moth, _Hepialus lewini_, is one in which the sexes are
very different. The larger female measures 2½ inches across the wings;
the fore pair, head, and thorax are dull claret red, mottled on the
centre and tips of the wings with green; the hind pair dull yellow,
with a pinkish tint. In the male, the head, thorax, and fore wings are
pale green, the latter banded with opaline white; the hind pair of
a paler green with white tints. This is one of our common species, and
feeds in the stems of the Casuarina.
The larva of _H. exima_ feeds on the stems of the “Lilly-pilly” and
Water-gums, forming quite a felted bag round the branch, and is said to
remain in the larval state for several years; like the great wood-moth,
before it pupates it eats the web off in front of its chamber and
replaces it with a wad to protect the opening; this it can easily
push out with its horny pupal head when ready to emerge. This is a
much larger green form, with the edges of the fore wings marked with
brownish yellow and two eye spots of the same colour in the centre;
the small male has the green fore wings marked with opaline white. _H.
ramseyi_ is easily recognised by its greater size and the green fore
wings richly mottled with large silvery white spots forming irregular
transverse bands.
The Bent-wing, _Leto staceyi_, is one of our most remarkable moths
both for size and colour: it was originally described by Scott under
the generic name _Zelotypia_, but Meyrick placed it in the Genus
_Leto_, in which another species has been described from S. Africa.
Both of these species are peculiar in having the hind wings tufted
with stout shaggy hairs. This moth, chiefly obtained in the forest
country about Newcastle, has been largely bred from the infested timber
by miners in the district, who had a ready sale for them, and who at
this work naturally learnt a good deal about their habits. When the
young larva enters the tree trunk it covers the opening so carefully
with web and particles of bark, that it requires an observant eye
to detect the injury. According to some of the collectors the larva
lives and grows in its shaft, about a foot in depth, for a period of
six years (but this needs verifying); it generally pupates early in
December after blocking the opening with a felted wad; but soon after
its transformation it pushes this wad out. The chrysalid fits close
to its vertical shaft, and aided by rows of fine spines round the
apex of each abdominal segment can move up and down; when reaching
maturity it has a favourite habit of resting in the shaft with the top
of its head level with the transverse burrow, and dropping downward if
disturbed. Thornton, who bred or captured nearly 100 in the Newcastle
district, generally obtained them in the month of March, and found
that those under observation invariably came out about 3 o’clock in
the afternoon. The larger female measures up to 8 inches across the
wings, of which the front pair are long, slender, and arcuate on the
hind margins; these are of a general greyish fawn brown, wonderfully
marbled with black and brown, and with a large eye-spot in the centre
toward the tip: the hind wings and body are reddish yellow. Meyrick
suggests, in his paper previously quoted, that the curious eye-spots on
the wings, together with the general outline of the moth resting upon
the tree trunk, might be a case of protective mimicry, resembling a
snake’s head; this appears to me however to be very far fetched. Skuse
reproduced a drawing of the moth and a monitor lizard’s head in the
“Records of the Australian Museum,” to show this fancied resemblance,
but if the correct colouration had been added the resemblance would
have been very much less marked.
The Genus _Pielus_ contains some large brownish moths with very
hairy legs, two of which have been described from Australia: _Pielus
hyalinatus_, slightly under 4 inches across the wings, is of a general
chocolate brown tint with an irregular silvery white stripe and dark
lines running through the centre of the fore wings; the hind pair are
brown. The larvae feed in the roots of several species of wattles, and
are frequently attacked by _Cordiceps_, the curious fungus that turns
them into what are known as “vegetable caterpillars.” This species
has a range from the southern parts of W. Australia through Victoria
to North Queensland. Messrs. Olliff and Prince figured and described
(Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1887) a handsome variety of this moth under
the name of _Pielus imperialis_. The marbled wood-moth, _Trictena
labyrinthica_, is a large dark brown moth, measuring up to 6 inches
across the wings, which are covered with a scroll-work pattern of
lighter colour. The larvae of these also feed upon the roots of trees.
In the COSSIDAE we have a typical goat-moth, _Culama caliginosa_,
resembling the English species in form and habits. The larva is a
short, dull, red, naked grub that feeds in the stem of the apple-gum,
tunnelling round under the bark until nearly full grown, when it bores
into the wood and pupates in a cocoon at the end. The moth is of a
uniform delicate slate-grey, finely marbled with black lines all over
the broad rounded wings, which are folded downward when at rest.
The ZEUZERIDAE comprise some of our giant wood-boring moths; some are
as large as small birds, with great rounded bodies, and grey wings
thickly mottled with black, brown and fawn: _Zeuzera eucalypti_ has
received an unfortunate specific name, for it feeds in the larval state
in the stems and branches of several different species of wattles, and
kills a great number of these trees by perforating them with great
circular burrows; when ready to pupate, it forms a silken bag close to
the outer skin of the bark, which has been gnawed away so that it can
easily push its way out when ready to emerge. The moths have the usual
brown tint mottled with irregular blotches of grey. The rust-coloured
wood moth is a much larger species, and is commonly known under the
name of _Z. liturata_, but is probably identical with _Z. cinerens_. It
measures up to 4¼ inches across the wings, and is of a delicate mottled
grey and brown tint, with the hind wings and central portion of the
dorsal surface of the abdomen bright chocolate brown. The larvae of
this and the following species live in the centre of the stems of large
forest gums, and are said to take a number of years to come to maturity.
Macleay’s wood moth, _Zeuzera macleayi_, said to be identical with
Herrick-Schafer’s _Eudoxula boisduvalli_, has a large cylindrical body,
and is the giant of the family, measuring up to 10 inches across the
wings. They are brown thickly mottled with grey scales; when taken they
are generally found clinging to the tree trunks, upon which each female
deposits many thousands of small shot-like eggs.
Olliff has given a detailed description of _Leto staceyi_, and an
account of a variety (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1887). In a general
account of these wood-moths (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1894) I recorded a
number of Thornton’s observations.
Family 8. Bag Moths.
PSYCHIDAE.
The members of this group are more remarkable in the caterpillar than
in the moth stage, for as soon as they emerge the larvae construct
protective caps of silken threads and bits of their food-plant, which
as they increase in size become regular silken sacks open at the neck,
through which the head and fore-legs protrude as they crawl about,
but retract at the least alarm. They take their popular name of “Bag”
or “Case Moths” from this peculiar habit, and the different species
construct different forms of bags and ornament them with sticks or
leaves. In Germany they are called “Sacktragers”; in America are known
as “Basket Worms”; and the family is fairly represented all over the
world.
This country is rich in large species, some of which were noticed
as curiosities at a very early date, and Westwood described and
figured most of our bag moths (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854) under the
Genus _Oiketicus_: McCoy in his “Podromus of Natural History of
Victoria” Decade iv. gave additional notes on the habits of two of
our common species; and an interesting paper on how they construct
their portable homes will be found in the “Victorian Naturalist” by
Hill (1898). The caterpillars themselves are short, naked, dull green
creatures with stout horny heads, and are apparently so well protected
from their many enemies that one would hardly expect to find them
suffer from the attacks of parasites. But they must have some weak
point in their armour for a very large percentage, even when collected
and kept in breeding cages, produce only wasp and fly parasites. When
full grown the caterpillar closes up the neck of its bag and fastens
it by a stout silken band to a twig before changing into the chrysalid
state; but while the male turns round and pupates head downward, the
female remains head up as before, and when she casts her pupal skin
is an aborted wingless creature, with small head and legs; the body
simply develops into a great swollen sack of eggs, which hatch out in
her body, or in the shelter of the cocoon; and the larvae make their
way out at the open tip of the bag, each attached to a silken thread, a
squirming mass of hundreds of little black creatures, leaving her only
a shrivelled skin in the cocoon. The male moth, which is rare, is a
very active creature, which dashes about as soon as he emerges from the
pupal case, and damages his wings (even when bred in captivity) before
he can be caught. He has curious toothed antennae; the head and body
are thickly clothed with fine hairs; the body has telescopic segments,
capable of being protracted to double their ordinary length when
impregnating the female enclosed in her cocoon. The wings are narrow,
very lightly covered with scales, and without any very distinctive
pattern.
[Illustration: Plate XXIV.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Family LIPARIDAE.
1. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). ♀.
2. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). Caterpillar.
3. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). ♂.
4. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). Bag shelter among
the foliage of _Eucalyptus albens_.]
[Illustration: _Plate XXIV.--LEPIDOPTERA._]
About 13 species of these moths are described from Australia, of which
several are very common at times in the bush. Saunders’ Case Moth,
_Metura elongata_, is our largest species; the larva constructs an
elongate silken sack often up to 4 or 5 inches in length, broadest in
the centre and tapering to both extremities; the outside is covered
with short lengths of sticks nibbled from the food plant, or picked up
during its wanderings. On an average these sticks are about as long as
wooden matches, and are securely attached at irregular distances, the
lower ones often extending beyond the silken tip. The caterpillar, of
which only the head, thorax, and fore-legs can be seen, is a stout,
naked, dull brown grub barred with black and reddish orange,
measuring about 2 inches in length. The female moth differs so little
from the caterpillar that it is hardly worth noticing, but the active
winged male, with a wing expanse of about 2 inches, has the head and
thorax thickly clothed with bright reddish orange down, and the dusky
wings are lightly clothed with fine scales. Though the moth is a
somewhat rare insect, the bag cocoon can be often found on a twig or
attached to a fence, for in spite of the large house they carry they
are great travellers. The Faggot Case-moth, _Entometa ignoblis_, forms
a very different kind of portable home; the silken sack is covered
with a coat of stout sticks which are generally cut from the gum trees
and laid parallel to each other, and closely fastened to the silken
surface, so that it reminds one of a bundle of faggots. They vary much
in size and length; the larger measures up to 3 inches; one stick will
be often found projecting an inch or more beyond the others; this is
said to be a resting place for the male moth when seeking the enclosed
female. She is of the usual obese form; of a general brown tint, the
head and thorax creamy white spotted with black. The male moth with
a wing expanse of 1¼ inches is of a uniform brown colour. The Leaf
Case-moth, _Thyridopteryx hubneri_, forms a shorter oval silken sack
averaging about 2½ inches in length and broad in proportion, covered
with different kinds of leaves, for they feed on many shrubs and trees;
but the commonest are clothed with bits of gum leaves attached only on
the upper edge, and might be likened to a rag mat. When they infest
pine trees in the garden, they are uniformly clothed with short lengths
of pine needles and have a much neater appearance. The caterpillar is
a stout black grub with the head and thorax dull white, mottled with
brown. The male moth is a pretty little creature, with reddish brown
antennae, the body thickly clothed with black down; the wings have very
few scales, and are almost transparent, with a slight blotch in the
centre of the hind pair.
The Ribbed Case-moth, _Thyridopteryx herrichii_, differs from the
others in constructing a smooth white silken bag, oval in form, angled
on the sides, and with a slender tail at the base; and the long
attenuated neck forms a regular stalk when attached to the twig; it
measures about 2 inches, and is never covered with sticks or leaves.
The caterpillar is blackish brown with the head and first thoracic
segment lighter coloured. The moth is about 1 inch across the wings,
thickly clothed with black hairs, and a reddish orange spot behind the
thorax; the wings are semitransparent, with very few scales.
Family 9. Cup or Slug Moths.
LIMACODIDAE.
[Illustration: =Fig. 115.=--_Doratifera vulnerans_
(Lewin).
The “Cup or Slug Moth,” with larva and cup-shaped cocoon.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
These are moderate sized moths with plump bodies thickly clothed with
shaggy hairs, retracted heads, and toothed antennae. The caterpillars
are curious short stout slug-like creatures feeding on the surface
of the foliage; their feet are almost obsolete, while the under
surface is quite flat, soft and fleshy; the whole body rests on the
leaf when crawling along like that of a snail. The upper surface is
saddle-shaped, with the two extremities raised and ornamented with
fleshy spiny tubercles, with little bunches of sharp retractile spines
like rosettes, which can be withdrawn into the tubercle or erected at
will; the spines are sharp and appear to be hollow, and give a smart
sting if they touch the body; in some of the American species, the
stinging sensation is so severe as to cause serious swellings. When
full grown they spin curious egg-shaped, brown, parchment-like cocoons
attached at the base to the twig, with the apex rounded and forming
a circular cap or lid, which, closely cemented on, is loosened and
pushed off by the enclosed moth when she emerges. They do not pupate
as soon as the cocoon is finished, but remain for a long time in a
semi-caterpillar state before the chrysalis is formed.
* * * * *
The Painted Cup Moth, _Limacodes longerans_, is one of our commonest
species. The female is about 1¾ inches across the wings; has a very
large abdomen; is of a general dull brownish tint; the head and thorax
are slightly coloured with red, and the under surface dark brown, the
wings chocolate brown, with the outer margins light brown. The much
smaller male has semitransparent wings, with the head and thorax marked
with bright red. The larvae feed on eucalypts and are of a delicate
green colour and of the typical form; about 1 inch in length; with
four large tubercles at each end carrying a rosette of retractile red
spines; the centre is marked with red and blue, and the outer margins
are fringed with short tubercles. They form regular oval cocoons
generally attached on their sides to the twig or bark. The Mottled Cup
Moth, _Doratifera vulnerans_, is another common species, the larvae of
which sometimes attack the foliage of apricot trees. It is a larger
slug caterpillar than the last, with a patch of bright yellow in the
middle of the back. The cocoons are pear-shaped with the apex somewhat
contracted, showing the lid more distinctly. They sometimes swarm over
the bush about Sydney N.S. Wales. The moths are of a general reddish
brown tint with the fore wings marbled in the centre with a redder
shade; the hind wings are lighter brown; they are somewhat smaller than
the last species.
* * * * *
_Doratifera quadriguttata_ is of a dull reddish tint; the fore wings
are crossed with a row of 3 darker raised spots, the hind wings being
much lighter: the female measures about 1¼ inches, the male somewhat
smaller. The larvae, when young, cluster together up to a dozen in
number, and feed on the under-side of the leaf, but when full grown
they scatter about, destroying much of the foliage of the gum trees.
Numbers were collected near Gosford N.S.W. about the end of February.
They are short and broad, black, with a pair of dull yellow fleshy
horns in front, and 4 tubercles surmounted with bunches of yellow
spines tipped with black at each extremity; the centre of the flattened
back has rows of short yellow spines with a fringe of similar ones
round the outer margins. When full grown they form the usual egg-shaped
brown cocoon.
* * * * *
_D. acasta_ is a very similar moth, with a row of 6 or more similar
spots crossing the fore wings. The larvae feed in the same manner, and
are very plentiful toward the end of summer in the Bathurst district,
N.S.W. Rainbow has figured the larvae of this species in the “Records
of the Australian Museum” 1904.
The curious warty, pale green, oval, slug-like caterpillar with a
yellow stripe down the centre of the back that is figured by Scott as
_Apoda xylomeli_ feeds upon the under surface of the leaves of the
waratah; and when at rest along the midrib of the leaf, with the yellow
dorsal stripe in line, in spite of its size it is very hard to detect,
and is a wonderful instance of protective colouration.
Family 10. Tiger Moths.
ARCTIIDAE.
This family, including the LITHOSIIDAE, known to collectors as
“Footmen,” is now one of the largest divisions of the moths that were
once all grouped among the true silkworms. The larvae of most of the
species are short hairy grubs popularly known as “woolly bears,”
feeding on all kinds of low plants, and common in our gardens. In this
country they comprise a number of delicate and often very handsome
moths of medium size, with moderately long pectinate antennae, the body
often large, and the wings brightly coloured. The “Footmen” differ from
the “Tiger” moths in having the fore wings longer, more slender, and
folded over the shorter, more elongate body; they take their popular
name from the livery-like pattern of their markings, as the latter take
theirs from the tiger-like stripes and spots; while others again are
known as “Ermine” moths from their soft silken wings.
The Genus _Tigriodes_ contains a number of small moths hiding under
or among foliage and therefore not often noticed. _Tigriodes alterna_
is of a uniform yellowish brown tint, with darker brown markings upon
the thorax and wings, forming zig-zag lines across the fore pair, and
clouding the hind ones. It measures about 1 inch across the wings and
ranges from Victoria into New South Wales. _T. furcifera_ is slightly
smaller, of a bright yellow on the fore wings, with three slender
parallel stripes separating into finer lines at the extremities; the
hind pair paler with traces of black lines toward the edges; there is
a wedge-shaped patch of the same colour on the thorax. Another species
common about Sydney N.S.W. is _T. heminephes_, pale orange yellow with
the apical edges of the wings and thorax blotched with blackish brown.
Among the “Footmen” we have in the Genus _Spilosoma_ a number of fine
white to greyish brown moths, mottled with blackish spots and dashes.
The Light Ermine, _Spilosoma obliqua_, is common in Victoria and N.S.
Wales; it has a wing measurement of 2 inches; is of a uniform dull
white, lightly mottled over the wings with dark brown spots, some of
them forming a slender irregular transverse band across; the abdomen
is red with a dorsal stripe of black dots. _Spilosoma fulvohirta_ is
about the same size, but much more darkly and thickly marked with
brown, also forming dark stripes on the thorax. _Spilosoma fuscinula_
is a much smaller moth, slightly over 1 inch across the wings; it has a
general rich pink tint, very variably spotted and blotched with black;
the latter is sometimes quite the predominating colour, in others only
marking the tips; the hind wings are spotted in the centre and on the
hind margins only. The larvae are short, flattish, hairy grubs of a
reddish colour, and feed upon the foliage of young gum trees.
[Illustration: =Figs. 116= and =117=.--_Spilosoma
obliqua_ (Walker).
116. The Light Ermine Moth.
117. Larva, known as a “Woolly bear.”
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Termissa_ contains a number of smaller pretty little moths
flying low and hiding among the foliage; about 10 species are well
known. _Termissa shepherdi_, slightly over 1 inch across the wings, has
the fore pair broad at the tips, is blackish brown, with 3 irregular
yellow transverse bars; the hind pair yellow, with two rounded marks on
the outer margin. _T. nivosa_ is a smaller moth of a delicate creamy
white, with the front and outer margins of the fore wings delicately
edged with dark yellow and black, and with two indistinct spots on the
front margin; there is a small dot on each hind wing. Anderson says
about Melbourne the larvae are to be found under the bark of gum trees
in August. _Clauca rubricosta_ measures 1 inch across the wings; is
of a general blackish tint with the palpi and collar behind the head
dull red, a slender costal stripe of reddish yellow along the fore
wings, and a yellow spot on the centre of the inner margin forming a
distinctive mark when the wings are folded; the hind pair are pale
yellow with dark edges. The Genus _Mosoda_ contains several moths whose
larvae feed upon moss and lichens on the surface of the rocks about
Sydney. _Mosoda anartoides_, under 1 inch across the wings, has the
fore pair dark brown, delicately mottled; the hind pair dull orange
yellow irregularly edged with brown. _M. consolatrix_, a smaller moth,
has the fore wings greyish mottled brown; the hind pair pale buff. _M.
jocularis_ is slightly smaller, pale buff yellow; the fore wings tipped
and speckled with black and the outer tips of the hind pair clouded
with brown. The Genus _Comarchis_ contains 8 described species, all
small moths; _C. aspectatella_ is under 1 inch across the wings, the
fore pair grey barred with yellow, and the hind pair pale ochreous; it
is common in January on Mt. Kosciusko; _Eutane terminalis_ and _Asura
lydia_ are two little black moths thickly mottled with dark orange
yellow forming bars and spots on the fore wings; the hind wings of the
former are yellow in the centre, thickly margined with black; in _A.
lydia_ the yellow of the hind wings is divided in the centre by a black
band. The larvae feed upon moss. The larvae of the Speckled Footman
(_Deiopeia pulchella_) feed upon the forget-me-not; it is of a bright
leaden colour, with a white stripe down the back and red spots on the
sides of the segments. The moth has a very wide range over the world,
and has probably spread from Europe. I have generally taken these moths
on the grassy flats close to the sea shore; it is a slender winged
creamy white moth, the fore wings mottled with black and red spots,
and the hind pair irregularly edged with black. _Nola metallopa_ is a
silvery grey moth with the fore wings marked with darker coppery tints.
The curious hairy larva feeds upon the foliage of young gum trees; when
it moults the skin of the head remains attached to the hairs above the
head, forming a regular crest.
The members of the small family HYPSIDAE, chiefly found in the tropics,
are represented in this country by 4 genera containing about 18
species. They differ from the last in the venation of the hind wings,
and are medium sized brown or yellow moths.
_Nyctemera amica_ is one of our commonest species with a wide range
from Victoria to Queensland; it may be found flying about or resting
on flowers at all times of the year. The larvae, marked with black
and red and furnished with tufts projecting on either side of the
head, feed upon the “native ivy” (_Senecio scandens_). The moth is of
a general blackish brown tint; the fore-wings are mottled with two
irregular pale yellow blotches forming a transverse bar toward the
tips; each of the hind pair has a more regular blotch in the centre.
[Illustration: =Figs. 118, 119= and =120=.--Life
history of _Nola metallopa_ (Walker).
The Seedling-gum Moth.
118. Moth. 119. Larva. 120. Pupa.]
Family 11. Brown Tails.
LIPARIDAE.
These are the “Tussock” moths of America, and the “Vapourers,”
“Brown-tails,” and “Black-arches” of English collectors; some of
ours are known as “Bag-shelter moths” from the curious silken bags
the gregarious larvae spin, in which they shelter during the day and
come out at night to feed upon the foliage. The typical “Brown-tails”
are stout, thickset moths with rather long hairy fore-legs generally
stretched out in front when resting; the antennae are pectinate in both
sexes, and the abdomen is tipped with tufts of downy hairs; in some
species the females are wingless. They lay their eggs in clusters on
the under-side of the leaves, covering them over with a felted mass of
the hairs from the tip of the abdomen.
The famous “Gypsy Moth,” common in Europe, belongs to this group; it
was introduced into the State of Massachusetts, where it has multiplied
so enormously that it has become a regular plague, and though hundreds
of thousands of dollars have been spent in fighting it, it is still
a serious pest. _Porthesia obsoleta_, one of our typical species,
measures about 1½ inches across the wings, and is pure white with a
black body tipped with golden brown hairs. It was described by Donovan
in 1815 in his “Insects of New Holland,” and is more common in Victoria
than New South Wales. _Trichetra marginalis_ is a moth with a wingless
female; the male is a little larger than the last species; is of a
uniform greyish brown colour, with the outer edges of the fore wings
white, and the hind pair pale brown. The larva feeds upon the foliage
of gum trees.
[Illustration: Plate XXV.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Family PSYCHIDAE.
1. _Entometa ignoblis_ (Walker). Cocoon of Faggot
Case-moth.
2. _Entometa ignoblis_ (Walker). Cocoon made with
Cherry stalks.
3. _Thyridopteryx herrichii_ (Westwood).
4. _Metura elongata_ (Saunders).
5. _Thyridopteryx hubneri_ (Westwood). Cocoon made
of gum leaves.
6. _Thyridopteryx hubneri_ (Westwood). Cocoon made
of pine needles.]
[Illustration: _Plate XXV.--LEPIDOPTERA._]
The Genus _Teara_ contains over 20 named species of the “Bag-shelter
Moths,” with gregarious larvae. _Teara contraria_, one of the largest
species, measures up to 2½ inches across the wings; it is of a general
dark brown tint with a small white spot in the centre of each wing;
the thorax thickly clothed with long lance-shaped plumes yellow at
the tips; and the abdomen rich orange yellow barred with black. The
caterpillars are thickly clothed with long hairs, and when they take up
a position on the branch of their food tree (generally a eucalypt or
wattle) they spin a silken bag, drawing the leaves and twigs together,
but not acting like the “Leaf-rollers,” for the silk forms a regular
felted brown covering which soon becomes full of their excrement and
cast skins, among which they rest during the day. They trail
out at night in a regular procession and often strip all the foliage
of the tree. When full grown they crawl down the trunk and pupate
in loose open cocoons (formed from their body hairs) buried in the
ground, and the large liver-coloured silken bag remains long after they
have deserted it. This species in some districts makes its home upon
wattles, but in other localities attacks the eucalypts in a similar
manner. _Teara tristis_ is not more than 1¼ inches across the wings,
and varies from blackish brown to silvery grey; the fore wings are
marbled with white and yellow and a light circular spot in front; the
hind ones are nearly black with a minute white spot in the centre; the
head and thorax are grey; the abdomen black, barred and tipped with
orange; it is common in Victoria and N.S. Wales, generally clinging
to some low bush, and slow and sluggish in its movements. _Teara
melanostica_ is larger than the last; silvery grey, spotted, with the
front edge and transverse bar black; hind wings yellow edged with
brown; head and thorax silvery white, hind portion dark brown; abdomen
barred, and tipped with yellow. The larvae feed upon the leptospermum
bushes, and form soft loose cocoons. _Ptilomacra senex_ is a large
handsome moth about 3 inches across the straight, square-cut fore
wings; is of a general dark brown colour with wavy irregular dark lines
and scattered grey scales giving it a greyish tint. It is remarkable
for its large feathery antennae.
[Illustration: =Fig. 121.=--_Apina callisto_
(Doubleday).
The day-flying cut-worm moth.]
_Apina callisto_ is a brightly mottled yellow and brown moth that flies
about in the daylight. Its curious hairy larvae feed upon the open
grass lands, and are often very numerous. It has a wide range over
Australia.
_Chelepteryx collesi_ is one of our largest bat-like moths, measuring
to 6 inches across the wings; it is of a uniform dark brown colour
with an irregular marbled pattern upon the wings; but it varies much
in size and pattern in the sexes. Where common they may be often seen
fluttering round the street lamps in the suburbs of Sydney, N.S.W.
This handsome moth was first taken to England by a Mr. Colles, after
whom Grey described it (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1835). The caterpillars are
great, reddish brown creatures, thickly clothed with stout spiny
bristles, feeding on the small white stemmed eucalypts, and often found
crawling over the rocks and fences. They spin long silken cocoons, and
as they pupate force all the body spines through the silk, making the
cocoon a very awkward thing to handle, for the fine spines are easily
detached, and sticking into the fingers cause a very unpleasant itching.
[Illustration: =Fig. 122.=--_Nyctolemon orontes_
(Linn.).
The great day moth of the Queensland scrubs.
(Original drawing, W.W.F.)]
The Genus _Darala_ is peculiar to Australia; about 30 species have been
described; their larvae are short, thick, black, hairy caterpillars
often found crawling about in the gardens, and constructing soft fluffy
or white silken cocoons attached to the foliage. _Darala ocellata_,
one of our commonest species, measures 1½ inches across the wings,
and is of a uniform brownish fawn colour, with two black spots in the
middle of the fore wings and a pattern of spots or parallel black lines
in the central portion. _Darala acuta_ is slightly larger, with very
variable markings upon a general greyish fawn to dull yellow ground;
the fore wings are broad with an acute point at the extremity. The
Wattle-moth, _Teia anartoides_, which in the larval state often appears
in the orchards and destroys the apple-tree foliage, is sometimes
very abundant. The larvae are short brown hairy grubs with a tuft of
hairs standing out in front on either side of the head, and several
stiff brushes of grey hairs upon the centre of the back. The males are
much smaller than the females, and in the pupal state when hanging
up in their loose flimsy cocoons can be easily distinguished. The
adult female is wingless, simply crawling on to the top of her cocoon
to lay her eggs and die. The male is a handsome little moth about
1 inch across the wings; the fore pair are dark brown marbled with
slender lines and black spots, the hind pair bright yellow surrounded
with black, and the outer edges yellow; the antennae are large and
feather-like.
[Illustration: =Fig. 123.=--_Ocinara lewinae_
(Lewin) and Caterpillar.]
_Ocinara lewinae_ is a handsome light reddish brown moth with darker
lines running round the wings. It was described by Lewin in 1803, who
figured it in colours and called it the “Hook Tip.” The larva is a
slender caterpillar covered with fine hairs. They are gregarious, and
web the leaves of the eucalypts together with a loose, open, silken
strand.
Family 12. Silkworm Moths.
BOMBYCIDAE.
In this group I include several families that may be broadly placed
together as typical silkworm moths. Some writers divide them into three
families; Packard on the other hand adds a number of other well defined
groups, such as the Psychidae, Arctiidae, and others, to the Bombycidae.
Typical silkworm moths have thick heavy bodies, with small heads
furnished with pectinate antennae and an imperfect mouth; the wings
are large and often falcate. The larvae are usually fleshy thickset
caterpillars covered with scattered tubercles, and are of somewhat
sluggish habits; but all form stout silken cocoons. Our silkworm moths
are more closely related to the Atlas moths of India, Saturnidae, than
to the silkworm moth of domestic fame, _Bombyx mori_, which,
originally a native of China, is now bred and cultivated in many parts
of the world for commercial silk.
_Bombyx trimacula_ measures 1¾ inches across the wings; it is a dark
brown moth, mottled and marbled with white on the head, thorax, and
tip of the abdomen, and forming a delicate wavy pattern across the
fore wings interspersed with some blackish markings; it is found in
Victoria. _Odonestis australasiae_ has been known under many different
names: Lewin called it _Bombyx nasuta_, and his specific name was much
more appropriate than the former, as it has the head produced into
a regular point in front. The larger female measures about 2 inches
across the wings, which are of a uniform dull reddish brown colour
with faint markings on the fore wings; the hind ones are of a lighter
tint. The short hairy caterpillars have a tuft of hairs standing out
on either side of the head; in their natural state they feed upon the
foliage of the black wattle, forming white silken cocoons, attached to
the plant. It is sometimes called the “Long-nosed Wattle Moth,” and
in Victoria is said to turn its attention to the apple-tree foliage.
_Pinara despecta_ is a large, handsome, reddish fawn moth, with fore
wings ornamented with several zig-zag bands across the centre. It is
a thickset moth, often measuring over 3 inches across the wings. The
larva feeds upon the foliage of the eucalyptus, and is a very slender
caterpillar of a general greyish brown tint, with the sides of the body
fringed with fine downy hairs, and when it is resting the fringes lie
along the twig so closely that it is very hard to detect. It spins a
large silken cocoon tinted with pink, attached to the leaves of the
gum trees. _Cosmotriche exposita_ is a pretty little thickset moth of
a uniform greyish brown tint, covered with fine soft downy hairs round
the body and hind wings; the fore pair are thickly mottled with dark
brown; the larger female measures about 1½ inches across the wings;
the smaller male is a much darker brown insect with fine mottled
fore wings. The caterpillar feeds upon the foliage of the “she-oak”
(_Casuarina_), and is a slender greyish creature lightly clothed
with grey hairs, marked with yellow and carmine on the sides of each
segment, and black marks on the back. It forms an elongate oval cocoon
attached to the twigs.
The second group, NOTODONTIDAE, are known as “Prominents” to English
collectors from the curious angular form of the caterpillars, though
this is not noticeable in our typical forms. The Banksia Moth, _Danima
banksiae_, was named by Lewin after its food plant, though it feeds
equally upon the Hakea bushes. It is a very handsome moth, nearly 3
inches across the wings, which are of a general slate brown tint;
the thorax and tip of abdomen are thickly blotched with white, which
is also sprinkled over the body and fore wings in the form of little
white scales; the central portion of the abdomen is orange yellow. The
caterpillar is a rather slender, cylindrical, ochreous brown creature
with the tip of the body lead colour, and the whole surface irregularly
blotched with white spots encircled with black, forming irregular
bands round each segment. They are generally found feeding in groups
of three or four, and when disturbed turn both the head and tip of the
abdomen over the back, and protrude two red fleshy filaments from the
under-surface of the first segment.
The SATURNIDAE are our most important group for size and colour, and an
immense fellow, _Coxinocera hercules_, is found in Cape York. Another
very beautiful Chinese species, _Attacus cynthia_, which feeds on the
foliage of _Ailanthus glandulosa_, has been accidentally introduced
into Australia, and is sometimes taken about the Sydney gardens.
[Illustration: =Figs. 124= and =125=.--Life history
of the Australian Silkworm Moth.
124. _Antheraea eucalypti_ (Scott). Moth and Cocoon.
125. Caterpillar.]
The Genus _Antheraea_ contains some of our finest moths; others are
found in Japan and India that yield a strong brown silk. Our commonest
species, _Antheraea eucalypti_, is variable both in colour and size,
ranging from delicate fawn to dull brick red, and is from 4 to 5½
inches across the wings, which in the male are smaller and narrower
behind; each wing is ornamented with a circular eye-spot in the
centre, those on the hind pair being larger and ringed with black, with
narrow irregular dark bands running round or across the hind margin.
The tip of the fore wings in the smaller males is rounded, corrugated,
and touched with pink. The large green caterpillar, covered with
scattered tubercles tipped with clusters of retractile red and blue
spines, feeds upon the foliage of eucalypts, but has acquired a taste
for the foliage of the cultivated pepper tree (_Schinus mollis_). It
constructs a stout, hard, dark brown cocoon in which it pupates, and
is furnished with a curious spine at the base of the fore wings, which
enables the moth to cut her way out through the tough cocoon when
ready to emerge. _A. helena_, very similar in general appearance to
the former, is slightly larger, with broader wings of a more uniform
reddish brown colour, without a white mark on the fore wings; the
inner bands are more irregular and rounded, with the parallel bar
not continued into the hind wings. _A. simplex_ is a smaller species
varying in colour from pale yellow to reddish brown, with smaller
eye-spots, those upon the hind wings somewhat oval, broadly marked
along the costal nervure; the parallel bar and band on each hind wing
are very narrow, and both pairs are wrinkled at the tips. The black
and yellow caterpillars are very common at times in the Richmond
and Clarence River scrubs, N.S. Wales, and more gregarious in their
habits, often covering the bushes with their light coloured rather
flimsy cocoons, which are very subject to the attacks of ichneumons.
_A. janetta_ is about the same size as _A. eucalypti_, but with
flatter broader wings of a much duller reddish brown tint without
any eye-spots, and only a simple white spot in the centre of each of
the fore pair; two fine irregular lines run round the outer half of
both pairs with an extra row of small spots along the hind wings. The
larva forms a hard shell-like cocoon on the trunks of the she-oaks.
_A. loranthiae_, described by Lucas from North Queensland, is a large
handsome reddish moth, the larvae of which when pupating form their
cocoons in a mass on the top of a stump or branch.
Family 13. Loopers.
GEOMETRIDAE.
In this family there are a number of handsome delicate moths with
slender bodies, large flattened wings often toothed round the edges,
which when the insects are at rest (usually upon the under surface
of leaves) are pressed flat and spread out like a fan against the
surface. The caterpillars are slender cylindrical creatures, green or
brown in tint and so imitative of the twigs or foliage among which
they feed, that it is possible to pick off a branch upon which a
caterpillar is resting without observing the creature until it moves;
they are furnished with the usual six legs on the thoracic segments
close behind the head, and two pairs of abdominal legs near the anal
claspers, so that they have legs at each end, and when moving along
they draw the hind portion of the body up to the head before the front
legs are moved: thus at every step forward the body is arched up into
a semicircle, from which habit they are popularly known as “Loopers.”
The best method of collecting the moths and their caterpillars is by
beating or shaking the low scrub in the early morning; and the latter
are very easily bred in captivity if supplied with material from their
food plants. These moths are well represented in Australia; most of the
earlier species have been described by Walker and Guérin (Proc. Linn.
Soc. N.S.W.). Meyrick has classified and described a great number of
species of this family in a series of papers entitled “A Revision of
Australian Lepidoptera,” which the student will find in the volumes
dating from 1886 to 1891.
The Genus _Euchloris_ contains a number of beautiful moths with
delicate pale green wings frequently marbled with white lace-like
tracery. Meyrick (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1887) lists 43 species; and
Lower, in his “Catalogue of Victorian Heterocera,” published in the
“Victorian Naturalist,” lists 15 as Victorian species; but some of
these have a wide range.
_Euchloris submissaria_ measures about 1½ inches across the outspread
wings; its general colour is rich deep green, with the antennae, front
margin of each fore wing, outer edges of both pairs of wings, a central
stripe on the thorax and body, and the legs creamy buff white. The
caterpillar is of the usual cylindrical form, varying from dull buff to
light brown, and it feeds upon the foliage of the black wattle.
_Crypsiphona occultaria_ measures nearly 2 inches across the wings, and
is of a uniform light greyish brown on the upper surface, very finely
banded in irregular circles; but the under surface is pearly white,
spotted on the fore wings with black, crimson and brown; the hind ones
are banded with brown and crimson. It has a very wide range, and has a
habit of resting against weather-worn posts and walls, its outspread
wings matching the colour of its surroundings. The larva feeds upon the
foliage of the gum trees, and is of a uniform dull green tint, striped
down the sides, the head pointed in front; the whole caterpillar looks
wonderfully like a eucalyptus twig.
The Genus _Selidosema_ contains a large number of cosmopolitan
species; Meyrick lists 29 species as Australian; they are usually grey
or brown with darker lines and blotches. _Selidosema lyciaria_ is one
of our largest species, measuring about 2 inches across the wings;
is of a uniform brownish grey, with both pairs of wings marbled in a
regular pattern with black and chocolate brown, and crenulated round
the edges. The larvae feed upon the black wattle, and vary much in
colour, from grey to dark brown; the head is curiously notched, and
there are two little projections upon the back by which they can be
easily identified. _S. excursaria_ has a range from S. Australia to
N.S. Wales, and is one of our commonest species; it measures 1½ inches
across the wings, and is of a uniform dull greyish tint, very finely
pencilled with darker transverse markings, but is somewhat variable in
colour. The caterpillars are of a general light brown colour, with the
sides pencilled with fine parallel white lines running down the whole
length of the body; they are said to feed upon a number of different
plants, but are common on the wattles. _S. canescaria_, slightly larger
than the last, has a dull grey tint, thickly mottled with dark brown
wavy lines; it ranges from S. Australia to Queensland. Another species,
_S. acaciaria_, is a little larger, of somewhat similar colour, with
whitish markings; it is common in this country, and is also found in
India, Ceylon, and S. Africa.
[Illustration: =Figs. 126= and =127=.--The Marbled
Looper.
126. _Lophodes sinistraria_ (Guérin) ♂.
127. _Lophodes sinistraria_ ♀.]
_Lophodes sinistraria_ is slightly over 2 inches in the large females;
the sexes vary much in size and colour. They are of a general dark
chocolate brown tint blotched with grey along the front of the fore
wings, with a distinct row of short grey stripes round the hind wings
in a line with the dentate crenulations. It has a wide range over
Victoria and Eastern Australia. The larvae feed upon the foliage of the
black wattle, but I have also recorded them damaging the foliage of
young apricot trees. They are reddish brown caterpillars, covered with
transverse bands of darker coloured spots, and they measure about 1½
inches in length.
The Genus _Thalaina_ contains 5 described species, all of which are
very handsome moths easily separated from the other loopers. _T.
clara_ measures 1½ inches across the wings; it is of a uniform pearly
white, with the fore wings marked with regular transverse bands of
reddish brown forming the letter W when viewed from the side; the hind
pair have only a blackish blotch on the outer edge. It has a wide
range, and in the larval state feeds upon wattles. _T. inscripta_ is
about the same size, with a similar ground colour of white, but the
markings on the fore-wings form a less perfect W, and there is a row
of short bars of the same colour round the edges; the hind pair are
more deeply blotched. It has a wide range from Tasmania over the south
and eastern portion of Australia. _Gastrophora henricaria_ is a large
handsome moth, in which the sexes differ both in size and colouration;
the smaller brown male has bright orange hind wings, and very fine
feathered antennae; the female has the fore wings mottled but not
striped. The slender dark brown striped larva, according to Anderson
(Victorian Naturalist 1902) feeds upon the foliage of eucalyptus.
Family 14. Cutworm Moths.
NOCTUIDAE.
This from an economic point of view is a very important family, for
the cut-worms do an immense amount of damage to pasturage and gardens.
These moths are of medium size with stout bodies; their fore wings
generally speaking are narrow, stiff, and triangular, with the broader
rounded hind ones folded beneath; the antennae are only slightly
toothed in the males of a few species, and the mouth is produced
into a tubular proboscis with which they can suck the nectar out of
the flowers. In colouration they vary from bright brown to black, a
few being marked with white or metallic tints; they are nocturnal in
their habits, resting under bark, rocks or other sheltered places, and
at night often flying into the lighted lamps. The larvae, which are
known as “cut-worms,” “plague caterpillars,” and “army worms,” are
usually elongate, dull brown, or greenish, naked caterpillars of a
uniform thickness with 8 pairs of legs. When full grown they pupate
underground, forming no regular cocoon, though a few groups form a
flimsy silken one attached to their food plant.
The world wide Genus _Agrotis_ contains a number of variable forms
whose larvae are typical “cut-worms,” hiding in the ground or under
rubbish during the day, and coming out at night to feed. The short
stout moths have the head scaly; the fore wings black to grey, the hind
pair always lighter coloured; the antennae of the males are slightly
pectinate.
[Illustration: =Fig. 128.=--The Bugong Moth, or
Plague-Cutworm.
_Agrotis infusa_ (Boisd.).]
The “Bugong Moth,” _Agrotis infusa_, has gone under many different
specific names, and is quite an historical insect. It is a dark brown
moth, the fore wings marked with two parallel black lines, two dull
grey spots in the centre and wavy lines at the extremities; the hind
pair are light brown. These moths frequently appear in immense swarms,
and take their popular name from the Bugong Mountains among the rocks
of which they used to congregate in millions; they formed an important
food supply to the natives who used to sweep them off into their bags,
and after denuding them of their wings and scales over a small fire,
pound the bodies (at this time distended with eggs) into a dough or
paste. Dr. Bennett has given an interesting account of this in his
“Naturalist in Australia.” A rather curious error regarding this
Bugong Moth has crept into popular natural history books. In the Rev.
J. G. Wood’s “Insects Abroad,” he figures and describes a butterfly,
_Euploea hamata_, as the Bugong Moth; Aflalo in his “Natural History of
Australia” makes the same statement, and in a recent magazine article
on “Insects as Food” Theodore Wood repeats the same error.
Scott (Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S.W. 1867) gives an account of an appearance
of Bugong Moths in Sydney, when they were so numerous one Sunday
morning at North Shore that the service at St. Thomas’ Church could
not be held, and some observant persons counted 80,000 moths on the
windows. They have appeared at irregular intervals about Sydney and the
coastal districts in similar swarms, the last time being in 1905.
_Agrotis breviuscula_ is a smaller variable species ranging from
reddish brown to grey; the antennae are long; the fore wings have a
dark spot of irregular form in the centre, a few fine dots along the
edge, and a fine line round the tips; the hind wings are light brown.
_Agrotis ypsilon_ is not unlike the “Bugong Moth” and by some writers
is considered only a large variety, but it has a distinct mark like the
Greek letter e in the centre of the fore wings, the tips finely marbled
with wavy lines; and the light brown hind wings give a metallic sheen.
[Illustration: =Figs. 129= and =130=.--The
Climbing-Cutworm or American Army-worm.
129. _Leucania unipuncta_ (Horvath).
130. _Leucania unipuncta_, Larva.]
_Leucania unipuncta_ is one of the most destructive caterpillars found
in North America, where it is known as the “Army worm,” devouring
crops, grass, and garden stuff. Though the moth has been known for
many years in Australia it was not until 1903–4 that it was observed as
a plague caterpillar, attacking crops and grass nearly all over Eastern
Australia. The caterpillars, 1¼ inches long, are dull olive green with
light stripes down the back and sides. The moth measures 1½ inches
across the wings, which are of a uniform reddish fawn colour finely
speckled with little black scales.
The “Boll Worm,” or “Maize Moth,” _Heliothis armigera_, is another
cosmopolitan cut-worm which does a great deal of damage to cotton bolls
and maize; is common in the pea crops, and also damages tomatoes. The
moth measures about 1 inch across the wings; the fore pair are greyish
yellow with purplish-brown tints, but are very variable in colouration;
the hind wings are silvery grey with the apical portions dark brown;
the latter pair are constant in their markings.
The handsome little moths belonging to the Genus _Thalpochares_ are
remarkable for their curious plump naked larvae, which feed upon
different kinds of scale insects, at the same time covering themselves
with a portable cocoon composed of fragments of the coccids matted
together with silken strands. _Thalpochares coccophaga_ is a pretty
creamy winged moth with the basal portion shaded with brown and reddish
tints, and measures about ¾ of an inch across the wings. The larvae
feed upon a number of different insects native to the bush, and have
lately been of some economic value in destroying olive scale (_Lecanium
oleae_) in the orchards. Several other species have been described with
identical habits. _Earias fabia_ is a pest of the cotton plant; I have
bred numbers obtained in the cotton bolls growing at the Hawkesbury
College, N.S.W.; the larva is a slender dull green grub, which when
full grown forms a stout, oval, light brown, felted cocoon attached to
the dead foliage. The moth is slightly over one inch across the wings,
which are of a uniform pale yellow colour, each with a greenish bar
in the centre; the hind pair are lighter. In forming such a well-made
cocoon this moth seems out of place in the Noctuids; and Lower says in
his Catalogue, “that some writers refer this moth to the BOMBYCINA.”
Westwood and Swinhoe place it in the TORTRICIDAE.
The Genus _Hadena_ contains a number of Australian species rather more
abundant in Tasmania than the mainland; it is another cosmopolitan
group, found in Europe and America. _Hadena expulsa_, slightly over
1 inch across the wings, has the fore pair of a general grey tint,
mottled with brown; the hind pair are darkest towards the apex and are
fringed on the margin with fine white down.
[Illustration: =Fig. 131.=--The Grey-Cutworm Moth.
_Mamestra ewingii_ (Westw.).]
_Mamestra ewingii_ is typical of another large world wide genus. Its
larvae are among our most destructive cut-worms to crops and grass: it
is a pale slate-coloured moth, marked with short parallel lines of a
darker tint on the tips of the wings. _Spodoptera exempta_ was figured
in the Agricultural Gazette 1898 under the name of _Phlegetona carbo_.
It is one of our climbing cut-worms, and in that year the caterpillars
swarmed all over the Camden and South Coast districts of N.S. Wales.
They are very active grubs, olive green to almost black in colour,
striped on the sides with fine yellow lines; and when full grown
measure 1½ inches in length. The moth is under 1½ inches across the
wings; is of a general dark brown tint, indistinctly mottled all over
the fore wings with yellowish or sometimes silvery grey scales; the
hind wings are silvery and semitransparent.
_Prodenia littoralis_ is a handsome moth of about the same dimensions
as the last; the fore wings are dark brown finely striped and pencilled
with grey lines; the hind pair pearly white. The moth often lays her
eggs upon the foliage of apple and other trees; the young on hatching
out feed upon the foliage but afterwards make their way to the ground.
_Plusia verticillata_ is a species that feeds upon the foliage of
peas, beans, and potatoes; the slender pale green grub differs from
the typical “cut-worm” in moving about like a “looper,” and when full
grown pupates in a flimsy silken cocoon it spins upon the under surface
of the leaf. The moth, measuring 1½ inches across the wings, has the
fore pair brown tinted with mauve, marbled with a coppery tint, and
with two elongate oval spots of silvery white scales in the centre of
each, and fine lines behind; the hind wings are dark brown fringed with
grey down. _Plusia argentifera_ is a smaller form with a silvery mark
in the centre of each fore wing. The handsome dark brown caterpillar
of _Calogramma festiva_, which was figured by Donovan in his “Insects
of New Holland,” feeds upon the foliage of the Crinea lilies; they
are sometimes plentiful in the Botanic Gardens. This moth measures
1½ inches across the wings, and is of a uniform pale creamy-yellow
colour, thickly mottled on the base of the wings with red and black.
We now come to a curious allied group, the OPHIDERINAE, the members of
which are known as the “Orange-piercing moths”; they are large handsome
insects with the head and thorax thickly clothed with scales forming a
regular crest, and furnished with a proboscis which, pointed and barbed
at the tip, enables them to thrust it through the rind of oranges and
other ripe fruit and suck up the juice. Tryon has figured and written
an interesting account of these moths in the Queensland Agricultural
Journal Vol. ii. 1898.
[Illustration: =Fig. 132.=--Life History of the Bean
Moth, _Plusia verticillata_ (Guérin).
Showing the half looper form of the caterpillar, and the
loose silken cocoon of the pupa.]
_Maenas salaminia_ measures 3½ inches across the wings; the fore pair
are bright olive green, with a broad stripe of creamy white along the
anterior margins; the hind wings are an orange yellow colour, and
each with the margin and centre black. The thorax is bright olive
green, and the abdomen of an orange yellow colour. It ranges from the
northern parts of New South Wales to North Queensland, and at Cairns
I used to capture them at night with a net and bull’s-eye lantern, as
they hovered round bunches of ripe bananas hanging under the house.
_Othreis fullonica_, slightly larger than the last, has the fore wings
mottled with grey and brown among the olive green; the body and hind
wings are of the same rich orange colour as the former species, with
smaller black markings on the hind margins. This species ranges from
Queensland to Africa, India, Ceylon, and the New Hebrides. _Argadesa
materna_ is about the same size, but has lighter coloured fore wings,
and further distinguished by a much smaller black spot in the centre
of each hind wing. The caterpillars of these moths are large handsome
cylindrical creatures with the body humped up at the eleventh segment,
and two large spots like eyes on either side of the body. They feed
upon several different creepers in the scrub.
The EREBIDAE contains a number of large dark brown moths often
curiously mottled with zig-zag lines running round the wings, and a
dull coloured eye-spot in the centre of each fore wing. Several species
are common in Australia; they often come into the house at night and
will be found resting on the ceiling in the morning. One of the largest
moths known, the great owl moth of Brazil, measuring a foot across
the wings, belongs to this family. _Dasypodia selenophora_ measures 3
inches across the wings, and is of a uniform pale chocolate brown tint;
the outer margins of the wings are finely crenulated and spotted with
white; the centre of each fore wing has a large irregular eye-spot of
black, mauve and orange tints. It ranges from Australia to Tasmania
and New Zealand. _D. cymatoides_, about the same size, is of a much
darker brown colour, with less distinct eye-spots, a black transverse
band behind each white one, and the whole of the inner surface thickly
covered with zig-zag wavy lines. This species ranges from Sydney to
North Queensland.
_Sericea spectans_ is a slightly larger moth not unlike the last, but a
little darker, with the transverse band thicker and more blurred, and
with an eye-spot on each hind as well as each fore wing.
[Illustration: Plate XXVI.--LEPIDOPTERA.
Family Ophiderinae.
1. _Moenas (Ophideres) salaminia_ (Fabr.).
2. _Othreis fullonica_ (Linn.). ♂.
4. _Othreis fullonica_ (Linn.). ♀.
Family NOCTUINA.
3. _Sericea spectans_ (Guérin).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XXVI.--LEPIDOPTERA._]
Family 15. Leaf Rollers.
PYRALIDAE.
These moths are a very interesting division of the smaller lepidoptera
on account of the habits of their larvae, which live upon the foliage
of different plants in small communities, matting and drawing the
leaves together with silken strands and feeding under the shelter thus
constructed; when ready to pupate they usually curl the remains of
one of the half-devoured leaves into a flimsy cocoon with a little
silk, from which the moth emerges later on in the season.
The majority of these moths are small and unattractive; at the same
time we have some brightly green and yellow tinted species of medium
size. The caterpillars are slender naked larvae, often green marked
with black spots and a few scattered hairs; they are very active and
drop to the ground whenever disturbed.
These moths are easily separated by specialists from the preceding
groups by the structure of the nervures of the hind wings. Several
specialists have undertaken their classification: Meyrick (Trans. Ent.
Soc. London 1890) placed them as a group containing 8 families: Ragonet
(Ann. Ent. Soc. France 1890), while restricting them to 2 families,
made 17 smaller divisions which he called tribes: Lower, who partly
follows Meyrick, gives 13 families in his “Catalogue”; I simply deal
with them here as a group, describing a number of typical forms with
their life histories.
[Illustration: =Fig. 133.=--The Common Flour Moth.
_Asopia farinalis_ (Linn.).]
_Margarodes vertonalis_ is a handsome bright green moth, with the
margins of the outer edges of both pairs of wings marked with dark
reddish brown; it measures about 1½ inches across the wings. The
caterpillars, about an inch in length, are bright green mottled with
black; the head shining reddish brown. My specimens were collected in
the Botanical Gardens, Sydney, at the end of January; they were matting
the tips of the branches of one of the ornamental shrubs (_Ochrosia
moorei_) into irregular rounded masses. They pupated a week later and
emerged before the end of the month.
_Sceliodes cordalis_, measuring slightly over 1 inch across the wings,
is of a uniform creamy tint; the whole of the fore wings are mottled
with light brown, the tips blotched with the same colour; and the hind
pair more spotted; my specimens were bred from the foliage of the egg
plant.
_Asopia farinalis_ is the well known “meal moth” common, in most parts
of the world; the caterpillars feed upon all kinds of corn, bran,
pollard, and flour; it mats its food particles together with a silken
web into a tube in which it hides. The moth is often found upon the
walls of feed houses, mills, &c., and sometimes comes into the light at
night. It measures 1 inch across the wings, and has a ground colour of
yellow buff to dull greyish yellow, blotched with a darker tint at the
base and tip, the latter marbled with grey; the hind wings are silvery.
_Zinckenia recurvalis_ is a common little moth about Sydney; it is
under 1 inch across the wings, which are of a dark brown tint, with a
white bar traversing the centre of each wing, and with a second white
spot on each fore wing towards the tip. The caterpillars are sometimes
found destructive to salt-bush hedges about Sydney by stripping off the
foliage and causing the bushes to die back.
[Illustration: =Fig. 134.=--_Notarcha clytalis_
(Walker).
The Kurrajong Leaf Roller.]
_Notarcha clytalis_ is a bright yellow moth with an irregular wavy line
of black crossing the outer portions of the wings, and another shorter
band near the base of each fore wing. The gregarious larvae are green
spotted with black; they roll the leaves on the terminal branches of
the Kurrajong into regular slender masses up to a foot or more in
length, in which they finally pupate. It has a wide range over the
country, rendering these handsome trees very unsightly when numerous.
The larvae of _Godara comalis_ is a greenish yellow caterpillar barred
with lighter yellow at the back of each segment, and lightly clothed
with long brown hairs; it feeds upon the leaves of the horse radish and
turnip. The moth measures 1 inch across the wings; the fore pair are
buff irregularly mottled with dark brown; the hind wings of a uniform
silvery white with a brown patch at the apical margin.
[Illustration: =Fig. 135.=--Nest of _Notarcha
clytalis_ (Walker).
Showing how the caterpillars roll up the foliage.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 136.=--_Godara comalis_
(Guérin).
The caterpillar of which webs the leaves of the horseradish.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 137.=--_Cognogethes
punctiferalis_ (Guérin).
The Northern Peach Moth, with damaged peach.]
_Mecyna polygonalis_ defoliates the tree lucerne (_Citysus prolifera_);
I have also bred it from broom bushes in gardens at Armidale, N.S.W.,
and on a native bush (_Templetonia_) in the western plains, so that
it has a wide range: Mr. Lyell tells me it is very destructive to the
foliage of willows in some parts of Victoria. The caterpillars are
slender light green creatures spotted with black and white shaded with
yellow on the sides; when full grown they spin a loose silken cocoon.
The moth is slightly under 1½ inches across the wings; the fore pair
are light brown, and the hind pair each blackish brown round the outer
portion and bright yellow in the centre. The two introduced bee moths,
_Achraea grisella_ and _Galleria melonella_, belong to a division of
this family: the moths lay their eggs about the hive, the grubs crawl
in and feed upon the wax which they mat together with silken web, and
if overlooked they destroy the whole of the hive; in the days of the
old-fashioned hives they were a great source of trouble to bee-keepers,
but now with well constructed bar-hives they are easily checked. The
first named is of a uniform brown colour with the fore wings rounded;
the second has the wings arcuate behind and irregularly mottled.
_Aphomia latro_ measures about 1½ inches across its slender somewhat
pointed fore wings; is of a general buff colour shot with fine black
spots, and divided down the centre of the fore wings with a broad dull
white parallel stripe; the hind wings silvery grey. The larvae live
in small communities feeding upon and matting together the scape of
the flower stalk of the grass trees, in which they pupate within an
elongate white silken cocoon.
[Illustration: =Fig. 138.=--_Mecyna polygonalis_
(Hubner).
The Native Broom Bush Moth.]
The Peach Moth, _Conogethes punctiferalis_, is a bright yellow moth
thickly mottled with black spots. The larvae attack peaches when
ripening, eating and webbing the surface and pupating on the side of
the stone. It is common in the northern districts of N.S.W.
The “Mediterranean Flour Moth,” _Ephestia kuhniella_, though not an
Australian moth, is worthy of note, for it is widely distributed over
the country, and causes a lot of annoyance by the bad habits of its
larvae of webbing the flour into masses with its silken strands.
Another cosmopolitan moth, _Plodia interpunctella_, is known in America
as the “Indian Meal Moth,” though it feeds upon all kinds of dried
foods; it is a much smaller moth of a general brown tint, the apical
portion of the wings much darker than the basal part. This moth also is
very common in Australia.
Family 16. Bell Moths.
TORTRICIDAE.
These moths have slender bodies; short generally broad fore wings,
truncate at the extremities; the hind pair also broad; and when they
are at rest during the day time their wings are folded flat down. The
costal margins of the fore wings are much rounded when the wings are
folded, giving a general bell shaped form; from which these moths take
their popular name. They are sometimes called “leaf twisters” or “leaf
rollers,” but differ from the true gregarious leaf roller caterpillars
in seldom matting a number of the leaves together. The caterpillars
also feed upon seeds.
[Illustration: =Fig. 139.=--_Cacaecia postvittana_
(Walker).
The light-brown Apple Moth.]
The members of the Genus _Cacaecia_ are interesting insects because
several have been found attacking fruit in orchards: _C. postvittana_,
was recorded by Olliff gnawing in apples like a codlin moth. It
measures ¾ of an inch across the wings; is of a general dull yellow
marked with brown, but its colour and markings are very variable. It
has a wide range over Tasmania and the eastern coast of the mainland
into Queensland; and about Sydney the caterpillars feed upon half a
dozen different common native shrubs. French in his Handbook of the
Destructive Insects of Victoria Pt. I. 1891 has named and figured
one, _C. responsana_, the “Light Brown Apple Moth,” as an apple pest
in Victoria; this is probably _C. postvittana_. _C. Australasiae_ is
a larger species of a dark brown colour; the fore wings are lightly
mottled or marbled. _C. lythrodana_ is a smaller, similar coloured
moth, but the colouration is finer. _Paramorpha aquilina_ is a tiny,
creamy-grey moth not quite ½ an inch across the wings: in its native
state it frequents damp or marshy ground, flying low among the herbage.
The larva is a short, pale green grub that, in several of the orange
growing districts, attacks the ripening oranges; boring through the
skin, it feeds upon the pith between the rind and flesh, where it
finally pupates and causes the orange to turn yellow and drop off.
[Illustration: =Fig. 140.=-_Paramorpha aquilina_
(Meyrick).
The Orange-skin Borer.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 141.=--Life history of the Lucerne
Leaf Roller, _Tortrix glaphyriana_ (Meyrick).]
The Lucerne Moth, _Tortrix glaphyriana_, is a small, dark yellow moth
about ½ an inch across the wings; the fore pair are light buff with
a silvery tint, blotched with irregular patches of dark brown. The
caterpillars are dark green with scattered white hairs on the segments;
they are a regular pest in lucerne paddocks in the Hunter River
district, N.S. Wales, feeding upon the lucerne tops and drawing them
together with silken threads. _Arotrophora ombrodelta_ is a handsome
little moth which I bred out of the seed pods of _Acacia farnesiana_
growing near Lismore, N.S.W.; the yellowish brown caterpillar has a
pink stripe down the back, and each segment is spotted with green; they
devour the seeds and then pupate inside the pod close to the hole,
through which the pupa works its head just before the moth is ready to
emerge; the anal segments being ringed with fine spines enable it to
screw right out of the hard pod, so that the moth is not damaged. The
moth, under 1 inch across the wings, has the fore pair chocolate brown,
mottled and darkest at the tips; the hind pair are brown. Meyrick
says that the larva of another species feeds enclosed in a short,
stiff, silken tube among the leaves of _Lomantia silarfolia_; and a
third feeds in the flower cone of our common honeysuckle (_Banksia
serrata_). The Codlin Moth, _Carpocapsa pomonella_, the world-wide pest
to apple growers, is found in most parts of Australia; but though the
reddish tinted caterpillar is universally known, there are a great many
orchardists who do not know the moth, though it is easily recognised
from all other species by the copper coloured blotch on the apical
portion of the fore-wings.
[Illustration: =Fig. 142.=--_Cryptophaga
unipunctata_ (Donovan).
The Cherry-stem Borer, showing the larva.]
We now come to an anomalous group, whose exact place in the
classification of Lepidoptera has puzzled entomologists, but which is
usually placed at the end of this family. These are the CRYPTOPHAGINAE,
whose larvae, naked, slender caterpillars, live in shallow chambers
or short tunnels in the branches of the smaller forest trees. They
cover the entrance to their burrow with a screen of loose silken web
covered with gnawed bark and droppings. Resting during the day, they
come out at night and, biting off some of the leaves, drag them down
into the burrow (the ends often sticking out through the web) to feed
on at their leisure. When full grown they pupate within the burrow.
_C. unipunctata_ is a very handsome satiny white moth about 1½ inches
across the wings; the fore pair each have a single black dot in the
centre; the abdomen is black fringed with yellow hairs forming a tuft
at the extremity. In its native state the caterpillars feed upon the
branches of our common honeysuckle (_Banksia serrata_), but have a
very great liking for the branches of cherry trees in the orchards;
where neglected, they often kill large branches by their attacks. _C.
irrorata_ is a larger moth, measuring up to 2 inches across the wings,
the fore pair being very broad and square at the extremities; they are
of a uniform greyish brown, slightly mottled with a darker pattern
round the outer margins; the hind pair are silvery brown fringed
round the edges. The larva feeds on the stems of _Casuarina_. _C.
rubriginosa_ is nearly as large as the last; the fore wings are reddish
brown. There is a salmon tint on the thorax extending on to the base of
the fore wings; the hind wings are brownish yellow. The larvae feed in
the stems and branches of several species of _Acacia_.
Family 17. Grain and Clothes Moths.
MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA.
In concluding the Lepidoptera I place these families, often grouped
together under the comprehensive term _Micro-lepidoptera_, in the
above division. Most of these moths are small, but the group is very
important in that it contains some of the most destructive pests of
grain, cloth, &c., and they are world-wide in their range. Meyrick has
made a special study of these moths, and has classified and described
an immense number in a series of papers in the Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.
1878–1904.
The larvae of the different groups are usually slender naked grubs with
a few scattered hairs, and are sometimes legless; but others again have
from 14 to 18 pairs of legs. They feed upon all kinds of material,
sometimes forming tubular cells out of their food, while others move
about quite freely. The moths may be obtained by beating or shaking
bushes, or breeding them from the material among which they feed.
The Family OECOPHORIDAE is the most extensive in Australia; in his
first paper on the group in 1883, Meyrick estimated that over 2,000
species would be discovered, and later in 1889 he had actually
described 756 species, most of them new. The Genus _Philobota_ contains
105 described species, many of them handsome brightly marked little
moths. _P. arabella_, slightly over ¾ of an inch across the wings,
is of a general greyish brown tint, with the central portions of the
fore pair pale yellow edged with brown forming wedge-shaped patches.
_P. catascia_, slightly larger, has the fore-wings silvery white,
slightly clouded; the hind ones dull yellow in the centre fringed
with light brown. _P. productella_ a little smaller, is all silvery
white, with yellowish tints in the hind pair; and _P. agnesella_ is
a larger silvery one with a narrow irregular dark stripe along the
centre of each fore wing from the base to the apex. _P. gascialis_,
a very different larger winged form, has the fore pair dark orange
yellow, each with a broad brown blotch through the centre, and tip dark
brown; the hind pair dull brown fringed with fine plumes. _Macrobatha
platychroa_ is under ½ an inch across the wings; the fore pair are
marked with alternate bars of white and black, and the hind pair
greyish brown. _Heliocausta hemitelis_, about twice the size, has
the fore wings yellow, tipped and blotched with purplish brown, the
blotch on each hind margin angular; the hind wings brown. _Zonopetala
decisiana_, under ½ an inch across the wings, has the fore pair white,
each with a large brown blotch across the centre, and others at the
tip, and with a band of the same colour across the thorax; the hind
wings light buff and fringed with hairs. The caterpillar of _Ocystola
hemicalypta_ constructs a protective covering about as thick and long
as a large wax match out of a section of a gum twig, in which it lives
and feeds after hollowing it out like a tube; these curious cocoons are
not uncommon in the bush on the leaves of eucalypts.
The GELECHIADAE is another large family recently revised by Meyrick
(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1904); he says that these moths are not so
numerous as in Europe, but as they are such small, inconspicuous
insects there are probably a great number still to be discovered. He
describes 274 species, of which 207 are new, and 85 of which belong
to the Genus _Protolechia_. Several species that infest grain belong
to this group: _Gelechia simplicella_, a tiny little brown moth,
has pointed slender wings, the fore pair nearly black, with a very
distinctive irregular white bar across each apical half. Meyrick has
placed it in the Genus _Anacampsis_; it has a wide range over Tasmania
and Australia: I have bred it from the foliage of Soy beans, which the
larvae matted together and seriously damaged. _Sitotroga cerealella_
is a tiny yellowish brown moth with pointed wings. It has a wide
range round the Australian coast, and has been introduced from Europe
or America with corn upon which the larvae feed. It is known as the
“Angoumois Grain Moth” from the province of that name in France, where
in 1760 it swarmed over the country and nearly caused a famine. I have
bred it from wheat at Bingara N.S.W.
[Illustration: =Fig. 143.=--_Gelechia simplicella_
(Walker).
The Soy-bean Moth.]
The ELACHISTIDAE were described and revised by Meyrick (Pro. Linn. Soc.
N.S.W. 1897), who lists 254 species, most of which were new. He says:
“The species of this family are almost all small and therefore often
neglected by collectors. Larva with 10 prolegs seldom almost apodal,
usually mining in leaves, or amongst seeds or in stems, sometimes
case-bearing, rarely amongst spun leaves.”
[Illustration: =Fig. 144.=--_Batrachedra sparsella_
(Walker).
The larva of which constructs a web amongst, and feeds on,
scale insects.]
The larvae of the members of the Genus _Batrachedra_, according to
Meyrick, feed usually upon seeds. _B. arenosella_, a small dull pale
yellow moth with spotted fore wings and grey hind ones, is common over
Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. The larvae web the seeds and
stalks of sedges together, and form a cocoon among the seeds. I have
bred a species of _Batrachedra_, _B. sparsella_, Walk., but can find no
record of this species in Meyrick’s list. The larva of this moth spins
a web on the trunks of trees that are infested with scale insects
which they devour, finally forming an elongate cocoon attached to the
bark; in the orchard they destroy white louse on oranges, and San Jose
scale on peach trees. _Strathmopoda melanochra_, a little brown moth,
has the fore wings dull white with metallic reflections and darker
markings; the wings are very finely fringed on the hind margins.
The Family PLUTELLIDAE contains one very destructive little pest in the
Diamond-backed Cabbage Moth, _Plutella cruciferarum_; the slender green
larvae gnaw holes in the leaves and pupate in net-like cocoons on the
foliage. It has a world-wide range and is very common in Australia.
The Family TINEIDAE, containing the clothes moths, is defined by
Meyrick (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1892) as the rough-headed _Tineina_,
with the palpi strongly developed in front of the head, and the hind
wings usually as broad as the fore wings, sometimes narrower but seldom
broader. Larva with 16 legs, or legs wanting.
The Genus _Xystmatodoma_ contains 29 species, of which _X. guildingi_
is a typical form described by Scott in his “Australian Lepidoptera”;
it is a slender-winged dull brown moth, the larva of which crawls about
in a stout silken sack like that of an immature case moth, and feeds
upon low scrub. _Scardia australasialla_ is a handsome little moth,
which is figured in Donovan’s “Insects of New Holland”; it measures
about 1¼ inches across the wings; the fore pair are dull brown but so
thickly covered with shining white to pale yellow spots that it looks
very brilliant; the hind pair are brown fringed with long plumes.
_Blabophanes ethelella_ is about ¾ of an inch across the wings; the
fore pair are dark brown finely spotted with white and some have a
comparatively large white dot in the centre of each wing, the hind
margin also edged with white; the hind pair light brown. The Genus
_Tinea_ is represented by a number of both native and introduced
species. The common clothes moth, _Tinea pellionella_, is too well
known to need description; it is world-wide in its range, and lays its
eggs upon clothes on which the larvae feed and finally use particles to
construct their cocoons. _T. tapetzella_ feeds among furs and skins.
_Tineola biselliella_ is a third cosmopolitan species of clothes moth.
_Tinea fuscipunctella_ feeds upon dried animal matter, refuse and such
like; it also is world wide in its range. Among our native species,
_T. nectaria_ is under ½ an inch across the wings; the fore pair have
the basal two thirds silvery yellow with the tips black; the hind pair
dull yellow darkest at the tips. Meyrick says that these larvae make
cases out of eucalyptus leaves, but my specimens were bred out of
blister-like excrescences or galls upon the leaves of a shrub in the
Botanic Gardens Sydney. _Thudaca obliquella_, about 1 inch across the
wings, is a beautiful little silvery white moth, with the fore wings
deep yellow thickly marked with parallel and transverse bars of silvery
white; the hind pair broad, silvery, lightly clouded, and fringed
behind with long plumes.
The EPIPYROPIDAE comprise a small group of moths that have been raised
to the rank of a family by Perkins (Bulletin I. part 2, “Leaf Hoppers
and their Natural Enemies,” Hawaii 1905), though it would probably
be more correct to place them as a sub-family of the Tineidae. Sharp
(Cambridge Natural History: Insects part II.) places them in the
_Limacodidae_. They are small black, grey or brown moths, with small
eyes; no ocelli; the palpi wanting or very minute, and the mouth
parts little developed. They have remarkable parasitic habits in the
caterpillar state living upon the backs of different leaf hoppers
(_Homoptera_) and feeding upon the waxy or sugary secretions discharged
by their hosts. Perkins describes 7 new Australian species, which
are placed in three genera, based on the neuration of the wings.
Three species come from Cairns, N. Queensland, and four from the
neighbourhood of Sydney. _Heteropsyche melanochroma_ measures under ½
an inch across the outspread wings and is of a general black or fuscous
colour with purple tints on the fore wings. Koebele records it as
common about Sydney, parasitic upon a number of different Fulgorids and
Jassids.
Rothschild (Novitates Zoologicae 1906) has named another species,
_Epipyrops doddi_, after the well known collector, P. F. Dodd, who had
worked out its life history in North Queensland.
[Illustration: =Fig. 145.=--_Plodia interpunctella_
(Hubner).]
Order VII.--DIPTERA.
Flies.
House flies are well known to everyone; but as a number of other
insects belonging to different orders are often called flies, such
as “saw-flies,” which are Hymenoptera, and “lace-winged flies” and
“May-flies,” which are Neuroptera, it is advisable to define them.
Some of the Diptera might be mistaken by a casual observer for
Hymenoptera which the members of several families often mimic in form
and colouration, but they can be readily separated by the absence of
a second pair of wings, which are represented by two little clubbed
processes, known as balancers, poisers, or halteres. The mouth parts
are very variable in structure in the different groups, but always
adapted for piercing or sucking; the eyes are large, often occupying
the greater part of the head and consisting of an immense number of
fine facets; the small ocelli are three in number; and the antennae,
except among midges, are short, composed of few joints, and often
terminate in a bristle.
The thorax is not so distinctly divided into the three segments
as in some other insects, nor the parts so well defined as in the
hymenoptera; the wings, transparent or parchment-like, are seldom
coloured; the legs, usually not thickened, are furnished with five
tarsi, and well developed claws, with a small pad under each, known
as the pulvillus. The abdomen is composed of a variable number of
segments ranging from four to nine, but in the former case though
not visible the terminal ones are probably absorbed into the anal
tube at the extremity. Most diptera are brown, black, or grey, though
metallic tints predominate in some families; and are clothed with short
scattered hairs or bristles.
The typical fly larva is an elongated legless maggot with the head
portion slender, enclosing a pair of black retractile hooked jaws,
with tracheae opening behind and running through to the broadened anal
segment where they form small rosette-like processes round the external
aperture. The eggs are laid in all kinds of decaying vegetable or
animal matter, with the exception of the few that produce galls, or
otherwise damage plant tissue; when full grown they change into a hard
shell-like chrysalis, the tip of which is pushed off by the perfect fly
when ready to emerge.
Though this country is very rich in Diptera and many cosmopolitan
species have been introduced such as the house flies, they have been
much neglected by Australian collectors and entomologists. The Diptera
are divided into two large sections, which are further subdivided
into four main groups, to which a fifth has been lately added for the
reception of the fleas, which however are often placed by specialists
in a class by themselves (_Siphonaptera_). The older writers
subdivided them into about 70 families but latterly these have been
reduced, and most of our species will come under about 30 families, of
which I can only note our most striking representatives.
In 1830 the French naturalist Robineau Desvoidy published his “Essai
sur les Myodaires,” in which some of our species were described.
Between the years 1834 and 1835 Macquart brought out his “Histoire
naturelle des Insectes Diptères” (forming part of the great French
work Suites à Buffon), followed (1838–42) by his “Diptères exotiques,
nouveaux ou peu connus” comprising two volumes and many plates,
with 5 supplements (1846–55). Walker between 1848 and 1855 compiled
a “Catalogue of the Diptera of the British Museum” consisting of 7
volumes; and others are described in his “Diptera Saundersiana” 1856.
In 1864 Dr. Schiner estimated that the number of described Australian
Diptera was 1056, including those which he described (Diptera des
Novara), collected by Frauenfeld in the neighbourhood of Sydney during
the visit of the Austrian Frigate. In a long series of papers reaching
from 1859 till just before his death in 1892 Bigot described a great
many species (among them some from Australia) chiefly in the Annales de
la Societé Entomologique de France.
The only systematic Australian work is Skuse’s “Monograph of the
Australian Diptera” (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1888–90), which however was
never completed, dealing only with the NEMATOCERA comprising
the Culicidae, Tipulidae, Cecidomyidae and some of the smaller
families. There is no complete catalogue of Australian Diptera, but
I have been greatly assisted in my work on this family through the
identification of my specimens by Mr. Coquillett of Washington.
Family 1. Gall-Gnats.
CECIDOMYIDAE.
This is an extensive family of small delicate midges with long slender
antennae composed of many bead-like segments beautifully feathered with
whorls of hairs. The abdomen is stout at the base, short and tapering
to the tip; the legs are long and slender without spurs; the wings are
clothed with fine hairs that easily rub off, and furnished with very
few longitudinal veins, and in some genera only one cross nervure.
They are known as “Gall-gnats,” or “Gall-flies,” and though the habits
of the larvae are very diverse, some living under bark, others in
animal matter, and a few predaceous or even cannibalistic in their
habits, the majority of them are found in plant tissue and produce
malformations or regular well defined galls, often of very remarkable
structure, upon the foliage or twigs of their food plant.
The egg is deposited in or under the bark, epidermis of the leaf,
or frequently in the flower buds of plants, the irritation caused
by the active larvae producing the aborted tissue. These larvae are
very easily recognised if examined with a lens after they have been
extracted from the gall, as they are furnished with a “breast bone,”
an anchor shaped process that stands out very distinctly in the centre
of the ventral surface and is unknown in the larvae of any other
gall-producing insect.
Through the discovery of Wagner, a Russian entomologist, that the larva
of a Cecidomyia produced young; also through the curious exudations of
the larvae and pupae of others which are sometimes called “flax seed”
from their shape; and the very destructive habits of several species
which damage the wheat, like the Hessian Fly in America, this family
has received a great deal of attention. Over 1,000 species have been
described from all parts of the world, and Australia is particularly
rich in these insects. Skuse (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1888 and 1890) has
described over 100 species and figured some of the most peculiar galls.
_Cecidomyia frauenfeldi_ was named by Dr. Schiner after the naturalist
who collected the galls on _Leptospermum_ in the vicinity of Manly,
N.S. Wales. These galls are produced upon a leaf-bud and consist of a
number of rounded leaf-like bracts, not unlike the petals of a rose
bud; folding over each other, brown in colour, soft and loose, and
about the shape and size of a small marble. The enfolded larva will be
found in the base at the centre, and the gnats can be easily bred out
in a glass jar. The Acacia Gall-gnat, _C. acaciae-longifoliae_, infests
the flowers of this wattle, depositing its eggs in such numbers that
every tiny seed-pod is produced into a contorted mass of finger-like
tubes, together forming a rounded base attached by a stalk, and each
tube containing a larva. This is one of our commonest species and the
galls can often be collected in numbers in the neighbourhood of Sydney.
_Diplosis frenelae_ produces very remarkable little light brown
spherical structures upon the tips of the foliage of the desert
cypress, about the size of small peas; these when mature split into
four shell-like sections, quite unlike the usual gall. They are very
abundant in the early summer upon cypresses in Wagga and the western
pine scrubs of N.S. Wales. _Diplosis paralis_ forms curious little
blisters upon the young foliage of _Eucalyptus corymbosa_, dotting
the leaves all over with reddish spots with a keyhole-like mark on
the apex. A third species, _D. eucalypti_, aborts the young twigs of
Eucalypts into gouty swellings in which a number of larvae feed and
pupate.
There are certain red rounded shot-like galls of the Eucalyptus,
generally several in number on the midrib of the leaf, which, on
account of the pupal skins always remaining in the holes in the
sides of the galls through which the flies have escaped, can be
easily distinguished from many very similar ones that are the work
of micro-hymenoptera. These are formed by a large stout gnat named
_Hormomyia omalanthi_ by Skuse, who first obtained specimens from
galls on the under side of the leaves of _Omalanthus populifolius_.
_Lasioptera miscella_ aborts the leaf stalks of _Eucalyptus
haemastoma_, one of our white stemmed gums growing about Botany,
N.S.W., with its irregular swellings.
I have also bred several undetermined species from galls on the twigs
of the Weeping Myall, _Acacia pendula_, and other wattles in the
western scrubs. There is a rich field awaiting the naturalist who takes
up the study of the life-history of our Gall-gnats.
Though the Hessian Fly, _Cecidomyia destructor_, is not known in
Australia it has been introduced into New Zealand, and in the United
States of America is one of the most serious pests that the wheat
farmers have to fight. This gnat deposits her eggs under the sheath
of the growing wheat stalks; the larva sucks up the sap, so that the
ear is impoverished and no grain forms in the head; and when they are
numerous the greater part of the crop is destroyed.
Family 2. Shade Midges.
MYCETOPHILIDAE.
These small flies, popularly known as “Midges,” are placed by Skuse
in four well defined families, which I place under the one heading as
their habits are very similar.
The SCIARIDAE are the typical “Shade midges” infesting forest country;
their larvae live under dead bark or decomposing leaves and are
slender, cylindrical, semi-translucent maggots, white or pale yellow in
colour, with the body composed of 13 segments including the head. The
perfect insects have moderately long, curved, many jointed antennae;
two ocelli; long slender legs; and the wings often clouded. Skuse has
described 42 species in this group, all of which with one exception he
placed in the typical Genus _Sciara_; these have the wings longer than
the abdomen, the surface of them microscopically pubescent, and the
wing-lobes more or less developed.
The MYCETOPHILIDAE are popularly known as “Fungus-midges” from the
fact that the larvae, which are slender white maggots attenuated at
both extremities, and with horny heads, are often found feeding upon
the juices of fungi; some spin silken webs under which they live, and
a few are said to be luminous. They are small flies with beautifully
marked wings in many species, and have slender antennae; 3 ocelli;
and a short proboscis; the rather long legs have the coxae elongated
and are furnished with spurs upon the tibiae; the wings, without a
discoidal cell, have more veins than those of the Gall-gnats. Walker
described 4 species (Insecta Saundersiana 1856); to which Skuse added
31 new species. _Lyomya setiosicaudata_ was described by Skuse from
the neighbourhood of Sydney in the Genus _Acrodicrania_, but it has an
extended range: I have taken it with a sweeping net about Inverell N.S.
Wales. It measures about ⅙ of an inch in length; has a shining head and
thorax; abdomen black, and variegated black and yellow legs.
The SIMULIDAE contains a number of small Diptera abundant in Europe
and America, where they are known as “Sand-flies,” “Black-flies,” or
“Buffalo-gnats”; they swarm in the marshy lands of the Mississippi
where Howard says, “They rival the mosquito in their blood-thirsty
tendencies, and not only do they attack human-beings, but poultry and
domestic animals are frequently killed by them.” We are fortunate in
having very few of these pests; only one species was discovered by
Skuse, who named it _Simulium furiosum_, and says it is a rare fly
only found in the Gosford district N.S. Wales. These flies must not be
confounded with the midges known in Australia as “Sand-flies,” which
are very different insects belonging to the Genus _Ceratopogon_, of the
Family Chironomidae.
The BIBIONIDAE are medium sized flies with thickset bodies somewhat
hairy; smoky wings; robust legs; short antennae; and three ocelli. The
females deposit their eggs in dung or vegetable matter, and the maggots
have rows of transverse bristles on the segments; and traces of eyes
can be found in the head segment. The perfect flies are sluggish in
their movements and are commonly found upon flowers. Twelve species
have been described from Australia, of which _Bibio imitator_ is our
commonest species; it is very abundant in the early summer upon the
flower heads of _Astrotricha floccosa_, which grows in most of the
valleys round Sydney; it has a wide range from Tasmania northwards in
similar forest country. The male is under ½ an inch in length and is of
a uniform black tint, with the thorax dull red; while the larger female
is of a uniform reddish brown, and both sexes have the typical dark
clouded wings.
The South American Genus _Plecia_ is represented by four species, two
of which I collected in North Queensland. The North American Genus
_Scatopse_, the larvae of which breed in all kinds of decaying matter
and in sewers, is represented by two species, of which _Scatopse
fenestralis_ is so common about Sydney that Skuse says: “In the spring
months it is scarcely possible to find a window without one or two
specimens, while I have frequently seen hundreds swarming on the inside
of shop windows in the city.”
Family 3. Mosquitoes.
CULICIDAE.
No insect pests are better known or more world wide in their
distribution than mosquitoes. As might be expected, they are abundant
in tropical countries, yet one would hardly expect them to be much of
an annoyance in the temperate regions. Yet in Lapland, and even farther
north, they worry the inhabitants and the reindeer all through their
brief summer.
[Illustration: Plate XXVII.--DIPTERA.
Family CULCIIDAE.
1. _Culex fatigens_ (Wiedermann). Larva.
2. _Culex fatigens_ (Wiedermann). ♀.
3. _Culex fatigens_ (Wiedermann). Wing.
4. _Anopheles annulipes_ (Walker). ♀.
5. _Anopheles annulipes_ (Walker). Wing.]
[Illustration: _Plate XXVII.--DIPTERA._]
They are insects with long slender legs; delicate narrow wings folded
down over an elongate body; the head is provided with a proboscis
projecting below. The proboscis is adapted for sucking blood, though
many of the bush species seldom or never taste blood and obtain their
nutriment from the sap or moisture upon plants. The male mosquito
is a more delicate creature than the female, furnished with plumose
antennae; he does not bite, but hides away in dark sheltered corners
taking no food in his short life of four or five days, but has a
low droning hum, noticeable when a number are disturbed. The larger
females on the other hand swarm into the house, and bite whenever
they get the chance. She lays her eggs in little boat shaped masses
of elongate eggs, which within 24 hours give birth to larvae that
are often called water-fleas or “wrigglers.” Thread-like in form at
first, the “wriggler” has a rounded ciliate head, and the tip of the
body is provided with a pair of tubular breathing appendages. They
move about with a series of jerks, always coming to the surface head
downward; they increase in size rapidly and in seven or eight days are
full grown, when they change into pupae, the creatures becoming quite
different; the head and thorax are drawn up into a rounded mass with
two trumpet shaped horns, which are its new breathing tubes, rising
upon the sides. The abdominal segments are short and turn downward;
and though it does wriggle slightly, it usually rests in an upright
position floating close to the surface; it remains in this state for
two or three days, when the pupal skin splits along the top of the
head, and the perfect insect emerges, using the floating skin as a raft
from which to rise into the air and fly away.
Only 9 species of mosquitoes had been described from Australia when
Skuse commenced his work on these insects in the Macleay Museum
Collections (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1889), where he listed all the
known species and added 19 new ones. Since then Theobald, in his
“Monograph of the Culicidae of the World” 1900–1903, with a great deal
more material to study, revised the genera, made several of Skuse’s
species synonymous, and described others, bringing our list to about 34
species.
The typical Genus _Culex_ contains 21 species scattered all over
Australia; several are cosmopolitan and have been introduced from
abroad. Our common house mosquito, that appears in the early summer,
is _Culex albo-annulatus_, a moderate sized species with the reddish
thorax densely clothed with brownish golden scales, traversed by five
very fine lines; it has regularly white banded legs. It was described
by Macquart in 1732, and ranges from Southern Queensland to Sydney,
Mittagong, and the Blue Mountains N.S.W. _Culex fatigans_ is widely
distributed over Australia: _C. macleayi_ and _C. skusei_ according
to Theobald are only sub-species or varieties; it is one of the
cosmopolitan mosquitoes also found in America, Africa and Asia, and
was probably introduced into this country in the water tanks of the
old sailing vessels many years ago. After New Year a smaller, darker
mosquito is the most annoying about Sydney; this has been described by
Theobald under the name of _Culex marinus_; its larvae were discovered
by Dr. Bancroft, Queensland, breeding in salt water. It also flourishes
freely in any stagnant water left in tanks, buckets, or water-holes,
and has a wide range down our eastern coast.
Four species of the Genus _Anopheles_ are found in Australia; these
insects have long palpi with clubbed or spatulate tips, and dark
spotted wings. _Anopheles annulipes_, described by Walker, said to
be identical with Skuse’s _A. musivus_, is found about Sydney and
Newcastle N.S.W. ranging northward; the members of this genus are well
known as the mosquitoes that transmit the germs of malarial fever, and
have a wide range over the world. The important results that have come
from the study of the relation of tropical fevers to mosquito bites,
have led to the collection and description of these insects from all
quarters of the globe. _Mucidus alternans_, one of our largest species,
is thickly clothed with grey and light brown scales and hairs which
give it a striking appearance. It is a day flying species famous for
its biting powers; it has a wide range; in the Maitland district N.S.W.
about the Hexham swamps it is locally known as the “Hexham Grey”; in
Queensland it is sometimes called the “Scotch Grey.” I have also taken
it at Bourke on the Darling River N.S.W. Skuse described this species
as _Culex hispidosus_, but Westwood’s name, _C. alternans_, has a prior
claim.
_Stegomyia notoscriptus_ is one of the small dark mosquitoes that bite
so sharply just at dusk in our gardens around Sydney in midsummer,
and has a wide range from Adelaide S.A. to Queensland. It belongs to
the same genus as the dreaded Cuban Yellow-fever Mosquito, _Stegomyia
fasciata_, which has been introduced into Hawaii. Theobald has in
the last volume of his Monograph formed a new Genus _Skusea_ for the
reception of two Queensland species and a third from Africa.
Family 4. Sand-flies.
CHIRONOMIDAE.
This group comprises a number of small flies which have the head
furnished with a fleshy proboscis; the slender antennae adorned with
fine hairs, thickest upon the male; and the ocelli wanting. Their wings
are usually narrow; and many of the large species have the general
appearance of mosquitoes.
The members of this family are very extensive and world-wide in their
range; the larvae of the typical Genus _Chironomus_ live chiefly
in stagnant water. They sometimes swarm in such numbers in the North
American lakes that they form the chief food of the fresh-water fish.
In England on account of their colour they are known as “blood-worms.”
Some species live in salt water, and others breed in excrement and
dung. The perfect insects are easily collected with a sweeping net in
the vicinity of swamps and watercourses.
Skuse has described 64 species from Australia (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.
1889), previous to which only 8 species, described by Messrs. Walker
and Macquart, had been recorded. The family is divided into a number of
genera, of which _Chironomus_ includes 21 species of the more typical
slender-bodied midges, and the Genus _Ceratopogon_ 17 species of our
vicious “Sand-flies.” These pests are also found in Great Britain and
in North America, ranging as far south as Chili.
_Ceratopogon molestes_, described by Skuse, is our common “Sand-fly,”
though there are others probably quite as annoying if not so abundant.
It is a tiny little dark coloured midge, so quiet and small that it
is usually felt before it is seen. There is another very large grey
“Sand-fly” I have met with in the interior of N.S. Wales on the Darling
River that frequents grassy watercourses and flies straight at the
hands or face like a wasp.
It has been reported from Central Queensland that after the great flood
and abundant growth of grass (1905) the sand-flies increased in such
numbers, that they caused the blindness and death of a great number of
marsupials, through biting them in the eyes.
Family 5. Crane-flies.
TIPULIDAE.
The Crane-flies or Daddy-longlegs are a large family with long slender
legs, from which they take their popular names, and might be described
as exaggerated mosquitoes that do not bite. They have the usual small
head and long thread-like antennae (in some groups the latter are
clothed with long hairs, in others short and feathered); in most
species the ocelli are wanting. The thorax has a V-shaped transverse
suture, and the well developed wings have a complete venation. They
are to be found in all situations among low scrub, but prefer the
shelter of cliffs, or tree trunks in damp gullies, often resting in
considerable numbers in retired spots during the day, where they can
easily be captured. They require to be killed and mounted in the place
of capture to secure good specimens, as their legs drop off very
readily, and on this account are not a popular group with the ordinary
collector. The larvae live in the ground or among decaying vegetable
matter.
They are divided into two large groups, characterised by the possession
of long or short palpi, the _Tipulidae brevipalpi_ and _Tipulidae
longipalpi_; about 20 species had been recorded from Australia when
Skuse’s Monograph, “Diptera of Australia Pt. VII.” (Pro. Linn. Soc.
N.S.W. 1889) appeared; in this he added over 80 new species.
The Painted Crane-fly, _Gynoplistia bella_, described by Walker in
1835, is one of our commonest species, frequenting flowers and low
scrub in the early summer months. It is a very distinctly marked black
and orange yellow fly, the wings thickly barred and mottled with the
former colour; and is one of the short-legged species. It has a wide
range from Western Australia and Tasmania to N.S. Wales; the genus is
represented by 17 described species in Australia.
The Long-horned Crane-fly, _Macromastix costalis_, has a wide range
from Tasmania to Queensland. In the neighbourhood of Sydney they are
commonly found resting among the low scrub. It has a uniform dull brown
tint with clear transparent wings, striped along the front margin with
dull brown, and can be easily recognised from its large size, with
the long slender antennae three times the length of the wings in the
male, and its curious darting flight when disturbed. It was described
by Swederus as _Tipula costalis_ in 1787, and has been renamed half a
dozen times since. _Clytocosmus helmsi_ was described by Skuse from
specimens obtained at Mt. Kosciusko; it is a large handsome fly with
the stout thickened abdomen black, and bordered or mottled along the
segments with white; the wings are semitransparent shaded with yellow;
the head and thorax are reddish yellow.
The Genus _Semnotes_ contains two very large and handsome crane-flies,
both of which were originally described by Westwood. They are giants of
the family, with a large thorax, and swollen abdomen narrowed slightly
into a waist, coming out broad and rounded to the tip; the general
colour is bright yellow mottled with black, with semitransparent wings.
_Semnotes ducalis_ has dark markings on the wing, and is the rarer
species. It is recorded by Westwood from North Australia, and by Skuse
from Manly, N.S.W. _S. imperatoria_ is found in Victoria, about Sydney
and the Blue Mountains N.S.W.; it is slightly larger than the former,
and can be easily distinguished by the very long tarsi, the plain
wings, and the different markings on the body.
Family 6. Soldier Flies.
STRATIOMYIDAE.
These are flat-bodied flies with narrow strongly veined wings;
3-jointed antennae; and the pronotum furnished with slender spines.
Comstock has called them “Soldier Flies” on account of the bright
coloured stripes with which many species are marked. The larvae of most
of these flies live in decaying vegetable matter, but some are known to
be carnivorous in their habits.
_Neoexaireta spinigera_ is one of our commonest species, often to be
found in the early summer months resting on the window pane with its
broad hind legs flattened out; it is very easily captured. It is a
slender shining black fly about 1 inch in length, with banded legs;
the sides of the body fringed with white hairs, and the apical half
of the wings clouded with black enclosing a small white blotch; the
pronotum is furnished with four slender spines standing out from the
hind margin. The larvae are usually found under damp rotting bark or
decaying vegetable matter, and are elongate flattened brownish and
distinctly segmented creatures, with narrow horny heads standing out
in front like a stalk; they are sluggish creatures with very little
movement. I figured and described a species (doubtfully) under the
name of _Ephippium albitarsis_ in my “Entomology of the Grass-trees”
(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1896) with somewhat similar larvae breeding
in the decaying stems of these trees. The little black fly measures
about ⅓ of an inch in length; it has white tarsi and dusky wings; the
pronotum has the usual short spine on either side; and the legs are
stout. _Odontomyia stylata_ is an elongate, broad, flattened, bronzy
green fly with the outer edges of the abdomen light green; and the long
pointed wings are folded down over the back; the head is very broad;
the rounded thorax is long, furnished with two small spines behind the
pronotum, and the abdomen is broadly rounded at the tip. It is a common
rather large fly about ½ an inch in length, usually found resting on
foliage in damp places. It has a wide range over Australia. In other
parts of the world these flies are numerous, and about 1,000 species of
the family have been described.
Family 7. March Flies.
TABANIDAE.
These flies are large or moderate sized insects, with broad heads
furnished with a fleshy proboscis well adapted for biting; the
4-jointed antennae stand out in front of the head and do not terminate
in a bristle; in the male the large eyes meet in front, but in the
female are separated; the wings are large, often long, and well adapted
for flight; the legs moderately stout; and the abdomen long, broad, and
somewhat flattened.
They are common in the early summer months in open forest country,
and are popularly known in Australia as “March Flies”; in England and
America they usually go under the name of “Horse or Gad Flies,” and are
a great pest to both man and horse; they are so persistent in their
endeavours to bite and suck up blood that they are very easily captured
with the hand.
The larvae of TABANIDAE live in damp earth, or are found in water;
they are carnivorous, feeding upon larvae and pond snails. The flies
deposit their eggs in bunches on herbage or low shrubs. These flies
are very interesting from an economic point of view, for they are said
to be sometimes responsible for outbreaks of anthrax by introducing
the bacillus when biting. Some years ago an outbreak of malignant
pustules on cattle in New Caledonia was said to have been traced to an
undetermined species of _Pangonia_ (Megnin and Germain, Bulletin Soc.
Ent. France Vol. viii. ser. 5).
The Genus _Pangonia_ is well represented in this country by many
large handsome flies that differ from the typical _Tabanus_ in having
ocelli, and the third joint of the antennae elongate instead of
compressed. _Pangonia guttata_ was figured by Donovan in his “Insects
of New Holland”; it measures over 1 inch in length, and is broad in
proportion; its general colour is black, clothed with little tufts
of white downy hairs fringing the thorax in front of the wings, and
forming a band round the outer edge, with similar spots down the centre
of the abdominal segments; the under-surface is variegated with longer
white and black hairs, and the wings are clouded with black. This large
handsome fly is common in the coastal forests, usually found resting
on tree trunks in the heat of the day. _P. rufovittata_ is a smaller
more showy insect of a dull yellow colour. The eyes, parallel markings
on the thorax, and broad transverse bands on the abdomen of black, the
alternate abdominal bands of beautiful golden hairs, together with
the yellow clouded wings, give it a very striking appearance; it also
has a wide range over Australia, and is occasionally taken in the
neighbourhood of Sydney. _P. auriflus_, about ½ an inch in length, also
black, has the face, front of thorax, under-surface and outer margins
of the abdomen clothed with silvery hairs, while the hind margin of the
thorax, a blotch in the centre, and the tip of the abdomen are richly
coloured with bright yellow hairs. _P. concolor_, a much larger fly, is
of a uniform reddish brown colour, with black eyes, and mottled wings;
_P. violacea_ is a small bright metallic violet tinted insect not
unlike a blue bottle fly, but is easily distinguished when the antennae
are examined.
The Genus _Tabanus_ contains many of the typical “March Flies”:
_Tabanus brevidentatus_ measures ½ an inch in length; is of a uniform
grey ash colour, with the hind edges of the abdominal segments barred
with light brown. _T. edentulus_ is a slightly larger, darker coloured
fly with greyer bands on the body; it is common on the slopes of Mt.
Kosciusko. _T. abstersus_ is still larger and darker, but with the
same general colour; the head and under-surface are clothed with
white hairs; the wings clouded; the base and sides of the abdomen
reddish brown with the dorsal surface barred with fine white hairs.
_T. sanguinarius_, one of the largest species, is of a uniform reddish
brown, with black eyes; the thorax tinted with yellow; and the wings
clouded. It has a wide range over Queensland and N.S. Wales. _Silvius
angusta_ is like a very small specimen of _Tabanus brevidentatus_.
The members of the small Family LEPTIDAE are distinguished from the
preceding one, in having the third joint of the antennae simple and
furnished with a bristle, and the tibiae spined. The curious looking
larvae have the abdomen divided into two points at the tip; they live
in pits like the ant-lions. _Leptis aequalis_ is a greyish looking
species about the size of a house fly, with the head composed of two
large globular eyes touching in the centre; the legs are long; the
wings smoky; the elongated abdomen rounded at the tip, and barred
with black; the whole insect clothed with scattered hairs standing up
thickly on the dorsal surface. These flies are very common flying over
aphis infested wheat fields; my specimens come from Molong, N.S. Wales.
Family 8. Bee-flies.
BOMBYLIDAE.
These are popularly known as bee-flies, on account of their remarkable
powers of flight, and hairy appearance. They are all more or less
clothed with delicate downy hairs, furnished with 3 jointed antennae,
and slender legs terminating in fine claws.
They frequent flowers, hovering over them like bees; and many species
have the wings richly marked with black. The life history of our
species is but little known, but I have bred several out of the clay
nests of wasps, and two out of lepidopterous pupae (_Agrotis sp._).
A European species is said to drop her eggs upon the clay nests of
wasps; the newly hatched larva is furnished with a boring apparatus in
front of its head by means of which it works its way through into the
chamber; there it undergoes another stage of development and emerges
from it with a simple sucking mouth to eat up the wasp larva. The larva
of those attacking the “cut-worms,” _Agrotis_, devours the whole of the
moth grub and pupates inside the chrysalid skin. The pupa is a very
curious looking creature enclosed in a dark brown shining skin about ¾
of an inch long, with projecting spines on the head and extremity. The
body is cylindrical with the first 7 segments furnished with a band of
rasp-like spines or ridges on the dorsal surface, with which it moves
round and round when touched. _Anthrax nigricosta_ is a handsome little
black fly, with the head, under surface of the body, and two bands
across the abdomen fringed with white down. The wings are deeply marked
with black on the front margin, widest at the base. It measures about ½
an inch in length, and comes from Queensland. _Comptosia albo-fasciata_
is a large black fly shaded with fine reddish hairs on the dorsal
surface of the body; the wings are brown, very long, with white tips;
the body measures about ¾, and across the outspread wings 1½ inches.
_Neuria quadripennis_ is a much smaller, but somewhat similar looking
fly, with the dorsal surface and margins of the body more hairy; each
wing is darkly clouded, with the base light, and the tip white. Both
these species are not uncommon in New South Wales.
_Acreotrichus gibbicornis_ is a beautiful little black fly with brown
eyes; not much over ¼ of an inch long; the elongate antennae and head
are clothed with tufts of black and white down; the rest of the body
is enveloped in long silvery white down. _A. fuscicornis_ is of a rich
violet black tint, a yellow line round the hind margin of the head,
and a broader band round the dorsal margin of the thorax of a similar
colour; the broad rounded abdomen is lightly banded with pubescence.
These flies were taken in numbers hovering over the flowers of
plum-trees in an orchard near Sydney.
Family 9. Bladder Flies.
ACROCERIDAE.
These are very curious looking flies with such very small round heads,
that at first sight one would think that they were broken off; but on
closer examination the little knobs in front will be found to consist
of two large eyes joining together on the inner edge, with small, 2 or
3 jointed antennae. Nothing is known about the larval habits of our
species, but in Europe they are parasitic on spiders or their cocoons.
The members of the Genus _Pterodontia_ have the body inflated like a
bladder; we have several species in Australia, generally found resting
on twigs or tree trunks. _Pterodontia mellii_ measures under ½ an inch
in length; the thorax and body are swollen out like a bladder; it is of
a general black colour, with a mark on the back, the fore legs, and a
large blotch on either side of the body bright ochreous yellow; but the
dark portions are thickly clothed with fine black downy hairs like a
bumble bee. The wings on account of the swollen body look much smaller
than they really are. I have specimens from Queensland, and Hunter
River N.S.W., and they probably have a wide range.
_Panops flavipes_ is a very curious looking fly from Moruya, N.S.
Wales, measuring over ½ an inch in length; it is of a general dark
bronzy black tint thickly clothed with fine down, silvery on the tip
of the abdomen. The head is very small, black and shining, with the
thickened cylindrical antennae standing out in front; the thorax,
swollen out behind the head, has a large angular white patch on
either side; the abdomen not quite as thick as the thorax is deeply
corrugated. The wings have the front half deeply clouded and the hind
portion transparent.
_Acrodes fumatus_ is a much smaller species about ⅕ of an inch in
length; the head and thorax are black; the bladder shaped abdomen
is tawny yellow, with parallel stripes of black down the centre and
sides, and transverse white bars at the apex of each segment. They were
collected in numbers about Cook’s River, near Sydney.
Family 10. Mydas Flies.
MYDAIDAE.
These might be called “mimic flies,” because, with their large
thickened antennae (often swollen out into a compressed club at the
tips), their broad heads, elongated bodies, and bright variegated black
and yellow markings, they can be very easily mistaken at first sight
for Pompilid wasps. The mimicry is further emphasised by the thickened
spined legs, and coloured wings.
We have a number of species in Australia; they are allied to the
“Robber-flies” which some of them resemble. The larvae of foreign
species are predaceous, feeding upon the grubs of various wood-boring
beetles.
_Mydas fulvipennis_ has the greater part of the head, thorax, under
surface of the abdomen, and thighs black; with the face, antennae,
legs, wings and rest of the abdomen except two indistinct narrow bars,
bright reddish yellow. It measures over ¾ of an inch in length, and
is of the usual elongate robust form with long clubbed antennae and
thickened legs. My specimens come from Southern Queensland.
[Illustration: Plate XXVIII.--DIPTERA.
Family MUSCIDAE.
1. _Chaetogaster violacea_ (Macq.).
Family TABANIDAE.
2. _Pangonia guttata_ (Donov.).
6. _Pangonia auriflus_ (Donov.).
14. _Tabanus abstersus_ (Walk.).
7. _Lamprogaster laeta_ (Guérin).
Family ASILIDAE.
3. _Asilis grandis_ (Macq.).
8. _Craspedia coriaria_ (Wied.).
12. _Phellus glaucus_ (Walk.).
13. _Blepharotes splendissima_ (Wied.).
Family DIOPSIDAE.
4. _Zygotricha sp._
Family BOMBYLIDAE.
5. _Comptosia albo-fasciata_ (Thomp.).
11. _Trichophthalma eques_ (Sch.).
Family DEXIIDAE.
9. _Rutilia decora_ (Guérin).
10. _Amphibolia fulvipes_ (Guérin).
(Original photo. Burton.)]
[Illustration: _Plate XXVIII.--DIPTERA._]
Family 11. Robber-flies.
ASILIDAE.
This group is well represented in Australia by some very large handsome
robber-flies which attack and kill many insects larger than themselves,
transfixing them with their horny bayonet-like proboscis. The
large projecting eyes forming the greater part of the head are well
separated from the thorax; the three jointed antennae stand out at
an angle from each other; the legs are long, stout, and covered with
stiff hairs well adapted for holding their prey; they have more or
less clouded wings; and a slender, rather cylindrical body tapers to
a blunt tip in the female, but in the male terminates in a pair of
pincer-like processes. It is an extensive family, over 3,000 species
being described from all parts of the world; they are very numerous in
America, where one is a very serious pest to honey bees. Their larvae
live in the ground and are predaceous, feeding upon the larvae of other
insects, particularly those of beetles.
The members of the Genus _Dasypogon_ are small delicate flies that
cling to grass stalks, and are easily taken with a sweeping net; they
have the typical form of the family, and their slender bodies taper
to a point. _Laphria diversipes_ is a common insect about Sydney
often taken on fences; it is slightly over ½ an inch in length; its
general colour is black, with stout reddish brown legs variegated with
black. The head is clothed with stiff grey hairs, the upper surface
mottled with golden pubescence, and scattered black hairs. _Laphria
rufifemorata_ is a somewhat large insect from Queensland, with the
abdomen of a deep metallic blue. _Leptogaster geniculatus_ is a
remarkably slender bodied fly, about the same length, found about the
Blue Mountains N.S.W. The head is short but wide across; the thorax
is oval, and the linear abdomen swells out slightly to the apex; the
legs are long and slender, the hind pair with the thighs swollen in the
centre. The general colour is shining black with the legs marked with
white.
The typical Genus _Asilis_ contains some handsome flies generally
met with in open forest country: _Asilis inglorius_, over 1 inch in
length, has large black eyes; the front of the head is clothed with
grey bristles; the thorax is olive green, marbled with grey pubescence,
thickest on the ventral surface; the legs are red, the tarsi black; and
the wings are clouded with yellow; the abdomen is much elongated to the
pointed tip, reddish brown, the first 3 segments thickly clothed with
long, pale, golden, downy hairs, and with the terminal segments covered
with very short reddish brown hairs. _A. plicatus_ is slightly larger,
of a general greyish brown tint, with pale reddish brown markings on
the thorax; the legs are darker brown; the abdomen is lightly clothed
with fine scattered grey hairs. _A. fulvitarsus_ is a much smaller
species of a somewhat uniform buff tint, inclined to a golden tint on
the lower portion of the abdomen; the face is clothed with grey and
buff hairs, and the wings are light brown.
_Blepharotes splendidissma_ is a very handsome fly with the abdomen
flattened, broad, and almost heart shaped; it measures nearly 1½ inches
in length, and 2½ across the outspread wings. It is of a general black
colour with the abdomen of a shining bronzy green tint; the face is
clothed with yellow bristles; the thorax has grey pubescence on the
sides, and the outer margins and tip of abdomen are fringed with tufts
of yellow and black downy hairs. I have frequently captured it flying
about in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, in the early summer. _Phellus
glaucus_ is a very curious fly found in the interior of Western
Australia; it measures nearly 2 inches from the front of the head to
the tip of the wings; a great tuft of bright yellow hairs stand out
in front of the head; it is thickly clothed on the under-surface of
the head with pale yellow hairs; the legs are very stout and hairy,
and clothed with black down marked with white and large yellow tufts
on the hind legs. The abdomen is thickened, elongated and broadly
rounded to the tip, of a uniform deep metallic blue tint, but so
thickly clothed with short black down that its rich colour is somewhat
obscured. _Craspedia coriaria_ is one of our largest robber-flies,
widely distributed all over the interior of the continent; its mouth
is produced into a stout pointed awl-like process, with which it can
pierce the integument of the stoutest insect, and it can be often seen
flying along with its beak buried in the back of a large cockchafer
beetle (_Anoplognathus_), and with its large legs clasping its victim
as it sucks up its blood. Its general colour is black, with the broad,
flattened, more elongate abdomen thickly clothed with short brick-red
hairs; the legs and under surface are very hairy, with tufts of stiff
black hairs fringing the outer edges of the abdominal segments. The
wings are opaque and almost black, with an expanse of about 3 inches.
_Saropogon princeps_, described by Macquart, has a large reddish brown
wasp-like form that at first sight might be easily mistaken for a
Pompilid wasp. It measures 1½ inches in length, with a wing expanse
of about 3 inches. The head, under-surface, centre of the thorax
above, the basal segment, and two bands on the abdomen are black; the
rest is dull red, with the hind margin of the wings hyaline. I have a
specimen from Mittagong N.S. Wales. _Brachyrhopala ruficornis_ comes
from Mackay, Queensland, and has a very wasp-like appearance both in
the colouration and shape of the body. It is under ½ an inch in length
with the typical robber-fly head and spiny legs, but the abdomen is
contracted into a cylindrical waist behind the thorax, rounded in the
centre, and tapered to the tip. The head and thorax are almost black;
the hind margin of the latter and legs are dull red; the abdomen is
dull yellow with the basal segments marked with blackish brown, forming
two almost confluent bands round the broad centre.
Family 12. False Robber-flies.
APIOCERIDAE.
These flies are of medium size not unlike _Muscidae_, with large
elongated bodies, short antennae, and clear wings. This is a small
family containing two genera, the species of which are peculiar to
North America, Chili, and Australia.
_Apiocera bigotii_, described by Macquart, is about ¾ of an inch in
length; it has a short head not so wide as the thorax, with a long
projecting proboscis; the elongate broadly rounded thorax is truncated
behind; the abdomen is broadest in front, rounded, and tapers to
the tip, which terminates in a tuft of fine spines. The wings are
somewhat iridescent with reddish veins; the general colour of the fly
is a dull brown, with white hairs and silvery pubescence clothing the
hind portion of the head and under-surface of the thorax, and also
mottling the dorsal surface of the body with grey. Some specimens in
my possession come from the Shoalhaven district. _Apiocera asilica_
described by Westwood is a larger much darker insect, with black hairs
on the upper surface and grey on the under surface; it ranges from
Queensland to the Blue Mountains N.S.W.
Family 13. Big-eyed Flies.
PIPUNCULIDAE.
These are tiny little creatures with very large heads consisting almost
entirely of two great hemispherical eyes. The short antenna terminates
in a bristle.
About 80 species had been described, chiefly from Europe, until Perkins
published the descriptions of 26 species from Australia (Leaf Hoppers
and their natural enemies Pt. iv. Pipunculidae) Hawaii 1905.
They are remarkable for their habits in the larval state, being
parasitic upon the larvae and pupae of frog-hoppers, chiefly Jassidae,
particularly those Homoptera that have the tip of the abdomen clothed
with waxy filaments. When full grown the dipterous larvae leave their
host and bury themselves in the soil, where they pupate. Mr. Koebele
allowed me to examine the collection he made of these little flies
before they were described by Mr. Perkins. Many of these he reared from
infested frog-hoppers in Queensland when studying sugar-cane pests.
_Pipunculus helluo_ was observed swarming round the larvae of
_Siphanta_, which were abundant on fig trees near Bundaberg Queensland;
this species was also taken by Koebele near Sydney. _P. cinerascens_
is remarkable in the larval form, as it does not fall to the ground
and pupate in the soil, but forms its puparium upon the surface of the
living leaves in the open. _P. cruciator_ comes from the district of
Cairns, N. Queensland.
Family 14. Hover Flies.
SYRPHIDAE.
Several species are well known and common in gardens, where they
are popularly known under the name of “Bee” or “Hover Flies” from a
way they have of poising, apparently motionless, over flowers and
aphid-infested bushes, for the movement of their wings is so rapid as
scarcely to be detected. The perfect flies, which among the carnivorous
species have slender bodies more or less barred or banded with yellow,
lay their eggs upon aphis-infested plants; the young larvae emerging
from the white eggs feed exclusively upon aphids and plant lice; the
full-grown larva is legless, very elongate in form, and has great
powers for extending and contracting its abdominal segments, so that
the body, from a rounded mass, can extend into a long and slender form.
The full-grown larva pupates in an oval hard chrysalid which usually
falls to the ground.
The typical Genus _Syrphus_ is well represented in Australia by
several fine species, all of which are aphid eaters, and fly about
in the bright sunshine but shelter among the foliage at other times;
whenever aphis appear the syrphid flies soon follow, and I have seen
them round the aphid-infested briar bushes in countless thousands.
_Syrphus pusillus_, figured in the Agricultural Gazette N.S.W. 1904
under the name of _Syrphus viridiceps_, is our commonest species found
upon aphis-infested rose bushes, orchard trees, and wheat fields. It
measures about ⅓ of an inch in length; has large reddish eyes, yellow
face, and dull metallic green thorax with yellow scutellum; the darker
abdomen is banded with three interrupted transverse yellow bands, and
smaller marks on the apical segments. _S. viridiceps_ is a more slender
form, with a green face; the whole of the thorax is shining lead
colour, with fine yellow bands on the abdomen; the legs are dark, and
the whole fly is lightly clothed with fine hairs. Both these species
may be taken on the same bush, and both have a very wide range over
Australia.
[Illustration: =Fig. 146.=--_Syrphus viridiceps_
(Macquart).
A common Hover-fly that destroys rose and peach aphis.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Drone or Bee Fly, _Eristalis tenax_, is another common garden
fly with a very wide range, and is an introduced European species.
It measures over ½ an inch in length and is broad in proportion; the
head and thorax are clothed with yellowish brown down, and the smooth
shining abdomen is mottled with black and brown. The larvae are dirty
white maggots with slender rat-tails at the tip of the body, and they
live in all kinds of rotten or semi-liquid refuse.
_Helophilus bengalensis_ is a smaller, robust fly with rounded eyes;
the thorax is richly barred with parallel grey lines on the dorsal
surface; and there are two large lunate yellow spots at the basal
portion of the abdomen. The lower part of the abdomen tapers to a
rounded tip and is clothed with yellow down. This fly was originally
described from Bengal by Wiedemann; Schiner has reported it from
Batavia; my specimens come from Queensland. _H. griseus_ was described
and its life history given in my “Entomology of the Grass-trees”
(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1896) under the name of _Orthoprosopa nigra_.
The larvae, elongate in form, with a short anal tubular tail, swarm
in great numbers between the outer shell and the caudex of the dead
rotting trunk of the grass-trees among the slime and water. They pupate
in the damp earth in captivity, forming a light brown oval case with
the remains of the larval tail shortened and retracted. This handsome
black fly, over ½ an inch in length, has the face and antennae bright
yellow; the dorsal surface clothed with fine black pubescence; the
scutellum smooth and shining; the sides fringed with scattered grey
hairs; and the wings clouded. There is a second species found in
similar situations; the larvae have the typical slender rat-tails, and
when they pupate transform the tail into a curved tubular process at
the extremity of the chrysalis.
[Illustration: =Fig. 147.=--_Eristalis tenax_
(Linn.).
The Drone or Bee-fly; usually found upon flowers.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Sphiximorpha australis_, from Southern Queensland, is a very curious
broad thickset black and yellow fly, with spatulate tipped antennae
standing out in front of the two large eyes; the head is slightly
larger than the thorax, which is stout and thickened; and the broad
abdomen is rounded at the extremity. The general colour is black, with
the face, three spots on the sides of the thorax, scutellum, apical
portion of legs, and two bands on the abdomen rich yellow. The wings
are clear, except a dark stripe along the front margin. This curious
fly has a striking resemblance to some of the yellow banded mud-nest
wasps (_Odynerus_ and _Alastor_), but the reason for their bright
colouration and abnormal shape is at present unknown.
Family 15. Wasp-flies.
CONOPIDAE.
These are handsome flies of moderate size, many of which are very
wasp-like in the shape of the abdomen and in general colouration; they
have the proboscis prolonged but usually drawn up and hidden; the
3-jointed antennae inserted in front of the head are close together at
the base, with the first joint very short. Comstock says that the larva
of _Conops_ is a soft whitish 11-jointed flask-shaped grub, with
a long neck and mouth armed with lips and hooks (mandibles) and two
lateral elevated plates supporting the two spiracles. It was found by
Lachat and Audouin living in the body of a _Bombus_. Most of the
members of this family are found as parasites upon different bees and
wasps; the flies deposit their eggs upon the perfect insects; the larva
bores into the abdomen, feeds upon the contents, and finally pupates in
the shell of the body. They are considered by most writers to be allied
to the _Syrphidae_.
This is a small family in regard to numbers of species, but they
are widely distributed: Van der Wulp lists 14 species of the Genus
_Conops_ from South Asia, including the Malay Archipelago (Cat.
Described Diptera 1896), and others have since been described.
_Conops pica_, described by Macquart from Australia, is found in the
Mittagong district, N.S.W. It is slightly over ¼ of an inch in length;
has large lance-tipped antennae standing out in front; a large head;
the abdomen very slender at the base swelling out to a broadly rounded
tip, giving it a striking resemblance to the small “mud-nest wasps.”
This resemblance is further borne out by its general dark brown colour
marked and banded with yellow, which upon the abdomen forms two broad
bands, a spot on the sides, and a large rounded blotch on the extreme
tip; the legs are banded, and the wings are striped in front with brown.
Family 16. Fruit Flies, Leaf Mining Flies, &c.
MUSCIDAE ACALYPTRATA.
Under this heading Sharp places a large division of closely related
flies comprising 29 families, which he treats in a very brief manner;
we have a large number of interesting species in some of these families
that are worthy of notice, for some of them are very serious pests
to the gardener and orchardist. Sharp says: “Taken collectively, they
may be defined as small flies with 3-jointed antennae (frequently
looking as if only 2-jointed) bearing a bristle that is not terminally
placed; frequently either destitute of squamae or hairy, these
imperfectly developed so as not to cover the halteres; and possessing
a comparatively simple system of neuration, the chief nervures being
straight, so that consequently few cells are formed.”
The DIOPSIDAE comprise in the typical Genus _Diopsis_ some very curious
looking flies, rather slender in form, with narrow wings, and the sides
of the head produced into an elongate stalk, at the tip of which is
placed the rounded eye, reminding one of the stalk-eyed crabs. Westwood
monographed this genus in the Transactions of the Linnean Society 1835,
where he figured and described 21 species from Africa, India and Java.
I have two very fine species from North Queensland, belonging to the
Genus _Zygotricha_, and a number of allied forms placed in the Genus
_Achias_ by Van der Wulp (Catalogue of the Described Diptera from South
Asia 1896) recorded from New Guinea. The Stalk-eyed fly, _Zygotricha
sp._, measures nearly ½ an inch in length, with the eyes measuring over
¼ of an inch from tip to tip; its general colour is yellowish brown,
the face bright yellow; eyes black; thorax finely striped with grey;
wings mottled; the curious angulated abdomen shining with metallic
tints, and tipped with stout hairs.
The cosmopolitan “Skipper” in cheese, is the larva of _Piophila casei_;
it pupates in a slender dark chrysalid; the small slender dark fly
swarms round over-ripe cheese, fat, and other dried foods.
The little “Fruit Flies” belonging to the DROSOPHILIDAE, sometimes
also known as “wine flies” from their habit of swarming round the
freshly-filled wine casks, lay their eggs in decaying vegetable matter;
they are often attracted to over-ripe fruit, and by their presence
sometimes cause it to decay; they are common all over the world. The
maggots sometimes found among pickles in vinegar and brine belong to
flies of this group. _Drosophila obscura_, a tiny light brown fly with
a dark coloured head, breeds in damaged tomatoes.
[Illustration: =Fig. 148.=--_Dacus (Tephritis)
tryoni_ (Froggatt). The Queensland Fruit Fly.
1. Showing the jaws of the larva; 2. adult fly enlarged;
3. larva; 4. chrysalid; 5. tip of the abdomen showing the
breathing orifices; 6. fly natural size.]
The TRYPETIDAE comprise the true “fruit flies,” many of them very
handsome little creatures; some of them form regular galls in the twigs
of plants; others with their needle-like ovipositors puncture the
ripening fruit, depositing their eggs beneath the skin; the maggots
cause the fruit to rot, often before it can be gathered, and thus
do a great deal of damage in Australian orchards. The Queensland
Fruit-fly, _Dacus (Tephritis) tryoni_, ranges from Queensland (where
it probably originally infested native bush fruits) into N.S. Wales,
and is now a serious orchard pest in both States. It is a dull brown
insect marked with yellow, about the size of a large house fly, with a
rather wasp-shaped body, and large transparent wings. I have described
several other allied species coming into Australia from the Islands in
damaged fruit, “Notes on Fruit-maggot Flies with Descriptions of New
Species” (Agr. Gazette N.S. Wales 1899). _Dacus (Tephritis) psidii_
was bred out of guavas imported from New Caledonia; it is about ¼ of
an inch in length; is dull yellow, with the thorax distinctly striped,
and the abdomen black; the transparent wings are thickly mottled with
brown. Tryon says that it is a common fruit-fly pest in Queensland,
damaging bananas and other fruits. _Trypeta musae_ was obtained from
bananas brought from the New Hebrides: it is a slightly larger fly,
with the head and thorax dull yellow; it has no distinct dorsal stripe
on the thorax, and the wings are very thickly mottled. _T. bicolor_ is
a larger native species with reddish brown head and thorax; with black
body; with beautifully mottled black wings having the base and sides
unclouded. I have taken it on the trunks of wattle trees near Bathurst,
N.S. Wales. The “Mediterranean Fruit Fly,” _Ceratitis (Halterophora)
capitata_, first recorded from oranges brought from the Azores to
London, was described by Macleay in 1826; it has a wide range, and was
introduced into New South Wales some years ago; it is now one of the
most serious pests that orchardists have to fight. It is a smaller more
thickset fly than the Queensland pest, with the thorax dark metallic
brown, and the wings richly variegated. The male is remarkable in
having a pair of spatulate hairs, like a second pair of antennae,
springing out in front between the eyes. _Trypeta poenia_ is a tiny
little fly with a grey pubescence over the thorax and abdomen; the
thorax is finely mottled, and the delicate wings are very finely but
thickly marked with dark brown; I have taken this species when beating
the low scrub in the western country round Condobolin, N.S. Wales.
_Lonchaea splendida_ is a very brilliant metallic green fly with pale
smoky wings; it is smaller than a house fly, with a much more elongated
body; its larvae infest decaying tomatoes, potatoes, egg-fruit and
other solanums; it has a wide range from the Pacific Islands and New
Zealand, over Australia.
The family ORTALIDAE is represented here by a very handsome species,
_Ortalis coerulea_; it is about the size of a house fly, with deep
metallic blue thorax and banded black abdomen; the transparent wing is
clouded with black at the base and the tip, and has a black V-shaped
band in the centre. It is very common in summer usually resting on the
foliage of the grass-trees, and can be easily captured with a net.
_Lamprogaster laeta_ is another fine species, with a wide range from
Victoria to Queensland. It measures nearly ½ an inch from the front of
the head to the tip of the body; the large semitransparent wings are
blotched along the front with black. The dorsal surface and curious
angular abdomen are deep metallic blue; the legs and under-surface
reddish brown. I have usually found it on the highlands, and it is
common on the Blue Mountains N.S.W. in the summer months.
The AGROMYZIDAE are small yellow flies, sometimes marked with green;
they puncture the tissue of plants and cause excrescences and galls
upon the foliage and flower buds. One tiny species, _Agromyza sp._,
attacks the midrib of the leaves of the “Blood-wood” (_Eucalyptus
corymbosa_), common about Sydney; producing soft yellow spongy
excrescences aborting all the young foliage. _A. phaseoli_ is a great
pest to the growers of french beans in the Gosford district N.S.W.;
the fly inserts her eggs in the stem of the young plant just above the
surface of the ground. It is a tiny black fly, with bluish tints on the
body. It was described by Coquillett (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1899) from
specimens I sent to him for identification.
[Illustration: =Fig. 149.=--_Agromyza phaseoli_
(Coquillett).
The French-bean fly, the larva of which feeds on the stems.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 150.=--_Phytomyza affinis_
(Fallen).
An introduced Leaf-mining fly, and a common garden pest.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The PHYTOMYZIDAE are small dark coloured flies, whose larvae are leaf
miners; and several species are well known pests to the gardener.
_Phytomyza affinis_ breeds in the winter in the leaves of the sow
thistle; the next generation swarm on the marguerites, sunflowers and
many others of the _Compositae_, thereby causing them to wither and
fall.
The SAPROMYZIDAE contain a great number of small flies which are
generally met with resting among the foliage when sweeping or beating
the scrub in the early morning. They seldom have the wings spotted,
and the abdomen is broader than that of the former group. The larvae
feed under the bark of trees, or among decaying vegetation. _Sapromyza
fuscicornis_ is of a uniform pale brownish yellow, with dark eyes, and
with scattered stout bristles on the thorax; it is a large species over
¼ of an inch in length to the tip of the closed wings. It has a wide
range over Australia. _S. decora_ is a very much smaller dark brown
fly, with a fine white stripe on each side of the thorax extending
across the sides of the head above the eyes. It is common in summer in
the orchards among the orange trees.
In the members of the Genus _Celyphus_ the scutellum is so abnormally
inflated that it covers all the posterior parts of the body, so that
these tiny shining black creatures are quite unlike the typical
Diptera. A dark brown fly about the size of a house fly that has been
described under the name of _Batrachomyia nigritarsis_ by Skuse, is
a parasite in the larval state on the back of several of our common
frogs, where feeding under the skin it forms a regular blister; when
full grown the larva makes its way through the skin, and pupates in the
damp soil.
The SCATOPHAGIDAE are slender, elongate, medium sized flies that can be
bred out of dung or decaying vegetable matter, and are found in most
parts of the world. _Scatophaga guerini_ measures over ⅓ of an inch
in length; it is of a dull greyish brown tint, marked on the head and
thorax with parallel whitish bars, thickly clothed on the stout legs
with fine hairs; and the long wings are folded over the back when at
rest. It has a wide range; I have it from Sydney, and have bred it from
the cylindrical white maggots in “toad-stools” collected on the banks
of the Darling River, N.S. Wales.
The Genus _Nerius_ (placed by Van der Wulp in the Sub-family
CALOBATINAE, following the SCIOMYZINAE) is represented by two fine
species common in North Queensland. They are very slender, long-legged
flies, with long, straight-veined wings, rounded at the extremities,
and folded over the narrow pointed abdomen; the head, which has a
distinct neck, might be described as pear-shaped, with short, stout,
lance-shaped antennae standing out in front, and elongate flattened
eyes with a dorsal depression between them; the abdomen is elongate,
oval; and both species, about the same size, measure ½ an inch in
length. _Nerius inermis_, “the Banana-stalk Fly,” is of a uniform dull
brown colour, with the dorsal surface of the head and thorax striped
with white, and the whole of the under surface and thighs (except a
brown comma-like mark on the sides) white. The slender white maggots
feed in the ends of the decaying stalks of the bunches of Queensland
bananas, forming elongate reddish brown chrysalids when they pupate;
they are easily bred out in captivity. This species was originally
described from the Nicobar Islands by Schiner; and has also been
recorded from Celebes and Aroe. _N. lineolatus_, described by Wiedemann
from Java, is common in North Queensland; it differs from the last
species in having the dorsal surface more thickly and brightly striped
with white, and the legs being barred with white.
Family 17. Anthomyia Flies.
ANTHOMYIDAE.
In general appearance they are very like the house fly, of small size
and indefinite colour; they differ in the structure of the wings, and
the eyes of the male are generally large and in contact; the antennae
are bare or feathered. In their larval habits they vary very much: some
are simply scavengers; others feed on living vegetation, and like the
onion and cabbage flies are serious pests; and a few are parasitic. The
family is a large one, and species are found in most parts of the world.
The common bluish fly resting on the decaying weed, and flying along
in front when one is walking along the sea shore, belongs to the Genus
_Lispe_; it looks like a house fly with longish legs and a pale tint.
_Ophyra analis_ is a very common inland fly, and may be found swarming
round dead sheep, or bred from pupae found under carrion lying in the
bush. It is a shining blue black fly about the size of an ordinary
house fly, and is lightly clothed with bristles on the sides of the
thorax; it has a somewhat heart-shaped body, and clear wings. A
second species, _O. nigra_, originally described by Wiedemann from
China, is found in Australia, and is also recorded by Walker from the
East Indies. It may be found swarming about dead sheep in summer.
_Phoania personata_ might be taken for a large house fly from the
regular stripes on the thorax, but it is more thickly clothed with
bristles, and the abdomen has a deep metallic blue tint. I have bred
numbers from larvae pupating in rotting oranges piled on the ground.
_Limnophora ruficoxis_ is a somewhat smaller fly with the dorsal
surface of the thorax and abdomen clothed with a dull buff pubescence;
and the scutellum is smooth and shining. I have specimens from Sydney,
N.S.W., and Gatton, Queensland.
Family 18. Parasite Flies.
TACHINIDAE.
This is one of the most useful groups of flies to the agriculturist,
for nearly all the members deposit their eggs upon the living larvae of
other insects such as the plant-destroying cut-worms, many different
moths, and the grubs of our large saw-flies, and immature grasshoppers.
This is a family of considerable extent, for over 1,000 species have
been described from America alone, and in Van der Wulp’s Catalogue 187
species are listed from South Asia, but very little has been done in
working up the Australian species.
In general appearance they are not unlike large house flies, but more
bristly; the bristle of the third antennal joint is bare; the posterior
cell of the wing almost or quite closed, and the large squamae cover
the halteres. They attach their white eggs to the surface of the
caterpillar with a gummy secretion, and it is quite common in summer
time to find caterpillars thus infested, the perfect flies generally
emerging from the pupal shell of their victim.
The members of the Genus _Winthemia_ are rather large flies, parasitic
upon the larvae of different moths; several American species are great
checks upon the increase of the “Army worm” (_Leucania unipuncta_).
_Winthemia lata_ measures slightly under ½ an inch in length, and
is thickset in proportion; it has a silvery face, with the brownish
thorax covered with short stout bristles on the sides; the abdomen
is black, with the sides and outer margin of the segments blotched
with dull yellow; and the whole upper surface is lightly clothed with
fine bristles. I have bred this fly from our Native Silkworm Moth
(_Antheroea eucalypti_), from Lewin’s Moth (_Ocinaria lewinae_), and
from an undetermined hawkmoth.
The Genus _Miltogramma_ comprises a number of smaller flies common in
Europe, which lay their eggs upon the captured prey of the sand wasps
while the latter are placing them in their burrows in the ground; and
not only does the parasitic fly larva devour the food supply, but also
when that is finished, feeds on the baby wasp. An Indian species is
parasitic upon one of the large plague locusts. I have a very handsome
undetermined species from Southern Queensland which has the abdomen
ringed with bright yellow bands; this would suggest that it may deposit
its eggs in the underground chambers of a similarly banded _Bembex_.
Another much smaller species, not unlike the house fly in size and
general colouration, has the grey abdomen barred with black.
Family 19. Metallic Green Flies.
DEXIIDAE.
These flies differ from the Tachinidae, which they otherwise resemble,
in having longer legs, and the bristle of the antennae pubescent or
plumose. Australia is rich in large handsome species, often brightly
marked with metallic tints; they are usually most plentiful in open
forest country, often resting on tree trunks; when flying round they
make a loud humming sound. Most of them are parasitic in their habits,
depositing their eggs upon the larvae of lamellicorn beetles that are
buried in the ground.
_Chaetogaster violacea_ is of the usual thickset form, with a broad
body and long pointed wings; it measures nearly 1 inch from the front
of the head to the tips of the folded wings. It is of a general dark
metallic blue colour, with the dorsal surface of the head and thorax
marked with grey, and the whole insect is clothed with scattered black
bristles. The wings are clouded with dull yellow on the basal half,
giving it a very distinctive appearance. _Amphibolia fulvipes_ is
another very handsome and smaller fly with a broader body than the
last, but the wings are shorter and clouded at the base; the head and
legs are yellow; the rest black, with the thorax spotted behind and
marked with a row of short broken parallel bars in front; the greater
part of the abdomen above and below is creamy white mottled with seven
bilobed blotches of black forming a pattern on the dorsal surface. It
is found about Sydney and has a wide range on the eastern coast.
_Amenia leonina_ is about ½ an inch in length with a more rounded
abdomen. The large head is bright yellow, with the thorax and abdomen
rich metallic blue; the sides of the thorax and abdomen are marked with
several white circular dots, the last two on the tip of the abdomen
very distinct. It is found in Tasmania, and ranges along the eastern
coast of the mainland into Queensland.
The typical Genus _Rutilia_ is well represented in Australia by a
number of large, showy flies rich in metallic tints, and as a general
rule not so thickly or coarsely clothed with bristles. _Rutilia
formosa_, originally described from New Holland by Desvoidy, is not
uncommon along the eastern coast in the summer months. It measures from
¾ to 1 inch in length; is of a general rich light metallic blue tint;
the abdomen indistinctly barred with black is rich metallic coppery
red, duller in the larger females, which have the abdominal segments
more hirsute and bristly. The larvae are parasitic upon beetle grubs,
probably those of the brown cockchafer (_Anoplognathus_). _R. decora_
is about the same size and has much the same habits and range. The
thorax is rich metallic blue, darker in front, with a row of short
black bars; the abdomen is black with a double row of bright green
metallic spots down the centre, the two at the anal tip largest. _R.
vivipara_ measures about 1 inch in length, with a wing expanse of 1½
inches; it is of a general dull greyish brown tint; the abdomen is
lighter brown, and has a dark line down the centre and the sides and
tips lightly clothed with grey hairs. _R. inornata_, about the same
size as the last species, is a much darker fly; the abdomen is of a
uniform dull shining black with grey hairs on the sides but none on the
tip. Both these species have an extended range in forest country.
_Myocera longipes_ has the general colouration of a house fly, with
long, clear wings behind which are large white squamae; and it has very
long slender legs. It has a curious habit of resting on the tree trunks
with its long legs spread out in a very characteristic manner.
[Illustration: Plate XXIX.--DIPTERA.
Family MUSCIDAE.
1. _Lucilia tasmaniensis_ (Macquart). Large blue-bottle
fly.
2. _Lucilia caesar_ (Linn.). Introduced sheep fly.
3. _Lucilia sericata_ (Meigen). Metallic blue-bottle fly.
4. _Musca domestica_ (Linn.). Common house fly.
5. _Musca corvina_ (Fabr.). Bush fly.]
[Illustration: _Plate XXIX.--DIPTERA._]
Family 20. Flesh Flies.
SARCOPHAGIDAE.
These flies differ from the true house flies in having the bristle
of the antennae plumose at the base but fine and hair-like at the
extremity. They lay their eggs or living larvae upon meat or other
exposed food, and are also known as “Scavenger” flies because they
frequent evil-smelling places like pig-sties and slaughter-yards. Some
species are known to deposit their larvae in the nostrils of animals,
and there are several records of the death of human beings from
infestation by these maggots.
The typical Genus _Sarcophaga_ is world-wide in its distribution, and
contains a number of well known species. _Sarcophaga aurifrons_ is
our commonest species in Australia, and is also found in the Malay
Archipelago. It is over ⅓ of an inch in length; the front of the head
is golden; the large eyes deep red; the legs black; and the thorax
and abdomen black but thickly clothed with silvery grey pubescence;
the black shows through, forming three black bands on the front of
the thorax; and the abdomen is mottled with indistinct spots. _S.
frontalis_ is a slightly larger species with the face very bright
golden yellow; the black bars on the thorax finer and darker; and the
abdomen mottled with a more irregular pattern. A much smaller species,
hardly larger than a house fly, was described by Skuse (Agricultural
Gazette N.S.W. 1891, p. 251) as a parasite of the plague locust; he
named it _Masicera pachytyli_; this fly Mr. Coquillett says belongs
to the Genus _Sarcophaga_. I have since bred a much larger species
from the bodies of locusts in the Bombala district, N.S.W. _Tachina
oedipoda_, described by Olliff (Agr. Gaz. N.S.W. 1891, p. 769), I am
also informed by Mr. Coquillett, should be _Sarcophaga oedipoda_, and
is closely allied to _S. aurifrons_: it also is a parasite on the same
species of locust.
Family 21. House Flies.
MUSCIDAE.
This group comprises all the typical house flies, some of which are
world-wide in their distribution. All of them have the bristle that
forms the tip of the antennae hairy or plumose, while the abdomen is
spineless, without bristles except at the extremity.
They deposit their eggs in stable manure or other decaying matter; the
maggots, developing very rapidly in warm weather, form the usual hard
parchment-like chrysalids from which the perfect flies emerge. Many
interesting observations have been lately made on the habits of house
flies and the danger of their spreading diseases by carrying germs or
particles of putrid matter upon their feet, and thus contaminating
food or transferring germs into open wounds; it was proved in the
Spanish-American war that the swarms of flies had a great deal to
do with the spread of fever in this manner. _Musca domestica_, the
common house fly, is almost world-wide in its distribution, and is the
chief species found inside the house. In the larval state it chiefly
develops in stable manure. It measures about ¼ of an inch in length; is
of a uniform black tint but is so thickly clothed with grey tomentum
that it appears to be brown; the eyes are red; the thorax is clothed
with stiff black bristles, and has four parallel bars down the centre
of the dorsal surface. The freshly deposited eggs hatch within a day
or two; the maggots develop within six days, and remain in the pupal
state for only a few days in the summer; so that it is no wonder that
they multiply with such marvellous rapidity, particularly when we
discover that one house fly will lay over 1,000 eggs in the season.
_Musca corvina_ is a smaller darker tinted species, showing only two
parallel stripes down the thorax. It is a common bush species and a
great pest in the bush all through the summer, swarming in countless
thousands from the eastern coast into the interior. It has a wide
range over Europe, North America, Ceylon, and the Malay Archipelago.
_Stomoxys calcitrans_ is of a more brownish tint, with the abdomen more
flattened, and it differs from the last two species in having a well
developed biting mouth; this fly is a troublesome pest to horses, and
will alight on one’s hand and bite quite sharply. It has a wide range
from Europe across Asia to Ceylon, Java, and Australia.
The Genus _Calliphora_ is well represented by several very distinct
species of typical “Blow-flies”; but though the common European
species, _Calliphora vomitaria_, is said to be common in New Zealand
I have never taken it in Australia. _C. villosa_ is our large common
blow-fly; it measures about ½ an inch in length; is of a general
slate grey colour with the abdomen thickly clothed with fine golden
pubescence giving it a bright mottled yellow tint. _C. oceaniae_ is the
smaller blow-fly with a steely blue abdomen, the base on either side
bearing a dull yellow blotch by which it can be easily distinguished.
Both these species are found in the bush and in the house; they lay
their eggs on any food they can gain access to; but in the summer, or
when they cannot get at food in time, the egg is hatched in the body of
the mother and dropped as a living maggot. Some of the bright metallic
species also come in this Genus; _C. rufifaces_ is a much smaller
bright rich metallic blue fly, with a silvery face, red eyes, and white
flaps behind the wings; it, and the much smaller _C. varipes_ with a
yellow face and darker tinted body, are common about dead sheep or
decaying matter in the interior.
[Illustration: Plate XXX.--DIPTERA.
Family MUSCIDAE.
1. _Calliphora oceaniae_ (Desv.). Blue-bodied blow-fly.
2. _Calliphora oceaniae_ (Desv.). Maggot.
3. Head segment of maggot, showing mouth hooks.
4. Anal segment of maggot, showing tubercles.
5. Pupa.
6. _Calliphora villosa_ (Desv.). Yellow blow-fly.]
[Illustration: _Plate XXX.--DIPTERA._]
_Neocalliphora ochracea_ is somewhat thicker and broader than
_Calliphora villosa_, and a much rarer species; it is of a general dull
reddish brown colour, with the head and thorax darkest.
In the Genus _Lucilia_ we have the typical “Bluebottle” flies, which
are well represented in this country: _Lucilia sericata_ and _L.
caesar_, both of a moderate size and deep metallic green and coppery
tints, are widely distributed. _L. tasmaniensis_ is a larger species,
measuring under ½ an inch in length; it is of a uniform bright metallic
blue, and has a wide range.
Family 22. Bot-flies.
OESTRIDAE.
The members of this family are well known in most parts of the world
in the larval state as “bots,” internal parasites in the stomach of
the horse, in the nostrils of sheep, and the skins of cattle. The
life history of the common European bot-fly, _Gastrophilus equi_, is
well known; the active fly lays her eggs upon the shoulders or jaws
of the horse, attaching them to the hair by a gummy secretion; the
horse licking itself transfers the eggs into its mouth, where the
tiny maggots hatch out and are carried down into the stomach. They
are provided with a pair of fine curved hooks in front of the head by
which these little creatures hook themselves into the membrane of the
stomach, absorbing their nutriment from the liquid with which they
are surrounded. When fully developed these oval spiny bots detach
themselves and pass out with the excrement, the maggots at once burying
themselves in the damp soil and pupating; the perfect fly emerges early
in February in most parts of N.S. Wales. The flies, about ½ an inch in
length, have large thickset bodies thickly clothed with short brown
or golden hairs, giving them the general appearance of a hairy bee;
the male has a short rounded abdomen; that of the female is greatly
elongated and usually curled up underneath. There are probably several
introduced species now common in Australia with a wide range over the
country. It is remarkable that though they do not bite or sting the
horses when laying their eggs, yet as soon as the horses hear the loud
hum of the bot-fly they gallop about and show an inherited fear of this
pest, which, though it does not kill them, must be a very unpleasant
parasite when numerous. The members of the Genus _Hypoderma_ are a very
serious pest in Europe and other countries where they infest cattle,
and are known both as “warble” or “bot-flies.” The fly lays her eggs
upon the back of the beast; the tiny larva makes its way through the
hide, beneath which it lives and feeds upon the putrid matter caused
by the irritation of its presence; it finally produces an inflamed
blister-like swelling or “warble,” eventually working its way out
through the hide and falling to the ground, where it buries itself and
pupates. No species have been found in Australia, but in some parts of
England very serious damage is caused to the health of the beast, and
the skin by being perforated loses value for making leather.
[Illustration: =Fig. 151.=--_Gastrophilus equi_
(Fabr.).
1 and 2, The introduced Bot-fly, showing dorsal and lateral
view of female; 3, eggs attached to hairs of horse; 4, egg
enlarged (the eggs should be more truncate at the tips); 5,
larval bots attached to piece of the stomach of a horse; 6,
bot much enlarged; 7, enlarged head of bot showing the mouth
hooks.]
The Sheep Nostril Fly, _Oestrus ovis_, has a wide range over the
world, and was probably introduced into Australia many years ago,
though it has been noticed only quite recently as a serious pest.
This fly lays living maggots in the nostril of the unfortunate sheep;
the maggots work their way up into the frontal sinuses of the head,
where they remain until fully developed, when they turn downward and
are usually sneezed out by the sheep in their efforts to get rid of
the obstruction. The fly is slightly under ½ an inch in length; the
upper surface of the head and body are grey to dull yellow, spotted or
mottled with darker tints; the abdomen is yellowish mottled with darker
markings. It has been found chiefly in the Blue Mountains N.S.W.
Family 23. Louse or Spider Flies.
HIPPOBOSCIDAE.
These are parasitic Diptera, that having taken to idle and slothful
habits (though some of them can fly very well), take up their quarters
among the fur or feathers of different animals and birds, where they
live and are carried about by their hosts. To suit this method of
existence they have become quite altered in structure; they have flat
leathery bodies, and their feet are produced into large pincer-like
claws which enable them to cling to the skin of their host. Some have
large wings with stout nervures but very rudimentary venation; a few
though provided with wings at birth bite them off soon after; and
others like the well known “sheep tick” are wingless.
As a rule their presence even when numerous does not seem to incommode
the infested animals after they have become used to them, for the
wild ponies in the New Forest in England are often covered with the
horse-fly, _Hippobosca equi_, and they take no notice of them. Yet
if one alights upon a horse unaccustomed to the presence of the fly
he becomes almost crazy with fright, probably from the pinching or
tickling sensation produced by their claws.
[Illustration: =Fig. 152.=--_Ortholfersia macleayi_
(Leach).
A parasitic fly that lives upon wallabies. Figured by me
as _Olfersia macleayi_ (Leach) in the “Agricultural
Gazette,” N.S.W.]
The Common European Sheep Tick, _Melophagus ovinus_, was introduced
at a very early date into this country among the wool on the backs
of sheep. It is a dark-brown, wingless creature thickly clothed with
fine hairs, more like a stout-legged spider than a fly in general
appearance, but it has not the requisite fourth pair of legs. These
bristly legs are furnished with the usual stout curved claws, between
which is a slender appendage like a short string, supposed to be used
to hang on with by coiling it round the wool. From their blood-sucking
habits and these pincer-like claws, they are very annoying to the sheep
when numerous.
The Wallaby Louse Fly, _Olfersia macleayi_, is very common on small
marsupials in Australia and Tasmania. When the dogs while hunting pull
down and kill a wallaby, these flies generally crawl off and cling
to the dog’s nose, rendering him very unhappy. It is a winged form,
measuring under ½ an inch to the tip of the folded wings, and is of a
uniform shining dark brown tint with a greenish shade very noticeable
in the legs. Speiser (Annals Musei Nationalis Hungarici 1904) has
placed this species in his Genus _Ortholfersia_.
_Ornithomyia perfuga_, taken on an owl (probably _Spiloglaux boobook_)
near Brisbane, has been recently described by Dr. Speiser: it is a
larger species of a more reddish brown colour. A very fine louse fly,
also taken in Southern Queensland upon a white hawk, measures nearly ¾
of an inch to the tip of the folded wings, and has been identified by
the same gentleman as _Ornithoctona nigricans_, described originally
by Leach. Among the few other species described from Australia is one
found on our pretty little emu wren, which was described by Schiner
in the “Zoology of the Voyage of the Novara 1850” under the name of
_Ornithomyia stipituri_. A number of our native birds act as hosts
for these curious flies; the fruit pigeons, swallows, fly-catchers,
and others are known to have them; and when they are systematically
collected our list will probably be a large one.
The NYCTERIBIIDAE are another typical family of louse-flies found
upon different bats, which are very small in comparison with the
true louse-flies: they are always wingless, and have a world-wide
distribution. They are reddish brown creatures covered with stout
spines; the head is buried in the thorax; and the legs, very long and
slender, terminate in immense pincer-shaped claws. Nearly all our
bats are more or less infested with these “spider flies,” and several
species have been described. Rainbow has recently described one under
the name of _Nycteribia pteropus_ from a flying fox taken at Batavia
River, N. Australia (Records Australian Museum 1904).
Family 24. Fleas.
PULICIDAE.
The classification of the fleas has always been a matter of doubt;
modern entomologists usually place them at the end of the Diptera,
considering them a group of degraded flies that from their parasitic
habits have become wingless, and have developed wonderful jumping
powers; other specialists who have devoted much attention to the
question consider them as worthy to rank in an Order, and follow
Latreille, who called them SIPHONAPTERA; other writers, like
Taschenberg, who wrote his Monograph entitled “Die Flöhe” in 1880,
formed them into distinct families. The latest revision of the family
is Baker’s “Revision of American Siphonaptera, &c.” (Smithsonian
Institute 1904); in this he gives a list of the described species,
placing them in five families, and records a total of 134 species from
all parts of the world.
Messrs. Jordan and Rothschild in a “Revision of the Sarcopsyllidae”
(University of Liverpool 1906) criticise Baker’s classification,
and reduce the families to four, extending the limits of the Family
SARCOPSYLLIDAE, and adding seven new species.
The flea differs from most other insects in having the whole
wedge-shaped body vertically flattened. It is admirably adapted for
crawling through hair or feathers, and the large stout spiny legs are
well suited for jumping. The head, indistinctly separated from the
body, is short, furnished with jointed antennae situated above but
behind the eyes; the mouth is produced into a stout pointed proboscis
with which it punctures the skin and sucks up the blood of its host.
They are all of a more or less reddish brown tint, clothed with
scattered stout bristles, and the abdomen is rounded at the apex; the
legs are furnished with a pair of tarsal claws. The fact that fleas are
capable of spreading the germs of plague and even leprosy has caused
a great deal of attention to be devoted to this group, and they have
during the last few years been sought for and collected from all parts
of the world.
Two species are common in the house in Australia, of which the
“domestic flea,” _Pulex irritans_, is too well known to need much
description. They deposit their eggs, which are tiny ribbed crystalline
spheres (very beautiful objects under the microscope) in the dry dust
in cracks and crannies in the floor, or in the corners of badly-swept
rooms. From these eggs hatch out slender, legless, transparent grubs
with several short bristles on the anal extremity; these grubs feed
upon the dust and, when full grown, spin a silken tube in which they
pupate buried in the dust.
_P. serraticeps_ is known as the dog and cat flea, though it is not
uncommon at times in the house where animals are running about; but
though it sometimes comes on man, it is an accidental infestation, and
it gets away to its natural host as soon as it can escape. It can be
easily distinguished from the common house flea by its more elongate
form, and by the black comb-like spines fringing the back of the head
and the first thoracic segment, which are absent in the former.
The Rat and Mouse Flea, _P. fasciatus_, is a paler coloured, more
slender flea, also with a very extended range over the world. It is
notorious as the species that, when living upon plague-infested rats,
can transmit bubonic plague to man.
Denny (Annals and Mag. Nat. Hist. XII. 1843) has described another
species, which he placed in this Genus, obtained from Tasmania and
found upon the _Echidna_, and which he has called _Pulex echidnae_.
About a dozen indigenous species have been recorded from Australia.
The Genus _Echidnophaga_ was created by Olliff (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.
1886) to contain a species he described under the name of _Echidnophaga
ambulans_; it is remarkable for its very long proboscis, and short
legs which render it unable to jump. Large numbers of this flea were
found upon a Porcupine Ant Eater (_Echidna hystrix_) in the Australian
Museum. Messrs. Jordan and Rothschild in the Revision previously
noticed place 8 species in Olliff’s Genus, adding two more to the
Australian fauna, _E. macronychia_ from West Australia found upon a
small marsupial (_Bettongia lesueuri_), and _E. liopus_ also from
West Australia on _Echidna aculeata_, at the same time recording the
last-named species upon rats at Agra, India. They give a number of
additional hosts of _E. ambulans_, namely: the opossum, several other
marsupials, and the brown snake; and they extend its range from Sydney
to West Australia.
The Chicken Flea, _E. gallinaceus_, which they place in this Genus
(originally described by Westwood under the generic name _Sarcopsylla_)
though it has not been recorded from Australia has a range from
America, Africa, and Russia to Fiji; it infests a great number of both
wild and domestic animals and birds.
Skuse (Annals of the Australian Museum 1893) described a very curious
flea, found in the pouch of a native cat (_Dasyurus_) which he called
_Stephanocircus dasyuri_. I have since had the typical legless larvae,
found also in the marsupial pouch of the same animal, and it is also
common upon the bandicoot in Queensland. This flea has an elongate
body, with the front of the head flattened and fringed with fine
spines; it has no eyes.
Skuse is said to have described two species belonging to different
genera as the sexes of his flea; and Rainbow in the same journal
(Records Aust. Mus. 1905) proposes the name of _Ceratophyllus
rothschildi_ for the second. Rothschild has described two other species
in this genus, _C. hilli_ from N.S. Wales on the native cat, and a
second, _C. woodwardi_, from W. Australia.
[Illustration: =Fig. 153.=--_Stephanocircus
dasyuri_ (Skuse).
Flea of the “Native-cat” and “Bandicoot.”
(Original photo. G. Turner.)]
Rothschild also describes two other species which he places in Skuse’s
Genus _Stephanocircus_, namely _S. thomasi_ (Nov. Zool. X. 1903) from
Barrow Island N.W. Australia, and _S. simsoni_ (Entomologists’ Month.
Magazine XVI. 1905), which comes from Tasmania, taken upon a native
cat, _Dasyurus maculatus_. In the Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine
1906 Rothschild forms a new Genus _Pygiopsylla_ for a large Tasmanian
flea taken on a native rat which he calls _Pygiopsylla colossus_. He
makes _Ceratophyllus hilli_ the type of this new genus, in which he
also places three other Australian species originally described in the
latter genus, namely: _C. woodwardi_, _rothschildi_, and _echidnae_, in
the new one.
Order VIII.--HEMIPTERA.
Bugs, Frog-hoppers, Scale Insects, &c.
The structure of the mouth is the distinctive character of the insects
of this great Order. Instead of the biting jaws (or sucking mouth)
of many other insects previously described it is produced into a
slender pointed tube of complicated structure, which usually lies
along the under-surface of the head and thorax. This beak, called the
rostrum, consists of a jointed sheath (labium) enclosing hair-like
setae (mandibles and maxillae). When the insect feeds the sharp tip
is pressed into its food, and the sap or juice sucked up, not by the
proboscis-like sheath, but by the delicate enclosed setae. Kirkaldy
doubts if the sheath “ever even penetrates the tissues, either
vegetable or animal, unless these be already lacerated by the setae”;
and it is often used only as a fulcrum to steady their operations.
In the outward appearance (often a deceptive character in
classification) the members of this group are very dissimilar; probably
no two insects could be more unlike than the typical plant bug and the
ordinary scale insect.
They all undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, often changing their
colours and even shape in the various moults before they are fully
developed. The eggs of those living upon plants are generally deposited
in clusters, and these are often very beautiful crystal spheres with
stellate caps upon the summits. In other groups the eggs are buried
in the tissue of the food plant or covered with woolly or sticky
secretions.
They take the name Hemiptera from the structure of the fore wing,
one half of which is, in the typical bugs, horny and the rest
semitransparent.
The families of the plant and water bugs are much more closely related
to each other than to the frog-hoppers, cicades and scale insects; and
the whole Order has been separated into groups or sub-orders, viz.,
HETEROPTERA; HOMOPTERA; ANOPLURA; MALLOPHAGA.
Sub-order I. HETEROPTERA.
Bugs.
This sub-division contains all the plant, carnivorous, and water bugs,
which vary in size and shape from the tiny little leaf-infesting
forms to the great “fish-killer,” _Belostoma indicum_, found in our
water-holes.
They are usually furnished with two pairs of wings. The basal portion
of the front pair is horny and opaque, and the apical half more or less
transparent; this pair covers the larger hind pair, which, well adapted
for flight, are folded up beneath when at rest. The members of some
groups however are apterous.
Many are furnished with glands on the body secreting an offensive,
buggy-smelling fluid, which they discharge when handled or disturbed.
Some species are serious pests to plant life, and swarm in countless
thousands over vegetation, sucking up the sap and causing it to wither
and die in consequence, as in the case of the Chinch Bug of North
America upon wheat, and the Rutherglen Bug in Australia among field
crops. Others are predaceous and very useful, destroying great numbers
of leaf-eating grubs and caterpillars.
These insects are well represented in Australia, and many of the larger
and more showy ones were collected and described at a very early
date, and their descriptions are scattered through the pages of many
scientific journals. Numbers of our species have been described by
Westwood (Hope Catal. 1837); Dallas (List Hemip. 1851); Walker (Catal.
Heter. Brit. Museum 1867); Distant (Trans. Ent. Soc. London, 1886,
etc.); Kirkaldy (The Entomologist); and others in English journals;
while among the Continental writers Messrs. Stal, Bergroth, Montandon,
Horvath, and Reuter have been the chief workers.
In 1893 Messrs. Lethierry and Severin commenced a “Catalogue of the
Described Heteroptera of the World”; three parts were published, but,
probably owing to the death of Lethierry, it was never completed, part
three closing with the ANTHOCORIDAE, and most of the aquatic groups are
not listed. Dr. Mayr has in his “Monograph of the Belostomidae 1871”
noted our species.
[Illustration: Plate XXXI.--HEMIPTERA.
Family PENTATOMIDAE.
1. _Biprorulas bibax_ (Bredden).
3. _Peltophora pedicellata_ (Kirby).
4. _Chaerocorus paganus_ (Fabr.).
7. _Plautia affinis_ (Dallas).
8. _Cuspicona simplex_ (Walk.).
10. _Dindymus versicolor_ (Herr. Sch.).
11. _Tectocoris lineola_ (Fabr.).
13. _Oncoscelis sulciventris_ (Stal.).
Family PYRRHOCORIDAE.
2. _Dysdercus sidae_ (Montrz.).
Family COREIDAE.
5. _Mictis profana_ (Fabr.).
Family LYGAEIDAE.
6. _Oxycarenus luctuosus_ (Mont.).
12. _Oncopeltus quadriguttatus_ (Fabr.).
15. _Lygaeus hospes_ (Fabr.).
Family REDUVIIDAE.
9. _Ptilocnemus femoralis_ (Horvath).
Family TINGIDAE.
14. _Froggattia olivina_ (Horvath).]
[Illustration: _Plate XXXI.--HEMIPTERA._]
The Heteroptera have been divided into about twenty families, chiefly
defined by the structure of the head and wings; these families are
again subdivided into a great number of sub-families, many of the more
important being represented in Australia.
Family 1. Shield Bugs.
PENTATOMIDAE.
This group comprises many of our largest and most brilliantly marked
tropical plant bugs, distinguished from all those of other families
by the remarkable size of the scutellum which frequently covers the
two pairs of wings and dorsal surface of the abdomen. The majority of
these insects fly well. The head is usually furnished with 5-jointed
antennae (though some are restricted to four joints), and two ocelli.
It is one of the largest groups, and has been divided into fourteen
sub-families. There are over 4,000 species in the family, and it is
well represented in Australia. This family is sometimes known under the
name SCUTELLERIDAE.
The Cherry Bug, _Peltophora pedicillata_, is a bright metallic green
bug mottled with black spots on the back; the greater part of the under
surface, edges of the thorax, and two blotches at the base of the
scutellum are bright coral red: it measures ½ an inch in length and is
broad in proportion. It has a range from New South Wales (where it is
often found on strong-scented flowering shrubs and has been recorded as
a cherry pest) to N. Queensland, where it is very abundant on the wild
fig trees. _Tectocoris lineola_ is so variable in size and colouration
that it has been described under eight varietal names and has an
extended range from the north of N.S. Wales through Queensland to New
Caledonia and China. It has a broad, elongate, convex body of a bright
orange colour edged on the margins of the body with metallic green; the
dorsal surface is covered with curious green or blue patches reminding
one of Chinese letters; sometimes these markings are almost absent,
in others so confluent that it is more blue than red. Donovan named
our variety _T. banksi_, after Sir Joseph Banks, who first obtained
specimens from Australia. _Chaerocoris paganus_ is under ½ an inch in
length, and of an oval, beetle-like form; its general colour is red
with dull metallic green forming blotches on the back, head, and sides
of the thorax. It is very common at times crawling about on the rocks
and ground about Sydney. _C. similis_ is a smaller darker form, only
taken about Gunnedah, N.S.W., but it probably has a wider range.
_Philia basalis_ is one of the common fruit bugs of N. Queensland. It
is slightly over ½ an inch in length, with elongate convex scutellum,
and a uniform rich metallic green tint, with a bright coral-red spot
behind the head and two similar ones at the base of the scutellum; the
sides of the abdomen are bright red on the under surface. _P. senator_
is a smaller, more variable form, with the coral-red markings not so
distinct. _Philia regia_, about the same size as the last species, is
of a rich coppery-red tint, with the hind portion of the back bright
yellow, and the ventral surface and legs bright green and yellow. Both
these species and _P. senator_ are found along the Queensland coast.
The Genus _Calliphara_ contains a number of large bugs, elongate but
broadly rounded in front, with the scutellum forming a complete convex
shield over the back; 26 species are described ranging from China
through the Malay Peninsula to Queensland. _Calliphara imperialis_
measures over ¾ of an inch in length, and has the whole of the dorsal
surface, except the tip of the abdomen, bright shining red; the
under surface, legs, and tip of abdomen are dark metallic green. _C.
billiardierei_, about the same size, has the back and the under surface
of the abdomen (except the tip) red; the head, thorax, legs and tip
of abdomen deep metallic green with dull purple tints. _C. cruenta_
is a much smaller species, the thorax and basal half of the back red,
shading into purple toward the tip. _C. nobilis_ has the head and
thorax dark, with the dull red back spotted with black. All our species
of this genus are found in the tropical scrubs of N. Queensland.
_Cantao parentum_ measures over an inch in length, and is more elongate
in form; it is of a uniform dull red tint, with the whole of the dorsal
surface marked with small irregular black dots; the legs and under
surface are black. It ranges along the Queensland coast. It has been
reported to have attacked cherries in Southern Queensland. The Genus
_Testrica_ contains several little brown bugs, short and broad, with
the front of the thorax more or less produced into a spine, and the
extremity of the abdomen broadly rounded. _Testrica bubala_ is not more
than ⅙ of an inch in length, with the shoulders sharply spined; it is
found upon the foliage of small gum trees.
The sub-family CYDINAE contains a number of curious little black
shining bugs that live on the ground and are often found hiding under
stones. They are quick and active in their habits, and might easily be
mistaken for small black beetles. _Geobia australis_, under ¼ of an
inch in length, is of a uniform pitch-black colour, with the exposed
tips of the elytra greyish-brown; it has spiny legs; the head is
clothed with scattered hairs forming a fringe. _Adrissa_ atra is a much
larger black bug; it has pitch-coloured elytra with brown tips. This
common species is found about Sydney under stones and rubbish.
In the PENTATOMINAE we have a large number of species. They are
broadest across the base of the thorax, which is sometimes slightly
angulate; the scutellum is large and angular, occupying the centre
of the back but not covering the whole of the wing covers. _Notius
depressus_ measures over ½ an inch in length, and is broad in
proportion; the general colour is deep blue to purple, the sides of the
head and thorax and ventral surface marked with yellow. It ranges from
Tasmania to N.S. Wales.
_Eumecopus australasiae_ has a wide range, and is often found in wattle
scrub resting on tree-trunks. It measures about an inch in length, is
a very active insect, and flies readily when disturbed. Its colour is
dull brown, mottled with small dull yellow spots; these form several
short parallel rows on the pointed head, and there is a distinct yellow
spot at the apex of the scutellum.
The Genus _Poecilometis_ contains 14 species peculiar to Australia.
They are of the same general form as the last group, are found in
similar localities, and are all of a more or less reddish-brown tint.
_Poecilometis histricus_, about ¾ of an inch in length, is of a light
brown colour with ochreous markings. _P. gravis_, found upon wattle
scrub, is smaller than the last species and is of a more reddish-brown
tint. _P. strigatus_, about ½ an inch in length, is of a similar
brownish colour.
_Dictyotus plebejus_ is one of our commonest little dull brown bugs; is
about ¼ of an inch in length and nearly as broad as long. It has a wide
range over Eastern Australia, and is found, often in numbers, under
stones, dry cowdung, or dead logs. The genus is peculiar to Australia,
and contains 18 described species.
_Commius elegans_ is common on the foliage of the native cherry about
Mittagong, N.S.W.; it is just under ½ an inch in length; is of a
general blue black colour with the thorax and under surface yellow
blotched with black; the sides and apex of the scutellum are edged
with yellow; and a narrower transverse band of dull white crosses the
back just below the tip of the scutellum. It has a wide range over
Australia, and was described by Donovan in 1805. _Plautia nigripennis_
is a much smaller plant bug, with the upper surface green, and the
sides and tips of the elytra reddish brown; it ranges up the Queensland
coast from the Tweed River, N.S. Wales. _P. affinis_ is a pretty little
green insect which feeds on rice and other plants in the northern
district of N.S.W. It measures about ⅓ of an inch in length.
The members of the Genus _Cuspicona_ range from India to Australia and
New Caledonia; eight species are described from Australia. _Cuspicona
simplex_ is a finely rugose and green coloured bug about ⅓ of an inch
in length, with the sides of the thorax produced into blunt spines,
and the elytra broadly rounded to the tip. It infests many field crops
and has been reported as doing serious damage to growing potatoes.
_C. thoracica_ is a small green species, with the thorax produced
into a stout spine on each side. The head and a broad band across the
thorax are reddish brown; the margins of the thorax and the centre
of the scutellum are marked with bright yellow. It is common in the
eastern coastal districts, and has been found feeding on ground crops
about Gosford, N.S.W. _C. forticornis_ is a larger green species with
the thoracic spines red, and the dorsal surface thickly and finely
punctured. It is common in the northern scrubs of N.S. Wales.
The ASOPINAE contains two well known species of Australian bugs:
_Cermatulus nasalis_ is common on the Richmond and Tweed Rivers,
N.S.W. It measures slightly over ½ an inch in length, and has a
somewhat rounded form, with a small projecting head. Specimens vary
from an olive brown to almost black colour, and are mottled with
deep red; the upper surface is deeply and closely punctured, and the
tips of the elytra are metallic bronze. The Vine-moth Bug, _Oechalia
schellembergi_, is one of our most interesting species from an economic
point of view because it preys upon the caterpillar of the vine moth
(_Phalaenides glycine_), several species of cut-worm, and the larvae of
the fig-leaf beetle (_Galeruca semipullata_). They lay their rounded
glassy eggs in patches of about a dozen upon the foliage, and the
freshly emerged bug is dark brown, and flattened in form. The adult bug
varies very much in size; the largest is about ½ an inch in length;
it is very finely punctured, and is of a general light reddish brown
colour mottled with yellow; the sides of the thorax are stoutly spined,
and the abdomen is rather tapering toward the tip. It has a wide range
over Australia, and is recorded from New Zealand.
The Spined Orange Bug, _Biprorulus bibax_, is a well known orange pest
about Moree and the Tweed and Richmond Rivers, N.S.W. It is a handsome
bright green bug when alive, but after death usually changes to dull
yellow; it measures nearly an inch in length and ¾ of an inch across
from tip to tip of the large thoracic spines; the front of the thorax
between these stout spines is somewhat depressed; the abdomen is broad
and rounded, and the dorsal surface finely punctured.
The TESSARATOMINAE are usually large insects found upon plants, and
among them are several destructive species. Among a number of hemiptera
submitted to D’Horvath for identification were two species, viz.,
_Rhoecocoris (Oncoscelis) sulciventris_ and _Stilida indecora_, which
both in the larval and perfect state swarm over the orange orchards
in the north of N.S. Wales and, by sucking up the sap of the stalks,
cause the unripe oranges to fall. Their habits and life history
being identical, _Rhoecocoris (Oncoscelis) sulciventris_, which was
identified by Olliff in the Agricultural Gazette N.S.W. 1892, I at
first confused with _Stilida indecora_ (Ag. Gazette, N.S.W., 1901). _S.
indecora_ is of a more reddish brown tint than _R. sulciventris_, with
the dorsal surface of the thorax not punctured, and the apical areas of
elytra more bell shaped, while the venation is much finer; while the
thorax of _R. sulciventris_ is distinctly punctured and the anterior
edge of the apical area of the elytra is broadly rounded. _Oncomeris
flavicornis_ is our largest Australian plant bug, over 1½ inches in
length, of a broad shield shape, over ¾ of an inch across the rounded
thorax, and of a general dark reddish brown almost black colour on the
dorsal surface; each elytron is richly marked on the basal half with
bright yellow, and the apical portion is rich metallic purple. It comes
from the tropical scrubs of N. Queensland.
In the Sub-family DINIDORINAE we have _Megymenum insulare_, a typical
form very common on the foliage of the low scrub of the semi-tropical
forests of N.S. Wales and Queensland. It is of a general chocolate
brown tint, with the inner apical markings of the elytra dull white; it
measures just under ½ an inch; the sides of the head and the front of
thorax are furnished with short angular spines, which are also present
round the outer edge of the abdominal segments; and the whole of the
dorsal surface is rugose. The immature larvae are brown, flattened, and
fringed right round with bract-like processes.
Family 2. Gum-tree Bugs.
COREIDAE.
This group contains bugs in which the scutellum does not extend as
far back as the middle of the body; the head is generally furnished
with four-jointed antennae inserted above on the sides of the head;
there are two ocelli; and the sheath of the proboscis consists of
four segments. Many species have the femora of the hind legs dilated
or armed with blunt spines. The majority are dull coloured insects
that have no distinctive common name in Australia, so for want of
better, I propose to define them as “Gum-tree bugs,” as many typical
forms feed upon the young shoots of our gum trees (_Eucalyptus_). In
America they are sometimes called “Squash Bugs” from their fondness for
pumpkin plants. Over 1,500 species have been described and placed in 29
sub-families; and they are well represented in Australia.
The MICTINAE are represented by one of our best known species, which
I called the “Crusader Bug,” _Mictis profana_. It is a somewhat
variable elongate insect just under an inch in length, of a uniform
dull drab-brown, with the inner edge of each elytron marked with a dull
yellow stripe, which, intersecting each other in the centre, produce a
distinct cross on the back. The hind legs are thickened and the apex of
the tibia forms a blunt spine. It has a wide range over Australia, and
of late years has been found infesting the citrus orchards, where it
punctures the young shoots and causes them to die back.
The Genus _Amorbus_ contains 15 described species peculiar to this
country, most of which feed upon the foliage of young gum trees and
give out a very strong odour when touched; the young larval forms are
often brightly coloured, but in the adult state all these bugs are
dull brown. _Amorbus angustior_, under ¾ of an inch in length, has the
dorsal surface flattened; the abdomen swells out on the sides beyond
the edge of the folded elytra, and the whole surface is granulated or
roughened. It is of a uniform chocolate colour with the antennae and
abdomen rusty red. _A. robustus_ is a much larger species, stout in
proportion, with the same elongate form, but the edges of the abdomen
not projecting beyond the wings.
_Mutusca brevicornis_ is a very slender brown bug, about ½ an inch in
length, usually found resting among the grass. The head and thorax are
elongate, with the former produced in front of the antennae into two
slender lobes; the elytra are long and slender, and the wings well
adapted for flight. _Riptortus robustus_ is also an elongate bug, but
shorter and stouter, with the head short and angular; the thorax is
short, rounded in front, and produced into a ridge behind, with a stout
spine on either side. The body is long, constricted in the centre, and
rounded at the tip: the thighs of the hind legs long, thickened and
armed with a row of spines along the inner edge. The general colour is
reddish brown.
The Genus _Leptoglossus_ contains some handsome species which are
remarkable for having the tibiae of the hind legs dilated into
leaf-like processes. _Leptoglossus membranaceus_ is an elongate,
flattened, black bug banded with a slender red line across the thorax;
the head is small, projecting in front of the triangular thorax; and
the shield shaped body comes to a rounded tip. The fore legs are
slender, but the hind pair are slightly thickened on the thighs and
roughened on the inner edges; and the tibiae have leaf-like projections
on either side, giving it a very remarkable appearance. It is common
in North Queensland and ranges over Africa, India, Ceylon, and the
Philippines.
Family 3. Chinch Bugs.
LYGAEIDAE.
This is a family containing about 1,400 described species divided into
thirteen sub-families, but many of the latter are very restricted
in their numbers, the majority coming under the typical sub-family
LYGAEINAE. Their general characters are similar to those of the
Coreidae except that the antennae are inserted below the eyes, and the
head is not so flattened and more angular in front. They are smaller
bugs of more delicate structure, and their prevailing colours are brown
or black variegated with red and yellow; some of them, such as the
Chinch Bug of North America, are very destructive pests. As they have
no distinctive group name I have adopted Professor Comstock’s name of
“Chinch Bugs.”
The LYGAEINAE contain most of the bright coloured species, often marked
with red; the wing covers are usually of a somewhat delicate texture.
_Astacops laticeps_, about ⅓ of an inch in length, is a slender black
bug with the head and sides of the elytra bright red. _Scopiastes
vitticeps_, about the same size, has the head, thorax, and sides of the
body red. Both these insects are common on the grass and field crops
on the Northern Rivers of N.S. Wales. _Lygaeus hospes_ measures ½ an
inch in length, is of the typical elongate form, and is black marked
with bright red forming a broad indistinct cross on the basal portions
of the elytra. It has a wide range from China and India to Australia
and New Caledonia. _L. mactans_ is a much smaller insect, with the
head, base of thorax, and the greater part of each elytron bright red.
It has a wide range over Australia, and is also recorded from Fiji.
_L. decoratus_, about ½ an inch in length, has the whole of the head,
thorax, and sides of the elytra banded with red and black; it comes
from Queensland.
The Cotton Bug, _Oncopeltus quadriguttatus_, figured in my notes in
the Agricultural Gazette 1901, should be according to Horvath _O.
sordidus_, Dallas, though the latter name is given as a synonym of the
first in L. and S.’s Catalogue. It measures ½ an inch in length, is
of a general black colour, with the head and two depressions in the
centre of the thorax dull red, and the scutellum and basal half of each
elytron deep orange red; the abdomen is dull red and clothed with short
down. They lay their eggs to form a ring round a twig, sometimes as
many as a hundred in a cluster; the larvae are flat and almost circular
in form, of a general red colour mottled with metallic blue spots, and
the legs and antennae are dark coloured. This bug is common on the
cultivated cotton plants about the Richmond River, and ranges from
Sydney into Queensland.
The Rutherglen Bug, _Nysius vinitor_, is one of the most destructive
plant bugs in Australia; breeding in grass lands, during the summer
it swarms over all kinds of field crops and fruit trees in countless
millions, sucking up the sap of both the foliage and fruit. It has a
very wide range, and takes its popular name from the town in Victoria,
in which it was first recorded damaging grapes. It is a tiny creature,
under ⅙ of an inch in length, is dull brown to grey in colour with
silvery grey wings; it is very active and flies well. It is so common
that under favourable conditions it might become here as serious a pest
as the Chinch Bug of North America. The Genus is a very extensive one,
containing 69 species distributed from Greenland to S. America, thus
almost world wide in its range.
The Coon Bug, _Oxycarenus luctuosus_, is a tiny black and white bug
about the same size, originally described from New Caledonia. It is
very common, chiefly in the inland districts, swarming over the ground
in millions. When in the larval state, before the wings are developed,
its general colour is bright red, and it is then much more noticeable,
giving the fences on which it rests in the day time a curious blood-red
tint. So far it has never been recorded as a plant pest, but that is
probably only because it is chiefly a western species, where little
fruit is grown.
Family 4. Fruit Bugs.
PYRRHOCORIDAE.
These bugs differ from the last family only in the fact that they are
not provided with ocelli. It is a small family containing under 400
described species, placed in two sub-families.
The LARGINAE contains a number of red coloured bugs, the majority
of which are confined to South America. The members of the Genus
_Physopelta_ however belong to the Indian and Malay region; and _P.
famelica_ ranges from Ceram to Woodlark Island, and down the Queensland
coast to the Tweed River. It measures under ¾ of an inch in length, is
of the typical form, and of a general dull red tint, with the head,
centre of the thorax, and legs dark brown; the centre of the scutellum
and four spots on the sides of the elytra are black.
The PYRRHOCORINAE comprise the bulk of this family, which are chiefly
found in Africa and Asia. The “Harlequin Fruit-bug,” _Dindymus
versicolor_, was originally described from Tasmania, but has a wide
range over Australia. They shelter and breed in the crevices on tree
trunks, and often damage ripe fruit. It measures slightly over ½ an
inch in length; the under surface is yellowish, with the head and
thorax blood red, the latter barred with white. The upper surface and
legs are black, with the greater part of the thorax and basal half
of the side of each elytron bright red. _Dindymus circumcinctus_ is
a slightly smaller, much darker species, the red only showing on the
outer margins of the thorax and elytra. I have specimens collected near
Sydney.
_Dysdercus sidae_ belongs to a genus world wide in its distribution,
and containing over 50 described species. This species is common on the
Richmond River N.S.W., frequenting the cultivated cotton plants, where
it can be seen running over the opening cotton bolls, and discolouring
them with its excrement in the same manner as the “American Cotton
Stainer,” _Dysdercus suturellus_, is reported to do in the United
States. Our species measures about ½ an inch in length; it is red, with
the scutellum and a distinct rounded spot in the centre of each elytron
black. The antennae, eyes, and apical areas of the elytra are also
black; the front and sides of the thorax marked with dull white.
Family 5. Lace Bugs.
TINGIDAE.
These are all small plant bugs without ocelli; the terminal joint of
the antennae is swollen or clubbed; the pronotum is large, covering
the scutellum; the neuration of the elytra is very distinct, forming
intricate, lace-like patterns; the feet consist of two joints. They
are true plant-feeding bugs, generally sucking up the sap from the
under-side of the leaf, and when numerous often become pests. Between
four and five hundred species of TINGIDAE have been described,
and are placed in two sub-families. Few species have been recorded from
Australia, but this is probably not owing to their absence, but because
collectors are apt to overlook these small creatures.
_Serenthia pectipennis_ is a tiny dark brown bug, hardly ½ of an inch
in length; the oval body is convex, and broadly rounded to the apex,
with a curious lighter brown pattern on the elytra. It comes from Glen
Innes, N.S.W.
The Olive-tree Bug, _Froggattia olivina_, was described from specimens
sent to Horvath; its native food plant is the wild olive (_Notalaea
longifolia_); the larvae infest the under surface of the leaves, and
cause them to wither and drop off. It has now transferred its attention
to the cultivated olive, and when numerous will almost defoliate the
trees; it has a wide range over N.S. Wales, but I know no record of
it from the other States. It is a slender, handsome little dark brown
bug, about ⅙ of an inch in length, and has typical clubbed antennae.
The elytra are swollen out toward the base, arcuate on the sides, and
rounded at the extremities, with lace-like reticulations on the apical
areas; the thorax is rounded and convex.
_Oncophysa vesiculata_ is another curious little elongate bug, about
the same length; of a uniform dark brown tint; the upper surface is
marked with distinct ridges and fine punctures, and a pair of large
bulbous processes stand up prominently at the base of the elytra. It is
common about Sydney, where it feeds upon the little native cotton bush.
[Illustration: Plate XXXII.--HEMIPTERA.
Family REDUVIIDAE.
1. _Opistoplatys australasiae_ (Westw.).
3. _Pirates ephippiger_ (White).
6. _Pristhesancus papuensis_ (Stal).
12. _Gminatus nigroscutellatus_ (Bredden).
15. _Gardena australis_ (Horvath).
Family PENTATOMIDAE.
2. _Cuspicona forticornis_ (Bredden).
4. _Poecilometis strigatus_ (Westw.).
7. _Megymenum insulare_ (Westw.).
8. _Philia basalis_ (Grey).
9. _Poecilometis histricus_ (Stal).
13. _Cermatulus nasalis_ (Westw.).
14. _Geobia australis_ (Erich.).
16. _Notius depressus_ (Dall.).
Family COREIDAE.
5. _Amorbus robustus_ (Mayr).
Family GALGULIDAE.
10. _Mononyx annulipes_ (Horvath).
Family PENTATOMIDAE.
11. _Oechalia schellembergi_ (Guérin).]
[Illustration: _Plate XXXII.--HEMIPTERA._]
Family 6. Fungus Bugs.
ARADIDAE.
These are dull coloured black or brown bugs of moderate size, with the
dorsal surface very rugose, and the whole insect thin and flattened,
admirably adapted to the life it leads hidden under the dead bark on
tree trunks, their chief food being fungous growths found upon the damp
bark. Howard calls them “Flat Bark Bugs,” and remarks that they look as
if they had been stepped upon.
They have the tip of the abdomen exposed, as the elytra are shorter
than the body, which is also exposed on the sides when the wings are
folded. Like the Lace-bugs (_Tingidae_) they have no ocelli, but,
unlike them, they have the scutellum exposed. This family contains
about 300 described species, divided into four sub-divisions. Erichson
has described several from Tasmania (Arch. 1842); Bergroth (Verh. Z. b.
Ges. Wien 1886) and Walker (Cat. Heter. 1874) others from Australia.
There are a number of undetermined species in our Museum collections,
most of which are to be found upon fallen timber where the bark is
rotting and peeling off the trunk.
Family 7. Water Striders.
HYDROMETRIDAE.
These are aquatic insects, living upon the surface of the water,
and some are even found on the open ocean, hundreds of miles away
from land. They, like most other water-dwellers, are covered with a
velvet-like pubescence; the head is ornamented with large projecting
eyes; the antennae are four-jointed. They may be wingless; when
present, the elytra are of a uniform texture. Most of the species are
furnished with very long legs. The tarsi are two-jointed. About 160
species are described under four sub-families; only three or four are
described from Australia; but more from the open waters of the Pacific
Ocean.
In the genus _Gerris_, Skuse (Records of the Australian Museum, 1893)
described a species from the waters of Sydney Harbour under the name
of _Gerris australis_. It varies from dark shining olive to black on
the dorsal surface; the ventral surface is yellow with grey tints. It
is covered with a fine silvery pubescence, and measures ⅓ of an inch
in length. _Hydrometra strigosa_, described by Skuse from specimens
from the swamps about Botany, N.S.W., is a larger insect, of a uniform
brownish yellow tint; and it has a more slender shape.
_Halobates whiteleggi_ is a small ochreous water-bug about ⅙ of an
inch in length, and was obtained by Skuse in swarms in the sheltered
nooks of Sydney Harbour. Another species discovered in Torres Straits
has been named _Hermatabates haddeni_, after its discoverer, Professor
Hadden.
The closely allied small family HENICOCEPHALIDAE consists of a single
genus, the members of which are widely distributed. We have one
described from Tasmania by Westwood under the name of _Henicocephalus
tasmanicus_. They fly in swarms, dancing in the air together like
midges. It is noticed they give off a musk-like smell.
Family 8. Assassin Bugs.
REDUVIIDAE.
This is a large division of the Hemiptera, and its members are
carnivorous, destroying different kinds of insects, which they impale
with their beaks, and from which they suck the blood; many can give
a painful stab with the stout beak if handled carelessly. The head
is long, narrowed behind, and freely movable; the rostrum or beak is
short, stout, and is curved under the head, not extending far under
the thorax; the antennae are long, slender towards the tips; the legs
are long, slender, and often hairy; the elytron consists of three
divisions. Some species are wingless. They exhibit much variety in size
and colouration, and their shape is often adapted to their habits. The
large immature forms of one undetermined species, found plentifully
about Maitland, N.S.W., hides in the sand under the shelter of a
log or stone; each covers its back with bits of sand or dirt, and,
thus disguised, it lies in wait for its prey. Over 2,000 species are
described from all parts of the world, and they are grouped into 14
sub-families.
The EMESINAE contain a very curious group of slender grey bugs with
long legs. They might at first sight be mistaken for “daddy longlegs”
or “crane-flies”; and are found, too, in similar situations, viz.,
resting on tree trunks or under the cover of logs and bark; and they
probably live chiefly on these long-legged flies. _Gardena australis_
is of a uniform brown tint, mottled on the legs and elytra with grey.
It is of the usual slender form, with elongate hairy legs. It and
several similar but undetermined species are common about Sydney.
_Opistoplatys australasiae_, representing the small sub-family
TRIBELOCEPHALIDAE, was described and figured by Westwood in 1859; it
is not uncommon on tree trunks about the Richmond River, N.S.W. It
measures over ½ an inch in length, and is flattened on the dorsal
surface; the abdomen is elongate, and rounded at the apex; its general
colour is dull chocolate brown, with the centre of the back slightly
pubescent.
In the group HOLOPTILINAE are some species with feather-like hind legs,
the tibiae being densely clothed with long dark hairs. They are usually
found on the trunks of dead trees, under the shelter of the drying
detached bark, where they are found in all stages of development;
they probably feed upon the small insects that come there for
shelter. Horvath has identified those I have sent him as _Ptilocnemus
femoralis_, a new species, though there are four other species
described from Australia. This new species measures over ⅓ of an inch,
and has the head, thorax, and joints of the legs dull yellow; the under
surface and apical areas of the elytra are marbled with black and
brown; the antennae, head, thorax and legs are fringed with long black
hairs, which on the hind tibiae are so thick as to give the appearance
of a feather or brush. _Aradellus cygnalis_, figured and described by
Westwood (Thesaurus Ent. 1874), is also found hiding under dead bark on
tree trunks. Some specimens were taken at Gunnedah, N.S.W., but I also
have a closely allied, if not a new species, from Bathurst, N.S.W. It
measures slightly over ⅙ of an inch in length, is of a general blackish
brown colour, with yellowish legs, and the elytra are black, mottled
with blotches of white; the curious thickened antennae and legs are
fringed with short stout, bristle-like hairs.
The ACANTHASPINAE are larger slender-legged bugs, well represented
in Australia. The genus _Sphedanocores_ contains several distinct
species with a wide range. _S. distinctus_ measures over ¼ of an inch
in length, and is mottled and barred with dark orange and black; the
head is turned downwards and the rostrum is stout; the thorax is very
rugose. _Reduvius personatus_ is a cosmopolitan species that takes
up its quarters in the house, covering itself with bits of dirt and
feeding upon the common bed bug. It is recorded both from Australia and
Tasmania. The larval form of an allied bug has the broad back concave,
and covers itself with particles of sand; it rests under the shelter of
logs and stones where it lurks during the day. _Reduvius rivulosus_ is
a large bug measuring ¾ of an inch in length; it is of a general dull
brown colour with the elytra mottled with dull yellow, while the whole
insect is clothed with fine woolly hairs, denser upon the legs. It
comes from the Shoalhaven district, N.S.W.
The PIRATINAE comprise some of the so-called “Assassin bugs”; in colour
most of them are dark brown or black, marked with dull yellow; they
hide under stones in the daytime, and often in summer come flying to
the lights in the house at night, when, if carelessly handled they can
inflict a very severe stab with the beak. _Pirates ephippiger_ is one
of our largest species, measuring over ¾ of an inch in length. It is of
a uniform dull black, with the stout legs reddish brown in colour, and
there is a heart-shaped patch of bright yellow behind the scutellum.
The prothorax is narrow, smooth and rounded, with a constriction
separating it distinctly from the broader mesothorax which is also
smooth and rounded. _P. flavopictus_ is a very much smaller species,
black in colour, with the yellow blotch behind the scutellum. The whole
insect is clothed with fine hairs. It is a common species in New South
Wales, and has a wide range over the southern part of the continent.
Twelve other species of this large genus are described from Australia
and Tasmania.
The HARPACTORINAE is the largest division of this family, and comprises
both the large spiny “assassin bugs” that crawl about among the foliage
or hunt over the tree trunks, and some typical forms, most plentiful in
tropical countries.
_Havinthus depressus_ is a small, flat, dark brown species, under ½
an inch in length, with the outer margins of the body mottled with
dull red. _H. rufovarius_ is a larger bug of a general black colour,
with the head, front of thorax, legs, bases of the elytra, and under
surface of the abdomen marked with deep red. The body is rugose and
clothed with short stiff hairs. It has a wide range over Australia; and
a very large variety, with blood red markings, from Kalgoorlie (W.A.),
measures over an inch in length.
The members of the Genus _Gminatus_ are peculiar to Australia, and
are found hunting over tree trunks and flowers. The body is somewhat
constricted behind the thorax, broadening towards the rounded apex.
_Gminatus nigroscutellatus_, over ½ an inch in length, is of a
general bright red colour, with the legs and scutellum black, and the
apical areas of the elytra rich metallic bronze. The dorsal surfaces
of the head and thorax are ornamented with a number of tubercles
or spines. _G. australis_, slightly smaller and more slender than
the previous one, differs in having the head black; the prothorax
black and furnished with two pairs of black spines, and the shorter
spines in the rest of the thorax tipped with black. The Bee Killer,
_Pristhesancus papuensis_, is a large brown bug, nearly 1¼ inches in
length, and thickly clothed with short buff hairs. The outer edge of
the thorax is produced into erect blunt tubercles, seven in number,
forming an angle on the outer margins. The dorsal surface of the
abdomen is very concave; the folded elytra lie sunk well below the
sides of abdomen, which are flanged and raised.
It has been observed sitting on the tassels of maize cobs, catching and
sucking the blood out of hive bees as they come for the pollen. It is
common on the Tweed River, N.S.W., and in Queensland.
The members of the Genus _Helonotus_ are similar large carnivorous
bugs. Specimens are recorded from Cape York (Queensland), and the
tropical scrubs of New Guinea.
Family 9. Bed Bugs.
CIMICIDAE.
The family to which the common bed bug of unsavoury reputation belongs,
is a very small one, comprising only a few genera and about a dozen
species. They have no ocelli; the wing cases are short and do not reach
to the tip of the abdomen; the head is short, with the rostrum when at
rest fitting into a groove beneath it.
_Cimex lectularius_, the common house bug, is supposed to have come
originally from Asia into Europe, and thence transported over the
world. Several other species are found in Europe and America, another
in India, and indigenous species both in Chili and the Isle of Bourbon.
A fossil bug has been found in the Lower Tertiary beds in Scotland
which is said to be very similar if not identical with the present
household pest. Kirkaldy has recently created the Genus _Klinophilos_
to contain our common bed bug, though it has always been considered to
be Linne’s type of the Genus _Cimex_.
Family 10. Leaf Bugs.
CAPSIDAE.
These are all small plant-eating bugs of somewhat delicate structure,
and form a family of considerable size; over 2,000 species having been
recorded from all parts of the world. Several species are well known
pests in India and Ceylon, and a few in America are said to prey on
small insects. Very little attention has been paid to the collection of
these small bugs in this country, but Mr. Kirkaldy informs me that 35
species have been described from Australia, chiefly by Walker, Reuter,
Distant and himself.
They have no ocelli; the antenna is four jointed, with the second joint
usually very long; the scutellum is triangular and very small; the
elytra and wings are large, the former remarkable for having only two
cells in each apical area; the female is furnished with a well-defined
ovipositor. In his “Memoir upon the Rhynchotal family Capsidae” (Trans.
Ent. Soc. London 1902), Kirkaldy lists 6 described species, and also
defines 5 new species which were collected at Alexandria, Victoria.
_Eurybrochis zanna_ is a mottled reddish brown insect, darkest towards
the extremity, measuring under ¼ of an inch in length, and of the
usual form. _Austomiris viridissimus_ is a longer, more slender bug of
a general greenish tint. _Zanessa rubrovariegata_ is again a little
longer, of a uniform brown tint marked with red on the elytra.
Stal (Eugenie’s Resa Novara 1859) described 3 Australian species.
Family 11. Water Bugs.
CRYPTOCERATA.
The several families included in this group comprise a number of
aquatic or semi-aquatic bugs.
The GALGULIDAE, known as “Sand-bugs,” are curious little creatures
distinguished from the others in having ocelli. They are very short
and broad in form, with projecting eyes, and in general appearance
each suggests a miniature crab. They have short four jointed antennae
situated below the eyes, and are furnished with legs well adapted
for running on the ground. They are found on the edges of swamps or
creeks, and feed upon different kinds of small insects. In colour they
are usually of a uniform dull brown to black; the upper surface is
generally much roughened. Never moving unless touched, they trust to
their sordid colours to escape detection, for as they match the ground
so well, they are difficult to find.
_Mononyx annulipes_, one of our commonest species, is about ¼ of an
inch in length; is of a uniform dirty brown tint, with the legs and
under surface dull yellow; the body is very rugose and fringed on the
outer edges with fine bristles. Montandon has described several other
Australian species (Bulletin, Societé des Sciences, Roumania, 1899).
The NEPIDAE are popularly known as “water scorpions” on account of
the curious tail appendages projecting from the tip of the abdomen.
They live in ponds, and feed upon different water insects, attaching
their eggs to the leaves of the plants. They have the wing covers
folded closely over the back protecting the wings from the water, and
fly rapidly from pool to pool when the water dries up. There are many
species found in Australia, most of which have a wide range. _Rantara
varipes_, under 1 inch in length, has a tail about as long again as the
body, and is of a light yellowish brown colour. It might be likened to
a mantis, with its slender form and fore pair of legs furnished with
spines on the inner edges to hold its prey. The other legs are long and
slender with curved claws at the extremities.
In the Genus _Nepa_ the insects have the head and body flattened;
the elytra cover the wings; the abdomen is broadly rounded at the
extremity, terminating in a pair of long slender bristles. The beak
curved under the head is large and stout; the eyes are large, the fore
legs are spined, and the other legs furnished with a pair of slender
curved claws.
_Nepa tristis_, measuring about 1 inch to the tip of the body, is of
the usual form and dull brown colour, with the upper surface of the
abdomen showing bright red when the wings are expanded. It is found in
the bottom of ponds crawling about among the weeds.
Family 12. Fish-killers.
BELOSTOMIDAE.
In the typical genus of this family we have some of the largest known
Hemiptera, measuring up to 3 inches in length and broad in proportion.
They are aquatic, generally living in still waters, feeding on small
fish which they capture with their stout spined legs; they play havoc
with the small fry in a pond, and are popularly known in consequence as
“Fish-killers.”
The body is broad, but flattened on the dorsal surface, coming to a
rounded point at the apex; the well developed wings are folded beneath
the horny elytra; the whole shape being well adapted to the life they
lead. In summer time they often leave their ponds, and, attracted by
the light, come flying to the windows.
_Belostoma indicum_ has a wide range from Southern India to Australia;
it measures slightly under 3 inches in length, and is of a uniform dark
brown colour. The large curved beak bent under the head, projecting
eyes, and great spined fore legs show its carnivorous propensities;
the middle and hind legs are fringed with delicate swimming hairs, and
terminate in a pair of fine claws. Unlike most of the other aquatic
hemiptera, the abdomen terminates in an oval tip without any anal
appendages.
Sharp speaking of this family (Insects Pt. II. p. 567) says: “In the
waters of the warm regions of the continents of both the Old and New
Worlds they are common insects, but as yet they have not been found in
Australia.” However, Mayr records it from Australia, “Die Belostomiden
1871” (Verh. Z. C. Gesell, Wien); and I have a specimen from Port
Darwin, Northern Territory, and also a number of specimens from
Southern Queensland.
_Sphaeroderma equis_ is a curious oval-shaped water-bug that crawls
about among the mud and water weeds in water-holes and creeks; it has
a very wide range, probably all over Australia; the female has the
curious habit of carrying her eggs stuck upon her back in a regular
sheet covering the whole of the elytra. It is of a uniform shining
brown colour, and measures ¾ of an inch in length; the head is smaller
than that of _B. indicum_, with the eyes not so prominent and angular.
Family 13. Back-Swimmers.
NOTONECTIDAE.
These water-bugs have oval convex bodies and always swim with the belly
upwards; their eyes are very large, situated on the sides of the head,
the latter inserted into the prothorax, which overlaps it. The front
legs are shortest, the fore tarsi not flattened but furnished with two
claws. Their bodies are provided with long hairs which enable them to
carry an air supply about with them. They are very active insects, and
can be often observed in our water-holes and ponds swimming beneath
the water, or coming to the surface and raising the tip of the body to
obtain a fresh supply of air, when they can be easily captured with a
hand net.
They insert their eggs in the stems of water plants, which the female
pierces with her sharp ovipositor; and some European species are known
to hibernate in the mud at the bottom of the pools and water-holes.
Several species are common in our ponds and creeks, and are savage
little creatures destroying many other aquatic insects, and even small
fish.
_Enithares bergrothi_ is our common species with a very wide
range over Australia. In their larval state they are silvery white in
appearance, but as the elytra develop and cover the back they change to
dark brown, mottled, shining creatures, with the body measuring about ⅓
of an inch in length.
Family 14. Water-Boatmen.
CORIXIDAE.
The members of the family CORIXIDAE differ from the “Back-swimmers,”
though both are often called “Water-Boatmen,” in having the fore tarsi
flattened, fringed with hairs on the edges, but without any claws,
while the head overlaps the thorax. They swim the opposite way (with
the back upwards), and are flattened on the ventral surface. One or
more species may be often captured with a net in the same situations as
the members of the former group.
_Corixa eurynome_, described by Kirkaldy, is our common species found
in creeks and water-holes all over Australia. It measures over ⅓ of an
inch in length, with the scythe-shaped hind legs projecting behind; it
is of a uniform chocolate brown colour on the dorsal surface, except
the space between the eyes, which with the legs and ventral surface
are dull yellow. The large flattened lead-coloured eyes are almost
triangular.
Sub-Order II.--HOMOPTERA.
This sub-division was formed to include some families of haustellate
insects which, though closely related to the true plant bugs, have
well-defined characteristics that bring them into a natural Sub-Order
of their own. They all have the typical suctorial mouth, but the front
of the head is much inflexed so as to be in contact with the coxae. The
front pair of wings are not true elytra, being generally membranous,
and are usually referred to as tegmina. Some, like the aphids, have
both pairs of wings delicate and transparent; while in the scale
insects, the females are always wingless, and the male is provided
with a single, imperfectly veined pair only. When at rest, the wings
in the typical homoptera are folded over the back like a roof, forming
a ridge. All the families are well represented in Australia, except
the _Aphidae_, of which no indigenous species have been recorded, the
_Psyllidae_ with similar habits taking their place, at any rate in our
western scrubs. Like true hemiptera, they each undergo an incomplete
metamorphosis, some moulting many times before the final ecdysis; and
all feed in the immature and perfect state on the sap of plants.
Kirkaldy has recently described about 200 new species of the families
Fulgoridae, Membracidae, Cercopidae, and Jassidae (Leaf Hoppers and
their Natural Enemies Bulletin I. pt. IX., Hawaii 1905), collected
by Messrs. Koebele and Perkins chiefly in Queensland. In his
classification based on Hanson’s (Ent. Tedssker xi. 1890) he divides
them into 8 families and creates 76 new genera.
Family 1. Cicadas.
CICADIDAE.
The most familiar sound in the summer months in Australia, particularly
along the coastal districts is the harsh, incessant screech of the
cicadas; the hotter the day the shriller the tone, and from the first
week in November to the end of January it is more or less constant.
They are too well known to need much description, but it might
be remarked that it is very unfortunate that they are commonly called
“locusts” for, strictly speaking, the term “locust” should only be
applied to the short-horned grasshoppers belonging to a different
order, Family Acridiidae.
[Illustration: Plate XXXIII.--HOMOPTERA.
Family CICADIDAE.
4. _Cyclochila australasiae_ (Donovan).
1. Pupa on emergence from the ground.
2. Pupa casting its skin.
3. Fore-leg of pupa.
5. Ovipositor and sheath separated.
6. Side view of ovipositor.
7. Ovipositor viewed from above.
8. Cross section of ovipositor, showing cutting saws and egg
passages.]
[Illustration: _Plate XXXIII.--HOMOPTERA._]
The head is broad, more or less truncate in front, with prominent
eyes on the sides, and small gem-like ocelli arranged triangularly on
the summit; each antenna consists of one stout basal joint surmounted
with several (usually four) segments forming a bristle. The tegmina or
fore wings, larger and stouter than the hind pair, are furnished with
thickened veins, and are frequently mottled with brown, usually forming
bands or spots on the cross nervures. The swollen fore legs are spined;
the thorax is well developed; and while the large hollow abdomen of
the male is pointed at the extremity, that of the female (usually the
larger insect) is furnished with a horny retractile ovipositor, which
is adapted for cutting the bark of the twig, wherein she deposits her
eggs.
The complicated musical apparatus of the male is situated between the
thorax and base of the abdomen, and consists of a large plate on either
side attached to, but extending over the basal portion of the abdomen
(these plates are often called the drums or opercula); beneath in the
abdomen is a cavity formed into two cells within which are two thin
glass-like plates called mirrors; above these mirrors are bundles of
muscles which lead to two membranes formed like kettle-drums; each
membrane has a concave and a convex surface, the latter folded and full
of ridges.
Haswell (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1886) describes it thus: “The loud
shrill note emitted by the insect is the result of a quick succession
of crackling sounds produced by the movement of the stiff membrane
with its horny ribs, through the agency of the muscle. Under ordinary
circumstances, the sounds follow one another with sufficient quickness
to produce a continuous note, and this is effected not by the
contraction of the muscle as a whole, but by the successive contraction
of individual _fasciculi_ (different filaments forming the whole),
all of which act on the horny plate, and thus the movements of the
muscle on the tendon during the production of the note resemble those
of the hammer-board of a piano when a number of keys are being struck
in quick succession.”
The life history of cicadas has attracted much attention; on first
emerging from the eggs they might easily be taken for minute shrimps,
apparently all heads and claws. They cast themselves off the branch
and, falling to the ground, burrow into the soil and follow down the
roots, where they feed upon the sap and undergo a series of moults. We
do not know the length of time that they take to develop underground,
but the adults of several of our large species, though each year more
or less in evidence, appear in greater numbers every third year, so
that it is probable that three years is about the cycle of their
subterranean existence. The grotesque pupa burrowing upward when fully
developed, bores a vertical shaft often several feet long before it
comes to the surface, when it crawls out and climbs up the nearest tree
trunk or fence, where it clings till the skin splits down the back, and
the perfect cicada emerges. The dry brown pupal shells firmly attached
by the sharp claws remain long after the inmates have departed.
Cicadas are well represented in our insect fauna, a number of large
handsome species being found along the coastal forest country, and many
smaller ones in the interior. The large ones attracted the attention of
collectors at a very early date: Donovan, Leach, and Guérin described
several, and Walker (British Museum Catalogue, Homoptera 1850) added a
number of new species from material in the Museum collections, but his
localities and descriptions are very vague and unsatisfactory. Since
then Distant between 1882 and the present date has greatly increased
our list of described species. In 1904 Dr. Goding and I monographed the
Australian Cicadas (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.), describing a number of new
forms, and bringing the number up to 120 species in 18 genera. Last
year (1906), the Trustees of the British Museum issued a “Synonymic
Catalogue of Homoptera, Part I., Cicadidae,” compiled by Distant; in
this a number of alterations in the earlier classification are made,
as indicated in his recent contributions on this family in “The Annals
and Magazine of Natural History” 1900–1906. He places them in three
distinct sub-families which are subdivided into seventeen smaller
divisions. Many of our species are now placed in other genera.
The sub-family CICADINAE contains many of our largest and most striking
species. Its members have the front edge of the basal abdominal segment
on each side produced forward in a leaf-like expansion, which more or
less covers the sound organs.
The genus _Thopha_ contains two very fine species: _Thopha saccata_,
“The Double Drummer,” takes its popular name from the great size of
the opercula projecting on the sides of the thorax. It is a reddish
brown cicada, its wings marked with brown and black, and it measures 5
inches across the outspread wings; it lives in open forest country; has
a loud, distinct note; and ranges from South Australia to Brisbane.
_Thopha sessiliba_ is a somewhat smaller but brighter-coloured species
ranging northward along the Queensland coast from Townsville, and is
found in Central Australia at Tennant’s Creek.
[Illustration: =Fig. 154.=--_Thopha saccata_
(Fabr.).
The large Cicada called by the children “The Double Drummer.”
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Arunta_ was formed by Distant to contain two Australian
species, of which _Cicada perulata_ described by Guérin is the type. It
is a handsome insect, 4 inches across the wings; is of a reddish brown
tint mottled with lighter colours; the wings are unspotted; and the
male can be easily recognised by the large white frosted opercula. It
is not a very common species; it is taken sometimes about Sydney.
The next division contains three genera typical of Australian species.
The Genus _Cyclochila_ until lately contained a single species, but
Distant has lately described a second from N. Queensland. _Cyclochila
australasiae_ is our common large green cicada, called by the children
the “Green Monday.” The whole insect is rich green, the colour
extending into the nervures of the tegmina; there is a yellow variety
not so common, called in consequence the “Yellow Monday”: I have
counted as many as 40 of these fine insects resting on the trunk of a
small oak-tree in my garden in the early morning.
The Genus _Psaltoda_ contains 7 species peculiar to Australia.
_Psaltoda moerens_, our common black cicada, is called the “Red Eye”
by the Sydney boys on account of the bright colour of the ocelli.
It measures over 4 inches across the wings, which are mottled with
black on the tegmina, and marked with the same colour on the wings.
It frequents the smooth white-stemmed gum trees, and ranges from
Brisbane, Queensland to Adelaide, South Australia, and is also found
in Tasmania. _P. harrisi_ is a smaller and somewhat variable form both
in size and colour; it varies from black to brown and even dull green;
the wings are very slightly mottled, and it can be easily distinguished
from the “Red Eye” by the more distinct silvery patch on the sides of
the body.
[Illustration: =Fig. 155.=--_Psaltoda (cicada)
moerens_ (Germer).
The Common Black Cicada or “Red Eye.”]
The members of the Genus _Henicopsaltria_, four in number, are also
peculiar to this country. _Henicopsaltria eydouxi_, one of our
commonest species, frequents the trunks of the rough-barked gum trees;
I have counted over 300 on a single tree on the coast near Gosford,
N.S.W. It measures nearly 5 inches across the wings; is of a general
mottled light brown and chestnut colour, with the wings infuscated with
three zig-zag bands of brown; the opercula are orange red. _H. fullo_,
peculiar to W. Australia, is a very distinctive blackish coloured
species measuring about 3 inches across the wings; it can be easily
identified by its banded wings and the dorsal surface of the abdomen
ornamented with a transverse white band about the centre of the body.
The Genus _Macrotristria_ now contains 7 species; most of these were
originally described in the Genus _Cicada_, and have representatives
in all parts of Australia, two coming from W. Australia, and two
richly-coloured green species from the tropical forests of N.
Queensland, while _Macrotristria angularis_, our common, large, dark
brown species, variegated with light yellowish spots on the head and
thorax and with deeply infuscated wings, ranges from Adelaide, S.A., to
Queensland.
The Sub-family GAENINAE contains a number of South American and Asiatic
cicadas, among them some with very brightly coloured wings. Two members
of the Genus _Tettigia_ are found in North Queensland and North
Australia, both of which were once placed in the genus _Tibicen_;
while _Tettigia tristigma_ is the type of the Genus _Tamasa_. The
handsome black and yellow mottled _Gaeana maculata_, common in India
and China, has been recorded by White from Australia, and Goding and I
had specimens from the Northern Territory of S. Australia, but Distant
does not notice this record.
The Sub-family TIBICININAE have the front edge of the basal abdominal
segment straight, not produced forward; and the sound organs are
entirely uncovered. _Venustria superba_ is a curious ferruginous insect
with rich coppery tints upon the tegmina and wings, which comes from
North Queensland. Dodd usually collected it in the neighbourhood of
termite nests.
[Illustration: =Fig. 156.=--_Henicopsaltria
eydouxi_ (Guérin).
The Mottled Grey Cicada.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Abricta_ now includes most of our species previously placed
in the Genus _Tibicen_; thirteen are listed from Australia. _Abricta
curvicosta_, one of the largest, measures about 4 inches across the
wings; is reddish brown with a pale stripe down the centre of the
prothorax, and three black spots on each of the tegmina. It is one of
the common species about Sydney, N.S.W., in midsummer, and is called
the “Floury Miller” on account of the silvery pubescence covering the
body which makes it look as if it had been dusted with flour. _A.
aurata_ ranges from Tasmania and Victoria into the southern districts
of N.S. Wales, and is usually found upon the fern trees; it is a
smaller darker coloured cicada with a large, sometimes double, black
spot on each tegmina.
Distant (Pro. Zool. Soc. 1882) described a number of new species
chiefly obtained from North Queensland; and, finding it difficult
to give them distinctive specific names that would define their
peculiarities, he got over the difficulty by naming them after
Australian explorers. _A. willsi_ is a small species measuring
about two inches across the wings, which are marked with two small
spots, and it can be easily distinguished from all the others by the
curious rugose yellowish patch on the sides of the prothorax. It has
a very wide range over N.S. Wales, Queensland, North, and probably W.
Australia, both along the coast and in the interior.
_Parnkella muelleri_ is only about 1½ inches across the wings which
have two spots on each tegmina, and is of a pale yellow tint. It is
restricted in its range to North Queensland. The tiny little yellowish
green cicada found upon the grassy plains of Southern Victoria and S.
Australia, described as _Tibicen infans_, is now placed in the South
African Genus _Quintilia_.
[Illustration: =Fig. 157.=--_Macrotristria (cicada)
angularis_ (Germer).
The “Fiddler.”
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
The Genus _Chlorocysta_ contains two curious pale green insects with
vitreous tegmina and wings, the former much more closely reticulated
than the ordinary cicada, with many cross and parallel nervures. The
head is small, and the body of the male is swollen and cylindrical.
_Chlorocysta vitripennis_ was described by Westwood (Ann. Nat. Hist.
1851); the larger male measures slightly over 2 inches across the
wings. The female is greenish or reddish, the abdomen conical but not
inflated. They frequent low scrub; the southern forms found about
the Tweed River, N.S.W., are green or yellowish; those from North
Queensland quite brown. _Glaucopsaltria viridis_, described by Goding
and me from S. Queensland, is placed by Distant in this genus.
[Illustration: =Fig. 158.=--Section of stem of
eucalyptus, in which the Black Cicada (_Psaltoda
moerens_) has laid her eggs.]
The Genus _Melampsalta_ contains a great number of our small black or
dark brown cicadas often marked with orange red or dull yellow. The
members of the genus are found over Asia, Africa and Europe, over 40
are described from Australia, and 7 from New Zealand. Some species are
very numerous in early summer, and are known as “Squeakers” on account
of their musical notes. _Melampsalta torrida_, originally described by
Erichson from Tasmania, has a wide range round from Queensland to W.
Australia. It is almost black, with several light marks in the centre
of the thorax, and two irregular rounded confluent black spots at the
tips of the tegmina. It measures about two inches across the wings, but
is variable both in size and in the wing markings. _M. abdominalis_,
about the same size, is black, with two lines of reddish yellow on the
apical portion of the dorsal surface of the abdomen, and the under
surface red; when the tegmina are closed there is a distinctive opaline
mark on either side. It is common in S. Australia and N.S.W. _M.
eyrei_ is a much smaller species, with the head and thorax black, lined
with yellow, and the whole of the abdomen except the black tip, bright
yellow; it is common in N. Queensland.
The members of the Genus _Pauropsalta_ are easily distinguished
from those of the previous group by having five apical areas in the
wings, while the former have six. Sixteen species are described from
Australia. _Pauropsalta encaustica_ is our commonest species with a
very wide range over Australia; it is of a uniform black tint, with
faint pale brown marks on the head and prothorax, and an infuscated
patch on the hind margins of the wings; the abdominal segments
are finely ringed with white to reddish brown. _P. annulata_ is a
synonym of this cicada. _P. nodicosta_ is a small brown species from
Kalgoorlie, W.A., with a curious node in the centre of the costal
nervure of the tegmina. _P. mneme_, larger, and broader than _P.
encaustica_, has the abdominal segments richly edged with red. It is
common on the Blue Mountains, N.S.W.
The Genus _Cystosoma_ was created by Westwood (1842) to contain the
great green “Bladder Cicada” which he called _Cystosoma saundersi_,
that at one time was common in the orange orchards around Newcastle,
N.S.W. Mrs. Ross says it is now common about Armidale, N.S.W., on the
sweet brier, and I have also had it on willows from Glen Innes N.S.W.
A second much smaller species, with similar opaque green tegmina, _C.
schmeltzi_, ranges up the coast of North Queensland.
The two curious hairy brown cicadas belonging to the Genus
_Tettigarcta_ are restricted in their range. _Tettigarcta tomentosa_,
the darkest in tint, has each side of the thorax produced into a
distinct spine; it is only found in Tasmania. _T. crinita_ comes from
similar country in the Gippsland forests, Victoria; it is not quite
so hairy, and has the thorax rounded on the outer margin without any
spines.
Family 2. Frog-Hoppers.
CERCOPIDAE.
The members of this family are not very numerous though world-wide in
their distribution. They are stout, wedge-shaped, elongate insects
of moderate size; the head is furnished with large flattened eyes
on the sides; with a few exceptions two ocelli are present on the
vertex between the eyes; the small, short antennae, composed of two
bead-shaped joints surmounted with a bristle, are placed in front
of and between the eyes. The pronotum is large with the triangular
scutellum occupying the centre of the back; the tegmina, longer than
the body, are coriaceous, reticulate, with two long discoidal and five
or more apical cells. The coxae and femora are short; the posterior
tibiae are hardly longer than the others, rounded at the base,
spatulate at the apex, armed on the outer margins with two stout spurs,
the second twice the length of the first; the tibiae and basal joints
of the tarsi are terminated with rows of spines.
Most of our known species were described by the French naturalists,
Amyot & Serville (Annals Soc. Entom. de France 1845); and Walker (Brit.
Museum Cat. Homoptera 1851); and but little attention has been paid
to them since. Our most characteristic species belong to the Genus
_Eurymela_. Seventeen species are listed by Walker from all parts
of Australia. They are large, thickset frog-hoppers, with the head
broad and truncate in front with the face much inflexed; their general
tint is blue-black with the head and elytra marked with red or white
bands or spots. They lay their eggs under the bark of young gum trees,
slitting it in regular rings with their stout ovipositors and leaving
a white papery substance along the punctures. The young cling to the
twigs in clusters after they emerge, and they may often be seen in
different stages of growth upon the same bush. They are very active
little creatures, creeping round the twig when disturbed, and jumping
as soon as they are touched. Many of them are much sought after by ants
which come to them for the honey dew they secrete.
_Eurymela bicincta_ measures ½ an inch in length, and is broad in
proportion; it is of a uniform dark shining blue tint, with the head,
thorax, and base of the elytra bright red. It has a wide range and may
often be found in colonies of 30 or 40 clustering together on a gum
sapling. _E. rubrovittata_ is about the same size; it is black, with
the under surface, face, and three narrow transverse bands round the
thorax and elytra bright red. It has a range from Western Australia to
Queensland. _E. speculum_ is a common species, recorded from Tasmania
to Queensland; it is of a uniform dark blue-black tint with a white
patch on either side of the face, and two irregular oval white spots
on each wing cover. _E. pulchra_ is smaller, with the head and thorax
marked with red, and two irregular broken bands of white on the side of
each wing cover.
Five species of the Genus _Aphrophora_ are described by Walker from
Tasmania and Australia. The members of this genus are known as
“Cuckoo-spittle Insects” from the remarkable habit the larvae have of
enveloping themselves in a mass of frothy liquid, which is supposed to
be formed to protect their soft bodies from insects that might prey
upon them; it, however, really makes them very conspicuous objects on
a twig, and several species of wasps are known in America to drag them
out of this covering and use them to provision their nests.
Our common “Cuckoo-spittle Insect,” found upon the she-oak (Casuarina),
ti-tree (Leptospermum), and Melaleuca, is _Chalepus teliferus_; the
larvae are pale-brown soft oval creatures, which jump when removed
from the frothy liquid, and in this liquid they remain enveloped until
they are ready to emerge. The perfect insect measures under ½ an inch
in length, is of an elongate boat-shaped form; the head is produced
in front as a slender process, curved upwards; the tips of the elytra
come to a compressed point; the general colour is dull reddish brown,
with the horn on the head ferruginous, and the wing covers mottled on
the sides with black. A second species, _Chalepus pugionatus_, has been
described by Stal from Australia.
Family 3. Tree-Hoppers.
MEMBRACIDAE.
This is a group of homopterous insects chiefly confined to the tropical
parts of the world. They are well represented in Australia, though
we have nothing like the remarkable creatures covered with horns and
spines found in South America and popularly known in consequence as
“little devils.” They are remarkable for the wonderful development of
the prothorax which, projecting in front, often forms a hood above the
head, so that the latter is much hidden when viewed from above; the
eyes are globular and project on the sides of the head, and there is
a pair of ocelli in a line between them; while the short bristle-like
antennae are well below the eyes on either side of the base of the
stout rostrum (beak), which at rest is turned down between the legs.
The abdomen is covered with the wings and parchment-like tegmina,
the extremities of which come together to form a sharp point. The
legs are short and stout, without the numerous spines common on the
“frog-hoppers”; and the tarsi consist of three joints, the first
longest. They can both fly and jump very well, but trust to the latter
method to escape from their enemies. They and the members of allied
families can be easily collected by shaking or beating low scrub over
an open umbrella; or can be bred from larval forms on the food plant.
Very little attention had been paid to our tree-hoppers until a few
years ago when Goding published his “Check List of the Membracidae
described from Tasmania and Australia” (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1898);
in this he gives many notes and lists 22 species, chiefly described by
Walker (Brit. Museum Cat. Homoptera 1851), Fairmaire, in his Review
of the family in 1846, and Stal in 1869. In 1903 Goding, in the same
Journal, published a “Monograph of the Australian Membracidae.” In
this he re-describes all the known, and adds a number of new species
to our fauna, bringing the list up to a total of 32 described species,
comprised in 14 genera, grouped in 6 sub-families, based chiefly upon
the shape and structure of the prothorax.
The Genus _Sextius_ contains five species, in which the prothorax is
ridged in the centre and produced on either side into a rather short
acute horn standing out on either side, and with the apical portion
produced into a keeled spine extending to the tip of the abdomen.
_Sextius virescens_, our commonest species, is of a delicate green
colour, and feeds upon the sap of the black wattle and other species of
Acacia. In early summer it may be found among the foliage in all stages
of development; the trees they frequent are frequently infested with
ants which come to obtain the honey dew. The female slits the bark with
her ovipositor, and lays the eggs in rows. _S. depressus_, about the
same size, slightly over ¼ of an inch in length, ranges from Western
Australia to Queensland: at Kempsey, N.S.W., I obtained specimens on a
slender leafed Acacia. It is of similar green colour to _S. virescens_,
with the front of the thorax of a lighter tint, but the projecting
horns are shorter and depressed, and the venation of the elytra is much
finer. _S. australis_ is about the same size, and of a uniform black
tint with a patch of bright silvery pubescence on the sides of the
thorax, which is rounded in front and has very short blunt horns. It
lives upon the branchlets of a prickly Hakea growing about Sydney.
_Lubra spinicornis_ is a slightly smaller insect, of a general dull
brown tint: it has the prothorax produced into two almost erect clubbed
horns. Specimens have been obtained from Brisbane, Queensland, and the
northern rivers of New South Wales. _Daunus tasmaniae_ is of the same
chocolate brown colour; is more robust in proportion. The prothorax
forms a regular hood swelling out on either side at the base of the
tegmina, and the projecting horns are curved and deeply ridged, and
are chisel-shaped at the tips. It is one of the commonest species in
Tasmania, and is recorded over a wide area of the eastern mainland as
far North as Brisbane.
_Eufroggattia tuberculata_ is a rare insect usually found resting on a
twig of a eucalyptus sapling, and is shaped very much like some of the
small plant bugs belonging to the Genus _Testrica_; it is short and
broad in form, with the head exposed; the thorax has short blunt horns;
and the abdomen is broadly rounded at the apex.
Family 4. Lantern-flies.
FULGORIDAE.
This is a very difficult family to satisfactorily define, as their
members are very diverse in general shape and structure, with points of
resemblance that bring some of the genera very close to the Cercopidae
(from which however they differ in the shape of the head), while they
somewhat resemble the Jassidae in the structure of the legs.
The typical forms have the front of the head either produced into a
lance-shaped structure, or the face and vertex either rounded in front
or forming an acute angle. The eyes are large and stand out on the
sides of the head; the ocelli, usually two in number, are situated
below or near the eyes and are placed in the cavities on the cheeks; in
a few species there are three ocelli, while in others they are wanting.
The antennae, situated beneath the eyes, and often very peculiar in
structure, consist of two short joints surmounted with a bristle.
Many are large handsome insects with bright coloured tegmina and wings;
others are of delicate green and grey tints, quite moth-like in form,
but can be easily distinguished by the way they rest with their stiff
roof-like wings, and by their active jumping habits. The legs are often
long, and the hind pair are furnished with a few stout spines on the
tibae, but never thickly spined as in the Jassidae. Many of our larger
species are found both in the larval and perfect state, on tree trunks.
A few species are well-known pests and have an extended range beyond
Australia.
Donovan described and figured several species (Insects of New Holland,
1815); Westwood figured and described two in his “Monograph of the
Genus Fulgora” (Trans. Linn. Soc. 1837): but the majority of our
species are described by Walker (Brit. Mus. Cat. Homoptera, 1851), and
he also named others in “Insecta Saundersiana, Homoptera,” 1858, which
describes the insects in W. W. Saunders’ great collection.
_Siphanta acuta_, better known under the name of _Cromna acuta_, is one
of our commonest fulgorids, moth-like in appearance, of a pale green
colour, with broad square-cut fore wings and a short pointed head. It
measures about an inch across the outspread wings. It has a wide range
in Australia; and its pale green fluffy larvae feed upon the sap of
many plants, and readily jump when touched. It is also well known in
Hawaii, Sandwich Islands, where it is called the “torpedo-bug” from the
way it jumps; and it is said to be a pest on the coffee plants (Smith
Annual Report, Hawaii 1904). A number of species of these moth-like
forms are described by Walker from Australia and Tasmania, and placed
in the Genus _Bythoscopus_, which genus, when further studied, will
probably be much subdivided.
[Illustration: =Fig. 159.=--_Scolypopa (Pochazia)
australis._
The Common Passion-vine Hopper.]
_Pochazia australis_ measures about ¾ of an inch across the short broad
fore wings, which are margined and irregularly barred with chocolate
brown; the head is short and rounded in front. Melichar, in his
“Monographie der Ricaniiden, Wien,” 1898, places _P. australis_ in the
Genus _Scolypopa_. The larva is a green wedge-shaped little creature
clothed at the tip of the abdomen with a bunch of white filaments.
It is a very common insect with a wide range. Sometimes it is a pest
on passion vines; the eggs are laid in the slender tendrils, and
the larvae suck up the sap of the stalks. Another species is common
among the foliage of the silky oak (_Grevillia robusta_) in Southern
Queensland.
_Achilus flammeus_ has the body and wings of a bright red colour, with
the small head showing prominently in front: the broadly rounded opaque
elytra and wings cover the short body. It measures about an inch across
the outspread wings. Nothing is known about its habits or life history,
but in the summer evenings it sometimes comes flying towards the light,
and can be found on the windows.
The Genus _Poeciloptera_ contains a number of small, short broad-winged
forms. Donovan figures _Poeciloptera modesta_, which has pink fore
wings, each marked with two small red spots, and the hind wings have a
pale bluish tint.
_Prolepta dilatata_ is a typical, dull reddish-brown fulgorid,
measuring nearly an inch from the tip of the long slender head to the
extremities of the folded tegmina which are broadest across the tips:
and the slender prolonged forehead is over two lines in length. This
insect was described from W. Australia, but it has a wide range and can
be collected about Sydney. _P. obscurata_ is about the same size, more
rugose in structure, and with markings of dark brown; the markings on
the somewhat opaque wings are more distinct, striated and irregular
than in _P. dilatata_: it can also be easily recognised by the shorter
and thicker process on the forehead. It has a wide range over Australia.
The Genus _Eurybrachys_ contains a number of short, dark brown insects
with broad rounded heads; they run about on the trunks of trees,
jumping at the least alarm. _Eurybrachys leucostigma_ is a very stout,
broad, dull brown insect, about ¾ of an inch across the outspread
wings. Some 16 species are described from all parts of Australia. The
members of the Genera _Ledra_ and _Stenocotis_ are broad elongate
insects with the front of the head spade-shaped, and the convex body
tapers to a sharp point. Their larvae are almost as flat as a bit of
paper. _Stenocotis australis_ is about ¾ of an inch in length, and of a
dull brown tint.
Family 5. Leaf-Hoppers.
JASSIDAE.
These insects are minute froghopper-like forms with the head rounded in
front, and with the body tapering towards the tips of the tegmina. The
head is large, with the oval or rounded eyes projecting on the sides,
and with a pair of ocelli situated on the front margin. The antennae,
bristle-like, of considerable length, are each composed of two short
cylindrical basal joints with a thread-like terminal portion, and are
placed in front and below the eyes. The legs are long, well adapted for
jumping (their chief means of progression); and the tibiae of the hind
pair are thickly clothed with stout spines.
Though these insects are very small, many species appear upon crops
and herbage in such immense numbers that they often do a great deal
of damage, and are very interesting from an economic standpoint. In
Japan, for instance, there are several species very serious pests in
the rice fields; while in North America _Erythroneura vitis_ is a
well-known pest upon the foliage of vines.
They are abundant on the low scrub and grass lands in this country in
favourable localities, and may be easily collected with a sweeping
net, or by shaking the bushes over an open umbrella; yet, probably on
account of their small size and retiring habits, few specimens are to
be found even in our Museum collections.
The sugar-cane hopper, _Perkinsiella saccharicida_, a native of
Queensland, is a dull brownish yellow hopper with a dark parallel
stripe down the centre of the basal portions of the tegmina; it
measures a ¼ of an inch in length. Kirkaldy described it from Hawaii,
where it has been introduced, and is a serious pest to the sugar-cane.
A very pretty little unidentified species, bright red and yellow, with
the fore wings marked with dark brown, is common upon the broad soft
leaves of _Eucalyptus robusta_, where the curious little larvae rest
in families of three or four; each is enveloped in white filaments
which proceed from round the tip of the abdomen. The larvae of another
species have been observed to form large colonies on the surface of
the leaves of low eucalyptus bushes on the hills near Capertee N.S.W.
They suck up the sap, discolouring the centre of the leaves; each
exudes a globule of liquid from the tip of the abdomen, which they drag
out into thin threads with their hind legs, to form a spider-web-like
covering over their bodies, and this web dries soon after the leaves
are gathered.
Family 6. Lerp Insects.
PSYLLIDAE.
These are small homoptera, in appearance suggesting miniature cicadas.
The head is generally broader than long, sometimes deflected and with
large eyes; the ocelli are three in number, the lateral ones situated
on the summit of the head close to the hind margins of the eyes, and
the central one at the apex of the median suture. The antennae are
each composed of ten joints, the first two shorter and thicker than
the following ones, and the terminal joint surmounted with two short
bristles. The thorax is broad, with well developed tegmina and wings,
and like the aphids both pairs might properly be called wings. The
venation is simple, constant, and useful in the work of classification.
They are formed for jumping, with a spine-like process on the coxa of
each hind leg, and the apex of the tibiae of the hind legs furnished
with a row of short fine spines. The tarsi are two jointed, terminating
in a pair of large claws.
[Illustration: =Fig. 160.=--Diagram of Psylla (_Thea
opaca_) ♀.
Showing the structure and venation of the wings.
1_a_, Face lobes; 2_a_, prothorax; 3_a_,
mesanotum; 4_a_, dorsulum; 5_a_, scutellum, tegmina;
1_b_, costal nervure; 2_b_, primary stalk; 3_b_,
clavus; 4_b_, clavical suture; 5_b_, stalk of
sub-costa; 6_a_, stalk of cubitus; 7_b_, sub-costa;
8_b_, lower branch of cubitus; 9_b_, upper branch of
cubitus; 10_b_, lower fork of lower cubitus; 11_b_,
stigma; 12_b_, upper fork of the lower branch of cubitus;
13_b_, radius; 14_b_, lower fork of upper cubitus;
15_b_, upper fork of upper cubitus.
3, Genitalia ♂; 4, Genitalia ♀; 5, Head of _Spondyliaspis
eucalypti_, showing face lobes.
(Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.)]
The female lays her eggs in clusters on the twigs or foliage, from
which the curious, little, large-headed larvae emerge, and, after
undergoing a series of moults during which they develop large
wing-pads on the shoulders and more joints in the antennae, they
finally come forth, perfect four-winged insects. They take their family
name from _Psylla_, a flea, given them by Linnaeus in reference
to their jumping powers, and their popular name of “Lerp Insects,”
from the habit of the larvae of many species of forming “lerp scales,”
shell-like protective coverings formed from exudations from the
insects. Other species cover themselves with flocculent matter after
the manner of mealy bugs; and yet another group form regular oval or
rounded galls on the foliage. They are found in most of the warmer
parts of the world, and are very numerous in Australia, where they seem
to take the place of the APHIDAE to a certain extent; they are
readily collected in all stages of growth upon their food plant, and
can be easily bred.
The Sugar lerp, _Psylla eucalypti_, whose larvae cover the leaves
of several species of gum trees with their white woolly shells, was
described by Dobson from Tasmania (Pro. Royal Soc. Van Diemen’s Land,
1851). It is a slender little green creature with very long face lobes,
and, when crawling about, turns the tip of its body upwards, so that it
looks as if it were walking on its head. It is now placed in the Genus
_Spondyliaspis_.
In the same year (1851) Walker published his Homoptera (Cat. Brit.
Museum) in which he recorded 5 species, all from Tasmania; and it was
not until 1898 that they were again noticed when Maskell described 3
species from Australia (Trans. N. Zealand Inst.); and Schwarz defined
another (Pro. Ent. Soc. Washington) in 1897. Between the years 1900 and
1903 I contributed three papers (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.) monographing
our species, in which 64 new species are added to our fauna. I followed
Low in the classification of the sub-families, adding Scott’s fifth
division for those with small heads and no face lobes.
In the LIVIINAE, the front of the head is not produced into face lobes;
the stalk of the cubitus is either shorter, as long as, or longer than
the lower branch of the cubitus. _Crewiis longipennis_ is of a general
bright red tint, and is ¼ of an inch in length; it ranges from Tasmania
to the North of New South Wales. The larva forms a rounded pale yellow
lerp covered with fine woolly filaments upon the leaves of gum trees.
_Lasiopsylla rotundipennis_ forms a large, flattened, irregularly
rounded white scale on the foliage of _Eucalyptus melliodora_, under
which the flattened, pale green larva hides.
The Sub-family APHALARINAE contains a number of small species, and
the head is produced in front into face lobes, with the stalk of the
cubitus as long as or longer than the stalk of the sub-costa. They
usually form lerp scales; but some are naked, or clothed with soft
white woolly filaments.
Several species of the Genus _Spondyliaspis_ belong to this group; all
of them form “sugar lerp scales,” often encrusting all the foliage
of the young gum trees, and are so abundant that in the Mallee scrub
country in Victoria and S. Australia the blacks used to collect and
eat it in quantities, and had a regular “manna harvest.” _Cardiaspis
artifex_ is a short, reddish yellow insect, the larvae of which form
beautiful barred shell-like lerps, marked with red and yellow to look
like delicate fretwork, upon the leaves of _Eucalyptus robusta_.
_C. tetrix_ is a pretty pink and grey species found in the Adelong
district, N.S.W. The larva constructs a most remarkable cage of fine
red bars, not unlike a lady’s hair net, beneath which the larva
crawls about freely like a bird in a cage. _Rhinocola corniculata_
often covers the leaves of different eucalypts with its elongate,
opaque, horny, yellow lerps. The test is not unlike that of a large
_Mytilaspis_ scale, but is open at the broad end through which the
little larva can creep in and out. It ranges from New South Wales to
Western Australia. _R. eucalypti_ is a very tiny, little, dark brown
psylla, the larvae of which cluster at the tips of the foliage of young
blue gums (_Eucalyptus globulus_), and cover themselves with threads
of white flocculent matter. It was described by Maskell from New
Zealand, but is common both in Tasmania and Australia: it has also been
introduced into Africa on the same eucalypt.
The larvae of the Genus _Thea_ are curious, broad, flattened creatures,
with hard integument. They hide under the dead bark on the trunks of
the white stemmed gums, spreading their white woolly secretion around
them; the ants look after them, and probably protect them from many
enemies in return for the “honey dew,” of which secretion the ants are
very fond. _Thea opaca_ is of a general reddish pink colour mottled
with brown and black; the wings are transparent, with a dark stigma on
the fore wing.
The members of the Sub-family PSYLLINAE have the same well-defined
conical face lobes, but the stalk of the cubitus is shorter than the
stalk of the sub-costa. The larvae may be quite naked, but most of
them produce woolly filaments more or less covering them, and form
no true lerp scales or galls. The typical Genus _Psylla_ comprises a
number of usually small and somewhat stouter insects, many of which
cluster in swarms like aphids upon the foliage of wattles and other
trees. The eggs, larvae, pupae, and perfect insects may be found on
the same twigs. _Psylla acaciae-decurrentis_ is a slender, dark-winged
insect remarkable for the length of its slender antennae; it is
common upon the black wattle in early summer. _P. acaciae-baileyanae_
is a much smaller yellow species with mottled wings that often swarms
over the cultivated “Cootamundra wattle,” and is reported to have
destroyed all the flower-buds of this wattle in the neighbourhood of
Melbourne in 1905. _P. capparis_ is a mottled winged species that
frequents the foliage of _Capparis mitchelli_ in the western scrubs:
_P. schizoneurodes_ infests the twigs of the allied “Warrior Bush”;
the larvae are covered with flocculent matter and have a globule of
liquid substance at the tip of the abdomen; when massed together they
look much like “woolly blight” on the apple trees. _P. sterculiae_ is a
small brownish species, found upon the twigs of the Kurrajong, and has
a wide range over New South Wales.
[Illustration: =Fig. 161.=--_Psylla sterculiae_
(Froggatt).
The Kurrajong Twig Psylla.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Two very curious species are found upon the thick fleshy leaves of
our native figs, and one, _Mycopsylla fici_, lays her eggs upon the
foliage, the squat grey larvae burying their beaks in the leaf cause a
flow of milky sap, under which they hide in small colonies, and when
ready to emerge crawl from beneath the viscid mass. Where numerous,
they cover the foliage with these sticky patches, and cause the leaves
to fall. The perfect psylla is a handsome, dark-coloured insect with
long antennae and ample transparent wings.
[Illustration: =Fig. 162.=--_Tyora sterculiae_
(Froggatt).
The Star-psylla found on the surface of the leaves of the
Kurrajong.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Sub-family TRIOZINAE. The cubitus of the wing has no stalk, the veins
forking directly from its junction with the sub-costa. All our species,
with one exception, come into the typical Genus _Trioza_: many of them
are gall makers in the larval state, others are naked and cling to
the under surface of twigs and leaves. The larvae of the gall-makers
are broad, oval, flattened creatures, covered with a mealy secretion,
the outer margin of the dorsal shield in each case being fringed with
fine regular ciliae. Most of the perfect insects are thickset; they
range from chestnut brown to reddish yellow; and have clear transparent
wings. _Trioza carnosa_ makes a large, oval, fleshy, brightly tinted
gall with an irregular opening at the summit, often covering and
aborting the foliage of eucalypts about Sydney. The larva of _T.
eucalypti_ forms a rounded, hard, woody gall upon the leaves, without
any opening on either side until the gall contracts and splits open,
when the full grown pupa emerges. _T. casuarinae_ is a very pretty
little psylla with dark-barred wings, and its curious naked fish-like
larva clings to the slender foliage of the she-oak (_Casuarina_). _T.
banksiae_ has a tiny, naked, yellow larva covered with silvery down; it
is a rare insect found on the under surface of the honeysuckle leaves.
Nearly all these species have been collected within a day’s journey
from Sydney, but have a wide range on the eastern coast.
The Sub-family PRIONOCNEMINAE was formed by Scott for Walker’s Genus
_Tyora_, in which I have placed two species. _Tyora sterculiae_ is a
pale green, aphid-like psylla, with long antennae and large transparent
wings. The larvae cluster together on the leaves of the Kurrajong,
forming white patches over the foliage, and each larva throws out
slender white threads, fringing the tip of the abdomen and radiating
about the body. _T. hibisci_ is a delicate pale green insect which has
been taken on the foliage of _Hisbiscus tiliaceus_, about Brisbane,
Queensland, and also on a creeper on the Tweed River, New South Wales.
Family 7. Aphids or Plant Lice.
APHIDAE.
These destructive little creatures are well known to gardeners under
different names, such as “smother or green-fly,” “plant lice,” or
“blight.” This family contains one of the most destructive and
widespread pests that ever attacked cultivated plants, namely the vine
louse (_Phylloxera vastatrix_), which has destroyed millions of
pounds’ worth of vines, and has followed its host all over the world.
Aphids are all small soft-bodied creatures, green, black, or yellow in
colour; and at least ten introduced species are to be commonly found in
our gardens and fields; but as far as I know, no indigenous aphid is
recorded in Australia.
The life history of these insects is very complex; the winter eggs or
larvae lie dormant during the cold season in crevices on the trunks, or
hidden underground on the roots of their host plants; but as the warm
weather approaches they crawl up the trunks, cluster round the opening
leaf buds, and sticking their sharp beaks into the tissue, suck up the
sap. These give birth to living larvae which grow very rapidly, and in
turn (though virgin females) bring forth fresh broods of live larvae
that in the course of several generations develop two pairs of large
transparent wings, and consist usually of both sexes, though in some
species the males are wanting. The last generation fly away in swarms
but before dying deposit eggs which carry on the cycle of their life
into the next summer.
The wingless forms are short, stout, rounded creatures with small,
slightly lobed heads, and rather stout 3 to 7 jointed antennae; the
legs are well-developed with two-jointed feet. The abdomen often
swells out into a flask-like shape; it is furnished on the 5th segment
with a pair of cylindrical tubes called siphons, through which it
discharges a sweet secretion known as “honey dew”; this liquid is often
ejected in such quantities on aphis-infested plants that it covers the
foliage, and attracts the ants, which come and lick up the globules of
honey-dew on the tips of the siphons, and even caress the aphis with
their antennae; and therefore in popular works these insects are often
described as “ants’ cows.”
[Illustration: =Fig. 163.=--_Siphonophora rosae_
(Linn.).
The Rose Aphis of the garden.
1, Rose buds infested with aphis; 2, larva; 3, winged female
aphis.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
[Illustration: =Fig. 164.=--_Aphis persicae-niger_
(Smith).
The American Peach Aphis (introduced).
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Among the introduced species common in Australia is the Cabbage Aphis,
_Aphis brassicae_, a dull green insect covered with a floury exudation;
it is one of the greatest pests that the cabbage-growers have to deal
with, and is always most troublesome in dry weather. The Rose Aphis,
_Siphonophora rosae_, is a pale green species appearing in the spring
on the young buds of the roses, but seldom doing very serious damage.
The Woolly Aphis, _Schizoneura lanigera_, common both on the roots and
branches of apple trees, is found in most of our old orchards; the dull
blue aphids cluster together in colonies with their beaks buried deeply
in the bark, and the clusters become covered with a mass of soft white
flocculent exudation, hiding them from view. From the irritation to
the plant tissue caused by their presence large galls or excrescences
appear all over the branches. The Peach Aphis, _A. persicae-niger_, is
another common orchard pest which winters on the roots of the peach
trees: in early summer they commence to spread, and if neglected do a
great deal of damage to the leaf and flower buds.
The chief work dealing with the systematic classification of plant lice
is Buckton’s “Monograph of the British Aphidae,” published by the Roy.
Society, London 1881. A number of new species have been described since
by American entomologists in bulletins on Economic Zoology.
Family 8. Snow-Flies.
ALEURODIDAE.
These are all very small delicate creatures; both sexes are furnished
with two pairs of broad rounded wings with simple parallel veins, and
are usually thickly covered with a mealy white dust from which they
take their popular name of “Snow-Flies.” The head is broad, furnished
with a three-jointed beak enclosing setae; seven-jointed antennae; and
large reniform eyes, with an ocellus on either side above the eyes.
The thorax is broad and the abdomen soft and rounded. The tarsi are
two-jointed terminating in two claws at the extremities.
The female lays her eggs in clusters on the under surface of the
leaves, where the young larvae later on form regular oval, glassy tests
of various colours, enclosed in which they feed and finally pupate.
The adult insects have their short broad wings slightly expanded,
and cluster together in threes and fours: but the moment their food
plant is touched they fly out in a little cloud. They can, like the
scale insects, be very easily introduced into a new country with their
food plant, and several species, like _Aleurodes vaporariorum_
described by Westwood from Europe, have a wide range over America and
this continent.
The snow-flies are well represented in Australia, and several species
do a considerable amount of damage to native shrubs, but on account
of their delicate structure and small size they are difficult to
collect, and harder to preserve when collected; if mounted on card
they dry up, with nothing to determine them from but the wings, which
have very few distinctive characters. The most satisfactory method of
preserving them, is to drop the live insects into oil of cloves on
a micro slip, when they usually open their wings and legs, and then
make, with a little care, very fine objects when mounted in balsam; at
times, however, the floury covering floats off the wings and body and
sometimes clouds the mount.
Maskell has described 8 species from Australia (Trans. N. Zealand Inst.
1896); most of these descriptions, however, were based upon the larval
tests or scales (and not the adult insects) which had been sent to him
under the idea that they were scale insects; so that whoever takes up
the study of snow-flies will have to breed them out, to be sure of
the identity of his species. _Aleurodes styphelia_ forms a flattened,
oval, black test fringed with white waxy tubes almost as long as the
encircled larva, scattered about over the leaves of _Styphelia richei_,
a common scrub bush about Sydney. _Aleurodes t-signata_ forms a spiny
black test; and with a second undetermined pale yellow species without
a marginal fringe, is found about Sydney on the foliage of _Acacia
longifolia_. Another species, _A. banksiae_, is found upon both the
honeysuckle (_Banksia_) and the bottle brush (_Callistemon_).
In Maskell’s paper, which is an important contribution to the study of
these small but very interesting insects, he lists 65 known species
belonging to the typical Genus _Aleurodes_; some have since been
described from America, of which a few have been placed in the Genus
_Aleurodicus_, formed by Douglas for those with a distal and basal
branch on both wings.
Family 9. Scale Insects.
COCCIDAE.
These insects take their popular name of scale insects from the habit
that many of the typical species have of protecting themselves, after
they have settled down on their food plant, by forming a shield or
scale over their backs under which they feed and produce their eggs or
living larvae. To form the scale the moulted larval skin, called the
pellicle, becomes a nucleus in the first place, round which exudations
are added until the scale insect ceases growing.
The larvae are pale yellow, pink, or dull-red coloured little
creatures, oval or shield-shape in form, usually fringed round the
margins of the body with fine filaments, which are often long upon
the somewhat thickened irregularly-jointed antennae and form longer
setae upon the tip of the abdomen. They have distinct black eyes,
well-developed legs; the mouth is pointed and beak-like. At this stage
of their existence the sexes do not differ in outward appearance, but
when they attach themselves to their food plant the males and females
of the same species often construct scales of very dissimilar form;
while in others the male scales are simply more elongate than those of
the female.
The male coccid is a delicate fragile little creature, usually
microscopic in size, so that, unless bred out in confinement from
scale-infested foliage, they are seldom seen. He has a well defined
head rounded behind, furnished with moderately long antennae composed
of thickened irregularly-jointed segments fringed and surmounted with
fine filaments. The globular black eyes stand out on the sides of the
head, but the mouth is aborted so that it cannot feed. The thorax,
lobed on the dorsal surface, is furnished with a pair of rounded wings
each with a simple central nervure, but he can fly well in spite of
their delicate structure. The slender legs are simple, terminating in
rudimentary hooks; the elongated abdomen is distinctly segmented and
furnished at the extremity with a pair of long slender white filaments.
This period of his existence is short: thousands of them perish very
soon after they leave their scale, and the survivors as soon as they
have impregnated the female die.
The female coccid as soon as she settles down to suck up the sap
develops under her protective shield (which, unlike the male, she never
leaves) into an oval or rounded yellow mass: her legs, antennae, and
even head become aborted though the segments of the abdomen are well
defined in most species, and finally she becomes simply a sack of eggs.
She deposits her eggs under the protection of the shield, in other
cases the larvae develop within her shrunken dead skin.
The larvae swarm out and spread over plants when, owing to their
immense numbers sucking up the sap with their sharp beaks, they soon
injure the tissue and often kill the food plant. Thus from an economic
point of view the scale insects are one of the most important groups
of the insect-world that man has to deal with, and thousands of pounds
are spent in spraying and fumigating cultivated trees to destroy these
pests. Many species are cosmopolitan in their range and choice of food
plants, having been introduced all over the world, but Australia has a
great number of indigenous species, many remarkable for their curious
habits, particularly those forming solid woody galls on the eucalypts.
The classification of the scale insects is based chiefly upon the
structure of the adult female coccid, viz.:--Of the spinnerets,
abdominal cleft, lobes, spines, and anal ring of the abdomen, and the
structure and number of joints of the antennae. The shape and structure
of the puparium or scale, or other secretions are used to separate them
into the larger sub-divisions.
The greater number of our species were described by Maskell in
the “Transactions of the New Zealand Institute between the years
1878–1898,” in which period he added over 100 new species to our list:
Green (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1900) has described some others; and
in the same Journal (1882–1898) I dealt with the gall-making coccids
belonging to the sub-family BRACHYSCELINAE. In 1894 Maskell
issued a “Synoptical List of the Coccidae reported from Australia and
the Pacific Islands,” in which 180 species were credited to Australia.
To this Maskell added later a number of new forms; and Fuller others
from Western Australia (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1899). In Mrs.
Fernald’s “Catalogue of the Coccidae of the World” (Hatch Experiment
Station Bulletin 88, 1903) over 328 species are listed, from this
country, but there are a considerable number of doubtful species among
them.
The COCCIDAE have been divided into a number of sub-families: I follow
Green (Coccidae of Ceylon, 1896), though Mrs. Fernald in following
Cockerell reverses the families and starts with the mealy bugs; I also
retain most of the well-known generic names unless there is a very
valid reason for discarding them, which does not appear to be the case
in many of Cockerell’s amendments.
The Sub-family DIASPINAE are known as armoured scales and embrace most
of the forms which cover themselves with stout horny shields (puparia).
When adult the female is almost legless, with rudimentary antennae,
and incapable of movement. The members of the Genus _Aspidiotus_ form
round scales, and among them are some of our worst orchard pests.
The introduced species _Aspidiotus auranti_, the Red scale of citrus
trees, is now found on many garden shrubs. The puparium of the adult
female is dull reddish yellow with the centre lighter coloured, and
the twigs, leaves and fruit of neglected trees are often covered with
these scales in all stages of growth. _A. perniciosus_, the notorious
San José Scale, that attacks deciduous fruit-trees in the same manner,
is a dull brown circular scale; its original home is somewhat doubtful,
and though it was first recorded as a pest in California, is said to
have come from China. The scales are much darker than those of the red
scale, and infest the branches and twigs so thickly that they destroy
the bark, and whenever they attach themselves to the fruit produce a
red spot. _A. hederi_ (better known under the name of _A. nerii_), is a
pure white scale with a yellow centre; it has a world-wide range, and
its range extends far out into our western scrubs, sometimes covering
the whole of a large tree. _A. rossi_ is a very distinct, round, black
scale, partial to _Euonymus_ in the garden, and to grass trees in the
bush. _A. ficus_ is often known as the “Round Scale” from its size and
regular shape; it is deep chocolate brown in colour, common upon palms,
and is sometimes found upon oranges coming from the Pacific Islands.
_Fiorinia acaciae_ covers the stems and twigs of _Acacia longifolia_
with its narrow white ribbed scale; it is much longer than broad,
and is truncate at the extremities; this gives it a very distinctive
character.
The Genus _Diaspis_ contains a number of delicate, more elongated
scales, among which is the well known white rose scale _Diaspis rosae_,
common in the garden. _Poliaspis exocarpi_ is another white scale
infesting _Oxylobium_, _Dillwynia_, and other bush shrubs; the male
scales are long, slender, and loosely attached to the smaller twigs.
The Genus _Chionaspis_, containing a number of cosmopolitan and
indigenous species, has the base of the scale narrow, elongate, but
broadly rounded at the extremity. _Chionaspis xerotides_ is white,
common upon the blades of the sedge growing along the sea shore at
Botany, N.S.W., and has a wide range. _C. eugeniae_ is a larger broader
scale, variable in size and shape; it infests several native shrubs,
and a very large form is found on the waratah.
_Mytilaspis_ is another world-wide genus, in which the scales are
attenuated at the base and are oyster-like in shape; _Mytilaspis
pomorum_ is the common “Mussel” or “Oyster” scale of the apple tree
found all over the world. _M. spinifera_ is a handsome, broad, white
scale common on the weeping myall (_Acacia pendula_), growing in the
interior. _M. striata_ is a very slender form of scale that has had
to adapt its shape to the slender foliage of the Casuarina which it
infests. _M. acaciae_ is a grey species that clusters thickly together
in masses like the apple scale, covering the stems of several different
species of Acacias in the bush with its stout irregular scales.
[Illustration: Plate XXXIV.--HOMOPTERA.
Family =Coccidae=.
1. _Apiomorpha urnalis_ (Tepper).
2. _Frenchia semiocculta_ (Mask.).
4. _Frenchia casuarinae_ (Mask.).
3. Galls of Buprestid beetles (_Ethon corpulentum_,
Bohem.).]
[Illustration: _Plate XXXIV.--HOMOPTERA._]
In the Sub-family LECANIINAE the female coccids are active or
stationary; naked or covered with some secretion; sometimes without
legs; the abdomen marked with a median cleft and furnished with two
dorsal lobes. Several species of the tropical Genus _Ceroplastes_ are
found about Sydney, where they were introduced into the gardens at a
very early date, and have since spread into the orchards and bush. The
Indian wax-scale, _Ceroplastes ceriferus_, covers orchard trees, and
bush and garden shrubs with its irregular rounded masses of greasy
white matter that protect the liver-coloured coccids beneath. _C.
rubens_ is a smaller and more regularly rounded dull red scale, the
enveloping material forming a hard waxy shell.
The members of the Genus _Ctenochiton_ are chiefly confined to New
Zealand, but two fine species have been described from Australia.
_Ctenochiton eucalypti_ comes from the Newcastle district, N.S.W.,
where it infests the leaves of gum saplings. The scales of the sexes
differ very much; those of the male are slender, white, and glassy,
while those of the female are broad and dark coloured. _C. rhizophorae_
comes from Queensland, where it is found upon the mangrove. The
beautiful, brittle, glass-like scales of _Inglisia foraminifer_ and _I.
fossilis_, are often very plentiful in the interior on low scrub trees.
[Illustration: =Figs. 165= and =166=.--Scale
Insects.
165. _Icerya purchasi_ (Maskell).
The Cottony-cushion or Fluted Scale of the orange tree.
166. _Ceroplastus ceriferus_ (Anderson).
The introduced Indian Wax Scale of citrus trees, etc.]
In the Genus _Ceronema_, the males form delicate angulated scales, but
the females are clothed with a woolly secretion. _Ceronema banksiae_ is
a somewhat rare scale found on the foliage of the banksia; it has the
secretion upon the dorsal surface, formed into a distinct rib down the
centre. _C. caudata_ is a large species with a white woolly covering, a
large filament towards the apex forming a large loop rising above the
back like a handle. It has a wide range from the South Coast of N.S.W.
to North Queensland, and about Bulli, N.S.W., is found on gum trees.
The Genus _Lecanium_ (which has been cut up into a number of new
genera) contains many distinct species peculiar to our fauna. _Lecanium
tesselatum_, a flattened species with crenulated margins, and common
on palms in the gardens, and _L. oleae_, known as “black bug” or
“olive scale” by the orchardists, are both introduced species: _L.
patersoni_ is a slender form found upon the foliage of _Patersonia
glabrata_ growing about Sydney. _L. scrobiculata_ is a bright, shining,
convex, dark brown scale infesting several species of acacias; and _L.
mirificum_, one of the largest, is found in the interior upon _Acacia
pendula_. The curious coccid, _Cryptes (Lecanium) baccatum_, covers the
twigs of several acacias, among them the common black wattle in the
vicinity of Sydney. At first dull white, they swell out into rounded
bead-shaped, blue sacks, so close together that they encrust the whole
of the infested twig; when adult they turn dull brown.
The Sub-family DACTYLOPINAE contains most of the well-known “mealy
bugs”; they are soft bodied creatures in the earlier stages of their
existence, and many species are able to move about until their latter
days; instead of forming a separate scale like the first group, they
cover themselves with white, woolly, mealy, cottony, or waxy secretions.
The members of the Genus _Asterolecanium_ are represented in Australia
by the introduced “oak scale” _Asterolecanium quercicola_, a typical
form which, half buried in the infested bark at the tips of the
branches, is covered with a waxy, greenish yellow, rounded scale; when
numerous it causes the tips of the branches to die back. _A. acaciae_,
when numerous, aborts the bark and twigs of _Acacia longifolia_ and is
covered with dull brown and white shields; and with _A. stypheliae_,
with its raised, shining, oval, bright yellow tests, found on a number
of different shrubs, are both native species with a very wide range
over Australia.
The Genus _Rhizococcus_ is represented by 8 species, found chiefly
upon the twigs of wattles (_Acacia_) and she-oaks (_Casuarina_); and
the cosmopolitan Genus _Eriococcus_ by 17 species. Several species of
_Eriococcus_ enclosed in their egg-shaped, white-felted sacks are very
common in the forest, clustering over and often killing the young
trees. _Eriococcus coriaceous_ varies from white to yellow in colour;
the sacs are oval, with a distinct anal opening on the summit; they
infest the foliage and twigs of many young Eucalypts. _E. paradoxus_
is a somewhat larger, sticky insect; they mass together in regular
lumps on the twigs of the same trees: while _E. eucalypti_, as far as
my experience goes, is never found on gum trees, as its name implies,
but upon the prickly twigs of _Bursaria spinosa_, and its sacs are more
depressed and have a browner tint.
[Illustration: =Fig. 167.=--_Eriococcus coriaceous_
(Maskell).
The Eucalyptus scale. Natural size and enlarged.
(Original photo. T. Kirk).]
The typical _Dactylopius_ are free-moving insects, often crawling
about until their final stage, when they become covered or surrounded
with flocculent woolly matter. _Dactylopius albizziae_ is common on
the black wattle, and is sometimes a pest in wattle plantations; it
is a blackish-blue berry-shaped coccid surrounded with and lightly
clothed on portions of the dorsal surface with white mealy and woolly
filaments. _D. aurilanatus_ is chiefly confined to the branchlets of
_Araucaria bidwilli_, or “Bunya Bunya.” It is very abundant at times
on these trees in the Sydney gardens, and is easily recognised by the
broad lines of sulphur-yellow meal or down across the dorsal surface.
_D. lobulatus_ is an oval coccid, hiding under loose bark on the trunks
of the blue gum, _Eucalyptus globulus_; it is so thickly clothed with
white mealy secretion forming filaments round the edges that its form
and colour are quite hidden.
In the Genus _Ripersia_ the species have a world-wide range; they
are curious wrinkled naked coccids, but are sometimes more or less
enveloped in a white covering; they lead an underground existence
on the roots of grass and plants: a single species is recorded by
Maskell from S. Australia on the roots of a _Leptospermum_. The curious
_Antonina australis_ is an underground coccid which infests the roots
of the Nut-grass, _Cyperus rotundus_, and was described by Green (Pro.
Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1904) from specimens obtained in the Hunter River
district, N.S.W., where it was so plentiful that in the dry seasons it
killed a great deal of this sedge. The adult female is a rounded black
smooth shining creature about ⅛ of an inch in diameter, enveloped in a
coat of white woolly secretion, from which it can be easily removed.
The legs and antennae are aborted, but the segmental divisions of the
abdomen remain, and the tip is produced into two irregular roughened
tubercles, joined at the base with a tuft of stout bristle-like hairs.
[Illustration: Plate XXXVI.--HOMOPTERA.
Family COCCIDAE.
1. _Tachardia australis_ (Froggatt). On Melaleuca.
2. _Tachardia australis_ (Froggatt). Male and female
tests.
3. _Tachardia australis_ (Froggatt). Female coccid.
4. _Tachardia decorella_ (Maskell). On Eucalyptus.
5. _Tachardia decorella_ (Maskell). Female in test.
6. _Tachardia decorella_ (Maskell). Female exposed.
7. _Tachardia decorella_ (Maskell). Larva.]
[Illustration: _Plate XXXVI.--HOMOPTERA._]
The Sub-family TACHARDIINAE contains a number of remarkable species,
some of considerable commercial value on account of the resinous
secretion they encrust themselves with; this secretion is known as lac,
and is used for making varnish. The typical female is an irregular
wrinkled fleshy mass with a pair of tubular appendages on the back.
These appendages were supposed at one time to be used for producing
the lac, but Green considers them to be breathing structures. Five
species are described from Australia, of which _Tachardia australis_
is so thickly encrusted with reddish brown lac, that it might be
of some commercial value in the future; it is very plentiful upon
Melaleuca bushes near Maryborough, Queensland, but was described by
me from specimens obtained on a small shrub, _Beyeria viscosa_,
at Gunnedah, N.S.W. _T. decorella_ is enclosed in a very dainty,
flattened, ribbed, cushion-like mass of dull slate-coloured lac; it
is found on a number of different trees, among them the water gums
(_Eugenia smithii_); and I have also found it on the desert cypress
(_Callitris_) in the interior.
[Illustration: =Fig. 168.=--_Antonina australis_
(Green).
The Nut-grass Coccid.
1. Nut-grass showing coccid upon the roots.
2. Adult female coccid removed from enveloping cover
(enlarged).]
The Sub-family IDIOCOCCIINAE comprises a number of very curious
coccids, some of which are naked; some form waxy tests; while others
are enveloped in woody galls. Maskell, who created this division, says
they are separated from the MONOPHLEBIINAE by the absence of anal
tubercles and the antennae, and from the BRACHYSCELIINAE by the absence
of anal appendages. The members of the Genus _Sphaerococcus_ number
21 described species, all but two of which are peculiar to Australia;
some form galls, others waxy tests. _Sphaerococcus pirogallus_ cover
the whole of the tips of the bushes of _Leptospermum flavescens_ with
its curious little pear-shaped galls. At first pink or red, these
galls are dull brown when full grown, and have an aperture on the
side of the stalk, and the coccid within is attached to a saucer-like
rim on the roof of the apex. This is one of the commonest galls about
Sydney; acres of these low bushes often have the whole of their foliage
covered with masses of these small galls. _S. melaleucae_ does not
form a gall, but surrounds itself with a dark waxy secretion like the
lac insect; both scales and twigs are often blackened with smut or
fumagine. _L. leptospermi_ forms a swelling in the twig which looks
as if the tissue had risen over it like a blister and then split
down the middle, exposing the dorsal surface. _S. froggatti_ is very
common on the tips of Melaleuca bushes growing about Sydney; the dull
red coccid is clothed with white secretion resting in an excrescence
fringed with slender, reddish brown finger-like processes curling over
in an irregular protective gall. _S. socialis_ produces a very curious
greyish globular gall with no opening on the outside, and measures up
to ½ an inch in diameter. Maskell says: “The outer surface is formed
of very closely imbracted scales, which are apparently aborted and
coalesced leaves of the tree”; the interior is of a loose structure
containing several female coccids, and a few males. It was collected by
Lea near Geraldton, W. Australia.
The Genus _Cylindrococcus_ contains 3 species which form curious
cone-like galls upon the twigs of the She-oak, _Casuarina_.
_Cylindrococcus spiniferus_ varies much in size and shape. They are
often very numerous, covering the whole of the bush with their curious,
rough, bracteate galls, which are rounded at the base and taper to the
extremity. The female, a cylindrical, dull red creature, is enclosed
in an elongate, thin tube, which occupies the centre of the gall; this
tube is attached at the base of the gall and is surrounded with the
bracts. Some of the typical forms might be easily mistaken for seed
cones. _C. amplior_, which is a more solitary species, forms a solid
seed-shaped gall with the base set in a bract like the calyx of a
flower, and the whole might be likened to an unopened bud. It is found
in South Australia and the north-western parts of Victoria.
[Illustration: Plate XXXV.--HOMOPTERA.
Family COCCIDAE.
1. _Apiomorpha duplex_ (Schr.). ♀ Gall.
2. _Sphaerococcus leptospermi_ (Mask.). ♀ Galls.
3. _Cylindrococcus spiniferus_ (Mask.). ♀ Galls.]
[Illustration: _Plate XXXV.--HOMOPTERA._]
The Sub-family BRACHYSCELIINAE contains some of the most remarkable
insects in our fauna. They were first noticed by Schrader (Trans. Ent.
Soc. N.S.W. 1862), who described and figured a number of our commonest
species and their galls; to these I have added a number of new
species (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1892–1898). They are all gall makers;
the beautiful little larva born in the gall is usually yellow, oval,
flattened, and fringed round the margin with short glassy filaments. In
most species the full-grown female has antennae and legs aborted, and
becomes simply a sac of eggs and liquid matter enclosed in a leathery
skin, and is furnished with horny tail appendages.
The Genus _Frenchia_ was formed by Maskell for a species, _Frenchia
casuarinae_, which forms a gall like a stout blunt thorn; it is about
the thickness of a slate pencil and has a small opening at the apex.
These twig-like galls spring directly from the branch of the infested
_Casuarina_, while the aborted tissue at the base swells out like a
blister. The slender, attenuated, red female coccid rests head downward
with the tail reaching up to the apical orifice of the gall. A second
species, _F. semiocculta_, forms a raised swelling on the twigs of
_Casuarina_, with a cleft in the centre, thus forming two lobes. The
first is common in Tasmania, Victoria, and N.S. Wales; the latter was
collected at Manly, near Sydney.
Schrader called the next Genus _Brachyscelis_, but Rubasmann finding
the name preoccupied changed it to _Apiomorpha_; over 30 species are
given in Mrs. Fernald’s Catalogue, but there are several species
described both by Rubasmann and Tepper that were described from
variable or aborted galls that may prove to be synonyms. The female is
remarkable for forming a stout woody gall, sometimes sessile, sometimes
springing from a stalk; it encloses an oval cell with a circular or
transverse aperture at the apex of the gall, through which the male
impregnates her by means of his long slender abdomen. The young larvae
are hatched within its shelter, and crawl out to reach their food
plant. The female is a top-shaped (turbinate) creature encased in a
leathery skin, more or less clothed with fine hairs, enveloped in a
mealy secretion, with rows of fine spines on the dorsal surface of the
abdominal segments, and the body terminating in two horny tails (anal
appendages). The head is merged into the thoracic portion, and has the
ventral surface wrinkled and bearing a rudimentary mouth; the antennae
and legs are aborted. The only distinct specific characters are the
dorsal spines and the form of the anal appendages. The males are
delicate two-winged insects, with long antennae, slender legs, and the
body very long and attenuated, ornamented with two fine filaments. They
either form single short tubular galls on the leaves, or form masses of
the same tubular galls; or they are placed in rows enfolded in a hood
growing from the side of the female gall like a small cockscomb. All
the members of this genus are confined to the eucalypts.
_Apiomorpha duplex_ is the largest insect-gall in the world. Springing
directly from the twig, it swells out into a stout four-sided gall,
1½ inches in diameter, 3 inches in length; beyond this the apex of
the gall is produced into two stout flattened appendages extending
another 9 inches. The enclosed female coccid measures up to 1½ inches.
_A. munita_ forms an angulated gall rounded at the base, with each
angle on the apex furnished with a slender curled horn, but it is very
variable both in form and size. _A. pileata_ is an egg-shaped gall,
with the apex truncate and forming two lips, the apical orifice forming
a keyhole-like slit between them. We have two varieties of this gall,
which in their immature state have a membranous tailed cap covering
the apex which dries and falls off as the gall matures, leaving the
apical orifice exposed. _A. pomiformis_ is shaped like and about the
size and shape of a small apple, with the apical orifice situated in
a depression in the centre. It is a North Australian form, and is
also found on stunted gums in the interior. Specimens of a large gall
received from Tennant’s Creek, Central Australia, with the enclosed
coccid, show that the structure of the coccid is very different from
the _Apiomorpha_ the anal extremity being thimble-shaped, fitting
against the apical orifice, so it will require to be placed in a new
genus. _A. dipsaciformis_ is an oval gall covered with curled filaments
like a “teasel.” In the group in which the male galls are formed on
the side of the oval female gall, _A. pharatrata_ is a typical form;
the female gall is oval, overshadowed with the mushroom-shaped mass of
coalesced tubular galls growing out near the apex.
The female coccids of the Genus _Opisthoscelis_, as they change from
the larval stage, lose almost every vestige of the first two pairs of
legs, while the hind pair are produced into long attenuated appendages,
which in some species (when enclosed in the gall) curve round over
the back like hairs; the whole insect is rounded or top-shaped, with
a peg-shaped anal appendage. Thirteen species are described, all of
which produce galls upon different species of eucalypts. _Opisthoscelis
subrotunda_ is our commonest species; the solid fleshy galls, about
the size of a pea, often cover and abort much of the foliage of the
infested tree. The short rounded coccid fits tightly to the cavity, and
the opening, closed by the tip of the anal peg, is on the under side of
the leaf. Schrader has described the male galls of this species, which
are probably very rare, and I have never been able to discover them.
The short, slender, reddish, tubular galls of _O. spinosa_ are as
plentiful as the curious thorn-shaped female galls, which latter
have the opening at the tip, and are common on the foliage of the
large-leaved ironbark, _Eucalyptus siderophloia_, growing around
Sydney. The female coccid, in this and several of the other gall-making
coccids with the spine or thorn-shaped structure, is firmly attached to
the sides and base of the cavity, and is difficult to remove without
damage. The galls of the Genus _Ascelis_ are often dissimilar in form;
that of _Ascelis praemollis_ is rounded, with the opening on the under
side of the leaf, and except for the shape of the scar and larger size
might without close examination be taken for that of _Opisthoscelis
subrotunda_; but the enclosed insect is a very different looking
creature; it is simply an irregular jelly-like mass, with a short
peg-like structure rising from what looks to be the back, but is the
tip of the abdomen; this structure is produced into three finger-like
projections, which, holding a lump of gummy substance, plug up the
basal opening in the gall. _A. schraderi_, which forms a circular,
flattened, blister-like gall in the tissue of the leaves of _Eucalyptus
corymbosa_, is more flattened, with the anal tail truncate at the apex,
without the curious finger-like appendages, and the anal aperture as
fine as a pin prick is on the upper surface of the leaf.
I have gone somewhat extensively into the description of these
gall-making coccids, owing to the fact that they form such remarkable
structures, and differ from all other solid galls in the fact that
they are formed by the larvae and are not the result of eggs deposited
beneath the plant tissue. Specialists in the study of vegetable growths
may find some key to the mystery of gall development in this fact.
The MONOPHLEBIINAE comprises a number of large “mealy bugs,” so called
because they form no protective scale, but are simply clothed with a
mealy secretion, fine filaments or masses of felted wool. The females
are often of considerable size, and during the greater part of their
existence are capable of crawling about, but when adult and about to
lay their eggs they often become fixed to the food plant. The males
are of the usual two-winged type with long antennae and the tip of the
abdomen fringed with fine filaments. This division has been cut up into
a number of sub-families by Cockerell, and these divisions are given
in Mrs. Fernald’s Catalogue, but here I propose to place them together
under the one sub-family.
[Illustration: =Fig. 169.=--_Pulvinaria maskelli_
(Olliff).
The Saltbush Mealy Bug of the interior.
_a_, Male; _b_, Showing the male enclosed in pupal
test; _c_, Larva; _d_, Ventral view of adult female.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
_Monophlebus crawfordi_ is one of our largest species; the female
measures about 1 inch in length and is broad in proportion; she is dull
orange yellow marked with parallel bars of purple, and fringed round
the edges with fine hairs; and is of a general flattened, broad, oval
form, with the dorsal surface distinctly segmented. She is generally
found clinging to the stem of a smooth-barked eucalyptus tree,
sometimes half hidden under a bit of loose bark and surrounded with
white mealy secretion. When egg-laying she sometimes produces a great
quantity of fine curled cottony filaments forming a mass much larger
than the original size of her body, under which the eggs are deposited.
The Genus _Callipappus_ contains 6 Australian species; the females
are flattened, oval, irregularly segmented coccids of a dull brown
to purplish red tint, which are usually found crawling about on tree
trunks. _Callipappus australe_ was described by Maskell (Pro. Linn.
Soc. N.S.W. 1890) under the generic name of _Coelostoma_, a group
confined to N. Zealand. The male is a beautiful two-winged insect of
a general deep red colour, the wings rose-pink, and the tip of the
abdomen clothed with a large bunch of silky white filaments like a
tuft of spun glass; from this latter character it has received the
fanciful but rather appropriate name of the “Bird of Paradise Fly.” The
female is of an oval, flattened form about an inch in length; the body
is irregularly segmented and lightly clothed with flakes of a mealy
secretion. When depositing her eggs, generally on the trunk of a tree,
she becomes attached to the bark with a patch of silk on the ventral
surface of the body; the body swells irregularly, the extremities of
the abdomen shrink and turn upwards, the whole body later becoming
simply a dry shell. Guérin described a species, _C. westwoodi_, from
West Australia; and Fuller a few years ago re-described this and named
two new species.
_Icerya purchasi_, known as the “Fluted or Cottony Cushion Scale,” was
first described from New Zealand, but had been a well-known pest to
the citrus orchards in California many years before it was discovered
in New Zealand. The adult female is a very distinctive red coccid with
black legs and antennae, and a dull red body with the thoracic portion
flattened and fringed with hairs. She produces a quantity of felted
woolly filaments forming a mass completely covering the abdomen, which
is marked with well-defined parallel furrows and ridges; under this
secretion the eggs are deposited. This scale is found upon several
species of wattles (_Acacia_) in the neighbourhood of Sydney, and on
the roses in the gardens. It does little or no harm in Australia, as
it is very much affected by different species of parasites. Several
other species placed by Maskell in this Genus have been removed.
_Palaeococcus nudata_ is one that he described from Australia on
verbenas and cosmos. I found it to be very abundant on red clover
in the Lismore district, N.S. Wales; it is a smaller oval species
uniformly clothed with mealy secretion. _P. rosae_, described by Riley
as _Icerya rosae_, the “Floridian Scale,” is a convex dull brown
shining coccid with the outer margin fringed with short white tufts.
Though originally described as a rose pest in Florida it is found upon
_Hakea_ and _Grevillea_ bushes in the vicinity of Sydney.
[Illustration: =Figs. 170–172.=--Mealy Bugs.
170. _Callipappus (Coelostoma) australe_ (Maskell). ♂.
The “Bird of Paradise Fly.”
171. _Callipappus australe._ ♀.
172. _Callipappus australe._ ♀. After egg laying.]
[Illustration: 173. _Monophlebus crawfordi_ (Maskell). ♀.
174. _Monophlebus crawfordi_, when she is laying her
eggs, which she covers with felted fluted wool.
(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]
Sub-Order III. ANOPLURA.
Sucking Lice.
These insects are wingless, with a more or less thin integument. The
rather complicated sucking mouth is furnished with hooks; the thoracic
segments are indistinctly divided, and the foot terminates in a single
stout claw. They were usually placed at the end of the HEMIPTERA in the
Order PARASITA; but later investigators consider them so very closely
allied to the true bugs that they are here placed as a Sub-Order.
Burmeister called them PEDICULINA.
Family 1. Sucking Lice.
PEDICULIDAE.
These are purely parasitic upon animals, and derive their food from the
blood of their hosts, which they obtain by puncturing the skin with
their tubular sucking mouth. It is not an extensive family, containing
only about 40 described species included in 6 genera, and they are
widely distributed over the world.
Three species are known to live upon the clothes and skin of unclean
men, the eggs of which, known as nits, are attached to the hairs of
the animal or man infested. From their repulsive habits lice are not
popular insects even for entomologists to take up. Nothing is known
about those infesting the natives of Australia, though it is believed
that the different races of man, particularly savage tribes, are
infested with distinct species of these parasites.
The common head louse, _Pediculus capitis_, is confined to the fine
hairs of the head, seldom or never going on the coarser hair of the
body; the pale-coloured eggs are glued to the hairs, from which
emerge larvae closely resembling the adults. _Pediculus vestimenti_
lives in the clothes of unclean persons, only coming on the skin
to suck up blood; it differs merely in being darker and broader in
general appearance. The Crab-louse, _Phthirius inguinalis_, is a very
short-bodied creature which clings with its large claws to the stouter
hairs of the body. In ancient times all these were very common, and a
loathsome disease called _Phthiriasis_ was said to be due to them. The
domestic animals, hogs, cattle, horses, &c., are infested with distinct
species.
Sub-Order IV. MALLOPHAGA.
Biting Lice.
The classification in which this group should be placed is not yet
definitely settled; Sharp places them in the Order NEUROPTERA between
the PSOCIDAE and the TERMITIDAE: Cholodkovsky combines them with the
sucking lice and creates a new Order, PSEUDORHYNCHOTA (Zool. Anz.
xxvii. 1903); while Kellogg has given them the rank of an Order under
the group name MALLOPHAGA.
They are certainly not lace-wings in the strict sense of the word; and
their habits are so similar to those of the preceding division that I
propose to place them as the fourth group of the Order HEMIPTERA.
They consist of biting lice infesting animals and birds, and feed
chiefly upon the hair, feathers, scales, or excretions of their hosts
by means of stout biting jaws, but are also said to be furnished with
an apparatus enabling them sometimes to suck up the blood. They all
have flattened bodies encased in horny integument, lightly clothed
with stout hairs; the antenna contains from 3 to 5 short joints, and
the eyes when visible are situated behind the antennae; the thorax is
narrow, apparently composed of two divisions; the short stout legs
are provided with 1 or 2 fine claws well adapted to their parasitic
habits. The wings are wanting, and the oval abdomen contains from 9 to
10 segments. They attach their eggs to the hairs or feathers of their
hosts, and the larvae develop upon the body.
Though some members of the group might be confounded with the ANOPLURA,
they are easily distinguished from them by the structure of the mouth,
and the different shaped claws at the extremity of the tarsi. While
the sucking lice are always confined to a particular host, the biting
lice are not so exclusive, for the same species may be found upon
several dissimilar birds or animals, and it is not uncommon for several
distinct species to infest the same host.
A number of European writers have studied and described these parasitic
creatures; Denny (Monographia Anoplurorum Britanniae 1842) described
all the British species, which he illustrated with coloured plates:
Piaget’s “Le Pediculines,” Leyden 1880, is a more important work, and
was followed by a supplement in 1885; the first contains a description
of all the species known up to that date, and the second adds 100 new
species which he had examined. Taschenberg in 1882 published a fine
Monograph, which however was never completed.
In America the chief writers have been Osborn and Kellogg; the
first in Bulletin 7, Division of Entomology U.S. 1891, dealing with
“Insects affecting domestic animals, Chapter v., Mallophaga,” figures
and describes a large number, among them some new species. Kellogg
describes a great many new species (New Mallophaga i., ii., iii.,
1886–89, Proceedings California Academy of Sciences, Vol. vi.),
and also gives a great deal of information about the structure and
classification of these insects. He says: “I propose therefore, in
the light of the present position of the Mallophaga as an independent
order of insects, to rank the Nitzschian families as sub-orders, the
Nitzschian genera as families, and the Nitzschian sub-genera, the
genera of the present day writers, as genera.”
In this classification two sub-orders are created, ISCHNOCERA,
containing two families, viz.: TRICHODECTIDAE, in which the members
have 3 jointed antennae and tarsi with one claw, and found upon
animals; and PHILOPTERIDAE, lice with five jointed antennae and two
tarsal claws, which infest birds. The second sub-order, AMBLYCERA, also
comprises two families, viz.: GYROPIDAE, with four jointed antennae and
one tarsal claw, infesting animals; and second the LIOTHEIDAE, with
four jointed antennae and two tarsal claws, chiefly found upon birds,
but in Australia also found upon marsupials.
There are about 1,000 species of these lice described from all parts
of the world, but the genera are few in number. Very little work has
been done in Australia on the Mallophaga: Piaget described a species
on the wombat for which he created the Genus _Boopia_, naming it _B.
tarsata_ (1880). In his Supplement (1885) he described a second on
the red kangaroo as _Boopia grandis_; and others on Australian birds,
among them _Menopon infumatum_ on the “Laughing Jackass,” and _Menopon
pallipes_ on the “Swamp Quail.”
In 1902 (Victorian Naturalist) Messrs. Le Souëf and Buller published
two papers dealing with these parasites; the first entitled
“Descriptions of some Mallophaga on Australian Birds,” and a second
“Descriptions of some new Mallophaga from Marsupials,” illustrated with
drawings. They describe the kangaroo louse, _Heterodoxus macropus_, as
common upon wallabies and kangaroos in most parts of Australia. The
female is a pale chestnut-coloured insect about 1½ lines in length,
with the typical conical blunt head, 4-jointed antenna, and elongate
oval abdomen fringed with hairs, and barred with black between the
segments. The Genus _Boopia_ contains the wombat louse described by
Piaget, and three other species found on wallabies. A fifth species,
_Latumcephalum macropus_, is also parasitic upon wallabies. The Native
Companion or Australian Crane is infested by a species described
by these writers under the name of _Lipeurus giganteum_; it is of
a uniform dull white colour, with an angular head, and measures ¼
of an inch in length. Three species are found upon the Lyre-bird,
namely: _Lipeurus menura_, _Nirmus menura_, and _Menopon menura_.
The white ibis has a distinct species, and another is found upon
the sulphur-crested cockatoo. The emu is the host of an elongate
dark-coloured species measuring up to 2 lines in length; the “Apostle
Bird” and the “Rosella” parrot have each a distinct parasite.
[Illustration: =Fig. 175.=--The Kangaroo Louse.
_Heterodoxus macropus_ (Le Souëf and Bullen).
(Drawn from the type W.W.F.)]
When these insects are carefully collected probably our fauna will be
found to be rich in curious and interesting forms, judging from the
number of undetermined species in my own collections. They can be very
easily collected in small spirit tubes as soon as the animal or bird
is shot, but like the “Louse-flies” they soon leave the dead body, and
all sportsmen know this to their cost when carrying their game any
distance.
Order IX.--THYSANOPTERA.
These insects are often called PHYSAPODA in allusion to their
bladder-shaped feet; but though some are wingless, the name
THYSANOPTERA seems much more suitable, for all the typical forms have
both pairs of wings beautifully fringed with hair-like filaments, hence
the name “fringe-wings.”
Thrips have few affinities with any of the other orders, and their
exact position in any system of classification has puzzled most
entomologists. The remarkable structure of the mouth, which has
been studied by Messrs. Jordan and Garman, appears to consist of a
compound of biting jaws and a sucking style. Uzel has figured it
in his “Monographie der Ordnung Thysanoptera” 1905, but the exact
manner in which they take their food is not yet clearly understood.
The integument is very thick and opaque, and the head comes to a
cone-shaped point at the mouth adjacent, to the ventral surface of the
sternum, so that the complicated structure of the mouth is difficult to
study. The eggs are laid upon the food plant, and the young undergoing
a series of moults resemble the adult in general form, and the
distinction between the larval and pupal forms, though noticeable, is
very slight.
The members of this Order sometimes appear in immense swarms and do a
great amount of damage to cultivated plants and field crops. They are
widely distributed over the world, and many species are cosmopolitan,
having been spread with the introduction of their food plants. The
group is well represented in Australia by many remarkable and striking
species, some of which form distinct galls. This Order contains the
single family THRIPIDAE.
Family 1. Thrips.
THRIPIDAE.
These are elongate, black, or brown, with 6 to 9 jointed antennae
standing out in front of the head; large eyes; with ocelli (usually
absent in the wingless forms). The elongate head comes to a cone-shaped
point at the extremity; the mouth consists of a pair of jaws with a
pointed style between them. The thorax, as broad or slightly
broader than the body, is elongate, and furnished in the typical forms
with two pairs of delicate oar-shaped wings with a simple medium
parallel vein in the centre of each fore wing, and both pairs fringed
with delicate feather-like filaments; both pairs are attached at
the base to the dorsal surface of the thorax, and when at rest are
folded down the centre of the back. The legs are short and simple, but
sometimes the thighs of the front pair are thickened; the tarsi consist
of two short simple joints, the last bladder-shaped. The abdomen is
slender and is rounded at the extremity, and in one division ends in a
slender tubular process. Most of them are minute creatures; the giant
among them comes from Australia, but this only measures ½ an inch in
length. Though most species are vegetarian in their habits, feeding
upon the surface of plants or the pollen of flowers, a few are said to
devour mites and other tiny creatures.
[Illustration: Plate XXXVII.--THYSANOPTERA.
Family THRIPIDAE.
1. _Idolothrips spectrum_ (Haliday). Giant thrips.
2. _Thrips tabaci_ (Lindeman). Rose and Onion thrips.
3. _Kladothrips rugosus_ (Froggatt). Gall thrips.
4. _Kladothrips rugosus_ (Froggatt). Larva.
5. 5_a_. 5_b_. Various stages of galls
(_K. rugosus_) on Acacia foliage.]
[Illustration: _Plate XXXVII.--THYSANOPTERA._]
In Uzel’s Monograph only 135 species are catalogued, half of which are
European. Haliday (Entomological Magazine 1836) divided all the known
species into two groups or sub-families, viz.: _Terebrantia_, in which
the females have an external toothed ovipositor (including all the
typical European forms); and the _Tubulifera_, in which the ovipositor
is hidden and the tip of the abdomen is produced into an elongated
tubular process (most of our indigenous species fall into this latter
group).
_Heliothrips haemorrphoidalis_, an introduced species, is our commonest
thrips, and is world-wide in its range. It measures about ¹⁄₁₆ of
an inch in length, is stout in proportion; has the head and thorax
rugose, and is of a uniform black tint with very light-coloured wings.
It not only infests and damages a great number of garden plants, but
is spreading to our native bushes, for I have taken them on young
eucalypts far away from any gardens. The Giant Thrips, _Idolothrips
spectrum_, was described by Haliday from specimens collected by Charles
Darwin in 1836; he described the sexes as different species; and a
smaller dark variety was given a third specific name. It is a very
common insect in Eastern N.S.W., hiding among the foliage of dead
eucalypts; when disturbed it runs about with its wings and elongated
body turned upward in the manner of a small “rove beetle.” It has an
extended range from Tasmania to Southern Queensland. I recorded its
life-history (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1904), where the different stages
of development are figured. Its large size, long antennae, elongated
neck-like prothorax, and red spined abdominal segments and tubular
appendage are very distinctive characters.
The most remarkable THRIPIDAE however are those that infest many
of our forest shrubs, such as _Acacia_, _Hakea_, _Callistemon_, and
other scrub trees in Central Australia. These live in galls which they
produce by puncturing the edges of the young leaves and causing them
to curl over; or by attacking the leaf buds and aborting the tips of
the twigs into irregular masses of thin woody galls; or again, the leaf
is pierced from the under side by the female thrips, causing the leaf
to blister on the upper surface, which gradually expands into an oval
or rounded gall as large as a small marble, and into which most of
the leaf is often absorbed, leaving only the leaf stalk and the tip,
which forms a short tail curving up from the basal scar. Many of these
galls are closely packed with small semitransparent larvae and pupae in
all stages of development, the offspring of the single female thrips
that first caused the gall. Noting this remarkable habit of Australian
thrips, so different from that of all other known species, I forwarded
specimens and galls to Dr. Sharp, who notes the fact in the Cambridge
Nat. Hist.: Insects. It seems apparently to be a case of the survival
of the fittest, for in the dry intense summer heat of the interior
these delicate insects could not live on the outer surface of the
foliage, while, enclosed in these galls, they can survive the hottest
and driest season. Species of gall-making thrips have been recorded
recently from Java. Uzel described one of these gall-making species,
_Phloeothrips tepperi_ (Acta Societatis Entomologicae Bohemiae 1905)
from specimens obtained in S. Australia by Tepper, and which form oval
galls upon the “Mulga,” _Acacia aneura_. This species is also common in
the western parts of N.S. Wales upon the same tree, which also bears
two other distinct thrips galls.
I have figured a remarkable rugose gall, obtained near Tamworth, N.S.
Wales, upon a short-leaved acacia (Agricultural Gazette N.S.W. 1906);
the maker of this gall will not fit into any known genus, and therefore
I propose for it the name of _Kladothrips rugosus_. It has an elongate
rounded head, with the thighs of the fore-legs greatly thickened and
the apex of the tibia produced into two blunt claws.
THE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF INSECTS.
A collector’s outfit will vary considerably in different kinds of
country, and depend to a certain extent upon the particular group of
insects he is interested in. But there are some things he will require
on every tramp through the bush. For general collecting the first
thing needed is a strong leather bag; a large-sized school bag that
can be slung over the shoulder is preferred by some entomologists, as
it leaves their hands free; others carry a hand-bag; but a combination
of both, with handle and also swivels to which a shoulder strap can
be attached, is sometimes used, so that it can be carried either way.
I prefer the hand-bag, though it has its disadvantages, and one is
that when shaking or sweeping the scrub it is apt to be left behind,
and time spent in returning for it; and if the scrub is thick, may
have to be searched for. The bag should not be too big, for in a long
day’s tramp it becomes a burden, and if string and paper be carried,
galls, infested twigs, and foliage can always be made up into a bundle
and attached to the bag when an extra good find has been made. Some
collectors have the bag divided into compartments or pockets, which are
very handy at times for bottles and tubes, but it must be borne in mind
that every piece of leather adds weight.
With regard to nets, they must be adapted for the work they are to do;
and first in importance comes the butterfly net. If one is in camp
a simple net can be constructed with a ring of stout fencing wire,
fashioned into a circle with the two ends bent down for about six
inches, and tightly lashed to a straight sapling about eight feet in
length; round the ring is sewn a strip of stout calico, to which is
attached a mosquito net bag about 18 inches long, tapering to a rounded
tip, and about 15 inches in diameter; this net is however a fixture and
cannot be taken to pieces and folded up for travelling. Where nets can
be obtained from dealers’ shops, there are some very neat and handy
ones for packing up in small compass, such as the three fold net. The
handle, like an ordinary light walking stick, is fitted at the end with
a tubular Y; the base of the Y fits on to the handle, and the arm on
either side receives the ends of the cane ring; the cane is shod with
brass and jointed in three places, and there is a sheath to draw over
each joint to form the ring; the net is then slipped on. A short stick
is handy for many things; but when necessary a long sapling can be cut
for a net-stick.
[Illustration:
=Fig. 176.=--Collecting Net for Butterflies showing the
ring fitted into ferrule; and folded up.]
For catching wasps, flies, and other small insects a little hand-net
about nine inches in diameter, made of mosquito net and a bit of
fencing wire, is much more handy than the large butterfly net. When
dragging water-holes or creeks a bag of cheese-cloth placed on the
butterfly net ring will be found very serviceable, and will stand
much rough use. A stout umbrella will be found one of the most useful
collecting appliances when hunting in scrub or forest country. If
the bushes are beaten or shaken with one hand while holding the open
umbrella below them, the collector will be surprised at the number
of fine things, large and small, that come tumbling down into the
umbrella, including many that he would never see otherwise. In the
dry western scrubs I find the early hours of morning between daylight
and eight o’clock to be the best time for beating and shaking, as
everything that falls then is more or less torpid; later in the
day they begin to get very active and fly off when disturbed. Some
collectors go to the trouble of having a special umbrella made of white
material or lined with calico, so that the fallen insects can be more
easily noticed, but the advantage is slight. Mr. Masters suggests the
use of a sheet spread under the bushes, and the whole tree beaten and
shaken. This method in suitable country has its advantages.
The killing bottles come next in importance, and the first and most
commonly used is the cyanide bottle. An empty 1 oz. quinine bottle
makes one of a very serviceable size, but any other light wide-mouthed
bottle will answer the purpose. Place a piece of cyanide of potassium
about 1½ inches square and ½ an inch in thickness at the bottom of the
bottle, and then pour in enough liquid plaster of Paris to embed and
cover it; drain off any surplus moisture with blotting paper; and when
the plaster is set hard, close the bottle with a tight-fitting cork.
It is an advantage to coat the top of the cork with red sealing-wax,
so that if it is dropped or left behind, the bright cork will make
it more conspicuous. Young collectors may get the insects covered
with particles of damp plaster and perhaps spoilt; to prevent this,
the plaster should be covered with scraps of paper, moss, dry grass,
or some such material, to absorb the moisture and keep the specimens
clean. The dead insects should always be turned out of the cyanide
killing bottle on returning from a day’s hunt, for if kept long in the
bottle they will often become more or less discoloured.
[Illustration: =Fig. 177.=--Glass-bottomed Box, handy
for catching small moths.]
A killing bottle favoured by museum and professional collectors is a
similar bottle, but, instead of using cyanide, a pad of cotton wool is
placed in the bottom, on to which some chloroform is poured to charge
the bottle. But when collecting is brisk and the cork constantly being
taken out for fresh captures, the chloroform evaporates, and the bottle
must be re-charged at intervals. When one is collecting different kinds
of small specimens it is advisable to carry several small tubes charged
with chloroform, and if a circular pad of blotting paper be carefully
cut and pressed down on the wadding, the little creatures will not
get their legs and antennae tangled in the fibre of the cotton. If
delicate winged insects remain long in the moist atmosphere of the
tube, their wings stick to the sides or curl up, so that it is wise
to turn them out every now and then into pill boxes carried for the
purpose, and any special treasures should be rolled up in soft paper.
At one time most English entomologists used chopped laurel leaves in
the bottle instead of cyanide; this foliage gives off a certain amount
of hydrocyanic acid vapour, sufficient to kill insects, at the same
time keeping them clean and relaxed so that they are easily mounted.
[Illustration: =Fig. 178.=--Killing Bottle
In which a piece of cyanide of potassium is placed, and then
covered with plaster of Paris.]
The collector’s bag should contain several empty tins of all shapes
and sizes, to carry the hundred and one things found in a day’s
collecting, such as live larvae, cocoons, galls, eggs, &c. When hunting
for small moths the lepidopterist always carries a pocket full of
small glass-bottomed boxes; the glassed portion is used to slip over
the resting moth, which, when disturbed, at once flies upward to the
glass, and the lid of the box is slipped under. These delicate little
creatures are taken home alive, and can be killed in a jar and mounted
while quite fresh. A stock of small tubes containing methylated spirit
can be packed in one of the empty tins; these are very necessary to
keep separate from one another specimens of ants, termites, or other
insects taken direct from their nests. On a long trip one also wants
a larger bottle or jar of spirit in which scorpions, millepedes,
centipedes, and such-like creatures can be stored.
[Illustration: =Fig. 179.=--Chloroform Tube, used for
killing small, delicate insects.]
[Illustration:
=Fig. 180.=--Butterfly set upon corked and grooved board
to show the process of mounting.]
When timber is found infested with beetle or moth larvae, it should be
secured and brought home, where it can be placed in a tin trunk, glass
jar, or proper breeding cage and the perfect insects bred out. When
engaged at this very profitable work a small hatchet and hand saw are
needed to cut the branches. At all times a stout old butcher’s-knife
should be among the kit, as it is useful for digging round the roots of
trees and under logs, tearing bark off tree trunks, and if it be jagged
on one edge will make a rough saw. A newspaper or two is handy for many
things, among others to make envelopes in which to place butterflies.
Specimens collected in camp must be kept in good condition until
they can be properly mounted at home; in a dry country this is not
difficult, but in the wet season in a semi-tropical climate both
botanical and entomological specimens are very liable to damage.
Most collectors put all the hard-bodied insects such as beetles
into a wide-mouthed jar of methylated spirits, where they will keep
indefinitely, but any beetles that are clothed with fine hairs or
floury pubescence should be carefully pinned in a box, and, unless very
large, will dry quickly. Some entomologists place their captures of
this kind in clear carbolised sawdust in tins or jars: I have packed
small specimens in circular tins in the following manner:--First a
layer of camphor covered with a circular sheet of blotting paper
fitting close into the tin, then the insects fresh from the killing
tubes, and after sprinkling the insects with camphor a layer of
blotting paper, and so on. Thus many thousands of micro-coleoptera,
hemiptera, &c., could be securely packed and added to day by day until
the tin was full, when a wad of cotton wool was placed on the last
sheet of paper, and the tin put aside or posted to its destination.
With regard to butterflies, the collector can generally see whether
they are good or damaged specimens as soon as they are taken out
of the net; if the latter, he should let them go (unless unique or
rare forms), for an imperfect or rubbed butterfly is comparatively
valueless. If it be a perfect specimen, the wings should be folded
together over the back, and a sharp nip on the thorax between the
fingers will kill it in a moment. Each specimen should be placed in a
folded paper envelope, made by crossfolding an oblong piece of soft
paper in the shape of a triangle and folding down the overlapping
edges. Packed side by side, a square tin will hold hundreds of these
paper envelopes, which can be stored in this manner indefinitely
or till the collector is ready to relax and set them. Thousands of
butterflies are sent in these papers from all parts of the world to
London for sale, and are usually disposed of at so much per hundred.
Moths cannot well be treated in this manner on account of the thickness
of their bodies and the looseness of the scales upon their wings;
they have therefore to be pinned in a corklined box as they are
collected, but later on can be relaxed and their wings set as with the
butterflies. When we come to the tiny moths known as MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA,
we find they require special treatment, and most lepidopterists take a
box fitted with narrow setting boards, when out for a few days, and set
their captures every evening before they become stiff, for otherwise
many make very unsatisfactory specimens.
In collecting HYMENOPTERA the different groups need special treatment;
and where there are several sexes dissimilar in size and structure they
should be carefully kept together. Ants are always best collected from
their nest, and a number of specimens of the different sexes secured
and placed in a tube of methylated spirits. The locality and date
should be written with a hard lead pencil upon a slip of paper and
placed in the tube with them. A series can afterwards be sorted out and
mounted, the large ones on pins and the smaller on gummed card. Wasps
should be pinned, and when the forms with wingless females (Thynnidae
and Mutillidae) are obtained _in copula_, a very common state in
midsummer, they should be captured and killed together and the paired
insects mounted with a check mark on each pin beside the locality and
date label, so that no mistake can be made as to their identity.
The bulk of the HEMIPTERA will with their hard integument carry
well in spirit or carbolised sawdust. Some of the more delicate of
the HOMOPTERA, such as the Psyllidae, Aphidae, and Coccidae (Scale
insects), should be collected with their food plant. They can be
obtained in various stages of their development; the perfect insects
can be bred in confinement upon their food plants. They should be
mounted on card when fresh, but, if not, can be placed in the camphor
tin or even a dry tube plugged with cotton wool, but if the tube be
corked they will spoil, owing to the moisture generated within the
tube. In the case of scale insects, portions of the leaves, bark, or
twigs infested with the tests of the injects can be cut to a uniform
size and mounted with gum or small pin on card, and if mounted
carefully make very neat specimens. Many of the larger HOMOPTERA, such
as cicadas, fulgorids and frog-hoppers, can be mounted, with the wings
outspread, but should not go into spirits.
ORTHOPTERA, particularly the large phasmids, are very unsatisfactory
creatures to deal with when captured; often too large to go into a
killing bottle, they have to be brought into camp alive. If a female,
it may be kept a while to lay its eggs, as they are very interesting
objects. The eggs can be mounted on card or placed in a small pill box
and pinned beside the insect in the box. These insects, as well as all
large grasshoppers, should be cut down the abdomen on the under side
and the contents removed with forceps; a little paris green should then
be sprinkled inside or some weak corrosive sublimate applied with a
brush; then a wad of cotton wool should be pushed into the cavity to
give shape to the empty body when it dries. In the case of the larger
cockroaches, which are often very brittle when cleaned and dried, a
bit of sheet cork instead of cotton wool can be shaped for a false
body, coated with gum and slipped in; when pinned through the cork it
makes a very firm specimen. Some collectors mount their grasshoppers
and other orthoptera with the wings outspread, and as show specimens
they look best, but take up a great deal of room; others mount the
wings on one side, and leave the others folded down in their natural
condition in repose, so that some idea is given of the natural form,
and the outspread wings can also be examined for specific differences.
In collecting phasmids and stick insects for transmission by post or
packing in small space, the best plan is to get a slender stick and lay
the insect along it with outstretched legs and folded wings, and then
wind soft worsted thread round it from end to end; it can be unwound
and mounted properly when received at its destination. Orthoptera
should not be put into spirit with other specimens, as they lose their
colour, become soft, and break up easily; they will however travel well
in a 5 per cent. solution of formalin; this has a hardening effect and
only alters the colour slightly unless the insects are kept in it for a
considerable time. If kept in formalin for say a week and then packed
in sawdust they will not rot or spoil as they often do when killed and
packed before they are dried.
NEUROPTERA are delicate creatures, and many of them keep best if killed
and placed in papers as in the case of butterflies, unless there is
room to pin them in a store box. The bodies of the dragon-flies rot
very quickly and break off very easily; if carefully handled they
can be placed _alive_ in papers with their wings folded over their
backs, and will remain alive for several days, long enough to travel a
considerable distance by post when dispatched direct to a specialist,
who will then receive them with their natural colours. If kept in the
store box it is advisable to impale the slender body with a bristle
or grass stem, inserting it at the front of the thorax and pushing it
through to the tip of the abdomen, but not far enough to injure the
anal appendages. Many specimens can be pinned in the store boxes with
the wings closed, and relaxed and mounted with outspread wings months
afterwards.
DIPTERA is another group that requires delicate manipulation,
particularly such species as “daddy-long-legs” (_Tipulidae_),
mosquitoes (_Culicidae_), &c. When Skuse was collecting he always
carried a pocket-box containing pinned card slips of various lengths,
and a tube of gum, and, after killing the insects in a chloroform
tube, he mounted them at once while they were flexible and the legs not
detached. Theobald mounts his mosquitoes on fine pins, which are pushed
from beneath through a circular piece of cardboard (these circular
cards are stamped out with a wad-cutter); the legs are spread out and
an ordinary pin pushed through the circle to pin them in a cabinet. The
larger flies are pinned dry in the ordinary manner, and the smaller
ones are carded.
* * * * *
ANIMAL PARASITES, which belong to quite a number of groups, are
obtained on the live birds or mammals as soon as they are shot. When
the animals are dead the parasites leave the bodies as soon as they
begin to get cold. They should be transferred at once to small spirit
tubes, in which should also be placed a slip of paper upon which is
written in lead pencil the name of the mammal or bird upon which it was
taken, the date of capture, and the locality.
* * * * *
LAMP AND NIGHT COLLECTING.--In suitable localities a great haul of
insects can often be obtained on a warm sultry summer night by laying
a sheet on the ground with a powerful lamp on it and hanging another
sheet behind the lamp; the insects are attracted to the light, and
falling on the sheet are then easily captured. In camp many fine
insects may be obtained round the lamp or camp fire; and during the wet
seasons in North Queensland and the north coast of Australia I have
taken many rare insects in this manner.
SUGARING is greatly practised in Europe; a suitable spot in a forest
being chosen, a mixture of sugar and beer that have been boiled
together is smeared upon the tree trunks and fences; at night-fall the
ground is visited with a bull’s-eye lantern, and the insects (moths
chiefly) that come to feed are captured, sometimes in great numbers.
This has been tried by our collectors in Australia; but I have never
had any success myself nor heard of anyone here who has had better
fortune.
TRAPPING.--When settled down in a fixed collecting camp many beetles
and other insects can be obtained by trapping. If in brush or forest
land a number of empty jam or milk tins with the tops cut neatly off
are buried, with the edges level with the surface of the ground, many
carnivorous ground beetles tumble in, and will be found there on
going round in the morning. If a bone or bit of meat be placed at the
bottom of the trap, it often attracts certain beetles that feed on
such food. In the same manner a dead bird or small animal half buried
in the ground, or placed under a sheet of bark or log, will prove an
attractive bait for the burying beetles and other curious and often
rare species; a dead animal should therefore be always investigated by
the beetle hunter, as it often hides entomological treasures.
Fallen timber always has a great attraction for all bark-feeding
weevils, longicorns, and other small wood-borers that come to it as
soon as the bark begins to wither. Here also come Cleridae, Antribidae
and other carnivorous beetles to feed upon the smaller wood-borers, and
many an hour can be profitably spent over a large fallen tree or bit of
brush a few days after it has been chopped down, particularly in the
tropical scrubs. Slicing the bark of living trees that exude any sap,
and letting the bark hang down, attracts insects that feed on the sap
or take shelter under loose bark; a number of such blazed tree trunks
round a camp is a great source of revenue, particularly in the summer.
There are many other devices that the collector will only gain by
experience in the field, which will enable him to obtain many curious
specimens that a novice would never find.
MOUNTING, SETTING, AND STORING.--Having collected specimens, the
next question is the storage of the insects. All entomological
specimens (other than those kept in spirit tubes) must be preserved
in close-fitting boxes lined with cork, linoleum, or other suitable
substance, and the lining covered with clean white paper pasted over
it. Many different kinds of store boxes are used by entomologists who
cannot afford the luxury of cabinets; most of them are made of deal,
with hinges in the centre; the two sides of the box fold together,
fitting closely over a rim along the inner edge of one half; and they
are fastened with two hooks on the outside. These English boxes made of
light pine can be obtained in Sydney; they fit beautifully and are much
lighter than the local ones made of kauri, but are slightly dearer. To
make a useful store box, nail down the lid of a large-sized cigar box
(cleaning, sandpapering, and varnishing it); cut the box through the
centre with a fine saw, and then fit a projecting rim into one half
with wood from another cigar box, so that the two halves fit close
together over the rim without needing catches. This is handy only for a
temporary store box, as it is rather difficult to get the two halves to
fit accurately, and when made is rather small and deep.
Specimens should be pinned or mounted on cards on a uniform plan;
nothing looks worse than insects mounted in different styles. Except
the smaller specimens, beetles and other insects should be pinned, and
the most serviceable pins are perhaps Kirby, Beard and Co.’s Nos. 1
and 5, though there are several useful intermediate sizes. When an
insect is too delicate to pin with either of these, mount it on card,
for more insects are lost or damaged through mounting with slender
pins that refuse to stick into the cork, and curl up or buckle in the
middle, than in any other manner. There are however many professional
naturalists who always use the soft, slender, very fine, Continental
pins, but they require very delicate handling, and are not suitable
for the general collector. There is a great difference of opinion as
to how insects should be set and pinned; many, particularly English
naturalists, advocate low setting, while most of our collectors set all
insects high, as the insects when thus pinned are raised well above
the bottom of the box, and their legs and antennae are not so liable
to get broken; all mites, dust and dirt will be noticed at once; and
the name affixed beneath can be read without removing the insect. In
the case of low setting, the insects are resting on the floor of the
box; they are liable to damage with the least bump; anthrenus and mites
can feed away under cover without being seen until the remains of the
infested specimen fall apart; the insect has to be lifted up every time
to see its name; while the locality and date-label is always liable to
fall off. My standard height (first suggested to me by Mr. Masters to
use when working in the Macleay Museum, Sydney) is the lid of a wax
matchbox, which is about ¾ of an inch. A small hole is pierced through
the centre of the lid; the beetle is placed on the top of the lid, and
the pin pressed through it and the hole in the lid until the point
touches the table beneath. The pin, in the case of a beetle, should
be pushed through the upper half of the elytron (wing cover) on the
right-hand side when the head is facing the same way as the person
mounting, the pin coming out on the under surface between the middle
and hind legs. The antennae and legs may be arranged with pins, but,
during the season in Australia, insects are so plentiful that there is
not always time to more than roughly open them out.
In the case of insects too small to pin, they are carded. Sheets of
the best white cardboard (little thicker than that of a visiting card)
are cut into neat strips of uniform width and length for different
specimens. No. 1 pins are run through the cards at one end to bring
the under side of the card the same height up the pin as the under
surface of the directly pinned insect. To give the little card mounts
a finished appearance the card used in my collections is ruled with a
double line of red ink, the first thick and the inner line fine; each
strip of card is cut along the thick red line, and the pin is pushed
through the red band. Where one has more than a single specimen, two
or more can be mounted side by side on the same card, with their legs
and antennae neatly set out, one with the dorsal surface uppermost,
and the second one gummed with the reverse side upward, so that the
specific characters of both sides of the insect can be examined without
having to remove the specimen from the card.
Moths, butterflies, cicadas, lace-wings and other large winged insects
when fresh, or after they have been relaxed, are pinned down on setting
boards; the body should rest in the parallel groove down the centre
of the board, and the wings should be opened out and strapped down on
either side with braces of paper or cardboard. The wings should be
expanded in a natural manner, and so that the whole of the venation
and beauty of the wings are shown. A setting board is simply a strip
of soft pine wood with two sheets of cork gummed on the upper surface,
with a groove between them to receive the body; fine white paper is
pasted over the whole of the board. They are made of various sizes to
suit both large and small moths. Most of the old setting boards had the
cork rounded so that the wings drooped downwards; afterwards many used
them with the outer side turning upward so that the wings were raised
at the extremities; those in general use now are perfectly flat.
All these insects are easily relaxed by placing them between damp
blotting paper on the top of some wet sand in a plate, and covering
them over with a bell glass or similar vessel; within twenty-four hours
they are limp enough to be pinned and their wings opened out without
any danger.
NUMBERING AND LABELLING.--Every specimen, as soon as it is mounted,
should have a small label attached to the pin; this can be written with
a fine-pointed pen on small slips of paper as distinctly as possible,
with the exact locality in which the insect was collected, the date
of capture, the name or initials of the collector, and the food plant
when known. It is however sometimes better to pin a second slip below
for the food plant and a distinctive catalogue number. Every young
naturalist starting a collection should have consecutive numbers on
each series of specimens he collects, and keep a note-book or stock
register, in which to enter any information about the insect bearing
the number. These notes in the course of time will become more and
more valuable, and give an added value to the collection. Many young
naturalists may think of labels only as a record of the collector’s
name, but the locality and food plant are the important points, and to
the working entomologist a collection of Australian insects without
any such records have lost half their value. The label is placed on the
top of the matchbox lid, and the pin bearing the specimen is pushed
through to bring the label about halfway between the specimen and the
point of the pin, which allows of the label being easily read, and when
uniformly placed adds to the neat appearance of the collection. I have
mentioned a matchbox lid as a standard height for mounting specimens,
but when constantly at work something more solid is required. Take a
small block of soft deal wood about 4 inches in length by 2 in width,
and just under ¾ of an inch in height; bore two or three holes through
it at one end, tack a sheet of white cardboard over the top, and above
this at one end tack a slip of cork 1½ inches in width; then make holes
through the cardboard above the holes bored in the deal block, and you
have an excellent mounting table to work upon.
An entomologist does not require much apparatus after his boxes and
setting boards, but one indispensable article is a pair of strong
entomological forceps with curved tips; the curved extremities allow of
the pin being gripped below the insect when fixing it in or lifting it
out of the box. These in the hands of an expert are as good as an extra
pair of fingers, both for moving about specimens and picking up pins.
A second fine-pointed pair of forceps is useful for handling specimens
when mounting, or for picking up small active insects under logs and
stones. Two needles mounted in pen handles are invaluable for arranging
the legs and antennae when being set. Fine-pointed paint brushes for
cleaning dust and dirt from the insects are used; and a pair of pointed
scissors are necessary for opening the large-bodied insects, cutting
mounting cards, labels and such-like. A pocket lens should be always
at hand, for without it one loses half the beauty and details of
structure, and it would often be difficult to classify the specimens.
Later on, the entomologist will find a dissecting microscope, which
leaves both hands free to work, an indispensable part of his outfit.
A bottle of gum is another requisite, and different recipes are given
in manuals on the subject; at one time a mixture of tragacanth gum was
generally used, but the great objection to its use is that, though very
fine and transparent, it is very difficult to remove from the specimen
when necessary to remount or to detach it for examination. The mixture
now generally used is made of clean lumps of gum arabic dissolved in
water to the consistency of thin honey, with a little ground lump sugar
added; a few drops of carbolic acid are added, which, though apt to
discolour it if much is used, will keep the mixture sweet, and prevents
mould getting on the specimens. The gum should always be kept corked
to prevent dust being introduced, which would show very readily on the
mount.
* * * * *
CARE OF COLLECTIONS.--After the collections are formed, the insects
pinned, labelled, and placed in their natural groups, one’s work is by
no means finished; thousands of valuable specimens, and even types,
have been irretrievably damaged or completely destroyed from want
of a little care in preserving them from mites and museum beetles
(_Anthrenus_). The specimens may be perfectly clean and stored in
close-fitting boxes, and yet later may become infested, by the addition
of specimens that have been in an infested collection. It is advisable
to keep a receiving box in which to place exchanged specimens for
some time before setting out in the collections; as a general rule a
collector eagerly adds any new specimen to his collections, and so at
the same time may introduce _Anthrenus_, often in the egg state, whose
little hairy larvae will rapidly destroy his insects. Some collectors
contend that they can preserve their specimens from the attacks of
museum pests by dipping them in a very weak solution of corrosive
sublimate in spirits of wine; but this can only be effectively done
in the case of beetles and other hard-bodied creatures, for it must
be remembered that this chemical is apt to affect the metallic and
bright-coloured tints of the specimens, and will even corrode the pins.
Camphor and napthaline kept in a muslin bag or cell in the corner of
the insect box will poison the air and certainly kill all mites, and
will keep some pests out; but _Anthrenus_ are able to live in this
poisoned atmosphere, and will still carry on the work of destruction.
Having once found _Anthrenus_ among the specimens, no time should be
lost before destroying them: a wad of cotton wool should be pinned in
the corner of the box, and chloroform or bisulphide of carbon poured
over it, and the box kept closed for about twenty-four hours, when it
should be again opened, all dead _Anthrenus_ shaken out, the remains
of damaged insects removed, and the most injured specimens (if common)
burnt. Another method when _Anthrenus_ are found is, to hold the
open box or drawer in front of the fire for a few moments, when the
pests, even if feeding within the insects, will wriggle out and can be
destroyed. When once a box has been infested it will require constant
attention for months after.
MOULD is also difficult to get rid of when once it appears in a box. If
all insects are well dried before they are placed in the boxes, and the
boxes kept in a dry place, there should be no mould among the contents,
but if a few damp or mould-infested insects be placed in a clean box
the mould may spread and eventually affect the whole collection,
especially if the room is inclined to be damp. When mould appears, the
affected insects should be cleaned with a brush dipped in benzine, and
a few drops of carbolic acid should be poured on a piece of cotton wool
in the box.
GREASE is often a great trouble to the collector. Many of the large
wood-moths, particularly the bodies, sometimes get into a very bad
state if not cleaned out thoroughly; and also on old specimens of
beetles the grease develops verdigris, corroding the pins. Soaking all
such specimens in benzine will soften the grease so that it can be
rubbed off with a soft brush.
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND TYPES.
The type of a species is the actual specimen from which the published
description has been drawn up by the entomologist; and the care and
safe custody of such types should be the aim of every naturalist and
museum curator. In the case of insects, they are often such delicate
creatures that the type is very easily destroyed or damaged, either by
careless handling, bad storage, or from the attacks of museum mites and
pests; and at the present time, since many insect types have been thus
lost or destroyed, often doubt exists as to which particular insect
in the group is the species defined by the author, especially where
the written description, as in many cases, is brief or incomplete.
Many large private collections have been made by entomologists in
which there are numbers of types either described by the owner, or of
specimens he has obtained and submitted to specialists. Some of these
collections have afterwards been broken up, sold, and distributed, so
that it is now very difficult to trace the whereabouts of many types
that do exist. Every year brings more independent entomologists into
the ranks of the describers, so that our insects are being described
in all parts of the world; and though the importance of types is much
better understood than it used to be, the ultimate resting place of
many of these types is very uncertain.
The proper place for every type is in the cabinet of some accredited
museum, though unfortunately there are some museums where the
collections of insects are no safer than they are in private hands,
either from want of proper storage or the lack of a special curator.
Yet if it were an understood thing that the types of each specialist
would be placed in the museum of his country, there would be some hope
of them being available for the use of future students.
The drawbacks to such a disposal of types are that most entomologists
when they monograph a group intend to follow up the work as new
material comes to hand, which occurs when through their publications
collectors begin to forward specimens for identification; so that the
types are often required by entomologists for supplementary papers.
Again, each insect as soon as it becomes a type has a certain
commercial value, and as most naturalists are poor men, this enhanced
value is a consideration, and it would be hardly fair to expect them
to give away valuable assets. The best way to get over the difficulty
would be for each museum to have a sum of money put aside to purchase
all types at a certain fixed rate, and with an understanding that no
types go out of their native country before they have been submitted to
the museum authorities.
It is very unfortunate that many of the early and most prolific writers
never definitely marked their type-specimen when it was described,
simply returning it to the cabinet with the new name either on the pin
or below it; and where there has been a series of the same species, and
some assistant affixed the names, the recognised type may be a co-type.
Co-types are very valuable when they are determined by the describer
from the same species, but some writers have the bad habit of treating
co-types as types, which leads to much distrust and confusion.
Every type should if pinned have a second label besides the ordinary
label placed well up on the pin, and bearing the word “type,” with the
date, initials of the author, and name of the insect on the reverse
side, so that as long as the specimen is in existence there can be no
doubt as to it being a type.
I therefore propose in the following pages to give some brief notes
upon our Museum Collections, with reference to the types they contain;
and also to refer to those types in private collections. To work out
the location of the Australian type-specimens and collections in
British and foreign museums would require a book to itself, but the
destination of a few types of the more important collections can be
indicated.
Through the kindness of the Curators of the different Australian
Museums and many interested friends, I have been enabled to gather much
valuable information about the early collections made in Australia, and
their final destinations.
THE MACLEAY MUSEUM, Sydney, contains the finest general collection of
Australian insects that exists, and is rich in types; it also contains
a large series of insects from all parts of the world, among which
are some historical specimens. Unfortunately here also the types of
many species cannot be distinguished from their co-types, as they
bear no distinctive type-labels. The entomological collections of the
Macleay Museum are the accumulated gatherings of three distinguished
naturalists. It was originally commenced by Alexander Macleay, who,
when he left England to come to Sydney in 1825, had one of the
finest and most extensive collections of insects at that time in the
possession of any private individual. He added to this many Australian
species, some of which still bear his labels. His son, William Sharp
Macleay, inherited this collection on the death of his father in 1848,
and added to it, bequeathing it to his cousin, Sir William Macleay,
on his death in 1865. Sir William Macleay, to whom the foundation of
the Macleay Museum as a general zoological museum is due, began to
accumulate insects in 1861, when Mr. Masters went to Port Denison,
Queensland, to collect for him; Masters afterwards went on several
extended collecting expeditions in Queensland, South and Western
Australia, and the specimens collected by him were chiefly described
by Macleay, though the actual types of many of the insects were in the
early days placed in the Australian Museum, Sydney. The types of those
collected by me at Cairns, N. Queensland, in 1886, and at King’s Sound,
N.W. Australia, 1887–8, are in the Macleay Museum, also the other
Macleay types described in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of
N.S.W., except a few that are said to be in the Brisbane Museum. Mr.
Lea informs me that some of Bates’ types of the _Tenebrionidae_ are in
the Macleay Collections. The types of all the _Staphylinidae_ loaned
for description to Olliff are in this Museum; the others described by
Olliff are in the Australian Museum. In the Macleay Museum are also
Skuse’s types of Australian _Diptera_, as described in the Proceedings
of the Linnean Society of N.S.W., and which are distinctly marked and
mounted, and in a fine state of preservation. Lea’s type-specimens of
_Coleoptera_, described from unique specimens in this museum on loan,
are in this museum; while all his other types, with the exception of a
few in the National Museum in Melbourne, are in his own collections.
Dr. Jefferis Turner informs me that a few of Meyrick’s type of
_Micro-lepidoptera_ are in the Macleay Museum; but Mr. Masters and I
examined a number that Meyrick named for Macleay, and there is nothing
to indicate that there are any types among the specimens.
Two specimens of Sawflies (_Tenthredinidae_) described by me, and
most of the types of the _Cicadidae_ described by Dr. Goding and
myself (with the exception of those types derived from specimens
loaned from the Victorian and Adelaide Museums and returned thereto)
are in this museum collection; also Marsham’s types of _Notoclea_
(_Paropsis_), containing many of our commonest species as described in
the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London in 1818, are in this
collection, and also, it is said, some of Boisduval’s types.
THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, Sydney, was founded in 1836 and incorporated by
Act of Council in 1853. The first collection of insects was made by Mr.
Roach of Petty’s Hotel about 1835, who presented it to the Government;
they were exhibited in the “Round House” near Circular Quay, where they
were placed in charge of W. S. Wall, afterwards the first Curator of
the Australian Museum.
The types now in the collections contain Macleay’s Gayndah Collection
obtained by G. Masters, and described by Sir William Macleay in the
Transactions of the Entomological Society of N.S. Wales. Some of
Macleay’s _Coleoptera_ from Port Denison, and South and West Australian
specimens also collected by Masters are said to be in the Australian
Museum, but a number of the latter are said by Mr. Masters to be in the
Macleay Museum.
Macleay never affixed a type-label to his specimen, and if there were a
series of the same species he never indicated the type, so that it is
only where there was a single specimen that we can be positive which
specimen is the type; and further confusion arises as he presented many
specimens to the Australian Museum from his own collections. Scott’s
Lepidoptera (still kept as a separate collection) comprise the types
described by him, and are the identical butterflies and moths figured
in his work, “Australian Lepidoptera,” 1864.
Olliff’s types of _Coleoptera_ and _Lepidoptera_ described while he
was the museum entomologist are in the museum collections, with the
exception of the _Staphylinidae_ previously mentioned and a few others
described from Macleay Museum specimens, one or two types that went to
Jansen, London, in whose collection they are now said to be, and two
butterfly types said to be in South Africa.
King’s types of _Coleoptera_, collected by himself, and which he
described in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of N.S.W.,
were purchased by the Trustees of this museum after his death. Many
of the smaller ones are mounted in balsam on glass slips; others are
pinned and carded; and though some of the types have vanished owing to
insect pests, they are on the whole in fairly good condition.
Types of all the specimens described by both Skuse and Rainbow in the
Records of the Australian Museum are in the collections; and also one
of G. A. Waterhouse’s types (_Lepidoptera_) and a number of Sloane’s
type _Carabidae_.
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, Melbourne, was formed early in 1854, and
temporarily housed in the Melbourne University buildings in August,
1856, under the charge of the late Director, Professor (afterwards) Sir
Frederick McCoy. The old museum situated in the University grounds was
completed early in 1864, and the collections placed in it in March of
that year.
The Entomological Collection was commenced about 1861 by the late
William Kershaw, under whose charge it was placed with other of the
zoological collections until his retirement in August, 1891. He was
succeeded by his son, J. A. Kershaw, who is the present Curator of the
Zoological Collections.
In the formation of the entomological collections no professional
collectors were engaged, but specimens were obtained by purchase,
exchange and donation from various sources. By the latter the Messrs.
Kershaw were probably the largest contributors.
The collection of general entomological specimens from all parts of the
world is an extensive one occupying 31 cabinets. It contains several
well-known collections, of which the most important is the “Curtis
Collection of British Insects,” which was purchased by the National
Museum authorities in 1863. It occupies 5 large mahogany cabinets, four
of which contain British Insects of all orders, among them many of
Curtis’ types (described in his work on British Insects); and the fifth
cabinet of 50 drawers contains a general collection of exotic insects.
Nothing has been removed from this collection, which is in an excellent
state of preservation, and remains exactly as Curtis left it 45 years
ago. Curtis’ MS. Register or Catalogue of this collection, comprising
4 quarto volumes, is also the property of the National Museum. Some
interesting notes on the Curtis Collection were published by J. J.
Walker, R.N., in the Entomological Monthly Magazine, 1904.
The “Howett Collection” made by Dr. Howett, consisting of Australian
Coleoptera, was bequeathed to the Melbourne University by its founder,
with a condition that it must be kept intact, and nothing added to,
or taken from it. It was handed over to the National Museum by the
University authorities in April, 1904, on loan, together with Dr.
Howett’s library of entomological works. This collection is contained
in 10 cabinets, and includes a large number of types of Australian
insects, principally those of Count Castelnau, in whose handwriting
many of the labels attached to the insects are written.
Another large and valuable collection is that of the late Count
Castelnau, embracing his general collection of Coleoptera. It occupies
5 large cabinets containing about 200 drawers. The specimens are all
mounted on uniformly sized pieces of papered cork, and in a great many
instances a species not in the collection is represented by a carded
figure.
THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, Adelaide.--Mr. F. Waterhouse was the first
Curator. It contains the following: Messrs. Kreusler and Odewahn’s
joint collection of Coleoptera, named by Pascoe, and Mr. E. Guest’s
_Micro-lepidoptera_ named by Meyrick; these were both purchased for the
museum, but the types in these collections are not noted by any special
reference.
A large portion of Tepper’s original collection before 1883, and some
of F. Waterhouse’s specimens, were also added to the collection.
A comparatively large number, but a small proportion of the whole of
the Rev. Thos. Blackburn’s types of _Coleoptera_, are in this museum.
A number of Mr. O. Lower’s types of _Lepidoptera_ are also deposited
here; and also all or nearly all of Mr. Tepper’s types, described
chiefly in the Transactions of the Royal Society of S. Australia.
The Kreusler and Odewahn Collection was formed between the years 1855
and 1875, and consists chiefly of Coleoptera collected about Gawler and
Blanchtown, on the Murray River, S.A. Messrs. Schulz, Bathurst, Jung
and O. and P. Tepper collected about Lyndoch, South Para River, and
P. Tepper later on about the Lower Murray plains, Ardrossan, Yorke’s
Peninsula and the Mount Lofty Ranges. Messrs. C. A. and G. M. Wilson
also collected extensively in the early days. All these collectors
exchanged specimens and forwarded S. Australian insects to Europe and
England, while the Messrs. Tepper sold to Berlin a large collection
chiefly of _Coleoptera_ in 1868.
THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM, Brisbane, is not rich in types, but contains a
large collection of Queensland and New Guinea insects of considerable
value; but the specimens, from want of funds and a special custodian,
are stowed away, and not arranged in any particular order.
The types contained in the large collection of Miskin’s Lepidoptera,
purchased some years ago by the museum authorities; a few types
created by Dr. Jefferis Turner; and others by Lower, are all in this
collection. I understand that there are also in this collection some
Australian and New Guinea types created by Mr. Tryon.
The following notes on the Australian types that are to be found in
British and other collections, furnished by Mr. J. J. Walker, R.N.,
of Oxford, and Dr. D. Sharp, of Cambridge, are very interesting. Mr.
Walker says: “The Hope Collection (made by the Rev. F. W. Hope and
bequeathed to the University of Oxford at his decease about 1861), in
combination with that of the late Prof. J. O. Westwood, forms the basis
of the now very extensive collections of insects in the University
Museum. You may safely assume that _all_ Hope’s Australian types, and
the majority of those described by Westwood, are at Oxford. We have no
fewer than 55 types of the Genus _Stigmodera_ alone described by Hope.
We also have a large number of insects from the collection of the late
W. W. Saunders, chiefly _Lepidoptera_, _Heterocera_, _Hymenoptera_,
_Orthoptera_, &c., and these include many types described by F. Smith,
Walker, and others. The majority of Walker’s types (such as they are)
are in the National Collection, which in 1896 was enriched by the
purchase of Pascoe’s collection of Coleoptera, including at least 2,000
type-specimens, with a large number of Australian species among them.”
Dr. Sharp says: “We have no Australian types in the Cambridge
Museum, and my own collection, containing the types of many species
of Australian Coleoptera, was transferred to the British Museum a
few weeks ago. The rest of my collections are also there except
the Lamellicorns; these were sold by me many years ago to Mr. Rene
Oberthier, of Rennes, and the types of the Australian Lamellicorns I
described are consequently with him. Though Westwood’s collections
are at Oxford, many things that he described from the British Museum
Collections are in the British Museum. Most of Newman’s types are I
believe in the British Museum. Castelnau’s Collection was sent from
Australia to Paris about 40 years ago and sold there; the Carabidae
were purchased by the Genoa Museum, and they have the types. The
Lamellicorns were purchased by Von Lansberg, and subsequently sold
by him to R. Oberthier. The Stapylinidae and Dytiscidae I bought
and are now with the rest at the British Museum. R. Oberthier also
possesses the Thomson types. The Cetoniidae of Janson are still in his
possession. Edward Saunders’ collection of Buprestidae was purchased
by the British Museum, and they have also acquired the Kerremans’
Collection of Buprestidae.”
* * * * *
Among the many collections of Australian insects that contain types,
the following might be noticed:--
BLACKBURN.--Coleoptera; a very large collection containing
many types created and described by the Rev. T. Blackburn,
of Adelaide, S. Australia, who informs me that “A few of the
types are in Mr. C. French’s collection, a comparatively large
number (but small in proportion to the whole) are in the South
Australian Museum.” The rest are in his own collections.
LEA.--Coleoptera: Another extensive collection from all parts
of Australia and Tasmania is that of Mr. A. M. Lea, Hobart,
containing a great number of the owner’s type specimens. A few
of Mr. Lea’s types are in the Macleay and National Museums; one
or two in Mr. A. Simson’s collection in Launceston; and others
are in Mr. French’s collection in Melbourne.
SLOANE.--Coleoptera: This collection consists chiefly of
Cicindelidae and Carabidae, and contains nearly all the types
created and described by the owner, Mr. T. G. Sloane, Moorila,
N.S. Wales. Some of his types however are in the Lea Collection;
others in French’s; one in Mr. F. Taylor’s (Sydney), and a
few, as previously mentioned, are in the Australian Museum
collections.
FRENCH.--Coleoptera: The owner, Mr. C. French, Melbourne, has
never described any species himself; but his present collection,
of which the Scaritidae is a very important part, contains
many types described by other entomologists. During the last
twenty years French made and bought several large collections
of beetles, which he informs me have been dispersed in the
following manner. “My first collection went to Leyden purchased
by Count Lansberg. My second collection also to Leyden purchased
by Van de Poll.” Among the collections he purchased were
Atwell’s W. Australian beetles, the Diggles Collection, and the
last of the Du Boulay’s Coleoptera.
LYELL.--Lepidoptera: The owner, Mr. G. Lyell, Gisborne,
Victoria, has one of the finest general collections of
Lepidoptera in Australia; it contains a number of types of both
Messrs. Lower and Turner, and also one of his own types.
LOWER.--Lepidoptera: This contains the majority of the types
created by the owner, Mr. O. Lower, Broken Hill, New South Wales.
LUCAS.--Lepidoptera: This is a general collection containing
most of the types created by the owner, Dr. Lucas, Brisbane,
Queensland.
MEYRICK.--Lepidoptera: This is an immense collection of
Micro-lepidoptera chiefly, containing many thousands of types
created by Mr. E. Meyrick, Wilts., England.
TURNER.--Lepidoptera: This collection is located in Brisbane,
Queensland, and is the property of Dr. Jefferis Turner. It
contains most of the owner’s types, but some of his types
are in the Lyell, Illidge, and Retter collections, and the
Queensland Museum.
WATERHOUSE.--Lepidoptera: This collection comprises a very
extensive series of Australian butterflies, in which are nearly
all the types of the owner, Mr. G. A. Waterhouse, Sydney.
FROGGATT.--Miscellaneous: It contains all the owner’s types of
Psyllidae, Termitidae, Neuroptera, most of the Coccidae, and a
few of Hymenoptera and Diptera. It also contains many co-types
of Prof. Forel’s Formicidae, Dr. Andre’s Mutillidae, and Dr.
Horvath’s Hemiptera.
ILLIDGE.--Miscellaneous: I do not think that Mr. Illidge, of
Brisbane, Queensland, has created any types, but his collection
contains types, chiefly of Lepidoptera, described by Dr. Lucas
and Dr. Turner.
CARTER.--Coleoptera: This is one of the latest collections of
Australian beetles, and belongs to Mr. H. J. Carter, Sydney. He
has described a few Tenebrionidae, the types of which are in
this collection.
MASKELL.--Coccidae: This collection (Coccidae, Psyllidae and
Aleurodidae), made by the late Mr. W. M. Maskell, New Zealand,
contains a very valuable series of his types of Coccidae,
Psyllidae and Aleurodidae from Australia. It was, on the owner’s
death, sold to the New Zealand Government.
PUBLICATIONS DEALING WITH AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGY.
In making out a bibliography of books and the more important
papers on our insects, it is impossible to notice the hundreds of
scientific papers scattered through English and foreign proceedings
and transactions of learned Societies. There are, however, a number
of books describing Australian insects which do not come under this
category that an Australian entomologist may yet want to know something
about. Like all such lists, this must be more or less incomplete, but
it may give the student some idea of where and what to look for.
“AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE OF NEW SOUTH WALES.”
Commenced in 1890 on the creation of the Department of Agriculture, it
contains many papers on Australian Entomology, with descriptions of new
species by Messrs. Olliff, Fuller, and Froggatt.
ANDERSON, E. AND SPRY, F. P.
Victorian Butterflies, and how to collect them, Part I., complete with
index, Melbourne 1893. Victorian Butterflies, Part II., 1894. A useful
little work published in pamphlet form, 130 pages, illustrated with a
number of very good wood-cuts.
AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, RECORDS OF.
Commenced in 1890–91, Vols. I.-VI. (1905), Sydney; issued in numbered
pamphlet form at irregular intervals. Among other scientific
descriptions are papers on entomology by both Messrs. Skuse and Rainbow.
BENNETT, DR. G.
“Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australia,” London 1860. Among general
natural history there is a considerable amount of information on our
insects.
BRENCHLEY, J. L.
“Jottings during the Cruise of H.M.S. Curaçoa among the South Sea
Islands in 1865,” London 1873. Natural History Notes, Insects, p. 456.
Among the insects described and figured in colours are Australian
Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera.
DONOVAN, E.
Insects of New Holland, London 1825.
This rare work contains the original descriptions, accompanied by
very fine coloured plates, of a number of our common insects of all
orders. The specimens from which the drawings were made were chiefly
collected by Sir Joseph Banks. A copy of this book is in the library of
the Linnean Society of N.S. Wales, and another in the Public Library,
Sydney.
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF N.S. WALES (TRANSACTIONS).
Vols. I.-II., 1866–1873, Sydney.
These Transactions contain a number of papers by Macleay, Scott, King
and Schrader, with original descriptions of new species.
FABRICIUS, J. C.
Systema Entomologiae, 1775.
He described a number of Australian insects from the Banksian Cabinet.
These had been collected by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander during
Cook’s voyages. The collections were afterwards presented to the
British Museum.
FRENCH, C.
Handbook of the Destructive Insects of Victoria.
Part I., 1891; Part II., 1893; Part III., 1900; Melbourne. Each part
is complete in itself, containing many coloured plates and popular
descriptions of injurious insects.
GRAY, G. R.
The Entomology of Australia, Part I. Monograph of the Family
Phasmidae, 1833; British Museum.
This contains coloured plates and descriptions of all our known species
up to that date.
GRIFFITHS, EDWARD.
The Animal Kingdom. Insecta, Vol. I., 1832; Vol. II., 1844. With
supplementary additions to each order by Griffiths and Pidgeon, and
notices of new genera and species by Gray, with 132 plates. A number of
Australian species are described, and some figured.
HORN EXPEDITION (edited by Prof. Baldwin Spencer).
Part II., Zoology, 1896.
In this are a number of papers on the insects collected by the members
of the Horn Exploring Expedition in Central Australia. Blackburn and
Sloane described Coleoptera; Lower, Lepidoptera; Tepper, Orthoptera;
Kirby and Froggatt, Hymenoptera.
KIRBY, W.
“Descriptions of several new species of Insects collected in
New Holland by Robert Brown.” (Linnean Transactions, Vol. XII.,
1818.)
These insects were collected during Flinders’ voyage. Thirty-three
species are described, and thirteen figured on plate 23.
KIRBY, W.
“A Century of Insects.” (Linnean Transactions, Vol. XII., 1818.)
In this paper he described 17 new species, and made 4 new genera.
LEACH, DR. W. E.
“Zoological Miscellanies.” “Being descriptions of new and
interesting animals, illustrated with coloured figures drawn
from Nature by R. P. Noddes.” 3 Vols., London. Vol. I., 1814;
Vol. II., 1815; Vol. III., 1817.
A number of Australian insects are figured and described for the first
time in these volumes.
LEWIN, JOHN W.
“Podromus, etc. Natural History of Lepidopterous Insects of N.S.
Wales. Collected, engraved, and faithfully painted by J. W.
Lewin.” London 1805.
A manuscript copy of this work with the original coloured drawings by
Lewin entitled “Insects of Australia,” 1803, is in the library of the
Linnean Society of N.S. Wales.
LINNEAN SOCIETY OF N.S. WALES, PROCEEDINGS.
Commencing in 1871, an annual volume of four parts has been published
every year since. These proceedings contain a great number of
entomological papers by the leading entomologists of Australasia, among
which are Messrs. Macleay, Meyrick, Olliff, Blackburn, Sloane, Skuse,
Masters, Froggatt, Lea, Lower, Turner, and Waterhouse.
MACLEAY, W. S.
“Catalogue of Insects collected by Captain King, R.N.; 192 species of
Annulosa; (188 insects and 4 arachnida) pages 438–469.” Eighty-one of
the species are new. This is an appendix to Captain Phillip King’s
“Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of
Australia performed between the years 1818 and 1822.” 2 Vols., London,
1827.
MARSHAM, THOS.
“Description of Notoclea, a new genus of Coleopterous Insects from New
Holland.” (Transactions Linnean Society, Vol. IX., p. 283, pls. 24–25,
1818.) These insects are now placed in the Genus _Paropsis_. They
were probably collected in the vicinity of Sydney.
MCCOY, F.
“Podromus of Zoology of Victoria,” Decade I.-XX., 1878–1890. In these
memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, McCoy figured and described
a number of Australian insects.
MASTERS, G.
“Catalogue of the Described Coleoptera of Australia,” Parts I.-VII.
(Proceedings of the Linnean Society N.S. Wales, Vol. X., 1885; Vol.
II., new series, 1887.) Though this originally appeared in the
proceedings of this Society, so many sets of reprints have been sold
that it may be classed as a separate work. Two supplements have since
been published (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.), but they only deal with the
first families.
MISKIN, W. H.
“Synonymical Catalogue of the Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera (Butterflies) of
Australia, with full Bibliographical references, including descriptions
of new species.” Annals of the Queensland Museum, No. 1, Brisbane 1891.
NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE, TRANSACTIONS.
The publication of the Transactions of this Society commenced in 1867,
and are published annually.
The most important articles dealing with Australian entomology are
those of the late W. M. Maskell on Australian Coccidae, which commenced
in 1889 and continued till his death in 1898.
OLLIFF, A. SIDNEY.
“Australian Butterflies. A brief account of the native families,
with a chapter on collecting and preserving insects, with
numerous wood-cuts.”
A pamphlet published by the Natural History Association of N.S. Wales;
Sydney 1889. This is now offered for sale by the N.S.W. Naturalists’
Club, Sydney.
ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, TRANSACTIONS.
The Transactions commenced in 1878, and are published annually.
They contain a number of entomological papers by Blackburn and by Lea
(Coleoptera), Tepper (Orthoptera), Lower (Lepidoptera), and other
writers.
SCOTT, A. W.
“Australian Lepidoptera and their transformations,” Vol. I., published
by the author; London, 1864; 9 plates; Vol. II., Parts 1–2. Edited
and revised by A. S. Olliff and Mrs. Forde. This was published by the
Trustees of the Australian Museum, who purchased the drawings and
MS. from the Scott family. There is still a considerable amount of
unpublished MS. and drawings in the possession of the Trustees.
SCHREIBERS, C.
“Descriptions of some singular Coleopterous Insects.” (Linnean
Transactions, Vol. VI., p. 185, pls. 19–21, 1802.) Among these are a
number of large showy Australian beetles. Their exact localities are
not known.
TRYON, H.
“Report on Insect and Fungus Pests.” (Queensland Department of
Agriculture, Report I., 1889.) In this important report on injurious
insects a few new species are described, and the habits and life
histories of many well-known species given.
“VICTORIAN NATURALIST, THE.”
The Journal and Magazine of the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria.
The first volume was issued in 1884–85. A number of original
descriptions of insects, catalogues, and notes in general are given
in the pages of this Journal by Messrs. Kershaw, Lower, Lyell,
Billinghurst, and others.
WESTWOOD, PROF. J. O.
“Thesaurus Entomologicus Oxoniensis,” Oxford, 1875. “Illustrations of
new, rare, or interesting insects for the most part contained in the
Collections presented to the University of Oxford by the Rev. T. W.
Hope. With 40 coloured plates and with drawings by the author.” Among
these are some original descriptions of Australian species.
“Arcana Entomologica,” London 1841–5, 2 vols. Among other exotic forms
this describes a number of Australian species and some are illustrated
by means of coloured plates.
WATERHOUSE, G. A.
“Catalogue of the Rhopalocera of Australia.” “Memoirs of the New South
Wales Naturalists’ Club,” No. I., 1903. This pamphlet brings the list
of Australian butterflies up to date.
WHITE, ADAM.
“Notes on some Insects from King George’s Sound.” This is an appendix
to Captain Gray’s “Travels in N.W. and West Australia,” Vol. II.,
1841. This contains the original descriptions of a number of insects
collected by Captain Gray and numerous wood-cuts.
ZOOLOGICAL RECORD.
Commencing in 1864, the Insecta was edited at first by Dallas,
afterwards by Rye, and is now edited by Sharp. Contains a list of all
genera and species of insects described during each year. All the
Australian species described since 1864 are listed.
ADDENDA.
The following books and papers dealing with Australian insects have
been overlooked, or have appeared since this book has been in course of
preparation.
(1) A Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera, Vol. II. Orthoptera
Saltatoria, Part I. Achetidae and Phascognuridae 1906. W. F.
Kirby.
This is the second volume of the Catalogue already noticed on
page 14, and deals with crickets and long-horned grasshoppers.
A few alterations are made, viz.: _Gryllus servillei_, Sauss.,
is a synonym of _Gryllus commodus_, Walker; and the species
of Ephippitytha 32-guttata figured by me in the Agricultural
Gazette, N.S.W., 1904, is, Kirby says, a new species which he
calls _E. froggatti_.
(2) “A Revision of the Cicindelidae (Coleoptera) of Australia,”
by T. G. Sloane (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1906). In this paper
all the species formerly placed in the Genus _Tetracha_ are now
placed in the Genus _Megacephala_. In a supplementary paper in
the same volume Sloane records _Tricondyla aptera_, Oliver, a
tree hunting tiger beetle described from New Guinea as also a
native of Cape York, North Queensland.
(3) “Notes on the Genus Leptops, with descriptions of new
species,” by A. M. Lea (Annales Soc. Ent. Belg. 1906). This is a
typical group of Australian weevils. The author notices all the
described species, and describes 27 new ones.
(4) “A list of the Libellulidae (Dragon Flies) of Australia,” by
J. G. O. Tepper (Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aust. 1899). This paper,
based upon a collection of dragon flies sent to France to Rene
Martin, for identification, gives a quantity of information
about the names and distribution of Australian species.
(5) “Les Odonates du Continent Australien,” by Rene Martin
(Memoires Soc. Zool. France, 1901). This is a very fine paper on
the dragon flies recorded from Australia.
(6) Descriptions of new dragon flies. In the Proceedings of the
Linnean Society N.S.W. 1906, R. J. Tillyard has contributed four
papers, in which a number of described species are identified
and recorded for the first time from Australia; while a number
of new species have been figured and described.
(7) “A Revision of the Thynnidae,” by Roland C. Turner (Pro.
Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1907). This is part I. of an important
Monograph of these remarkable flower wasps peculiar in
having wingless females. The author in this paper deals with
the Sub-family _Diamminae_ and part of the Sub-family
_Thynninae_, describing a number of new species.
(8) On page 382 a very large gall is mentioned formed by a
coccid obtained from Tennant’s Creek, Central Australia. This
insect will probably come in the Genus Cystococcus formed by
Fuller (Trans. Ent. Soc. London 1899), for the reception of a
species he called _Cystococcus echiniformis_.
INDEX.
_Abispa ephippium_, 111
_Abispa splendida_, 111
Abricta, 351
_Abricta curvicosta_, 357
_Abricta aurata_, 357
_Abricta willsi_, 357
Acacia gall gnat, 286
Acanthaspinae, 339
_Acantholepis bosii_, 96
_Acantholophus echinatus_, 184
Achias, 306
_Achilus flammeus_, 359
_Achraea grisella_, 272
_Acraea andromacha_, 215
Acraeinae, 215
_Acreotrichus gibbicornis_, 297
_Acreotrichus fuscicornis_, 297
Acridiidae, 40
_Acridium maculicollis_, 42
_Acridopeza reticulata_, 46
Acroceridae, 297
_Acrodes fumatus_, 298
Acrodicrania, 287
_Acrophylla titan_, 35
_Actinus macleayi_, 137
Addenda, 423
Adelium, 174
Adelotopus, 129
Admirals, 214
_Adrissa atra_, 328
Aenictus, 93
_Aeschna brevistyla_, 53
_Aeschna flindersensis_, 9
Aeschnidae, 53
_Aesernoides nigrofasciatus_, 202
Agathes, 87
_Agarista agricola_, 234
_Agarista glycine_, 230
_Agarista lewinii_, 234
Agaristidae, 233
_Agrianome spinicollis_, 191
Agrionidae, 51, 53
_Agromyza phaseoli_, 309
_Agromyza sp._, 309
Agromyzidae, 308
_Agrotis infusa_, 263
_Agrotis breviuscula_, 264
_Agrotis ypsilon_, 264
Agrotis (destroyed by bee fly), 296
_Agrypnus mastersi_, 166
Alastor, 112
Alastor (parasite on), 88
Alastor (mimicry of), 304
_Alaus gibboni_, 166
_Alaus sericeus_, 166
Alder Flies, 55
_Alectoria superba_, 46
Aleochara, 136
_Aleurodes styphelia_, 371
_Aleurodes t-signata_, 371
_Aleurodes banksiae_, 371
_Aleurodes vaporariorum_, 371
Aleurodicus, 371
Aleurodidae, 370
_Allecula subsulcata_, 175
_Allomachilus froggatti_, 12
Amarygmus, 174
Ambrosia beetle, 178
Amblycera, 390
_Amenia leonina_, 313
_Ammophila instabilis_, 107
_Ammophila suspiciosa_, 107
_Amorbus angustior_, 332
_Amorbus robustus_, 332
_Amphibolia fulvipes_, 313
Amycterinae, 184
_Amycterus draco_, 184
Anacampsis, 279
_Ananca puncta_, 177
_Anastatus pipunculi_, 79
_Ancylotropis waterhousei_, 180
Andrenidae, 114
Angoumois grain-moth, 279
_Anilicus semiflavus_, 167
Animated stick, 36
_Anisolabis colossea_, 16
_Anisolabis tasmanica_, 16
Anisopteridae, 51
Anobiums, 169
_Anobium paniceum_, 170
_anomalon_, 85
_Anopheles annulipes_, 290
_Anoplognathus analis_, 159
_Anoplognathus porosus_, 158
_Anoplognathus velutinus_, 158
_Anoplognathus viridaeneus_, 158
_Anoplostethus opalinus_, 159
Anoplura, 325, 388
_Anostosoma australasiae_, 47
_Anostosoma crinaceus_, 47
Ants, 68, 91
Ant-beetles, 138
Ant nest beetles, 139
Ant-lions, 57
Ant weevils, 188
_Antheraea eucalypti_, 257, 258
_Antheraea helena_, 259
_Antheraea janetta_, 259
_Antheraea loranthiae_, 259
_Antheraea simplex_, 259
Anthicidae, 176
Anthomyia flies, 311
Anthomyidae, 311
Anthophila, 114
Anthophora, 117
_Anthrax nigricosta_, 296
_Anthrenus museorum_, 149
_Anthrenus nigricans_, 149
_Anthrenus varius_, 149
Anthribidae, 180
_Antiphorus gilberti_, 133
_Antonina australis_, 378, 379
_Apate collaris_, 172
_Apanteles antipoda_, 87
_Apanteles australasiae_, 87
Aphalarinae, 363
_Aphanasium australe_, 193
Aphanomerus, 80
Aphidae, 367
Aphids, 367
_Aphis brassicae_, 368
_Aphis persicae-niger_, 369
Aphis lions, 64
_Aphomia latro_, 273
_Aphrophora chalipus_, 355
Apidae, 114
_Apina callisto_, 253
Apioceridae, 301
_Apiocera bigotti_, 301
_Apiocera asilica_, 301
_Apiomorpha duplex_, 382
_Apiomorpha munita_, 382
_Apiomorpha pileata_, 382
_Apiomorpha pharatrata_, 382
_Apiomorpha dipsaciformis_, 382
_Apiomorpha pomiformis_, 382
Apis, 114
_Apoda xylomeli_, 248
_Appias (Tachyris) ega_, 224
Aptera, 1, 10
_Apterygida arachidis_, 16
Arachnidae, 1
Arachnidae, 337
_Aradellus cygnalis_, 339
_Archimantis armatus_, 34
_Archimantis latistylus_, 32
_Archimantis montrosa_, 34
Arctiidae, 248
_Argadesa materna_, 268
_Argynnis inconstans_, 216
_Aridaeus thoracicus_, 196
Army worm, 262, 264
_Arotrophora ombrodelta_, 276
_Arsipoda macleayi_, 204
Arthopoda, 1
_Arthropterus brevis_, 139
_Arthropterus humeralis_, 139
_Articerus curvicornis_, 138
_Arunta perulata_, 349
Ascalaphides, 58
_Ascelis praemollis_, 383
_Ascelis schraderi_, 383
Asilidae, 298
_Asilis fulvitarsus_, 299
_Asilis inglorius_, 299
_Asilis plicatus_, 299
_Asopia farinalis_, 270
Asopinae, 330
_Aspidiotus auranti_, 373
_Aspidiotus ficus_, 374
_Aspidiotus hederi_, 373
_Aspidiotus nerii_, 373
_Aspidiotus perniciosus_, 373
_Aspidiotus rossi_, 374
_Aspidomorpha deusta_, 206
Assassin bug, 338
_Astacops laticeps_, 333
_Asterolecanium acaciae_, 376
_Asterolecanium quercicola_, 376
_Asterolecanium styphelia_, 376
_Asura lydia_, 250
_Atalophlebia australasica_, 54
_Ateleopterus longiceps_, 82
_Aterpus cultratus_, 185
_Ateuchus sacer_, 153
Atlas moths, 231
_Atractus viridis_, 175
_Atractus viriscens_, 175
_Atrastemorpha crenaticeps_, 43
_Attacus cynthia_, 257
Atyphella, 168
_Axionicus insignis_, 188
Auger beetles, 171
_Aulacocyclus kaupi_, 153
_Aulacus apicalis_, 84, 89
_Aulacophora olivieri_, 205
_Aulicus instabilis_, 168
_Austomiris viridissimus_, 342
Australian Fritillary, 216
Australian Mantidae, 33
Australian Museum, 412
Austrogomphus, 54
Bacillus, 35
Back-swimmers, 344
Bacon beetles, 148
_Badamia exclamationis_, 228
Bag moths, 243
_Balaninus amoenus_, 188
Banana-stalk fly, 311
Banksia beetle, 162
Banksia moth, 257
Bark beetles, 146
Basket worms, 243
_Bassus laetatorius_, 85
_Batocera frenchi_, 198
_Batocera sapho_, 198
_Batrachedra arenosella_, 280
_Batrachedra sparsella_, 280
_Batrachomyia nigritarsis_, 310
Bay shelter moths, 252
Bed bugs, 341
Bee flies, 296
Bees, 68, 114
Beetles, 121
Bell moths, 274
_Belenois java_, 223
Belostomidae, 343
_Belostoma indicum_, 344
_Belus bidentatus_, 187
_Belus plagiatus_, 187
_Belus semipunctata_, 187
Bembecides, 109
_Bembex tridentifera_, 109
_Bembex vespiformis_, 109
_Bembidium ocellatum_, 132
Bent-wing moth, 241
Bethyllides, 81
Bibionidae, 288
_Bibio imitator_, 288
_Bidessus bistrigatus_, 133
Big-eyed flies, 301
_Biprorulus bibax_, 330
Bird of Paradise fly, 385
Bird-winged butterfly, 225
Biscuit weevil, 169
Biting lice, 389
_Bittacus australis_, 56
_Blabophanes ethelella_, 281
Black-arches, 252
Black cicada, 353
Black flies, 287
Black orchard-butterfly, 226
Black-wattle Blue, 221
Bladder cicadas, 354
Bladder flies, 297
Blastophaginae, 68, 77
_Blatta orientalis_, 17
Blattidae, 14, 17
_Blepegens aruspex_, 174
_Blepharotes splendidissima_, 300
Blight, 367
Blister beetle, 177
Blister leaf sawfly, 73
Bloodworms, 291
Blues, 219
Blue ant, 102
Bluebottle fly, 317
Blue-eyed butterfly, 217
Blue-mountain locust, 41
_Bolboceras probiscidium_, 154
_Bolboceras sloanei_, 154
Bollworm, 265
Bombardier beetle, 128
Bombus, 114
Bombycidae, 256
Bombylidae, 296
_Bombyx mori_, 256
_Bombyx nasuta_, 256
_Bombyx trimaculata_, 256
Book lice, 30
_Boopia tarsata_, 390
_Boopia grandis_, 390
Boreus, 56
Bostrychidae, 171
_Bostrychus gibbicollis_, 171
_Bostrychus cylindricus_, 171
_Bostrychopsis jesuita_, 171
Botany Bay diamond beetle, 185
Bot flies, 317
Bothrideres, 146
_Brachypeplus binotatus_, 143
_Brachyrhopala ruficornis_, 300
Brachyscelid galls (home of weevils), 182, 188
Brachysceliinae, 77, 380
_Brachyscelis crispa_, 76
_Brachyscelis pileata_, 76
Braconidae, 85, 236
_Bracon limbatus_, 86
Brenthidae, 179
_Brontes lucius_, 147
_Brontes militaris_, 147
_Brontispa froggatti_, 206
Brown leaf-winged butterfly, 216
Brown tails, 252
Brush-footed butterfly, 214
_Bryachus squamicollis_, 185
Buffalo gnats, 287
Bugong moth, 263
Bugs, 325, 326
Bulldog ants, 92
Buprestidae, 162
Burnet moths, 236
Burying beetles, 140
Butterfly moths, 232
Butterflies, 212
Butterfly envelope, 400
Byrrhidae, 149
Bythoscopus, 359
_Cacaecia australasiae_, 275
_Cacaecia lythrodana_, 275
_Cacaecia postvittana_, 274
_Cacaecia responsana_, 275
_Cacochroa gymnopleura_, 161
Caddis flies, 66
Cadelle, 144, 145
_Cadmus litigiosus_, 202
_Cadmus rubiginosus_, 202
_Caedicia valida_, 47
_Calandra granaria_, 189
_Calandra orizae_, 189
_Callipappus australe_, 385
_Callipappus westwoodi_, 385
_Calliphara billiardierei_, 328
_Calliphara cruenta_, 328
_Calliphara imperialis_, 328
_Calliphara nobilis_, 328
_Calliphora oceaniae_, 316
_Calliphora rufifaces_, 316
_Calliphora varipes_, 316
_Calliphora villosa_, 316
_Calliphora vomitaria_, 316
_Calloodes grayanus_, 158
Calobatinae, 310
_Coloderma regalis_, 165
_Calogramma festiva_, 266
_Calomela paralis_, 203, 204
_Calosoma schayeri_, 126
_Calotermes longiceps_, 24
_Camponotinae_, 96
_Camponotus claripes_, 98
_Camponotus inflatus_, 97
_Camponotus intrepidus_, 97
_Camponotus nigriceps_, 97
_Candalides absimilis_, 220
_Cantao parentum_, 328
Cantharidae, 177
Capsidae, 341
Carabidae, 126
_Cardiaspis artifex_, 364
_Cardiaspis tetrix_, 364
_Cardiothorax howitti_, 174
Care of Collections, 408
_Carenum bonelli_, 130
Carnivorous ground beetles, 126
Carnivorous weevils, 180
Carpenter bees, 116
_Carpocapsa pomonella_, 276
_Carpophagus banksiae_, 201
_Carpophilus aterrimus_, 144
_Carpophilus pilipennis_, 144
Case moths, 243
Cassidides, 206
Castelnaudia, 131
_Castelnaudia imperiale_, 132
_Castelnaudia renardi_, 132
Castniidae, 232
_Catadromus australis_, 131, 127
_Catadromus lacordairei_, 131
_Catasarcus spinipennis_, 182
_Catopsilia (Callidryas) pomona_, 225
Cave locust, 48
Cecidomyia, 81
_Cecidomyia destructor_, 286
_Cecidomyia acaciae-longifoliae_, 286
_Cecidomyia frauenfeldi_, 285
Cecidomyidae, 285
Celyphus, 310
Centipedes, 1
Cephidae, 70
_Cephalodesmius armiger_, 153
_Ceraegidion horrens_, 197
Cerambycidae, 190
Cerambycinae, 192
_Ceraphron niger_, 80
Cerapterus, 139
_Ceratitis (Halterophora) capitata_, 308
_Ceratognathus froggatti_, 152
_Ceratophyllus hilli_, 324
_Ceratophyllus rothschildi_, 323
_Ceratophyllus woodwardi_, 324
_Ceratopogon molestes_, 291
Cerceris, 109
Cercopidae, 354
_Cermatulus nasalis_, 330
_Ceroplastes ceriferus_, 374, 375
_Ceroplastes rubens_, 375
_Ceronema banksiae_, 376
_Ceronema caudata_, 376
_Cethosia cydippe_, 215
Cetonides, 160
_Chaerocampa celerio_, 237
_Chaerocampa erotus_, 238
_Chaerocampa oldenlandi_, 237
_Chaerocampa scrofa_, 238
_Chaerocoris paganus_, 327
_Chaerocoris similis_, 327
_Chaetogaster violacea_, 313
Chafer beetles, 153
_Chalcerinys eximia_, 78
Chalcididae, 74, 78
_Chalcis phya_, 75
_Chalcis vicaria_, 75
_Chalcophora farinosa_, 163
_Chalcophora vittata_, 163
_Chalcopterus variabilis_, 174
_Chalepus pugionatus_, 356
_Chalepus teliferus_, 356
_Charaxes sempronius_, 217
_Chartopteryx childreni_, 174
_Chasmoptera hutti_, 59
_Chauliodes guttatus_, 55
_Chelepteryx collesi_, 253
Cherry bug, 327
_Cherrus ebeninus_, 182
Chicken flea, 323
Chinch bug, 333
_Chionaspis xerotides_, 374
_Chionaspis eugeniae_, 374
Chironomidae, 291
_Chironomus venerabilis_, 9
_Chlaenius laeteviridis_, 131
_Chlaenius maculifera_, 131
_Chlaenius marginatus_, 131
_Chlaenius puncticeps_, 131
_Chlorocysta vitripennis_, 352
Chloroform tube, 399
_Chortoicetes pusilla_, 42
_Chortoicetes terminifera_, 42
Chrysididae, 87
Chrysis, 88
_Chrysolophus spectabilis_, 185
Chrysomelidae, 200
Chrysomelides, 202
Chrysophides, 64
_Chrysopa ramburii_, 65
_Cicada lowei_, 9
Cicadas, 346
Cicadidae, 346
Cicadinae, 348
Cicindelidae, 124
_Cicindela circumcincta_, 125
_Cicindela ypsilon_, 125
_Cicindela tenuicollis_, 125
Cigarette beetle, 169
_Cimex lectularius_, 341
Cimicidae, 341
Cioidae, 170
_Cirphula pyrocnemis_, 43
_Cisseis leucosticta_, 165
_Cisseis maculata_, 165
_Cisseis 12-maculata_, 165
_Cisseis similis_, 165
Cistelidae, 175
_Cizara ardenia_, 237
Classification, 1
_Clauca rubricosta_, 250
Clear-winged Hawk-moth, 237
_Clemacantha regale_, 39
Cleptes, 88
Cleridae, 168
_Cleromorpha novemguttatus_, 168
Click beetles, 166
_Clivina australasiae_, 131
_Clivina basalis_, 131
Clivinides, 130
Clothes moths, 278
Club-horned Water-beetles, 135
_Clytocosmus helmsi_, 292
_Clytus curtisi_, 196
_Cnecosa fulvida_, 147
Coccidae, 371, 373
Coccinellidae, 207
_Coccinella repanda_, 209
Cockchafer beetles, 157
Cockroaches, 17
Codlin moth, 276
_Coelioxys albolineata_, 119
_Coelocyba viridilincata_, 79
Coelostoma, 385
_Coequosa australasiae_, 238
_Coequosa triangularis_, 238
Coleoptera, 1, 121
Collection of Insects, 395
Collector’s bag, 398
Collecting net, 396
Collembola, 10
Colletes, 114
Coloburiscus, 55
Colydidae, 146
_Colymbetes lanceolatus_, 134
_Comarchis aspectatella_, 250
Comb-horned beetles, 138
_Commius elegans_, 329
_Comptosia albo-fasciata_, 296
Connecting-link moths, 232
_Conogethes punctiferalis_, 273
_Conops pica_, 305
Conopidae, 305
Convolvulus Hawk-moth, 238
Coon bug, 334
_Copelatus acuductus_, 134
Coppers, 219
Coprides, 153
Coptotermes, 26
_Coptotermes (Termes) lacteus_, 22
Cordiceps, 242
Cordus hospes, 174
Coreidae, 331
_Corixa eurynome_, 345
Corixidae, 345
_Coryphistes cyanopterus_, 43
_Cosmotriche exposita_, 257
_Cosmozosteria coolgardiensis_, 18
Cossidae, 242
Cotton bug, 333
Cottony Cushion Scale, 77, 385
Cow ants, 98
_Coxinocera hercules_, 257
Crabs, 1
Crabro, 109
Crabronides, 109
Crane-flies, 292
_Craspedia coriaria_, 300
_Cremastogaster fusca_, 94
_Cremastogaster pallipes_, 94
_Cremastogaster ruficeps_, 95
_Creophilus erythrocephalus_, 137
Crested locust, 44
_Crewiis longipennis_, 363
Crickets, 48
Crimson-winged butterfly, 215
_Croce attenuata_, 59
_Crocisa albo-maculata_, 118
_Crocisa lamprosoma_, 118
_Crocisa nitidula_, 118
_Cruria donovani_, 234
Crusader bug, 332
Crustacea, 1
_Crypsiphona occultaria_, 260
_Cryptes (Lecanium) baccatum_, 376
Cryptocephalides, 201
Cryptocerata, 342
_Cryptocephalus scabrosus_, 202
_Cryptocephalus viridinitens_, 202
_Cryptolaemus montrouzieri_, 211
Cryptophagidae, 147
Cryptophaginae, 277
_Cryptophaga irrorata_, 278
_Cryptophaga rubriginosa_, 278
_Cryptophaga unipunctata_, 277
_Ctenochiton eucalypti_, 375
_Ctenochiton rhizophorae_, 375
_Cubicorrhynchus morosus_, 184
Cucujidae, 146
Cuckoo-spittle insects, 355
Cuckoo wasps, 87
_Culama caliginosa_, 242
_Culex albo-annulatus_, 289
_Culex alternans_, 290
_Culex fatigans_, 289
_Culex hispidosus_, 290
_Culex macleayi_, 289
_Culex marinus_, 290
_Culex skusei_, 289
Culicidae, 288
Cup moth, 246
_Cupha prosope_, 215
Cupnia, 50
Curculionidae, 181
_Cuspicona forticornis_, 330
_Cuspicona thoracica_, 330
_Cuspicona simplex_, 329
Cutworm moth, 262
_Cybister gayndahensis_, 134
_Cybister granulatus_, 134
_Cybister tripunctatus_, 134
Cydinae, 328
_Cylindrococcus amplior_, 380
_Cylindrococcus spiniferus_, 380
_Cyclochila australasiae_, 349
Cynipidae, 73
_Cynthia ada_, 215
_Cyria imperialis_, 162
_Cyrtacanthacris exacta_, 40, 43
_Cystosoma saundersi_, 354
_Cystosoma schmeltzi_, 354
Dactylopinae, 376
_Dactylopius albizziae_, 378
_Dactylopius aurilanatus_, 378
_Dactylopius lobulatus_, 378
_Dacus (Tephrites) psidii_, 307
_Dacus (Tephrites) tryoni_, 307
Danainae, 214
_Danais archippus_, 214
_Danais hamata_, 215
_Danais menippe_, 214
_Danais petilia_, 214
_Danima banksiae_, 257
_Danis taygetus_, 220
_Darala acuta_, 254
_Darala ocellata_, 254
Dark-winged Ichneumons, 84
_Dasypodia cymatoides_, 268
_Dasypodia selenophora_, 268
Dasypogon, 299
_Daunus tasmaniae_, 357
Day moths, 233
_Deiopeia pulchella_, 250
_Delias aganippe_, 224
_Delias argenthona_, 224
_Delias harpalyce_, 224
_Delias mysis_, 224
_Delias nigrina_, 224
Demoiselles, 51
_Depsages granulosa_, 200
_Dermestes cadaverinus_, 148
_Dermestes lardarius_, 149
_Dermestes vulpinus_, 148
Dermestidae, 148
Desert cockroaches, 19
Devil’s Coach-horse, 137
Devil’s Darning Needles, 51
Dexiidae, 313
_Diadoxus erythrurus_, 163
_Diadoxus scalaris_, 163
Diagram of dragon-fly, 52
Diagram of bee, fore wing of, 69
Diagram of grasshopper, 40
Diagram of grasshopper, mouth parts, 13
Diagram of hawkmoth, head of, 230
Diagram of moth, wings of, 231
Diagram of psylla, 362
Diagram of termite, head of worker, 22
Diagram of wasp, head of, 68
Diagram of wasp, thorax of, 68
Diagram of water beetle, 122
_Diamma bicolor_, 102
Diamond-backed Cabbage Moth, 281
_Diaphonia dorsalis_, 162
_Diaphonia olliffiana_, 162
Diaspinae, 373
_Diaspis rosae_, 374
_Dictyotus plebejus_, 329
_Didymuria violescens_, 37
_Dielis formosa_, 104
_Dielis 7-cincta_, 104
Digger beetles, 153
_Dilochrosis atripennis_, 160
Dinadorinae, 331
_Dindymus circumcinctus_, 335
_Dindymus versicolor_, 335
_Dinoura auriventris_, 77, 78
Diopsidae, 306
Diopsis, 306
_Diphucephala aurulenta_, 156
_Diphucephala rufipes_, 156
_Diphucephala colaspidoides_, 156
_Diplacodes (Diplax) bipunctata_, 53
Diplax, 52
_Diplax rubra_, 52
Diploptera, 110
_Diplosis eucalypti_, 286
_Diplosis frenelae_, 286
_Diplosis paralis_, 286
Diptera, 1, 4, 283
_Discolia soror_, 103
_Distichocera macleayi_, 195
_Distichocera maculicollis_, 195
Distribution, 4
_Distypsidera flavicans_, 125
Ditropidus, 201
_Doleschallia australis_, 216
Dolichoderinae, 95
_Dolichoderus doriae_, 95
_Doratifera acasta_, 247
_Doratifera quadriguttata_, 247
_Doratifera vulnerans_, 84, 246, 247
Dorylinae, 93
_Doticus pestilans_, 181
Double Drummer, 348
Dragon flies, 51
_Drepanopteryx binocula_, 64
_Drepanopteryx instabilis_, 64
Dried-apple beetle, 181
Drone fly, 303
_Drosophila obscura_, 306
Drosophilidae, 306
Dryinidae, 82
Dryinids, 78
_Drypta australis_, 127
Dung beetles, 153
Dusky Delias, 224
Dynastides, 159
_Dysdercus sidae_, 335
_Dysdercus suturellus_, 335
Dytiscidae, 133
_Earias fabia_, 265
Ears of locusts, 40
Earwigs, 15
_Ecelonerus albopictus_, 180
_Echidnophaga ambulans_, 323
_Echidnophaga gallinaceus_, 323
_Echidnophaga liopus_, 323
_Echidnophaga macronychia_, 323
_Ecphantus quadrilobis_, 44
_Ectatomma metallicum_, 93
_Ectocemus pterygorrhinus_, 180
Ectrepes, 170
_Edusa distincta_, 202
Elachistidae, 280
_Elaphodes tigrinus_, 201
Elateridae, 166
Elephant beetle, 186
Elmis, 150
_Elodina angulipennis_, 223
Embiidae, 28
Emesinae, 338
Emperors, 214
Encyrtinae, 78
_Enithares bergrothi_, 345
_Enteles ocellatus_, 189
_Enteles vigorsi_, 189
_Entometa ignoblis_, 245
_Ephedrus persicae_, 86
_Ephemera culleni_, 9
Ephemeridae, 54
_Ephestia kuhniella_, 273
_Ephippitytha quadrigessimaguttatus_, 47
_Ephippitytha 32-guttata_, 47
_Ephippium albitarsis_, 293
Ephutermorpha, 99
_Epilachna guttatopustulata_, 208
_Epilachna 28-punctata_, 208
Epipyropidae, 282
_Epipyrops doddi_, 282
_Episcaphula pictipennis_, 206
_Epithora dorsalis_, 193
Erebidae, 268
_Eretes australis_, 134
_Eriococcus coriaceous_, 211, 377
_Eriococcus eucalypti_, 377
_Eriococcus paradoxus_, 377
_Eristalis tenax_, 303, 304
Ermine moths, 248
Erotylidae, 206
_Erynnus sperthias_, 228
_Erythroneura vitis_, 361
_Ethemaia sellata_, 184
_Ethon affinis_, 165
_Ethon corpulentus_, 165
_Ethon marmoreum_, 165
Eucalyptus scale, 377
_Euchloris submissaria_, 260
_Euchromia creusa_, 235
Eucnemidae, 165
_Eudoxula boisduvalli_, 243
_Eufroggattia tuberculata_, 358
_Eumecopus australasiae_, 329
_Eumenes arcuatus_, 111
_Eumenes bicincta_, 110
_Eumenes latreillei_, 111
_Eumenes servillei_, 111
Eumenidae, 110
Eumolpides, 202
Eupelminae, 79
_Eupelmus antipoda_, 77
_Euploea corinna_, 215
_Euploea hamata_, 263
_Eupoecila australasiae_, 161
_Euponera lutea_, 93
_Eurhamphus fasciculatus_, 186
_Eurhynchus acanthopterus_, 187
_Eurybrachys leucostigma_, 360
_Eurybrochis zanna_, 342
_Eurycus cressida_, 227
_Euryischia lestophoni_, 77
_Eurymela bicincta_, 355
_Eurymela pulchra_, 355
_Eurymela rubrovittata_, 355
_Eurymela speculum_, 355
_Eurynassa australis_, 191
_Eurynassa odewahni_, 191
Euryopsis, 73
Eurys, 73
_Euryscaphus lobicollis_, 130
_Euryscaphus titanus_, 130
Euryspa, 206
_Eurytoma binotata_, 75
_Eurytoma eucalypti_, 75
_Euschemon rafflesiae_, 232
_Eusthenia spectabilis_, 50
_Eusthenia thalea_, 50
_Eutane terminalis_, 250
Eutermes, 24
_Eutermes fumigatus_, 28
_Eutermes fumipennis_, 27, 28
_Eutermes pyriformis_, 27
_Eutermes triodiae_, 28
_Eutoma tinctilatum_, 129
_Eutrichopidia latina_, 234
_Evania princeps_, 89
Evaniidae, 88
_Exoneura bicolor_, 116
_Exoneura froggatti_, 116
_Extatosoma tiaratum_, 38
Faggot case-moth, 245
False Click beetles, 165
False Robber flies, 301
Feather horns, 167
Feronides, 131
Fiddler, 161
Fig-leaf beetle, 205, 330
_Figulus regularis_, 152
_Fiorinia acaciae_, 374
Fire-fly beetles, 167
Fish-killers, 343
Flat Bark-beetles, 337
Fleas, 321
Flea beetles, 204
Flesh flies, 314
Flies, 283
Floridian Scale, 387
Floury Miller, 351
Flower wasps, 100, 105
Fluted Cushion-scale, 385
Foenus, 89
Footmen, 248
Forest Ladies, 31
_Forficula auricularia_, 17
Forficulidae, 14, 15
Formica, 96
_Formia purpurea_, 96
Formicidae, 4, 91
Fossil Insects, 9
Fossil Phasmidae, 35
_Frenchia casuarinae_, 381
_Frenchia semiocculta_, 381
Fritillaries, 216
_Froggattia olivina_, 336
Frog-hoppers, 325, 354
Fruit beetles, 143
Fruit bugs, 335
Fruit flies, 306
Fulgoridae, 82, 358
Fungus beetles, 206
Fungus bugs, 337
Fungus midges, 287
Gadfly, 294
Gaeninae, 350
Galgulidae, 342
Gall flies, 81, 285, 73
Gall gnats, 285
Gall wasps, 74
_Galleria melonella_, 272
_Galleruca semipullata_, 205
_Galleruca_ (destroyed by bug), 330
Gallerucides, 204
_Gardena australis_, 338
_Gastrophilus equi_, 317
_Gastrophora henricaria_, 262
_Gastropsis (Oestropsis) pubescens_, 116
_Gelechia simplicella_, 279, 280
Gelechiadae, 279
_Geobia australis_, 328
Geometridae, 259
Georyssidae, 150
_Georyssus australis_, 150
_Geoscapheus giganteus_, 19
_Gerris australis_, 337
Giant thrips, 393
_Gibbium scotias_, 169
Glass collecting box, 397
_Glaucopsaltria (Chlorocysta) viridis_, 352
_Glenurus circuitor_, 58
_Glenurus erythrocephalus_, 58
_Glenurus fundatus_, 58
_Glenurus falsus_, 58
_Glenurus pulchellus_, 58
_Glenurus striola_, 58
Glow-worms, 167
_Glycyphana brunnipes_, 162
_Gminatus australis_, 340
_Gminatus nigroscutellatus_, 340
_Godara comalis_, 271
Gold beetles, 151
_Goniaea australasiae_, 43
_Goniozus antipodum_, 82
Gonipterinae, 184
_Gonipterus gibberus_, 185
_Gonotopus australis_, 82
Gorytes, 108
Grain moth, 278
Grass-tree weevil, 189
Grease on insects, 409
Great Brown Phasma, 35
Great Striped Locust, 43
Green Tree-ant (host of butterflies), 96
Green-head Ant, 93
Green fly, 367
Green lace-wing, 65
Green Monday, 349
Green Foresters, 236
Gregarious Phasmids, 36
Grey Cutworm moth, 266
Gryllidae, 48
_Gryllotalpa coarctata_, 48
_Gryllus servillei_, 48
Gum-tree bugs, 331
_Gymnoplistia bella_, 292
Gypsy moth, 252
Gyrinidae, 134
Gyropidae, 390
_Hadena expulsa_, 265
Hairy Flower-wasps, 102
Hair-streaks, 219
_Halictus floralis_, 116
_Halictus bicingulatus_, 116
_Halobates whiteleggi_, 338
Halticides, 204
_Haplonyx centralis_, 188
Harpactorinae, 340
Harpalus, 131
_Hasora hurama_, 229
_Hasora discolor_, 229
Hatchet-bodied wasp, 88
_Havinthus depressus_, 340
_Havinthus rufovarius_, 340
Hawk moths, 236
_Hebecerus australis_, 198
_Hebecerus crocogaster_, 198
_Hebecerus marginicollis_, 198
_Hectarthrum brevifossum_, 146
_Hecatesia fenestrata_, 235
_Helaeus subserratus_, 173
_Heliocausta hemitelis_, 279
_Heliothis armigera_, 265
_Heliothrips haemorrphoidalis_, 393
Helonotus, 341
_Helophilus bengalensis_, 303
_Helophilus griseus_, 303
_Helluo costatus_, 127, 128
_Hemaris kingi_, 237
_Hemaris hylas_, 237
_Hemaris janus_, 237
Hemerobiidae, 47, 57
Hemerobiides, 59
_Hemianax papuensis_, 53
Hemimeridae, 14
Hemiptera, 32
Henicocephalidae, 338
_Henicocephalus tasmanicus_, 338
_Henicopsaltria eydouxi_, 350, 351
_Henicopsaltria fullo_, 350
Hepialidae, 239
_Hepialus australasiae_, 240
_Hepialus lewini_, 240
_Hepialus exima_, 241
_Hepialus ramseyi_, 241
_Hermatobates haddeni_, 338
Hesperidae, 227
_Hesperilla picta_, 227
_Hesperilla ornata_, 228
Hessian fly, 286
_Hesthesis cingulata_, 194
_Hesthesis ferruginea_, 194
_Hesthesis vigilans_, 194
_Hestiochora bicolor_, 236
Heterocera, 212, 230
Heterocerus, 151
Heteroceridae, 151
Heteromera, 144
_Heterodoxus macropus_, 390, 391
_Heterognathus carinatus_, 140
_Heteronympha merope_, 218
_Heteronympha mirifica_, 218
Heteroptera, 325, 326
_Heteropsyche melanochroma_, 282
Hexham Grey, 290
_Hippobosca equi_, 319
Hippoboscidae, 319
Hispides, 206
Histeridae, 141
_Hololepta sidnensis_, 141
Holopetilinae, 339
Homalosoma, 131
Homalota, 136
_Homocerus fossulatus_, 180
Homoptera, 346, 325
Honeypot ants, 97
Hooktip moth, 255
_Hoplastinus viridipennis_, 205
_Hormomyia omalanthi_, 286
Horned butterfly, 219
Horse fly, 294
Horse-stinger, 51
Host of weevil, 188
Host of clerids, 188
Host of Megalyra, 90
House fly, 315
Hover fly, 302
Hummingbird beetle, 237
Hunting beetle, 168
_Hyalopteryx australis_, 42
_Hydrometra strigosa_, 338
Hydrometridae, 337
Hydrophilidae, 135
_Hydrophilus albipes_, 136
_Hydrophilus latipalpus_, 136
_Hydroporus collaris_, 133
Hydrusa, 235
_Hylaeoides concinnus_, 115
_Hylesinus fici_, 178
_Hylesinus porcatus_, 178
Hymenoptera, 68
_Hypaulax tenuistriata_, 174
_Hyperion schroetteri_, 127, 129
Hypoderma, 317
_Hypodiranchris aphidis_, 74
_Hypolimnas bolina_, 217
Hypsidae, 250
_Ialmenus evagoras_, 221
_Ialmenus ictinus_, 222
_Ialmenus myrsilius_, 222
Icaria, 112
_Icaria gregaria_, 113
_Icerya purchasi_, 77, 210, 375, 379
_Icerya rosae_, 385
Ichneumonidae, 83
_Idarnis australis_, 78
Idiococciinae, 379
_Idolothrips spectrum_, 393
Imperial Blue, 221
Imperial Swallowtail, 226
Inchmen Ants, 92
Indian-meal moth, 274
_Inglisia foraminifer_, 375
_Inglisia fossilis_, 375
Insecta, 1
Inqualines, 73
_Iotherium metallicum_, 191
_Iridomyrmex detectus_, 93, 95
_Iridomyrmex nitidus_ (beetles in nest of), 140
_Iridomyrmex rufoniger_, 96
_Iridomyrmex domesticus_, 96
_Iridomyrmex sanguineus_, 96
Ironbark beetle, 173
Ischnocera, 390
_Ischnura delicata_, 54
_Ischnura heterosticta_, 53
_Ithystenus hollandiae_, 180
Jassidae, 82, 360
Jassid, forming web, 361
Jewel beetle, 162
_Julodimorpha bakewelli_, 163
Jumper ant, 92
_Junonia villida_, 216
_Junonia albi-cincta_, 216
Kangaroo beetle, 201
Killing bottle, 397
King beetle, 158
_Kladothrips rugosus_, 394
Klinophilos, 341
Kurrajong weevils, 189
Labelling, 406
_Labia grandis_, 16
_Labidura riparia_, 15
_Labidura truncata_, 16
Lace bugs, 336
Lace-wings, 57
Lace-winged insects, 49
Lac insects, 378
_Lacon caliginosus_, 166
Lady-bird beetles, 207
_Laemossacus electilis_, 188
_Lagria grandis_, 175
Lagriidae, 175
Lamiinae, 196
Lamp collecting, 403
_Lamprima insularis_, 152
_Lamprima latreillei_, 152
_Lamprima rutilans_, 152
_Lamprocolletes plumosus_, 115
_Lamprogaster laeta_, 308
_Lamprolina perplexa_, 203
Lampyridae, 9
Lampyrides, 167
Lance-headed grasshopper, 47
Lantern fly, 358
_Laphria diversipes_, 299
_Laphria rufifemorata_, 299
Large green leaf grasshopper, 47
Large plague locust, 42
Large parasitic wasp, 83
Larginae, 335
Larrides, 108
_Lasioderma serricorne_, 169
_Lasiopsylla rotundipennis_, 363
_Lasioptera miscella_, 286
Lathradidae, 148
_Latumcephalum macropus_, 391
Leaf Hoppers, 360, 366
Leaf case-moth, 245
Leaf bugs, 341
Leaf Rollers, 268
Leaf-mining fly, 305
Lecaniinae, 374
_Lecanium mirificum_, 376
_Lecanium patersonia_, 376
_Lecanium tesselatum_, 376
_Lecanium scrobiculata_, 376
Ledra, 360
_Leis conformis_, 208
_Lemidia hilaris_, 169
_Lemodes coccinea_, 176
_Lemodes splendens_, 176
_Leperina decorata_, 145
_Lepidoderma albo-hirtum_, 157
_Lepidoderma albo-hirtum_ (parasite of), 105
Lepidoptera, 5, 212
_Lepisma cursitans_, 12
_Lepisma longicaudata_, 12
_Lepisma producta_, 12
_Lepisma saccharina_, 11
_Lepolexis rapae_, 87
Leptidae, 295
_Leptis aequalis_, 296
_Leptocerus magnus_, 67
_Liptocerus oppositus_, 67
_Leptogaster geniculatus_, 299
_Leptoglossus membranaceus_, 332
_Leptomyrmex erythrocephalus_, 95
_Leptops hopei_, 183
_Leptops tribulus_, 183
Lerp Insects, 361
_Lestes analis_, 53
_Lestis aerata_, 117
_Lestis bombylans_, 117
_Leto staceyi_, 241, 243
_Leucaspis australis_, 75
_Leucaspis darlingi_, 75
_Leucaspis gigas_, 75
Lewin’s wood-moth, 240
Libellulidae, 51
_Libythea nicevillei_, 219
Libytheidae, 219
Light brown Apple Moth, 275
Light Ermine Moth, 249
Limacodes, 84
_Limacodes longerans_, 247
Limacodidae, 246, 282
_Limnophora ruficornis_, 312
Liotheidae, 390
_Liparetrus marginipennis_, 157
_Liparidae_, 252
_Lipeurus giganteum_, 391
_Lipeurus menura_, 391
_Liphyra brassolis_, 222
Lipura, 10
Lispe, 311
_Lissapterus howittanus_, 152
Lithosiidae, 248
_Litochrus palmerstoni_, 142
Little Devils, 356
Liviinae, 363
_Lixus mastersi_, 185
_Locusta danica_, 41
_Locusta vigentissima_, 47
Locustidae, 46
_Lomaptera cinnamea_, 160
_Lomaptera duboulayi_, 160
_Lomaptera wallacei_, 160
_Lonchaea splendida_, 308
Longicorns, 190
Long-horned Crane-fly, 292
Long-horned Locust, 43, 46
Long-nosed Wattle-moth, 256
Long-tailed Wasps, 90
Loopers, 259
_Lophocaters pusillus_, 144
_Lophodes sinistraria_, 261
Louse flies, 319
Lourie’s Ringbarkers, 37
_Lubra spinicornis_, 357
Lucanidae, 151
Lucerne moth, 275
_Lucia lucanus_, 221
_Lucia pyrodiscus_, 221
_Lucilia caesar_, 317
_Lucilia serricata_, 317
_Lucilia tasmaniensis_, 317
_Luciola flavicollis_, 168
Lycaenidae, 219
_Lyctus brunneus_, 170
Lygaeidae, 330
Lygaeninae, 333
_Lygaeus decoratus_, 333
_Lygaeus hospes_, 333
_Lygaeus mactans_, 333
_Lygesis mendica_, 193, 195
_Lyomya setioscaudata_, 287
Macleay’s butterfly, 226
Macleay Museum, 410
_Macrobatha platychroa_, 279
Macroglossa, 237
_Macromastix costalis_, 292
_Macrones rufus_, 194
_Macrogyrus canaliculatus_, 135
_Macrogyrus oblongus_, 135
_Macrogyrus paradoxus_, 135
_Macropanesthia muelleri_, 19
_Macropanesthia rhinoceros_, 19
_Macroporus howitti_, 133
_Macrosila casuarina_, 238
_Macrotoma servilis_, 191
_Macrotristia angularis_, 350
_Maechidius tibialis_, 156
_Maenas salamina_, 267
Magnetic Ant-nest, 24
Maize moth, 265
Malacodermidae, 167
Mallophaga, 325, 389
_Mamestra ewingii_, 266
Manna, 364
Mantidae, 14, 31
Mantids, 31
_Mantis carolina_, 31
_Mantis religiosa_, 31
Mantispa, 31, 59
Mantispides, 59
_Mantispa biseriata_, 59
_Mantispa strigipes_, 59
March fly, 294
_Margarodes vertonalis_, 269
Masaridae, 113
_Masicera pachytyli_, 315
Mason wasp (parasite on), 88
Mason wasps, 110
Mastotermes, 24
_Mastotermes darwiniensis_, 20, 24
May-flies, 54
Mealworm beetles, 172
Meat ant, 95
_Mecyna polygonalis_, 271
_Mecynodera coxalgica_, 201
Mediterranean Flour Moth, 273
Mediterranean Fruit Fly, 308
_Megacephala cylindrica_, 124
_Megacephala frenchi_, 124
_Megachile blackburni_, 118
_Megachile chrysopyga_, 119
_Megachile monstrosa_, 118
_Megachile mystacea_, 118
_Megachile pictiventris_, 118
Megalyridae, 90
_Megalyra shuckardi_, 90
_Megalyra fasciipennis_, 90
_Megalyra melanoptera_, 90
Megastigmus, 75
_Megastigmus brachyscelides_, 76
_Megastigmus iamenus_, 76
_Megastigmus asteri_, 76
_Megastigmus brachychitoni_, 76, 79
_Megymenum insulare_, 331
_Melampsalta eyrei_, 354
_Melampsalta abdominalis_, 353
_Melampsalta torrida_, 353
Melipona, 120
Mellifera, 114
_Melobasis splendida_, 163
Melonthides, 156
_Melophagus ovinus_, 320
Membracidae, 356
_Menopon infumatum_, 390
_Menopon menura_, 391
_Menopon pallipes_, 390
Meranoplus, 93
_Meranoplus oceanicus_, 94
_Meranoplus pubescens_, 94
_Merimna atrata_, 160
_Mesetia amoena_, 180
_Mesostenus albopictus_, 84
_Mesostigmodera typica_, 9
Metallic-green fly, 313
_Metriorrhynchus rufipennis_, 167
_Metura elongata_, 244
_Microbracon thalpocharis_, 87
_Microchaetes sphaericus_, 150
Micro-hymenoptera, 73, 81
Micro-lepidoptera, 278
_Micromus australis_, 66
_Micropoecila cincta_, 161
_Microtragus mormon_, 196
Mictinae, 332
_Mictis profana_, 332
_Miletus delicia_, 220
_Miletus ignita_, 220
Millipedes, 1
Miltogramma, 312
Mimic Beetles, 141
Mites, 1
Monarch, 214
Mole Cricket, 48
_Monochirus multispinosus_, 206
Monocrepidus, 167
_Monohammus holotephrus_, 197
_Monohammus ovinus_, 197
_Monolepta rosae_, 205
_Monomorium pharaonis_, 94
_Monomorium rubriceps_, 94
_Mononyx annulipes_, 342
Monophlebiinae, 379, 383
_Monophlebus crawfordi_, 383, 387
_Monopseudopsis inscriptus_, 67
Mordellidae, 176
_Mordella leucosticta_, 177
_Mordella limbata_, 177
_Mosoda anartoides_, 250
_Mosoda consolatrix_, 250
_Mosoda jocularis_, 250
Mosquitoes, 288
Moths, 212, 230
Mottled Yellows, 223
Mottled Cup-moth, 247
Mould on insects, 408
Mound Ant, 95
Mountain Grasshopper, 46
Mounting insects, 404
Mouse flea, 323
_Mucidus alternans_, 290
Mud Daubers, 107, 110
Mud nest wasps, 107, 108, 111
_Musca corvina_, 316
_Musca domestica_, 315
Muscidae, 315
_Muscidae acalyptrata_, 305
Museum collections, 409
Museum beetles, 149
Musical apparatus of cicada, 347
_Mutilla cordata_, 99
_Mutilla ferruginata_, 100
_Mutilla quadrisignata_, 100
_Mutilla rugicollis_, 99
Mutillidae, 5, 68, 98
_Mutusca brevicornis_, 332
_Mycalesis terminus_, 218
Mycetophagidae, 148, 287
Mycetophilidae, 287
_Mycopsylla fici_, 365
Mydas flies, 298
_Mydas fulvipennis_, 298
Mydaidae, 298
_Myllocerus carinatus_, 182
_Myocera longipes_, 314
Myriapoda, 1
_Myrmacicelus formicarius_, 187, 188
Mymaridae, 79
Mymarinae, 81
_Myrmecia albo-cincta_, 92
_Myrmecia forficata_, 92
_Myrmecia gulosa_, 92
_Myrmecia tarsata_, 92
Myrmeleonides, 57
Myrmicinae, 93
_Mytilaspis acaciae_, 374
_Mytilaspis pomorum_, 374
_Mytilaspis striata_, 374
_Mytilaspis spinifera_, 374
_Nascio parryi_, 163
_Natalis porcata_, 168
National Museum, 413
_Necrobia rufipes_, 169
_Necrodes osculans_, 140
Nematocera, 284
Nemobius, 48
Nemopterides, 59
_Neocalliphora ochracea_, 316
_Neoexaireta spinigera_, 293
_Nepa tristis_, 343
_Nepidae_, 343
_Neptis shepherdi_, 217
_Nerius inermis_, 310
_Nerius lineolatus_, 310
_Netrocoryne repanda_, 227
_Neuria quadripennis_, 297
Neuroptera, 49
Night collecting, 403
_Nirmus menura_, 391
_Nisotra submetallica_, 204
Nitidulidae, 143
Noctuidae, 262
_Nola metallopa_, 250, 251
_Nomia australica_, 116
_Notarcha clytalis_, 270
_Notius depressus_, 329
Notodontidae, 257
_Notonomus australasiae_, 132
Notonectidae, 344
_Novius cardinalis_, 210
Numbering specimens, 406
_Nyctalemon orontes_, 232, 254
_Nycteribia pteropus_, 321
Nycteribiidae, 321
_Nyctemera amica_, 250
Nymphalidae, 214
Nymphalinae, 215
_Nymphes myrmeleonides_, 61
_Nysius vinitor_, 334
Nyssonides, 108
_Ocinara lewinae_, 255
_Ocystola hamicalypta_, 279
Odonata, 51
_Odonestes australasiae_, 256
_Odontomachus ruficeps_, 93
_Odontomyia stylata_, 294
Odynerus, Mimic of, 116, 304
Odynerus, Parasite on, 88
_Odynerus bicolor_, 111
_Odynerus nigro-cinctus_, 112
_Oechalia schellembergi_, 330
Oecophoridae, 278
_Oecophylla smaragdina_, 96
_Oedaleus senegalensis_, 41
Oedemeridae, 177
Oestridae, 317
_Oestrus ovis_, 319
_Ogyris abrota_, 221
Oiketicus, 244
Oil beetle, 177
_Olfersia macleayi_, 320
_Oligotoma agilis_, 29
_Oligotoma gurneyi_, 29
Olive-tree bug, 336
_Oncomeris flavicornis_, 331
_Oncopeltus quadriguttatus_, 333
_Oncopeltus sordidus_, 334
_Oncophysa versiculata_, 336
_Onthophagus cuniculus_, 154
_Onthophagus granulatus_, 154
_Onthophagus kershawi_, 154
_Onthophagus pentacanthus_, 154
_Onthophagus rufosignatus_, 154
Onychophora, 1
_Ootetrastichus beatus_, 79
_Ophelosia crawfordi_, 82
Ophiderinae, 267
_Ophidius histrio_, 167
Ophion, 84
Ophioninae, 84
_Ophyra analis_, 311
_Ophyra nigra_, 311
_Opisthoscelis spinosa_, 383
_Opisthoscelis subrotunda_, 382
_Opistoplatys australasiae_, 339
Orange-piercing moth, 267
_Orcus chalybeus_, 210
_Orcus bilunulatus_, 210
_Orcus australasiae_, 210
_Ornithoctona nigricans_, 321
_Ornithomyia perfuga_, 321
_Ornithomyia stipituri_, 321
Ornithoptera, 225
_Ornithoptera richmondia_, 225
_Ornithoptera (Cassandra) euphorion_, 225
Ortalidae, 308
_Ortalis coerulea_, 308
_Orthetrum nigrifrons_, 53
_Orthetrum villosovittatum_, 53
_Orthodera ministralis_, 32
_Orthodera prasina_, 32
Ortholfersia, 320, 321
Orthoptera, 2, 13
_Orthoprosopa nigra_, 303
_Orthorrhinus klugi_, 186
_Orthorrhinus cylindrirostris_, 186
_Oryctes barbarossa_, 159
Oryssida, 70
Oryssus, 70
_Oryssus queenslandicus_, 71
Osmia, 114
_Osmylus tenui_, 64
_Othreis fullonica_, 267
_Oxycarenus luctuosus_, 334
_Oxyops concreta_, 185
_Pachycondyla piliventris_, 93
_Pachydissils sericus_, 192
Pachyrhamma, 48
_Paederus cruenticollis_, 137
Painted Crane-fly, 292
Painted Cup-moth, 247
Painted Daymoth, 234
Painted Delias, 224
Painted Gauzewing, 227
Painted Lady, 216
_Palacolycus problematicus_, 9
_Palaecoccus nudata_, 385
_Palaecoccus rosae_, 385
_Palengenia papuana_, 54
Palpicorna, 135
_Pamborus alternans_, 126
_Pamborus viridis_, 126
_Pamphila augiades_, 228
_Panesthia laevicollis_, 18
_Pangonia auriflus_, 295
_Pangonia concolor_, 295
_Pangonia guttata_, 295
_Pangonia rufovittata_, 295
_Pangonia violacea_, 295
Panorpa, 56
Panorpidae, 56
_Panops flavipes_, 297
Paper-nest wasps, 112
_Papilio aegeus_, 226
_Papilio erectheus_, 77, 226
_Papilio macleayanus_, 226
_Papilio sarpedon_, 226
_Papilio sthenelus_, 226
Papilionidae, 225
_Paracephala cyaneipennis_, 165
_Paracolletes crassipes_, 116
_Paragia bicolor_, 114
_Paragia decipiens_, 114
_Paragryllacris combusta_, 47
_Paramorpha aquilina_, 275
Parapison, 108
Parasita, 388
Parasite flies, 312
Parasite wasps, 74
Parnidae, 150
_Parnkella muelleri_, 352
_Paroplites australis_, 191
_Paropsis alternata_, 203
_Paropsis immaculata_, 204, 205
_Paropsis liturata_, 204
_Paropsis pictipennis_, 204
_Paropsis variolosa_, 203
Paroxypilus, 34
_Parroa noctis_, 131
Passalides, 152
_Pauropsalta annulata_, 354
_Pauropsalta encaustica_, 354
_Pauropsalta mneme_, 354
_Pauropsalta nodicosta_, 354
Paussilidae, 138
Paussus, 138
Paussili, 139
Peach Aphis, 369
Peach Moth, 273
Pediculidae, 388
Pediculina, 388
_Pediculus capitis_, 388
_Pediculus vestimenti_, 388
_Pelectomoides conicollis_, 177
_Pelopaeus laetus_, 107
_Peltophora pedicellata_, 327
Pentatomidae, 327
_Penthea sannio_, 199
_Penthea saundersi_, 199
_Penthea vermicularia_, 199
_Pentodon australis_, 158, 159
_Pepsis australis_, 106
_Perga cameronii_, 72
_Perga dorsalis_, 72
_Perga kirbyi_, 72
_Perga lewisi_, 72
Perilampinae, 76
Peripatus, 1
_Periplaneta americana_, 17
_Periplaneta australasiae_, 17
_Perissops ocellatus_, 188
_Perkinsiella saccharicida_, 361
Perla, 50
Perlidae, 50
_Petalura gigantea_, 53
Petiolata, 73
Petioliventris, 70
Phalacridae, 142
_Phalacrognathus muelleri_, 152
_Phalaenoides tristifica_, 234
_Phalaenoides (Agarista) glycinae_, 233
_Phalaenoides_ (destroyed by bug), 330
_Phaolus macleayi_, 191
_Phaonia personata_, 311
Phasmidae, 14, 34
_Pheidole anthracina_, 94
_Pheidole bos_, 94
_Phellus glaucus_, 300
_Pheropsophus verticalis_, 128
Philanthides, 108
Philanthus, 109
_Philia basalis_, 327
_Philia regia_, 328
_Philia senator_, 328
_Philobota agnesella_, 279
_Philobota arabella_, 279
_Philobota catascia_, 279
_Philobota gascialis_, 279
_Philobota productella_, 279
_Philomastix glaber_, 73
Philophloeus, 129
Philopteridae, 390
_Philoscaphus tuberculatus_, 130
_Philotarsus froggatti_, 30
_Phloeothrips tepperi_, 394
Phoracantha attacked by parasite, 168
Phoracantha, Parasite of, 90
_Phoracantha recurva_, 90, 168
_Phoracantha semipunctata_, 193
_Phoracantha tricuspis_, 193
Phthiriasis, 388
_Phthirius inquinalis_, 388
_Phylacteophaga eucalypti_, 73
_Phyllocharis cyanicornis_, 202
_Phyllocharis cyanipes_, 203
_Phyllodromia germanica_, 18
_Phyllotocus macleayi_, 155, 156
_Phyllotocus marginatus_, 156
_Phylloxera vastatrix_, 367
Physapoda, 392
_Physopelta famelica_, 335
Phytiphaga, 70
_Phytomyza affinis_, 80, 309
Phytomyzidae, 309
_Pielus hyalinatus_, 242
_Pielus imperialis_, 242
Pieridae, 223
_Pieris teutonia_, 223
_Piesarthrius marginellus_, 193
_Piesarthrius_, Parasites of, 89
Pill beetle, 150
_Pimpla intricatoria_, 84
_Pinara despecta_, 256
Pine-scrub beetle, 163
Pink-winged Tryxalid, 43
Pintails, 176
_Piophila casei_, 306
Pipunculidae, 301
_Pipunculus cinerascens_, 79
_Pipunculus cruciator_, 302
_Pipunculus helluo_, 302
_Pirates ephippiger_, 340
_Pirates flavopictus_, 340
Piratinae, 340
_Pison decipiens_, 108
_Pison spinolae_, 108
Plague caterpillars, 262
Plant-eating beetle, 200
Plant lice, 367
_Platisus integricollis_, 147
_Platynectis 10-punctata_, 133
_Platysoma strongulatum_, 142
_Plautia affinis_, 329
_Plautia nigripennis_, 329
Plecia, 288
_Plectrotarsus gravenorsti_, 67
_Pleistodontes froggatti_, 78
_Pleistodontes imperialis_, 78
_Plodia interpunctella_, 274
_Plusia argentifera_, 266
_Plusia venicillata_, 266, 267
_Plutella cruciferarum_, 281
Plutellidae, 281
_Pocadius pilistriatus_, 143, 144
_Pochazia australis_, 359
_Podacanthus typhon_, 36
_Podacanthus wilkinsoni_, 37
_Podalirius cingulatus_, 118
_Podalirius aeruginosus_, 118
_Podalirius emendatus_, 118
_Podalirius pulcher_, 118
_Podomyrma adelaidae_, 94
_Podomyrma bimaculata_, 94
_Podomyrma gratiosa_, 94
_Poecilometis gravis_, 329
_Poecilometis histricus_, 329
_Poecilometis strigatus_, 329
_Poeciloptera modesta_, 360
_Poliaspis exocarpi_, 374
Policemen flies, 108
_Polistes humilis_, 113
_Polistes tasmaniensis_, 112
_Polistes tepidus_, 113
_Polistes variabilis_, 112
_Polyclonus atratus_, 73
_Polygommatus boeticus_, 221
_Polyrhachis ammon_, 98
_Polyrhachis ornata_, 98
_Polyrhachis semi-aurata_, 98
_Polyrhachis turneri_, 98
_Polystigma punctata_, 161
_Polystigma octopunctata_, 161
_Polyzosteria mitchellii_, 19
_Polyzosteria limbata_, 18
_Polyzosteria pubescens_, 18
Pompilidae, 105
Pompilus, 106
Ponera, 93
Ponerinae, 92
Porina, 240
_Porismus strigatus_, 63
_Porthesia obsoleta_, 252
Powderpost beetles, 170
Praying Mantis, 31
Preservation of Insects, 395
Prioninae, 190
Prionocneminae, 367
_Pristhesancus papuensis_, 341
Privet Hawk-moth, 238
Procris, 236
Proctotrypidae, 81
_Prodenia littoralis_, 266
_Prolepta dilatata_, 360
_Prolepta obscurata_, 360
_Promecoderus concolor_, 131
Prominents, 257
_Prosayleus phytolymus_, 3
_Prosopis metallica_, 115
_Prosopis vidua_, 115
Protolechia, 279
_Protoparce convolvuli_, 238, 239
_Psalidura elongata_, 184
_Psaltoda harrisi_, 350
_Psaltoda moerens_, 349
Pselaphidae, 138
_Pselaphus lineatus_, 138
_Pseudalmenus myrsilus_, 222
Pseudomorphides, 129
Pseudo-Neuroptera, 49
Pseudorhynchota, 389
_Pseudorhynchus lessonii_, 47
Psocidae, 30
Psychidae, 243
_Psychopsis insolens_, 62
_Psychopsis illidgi_, 62
_Psychopsis coelivagus_, 62
_Psychopsis meyricki_, 62
_Psychopsis mimica_, 61
_Psylla acaciae-baileyanae_, 365
_Psylla capparis_, 365
_Psylla schizoneuroides_, 365
_Psylla sterculiae_, 365
_Psylla acaciae-decurrentis_, 364
_Psylla eucalypti_, 362
Psyllidae, 4, 361
Psyllinae, 364
_Pterodontia mellii_, 297
_Pterohelaeus piceus_, 173
_Pteromalus puparum_, 77
_Pterygogramma acuminata_, 79
_Pterygophorus cinctus_, 72
_Pterygophorus interruptus_, 73
_Ptilocnemus femoralis_, 339
_Ptilomacra senex_, 253
Ptinidae, 169
_Ptomaphila lachrymosa_, 140
Publications dealing with Entomology, 418
_Pulex echnidae_, 323
_Pulex fasciatus_, 323
_Pulex irritans_, 323
_Pulex serraticeps_, 322
Pulicidae, 321
_Pulvinaria maskelli_, 384
Pumpkin beetle, 204
_Purpuricenus quadrinotatus_, 196
_Pygiopsylla colossus_, 324
Pyralidae, 268
_Pyrameis cardui_, 216
_Pyrameis kershawi_, 216
_Pyrameis itea_, 216
Pyrochroidae, 176
Pyrrhocoridae, 335
Pyrrhocorinae, 335
_Quedius luridipennis_, 137
Queensland Elephant-beetle, 159
Queensland Fruit-fly, 207
Queensland Museum, 414
Queen Termite, 23
_Quintilia (Tibicen) infans_, 352
_Rantara varipes_, 343
Rat fleas, 323
Rear-horses, 31
Red-eyed Cicadas, 349
Red-legged Ham-beetle, 169
Red-legged locust, 43
Reduviidae, 338
_Reduvius personatus_, 339
_Reduvius rivulosus_, 339
Reproductive organs of locust, 41
_Repsimus aeneus_, 157
_Rhadinosomtis lacordairei_ (parasite in brachyscelid gall), 182
Rhagigaster, 102
_Rhantus pubescens_, 134
Rhapidians, 56
_Rhinocola corniculata_, 364
_Rhinocola eucalypti_, 364
_Rhinotermes intermedius_, 25
Rhinoterminae, 24
_Rhinotia hoemoptera_, 183, 187
_Rhipidocera mystacina_, 167
Rhipidoceridae, 167
Rhipidiphoridae, 176
_Rhisobius ventralis_, 211
Rhizococcus, 376
Rhizopertha, 171
_Rhoetocoris (Oncoscelis) sulciventris_, 330
Rhopalocera, 213
_Rhynchium superbum_, 111
_Rhynchium mirabile_, 111
_Rhyothemus graphiptera_, 52
_Rhyparida didyma_, 202
Rhysodidae, 146
_Rhysodes lignarius_, 146
_Rhyssa semipunctata_, 84
_Rhyssonotus nebulosus_, 151
_Rhytiphora argus_, 200
Ribbed case-moth, 245
Ridge-backed grasshopper, 43
Ringed moths, 235
Ringed sawfly, 72
Ripersia, 378
_Riptortus robustus_, 332
Robber-flies, 298
_Rosenbergia megacephala_, 198
Rose-chafer beetles, 160
Rose-winged locust, 42
Round Scale, 374
Round fungus beetle, 141
Rove beetle, 136
Ruby Eye, 64
Ruby Wasp, 87
Rutelides, 157
Rutherglen bug, 334
_Rutila decora_, 314
_Rutilia formosa_, 314
_Rutilia inornata_, 314
_Rutilia vivipara_, 314
Sacktragers, 243
Sacred beetle, 153
_Sagra papuana_, 201
Sagrides, 201
_Salius (Priocnemus) bicolor_, 105, 106
Sand bugs, 342
Sand flies, 287, 291
Sand wasps, 105
_Saprinus laetus_, 142
_Sapromyza decora_, 310
_Sapromyza fuscicornis_, 310
Sapromyzidae, 310
_Saragus floccosus_, 173
_Sarcophaga aurifrons_, 315
_Sarcophaga frontalis_, 315
_Sarcophaga oedipoda_, 315
Sarcophagidae, 314
Sarcopsyllidae, 322
_Saropogon princeps_, 300
_Sartellus signatus_, 137
Saturnidae, 257
Satyrinae, 217
Saunders’ Case-moth, 244
Sawflies, 71
Scale Insects, 325, 371
Scaphididae, 141
_Scaphidium punctipenne_, 141
Scarabaeidae, 153
_Scardia australasialla_, 281
Scaritides, 129
_Scatophaga guerinii_, 310
Scatophagidae, 310
_Scatopse fenestralis_, 288
_Sceleocantha glabricollis_, 190
_Sceliodes cordalis_, 270
_Schizoneura lanigera_, 369
Schizorrhina, 160
Sciaridae, 287
Sciomyzinae, 310
_Scolia fulva_, 103
_Scolia radula_, 103
Scoliidae, 102
Scolypopa, 359
Scolytidae, 178
_Scopiastes vitticeps_, 333
_Scopodes sigillatus_, 128
Scorpions, 1
Scorpion flies, 56
Scotch Greys, 290
Scydmaenidae, 139
_Scymnus vagans_, 211
_Scymnus notiscens_, 211
_Selidosema acaciaria_, 261
_Selidosema canescaria_, 261
_Selidosema excursaria_, 261
_Selidosema lyciaria_, 261
_Semnotus ducalis_, 293
_Semnotus imperatoria_, 293
_Sericea spectans_, 268
_Serenthea pectipennis_, 336
Sessiliventris, 70
Setting insects, 399
Setting board, 399
_Sextius australis_, 357
_Sextius depressus_, 357
_Sextius virescens_, 357
Shade Midges, 287
Sheep-nostril Fly, 319
Sheep tick, 319
She-oak Hawk-moth, 238
Shield bugs, 327
Shining wasps, 113
Short-horned Grasshopper, 40
Sialidae, 55
_Sierola antipoda_, 82
Silkworm Moths, 256
Silly Ants, 95
_Silphomorpha colymbetoides_, 129
_Silphomorpha nitiduloides_, 129
Silphidae, 140
Silver-fish, 11
_Silvius angusta_, 295
_Sima laeviceps_, 95
Simulidae, 287
_Simulum furiosum_, 287
_Siphanta acuta_, 359
Siphonaptera, 284, 322
_Siphonophora rosae_, 369
_Sirex australis_, 71
Siricidae, 71
_Sitodrepa (Anobium) panicea_, 170
_Sitotroga cerealella_, 279
Skippers, 227
Skippers (in cheese), 306
Skusea, 290
Slender weevils, 179
Slug moth, 246
Small green grasshopper, 47
Small Ichneumon, 85
Small plague locust, 42
Smaller sand wasps, 106
Smotherfly, 367
_Smynthurus lutus_, 11
_Smynthurus viridis_, 10
Snake flies, 55
Snout beetles, 181
Snow flies, 287, 370
Social wasps, 112
Soldier beetles, 168
Soldier flies, 293
Solitary ants, 98
Solitary wasps, 110
Soothsayers, 31
Sound organs of locust, 40
South Australian Museum, 414
Speckled Footmen, 250
Speckled green grasshopper, 47
_Sphaerococcus froggatti_, 380
_Sphaerococcus leptospermi_, 380
_Sphaerococcus melaleuca_, 380
_Sphaerococcus pirogallis_, 380
_Sphaerococcus socialis_, 380
_Sphaeroderma equis_, 344
Sphecius, 108
_Sphedanocoris distinctus_, 339
Sphegidae, 106
Sphegides, 107
_Sphex opulenta_, 107
_Sphex vestita_, 107
_Sphinctomyrmex froggatti_, 93
_Sphinctomyrmex hednigae_, 93
Sphingidae, 236
_Sphinx ligustri_, 238
_Sphiximorpha australis_, 304
Spiders, 1
Spider flies, 319
Spiloglaux boobook (host of lousefly), 321
_Spilopyra sumptuosa_, 202
_Spilosoma fulvohirta_, 249
_Spilosoma fuscinula_, 249
_Spilosoma obliqua_, 249
Spined orange-bug, 330
Spined green leaf insect, 38
Spondyliaspis, 362
_Spondyliaspis eucalypti_, 362
Spondyliaspis (food of ants), 95
Spotted Ichneumon, 94
Spotted black Ichneumon, 94
Spring-tails, 10
Squash bugs, 332
Stag beetles, 151
Staphylinidae, 136
_Stegomyia notoscriptus_, 290
_Stegomyia fasciata_, 290
Steel-blue sawfly, 72
Stem saw-flies, 70
_Stenocotis australis_, 360
_Stephanocircus dasyuri_, 323
_Stephanocircus simsoni_, 323
_Stephanocircus thomasi_, 323
_Stibopteryx costalis_, 59
Stick insects, 34
Stigmodera, 5
_Stigmodera fortnumi_, 164
_Stigmodera gratiosa_, 164
_Stigmodera heros_, 164
_Stigmodera grandis_, 164
_Stigmodera jacquinoti_, 164
_Stigmodera pascoei_, 164
_Stigmodera thoracica_, 164
_Stigmodera tibialis_, 164
_Stigmodera variabilis_, 164
_Stigmodera macularia_, 164
_Stibula pedunculatus_, 76
_Stilbum splendidum_, 88
_Stilbum amethystinum_, 88
_Stilida indecora_, 331
Stinging caterpillars, 84
_Stizus pectoralis_, 108
_Stomoxys calcitrans_, 316
Stone flies, 50
Storing collections, 404
_Strathmopoda melanochra_, 281
Stratiomyidae, 293
Striped Delias, 224
_Stropis maculosa_, 44
_Strongylurus thoracicus_, 193
Structure, 6
Structure of wings (Hymenoptera), 69
Structure of head and thorax, 68
Sucking lice, 388
Sugar ants, 97
Sugar lerp, 363
Sugaring, 403
_Suphalasca sabulosa_, 58
Swallow Tails, 225
Sycoryctes, 78
_Syllitus grammicus_, 193
_Symphyletes neglectus_, 198
_Symphyletes nigrovirens_, 198
_Symphyletes solandri_, 199
_Symphyletes vestigialis_, 199, 200
_Synemon sophia_, 232
_Synemon hesperoides_, 232
_Synlestes weyersii_, 53
Syntomidae, 235
_Syntomis annulata_, 235
_Syntomis aperta_, 235
Syrphid flies, 85
Syrphidae, 302
_Syrphus pusillus_, 302
_Syrphus viridiceps_, 302, 303
Tabanidae, 294
_Tabanus abstersus_, 295
_Tabanus brevidentatus_, 295
_Tabanus edentulus_, 295
_Tabanus sanguinarius_, 295
_Tachardia australis_, 378
_Tachardia decorella_, 379
Tachardiinae, 378
_Tachina oedipoda_, 315
Tachinidae, 312
Tachytes, 108
Tailed Emperor, 217
_Talaurinus tuberculatus_, 184
Tamasa, 351
_Tapinoma minutum_, 96
_Tapinoma melanocephalum_, 96
_Tarsostenus zonatus_, 169
_Teara contraria_, 252
_Teara melanosticta_, 253
_Teara tristis_, 253
_Tectocoris lineola_, 327
_Tectocoris banksi_, 327
_Teia anartaides_, 255
_Telephorus pulchellus_, 168
_Temnoplectron rotundum_, 154
_Tenebrio molitor_, 175
Tenebrionidae, 172, 175
_Tenodera australasiae_, 34
Tenthredinidae, 71
_Tepperia sterculiae_, 188
Terebranti, 70
Terebrantia, 393
_Terias hecabe_, 223
_Terias smilax_, 223
Termes lacteus (host of lamellicorn beetle), 157
_Termes perniger_, 25
_Termes meridionalis_, 26
_Termes krisiformis_, 27
_Termes rubriceps_, 26
_Termissa nivosa_, 249
_Termissa shepherdi_, 249
Termitarium, 23
Termites, 21
Termitidae, 20
Termitinae, 25
Tessaratominae, 330
_Testrica bubula_, 328
_Tetracha australis_, 124
_Tetracha australasiae_, 125
_Tetracha hopei_, 125
_Tetralobus cunninghami_, 166
Tetrastichinae, 79
_Tetrastichodes froggatti_, 77
Tetrasticus, 77
_Tettigarcta crinita_, 354
_Tettigarcta tomentosa_, 354
_Tettigia tristigma_, 351
_Thalaina clara_, 262
_Thalaina inscriptum_, 262
_Thallis janthina_, 206
_Thalpochares coccophaga_, 87, 265
_Thaumasura femor-rubra_, 77
_Thaumasura terebrator_, 76
_Thea opaca_, 362, 364
_Thea galbula_, 209
_Thopha saccata_, 348
_Thopha sessiliba_, 349
Thread-winged Nemopteron, 60
Thrips, 392
Thripidae, 4, 392
_Thudaca obliquella_, 282
_Thyada barbicornis_, 198
Thynnidae, 4, 68, 100
_Thynnus brenchleyi_, 101
_Thynnus flavilabris_, 101
_Thynnus leachellus_, 101
_Thynnus variabilis_, 101
_Thyridopteryx herrichii_, 245
_Thyridopteryx hubneri_, 245
Thysanoptera, 392
Thysanura, 11
Tibicen, 351
Tibicinae, 351
Ticks, 1
Tiger beetles, 124
Tiger moths, 248
_Tigriodes alterna_, 248
_Tigriodes furcifera_, 248
_Tigriodes heminephes_, 248
_Tinea nectaria_, 281
_Tinea fuscipunctella_, 281
_Tinea pellionella_, 281
_Tinea tapetzella_, 281
Tineidae, 281
Tineina, 281
Tingidae, 336
Tinted Delias, 224
_Tipula costalis_, 292
_Tipulidae brevipalpi_, 292
_Tipulidae longipalpi_, 292
_Tisiphone abeona_, 218
_Tomoxia flavicans_, 177
Torpedo bug, 359
Tortricidae, 274
_Tortrix glaphyriana_, 75, 275
_Trachelizus howitti_, 179
_Tragocerus lepidopterus_, 196
_Tragocerus spencei_, 196
_Tranes sparsus_, 187
_Tranes xanthorrhoeae_, 187
_Trapesites iacchus_, 228
_Trapezites symmomus_, 228
Trapping, 403
Tree-hoppers, 356
Tribelocephalidae, 339
_Trichaulax philipsii_, 161
_Trichaulax marginipennis_, 162
_Trichetra marginalis_, 252
_Trichilogaster maideni_, 80
_Trichilogaster a-longifoliae_, 80
_Trichilogaster pendulae_, 80
Trichodectidae, 390
Trichoptera, 66
Trichopterygidae, 141
_Trichosternus renardi_, 127
_Trichoxenia cineraria_, 75
_Trichoxenia labyrinthica_, 75
Trictena, 242
_Trigona canifrons_, 120
_Trigona carbonaria_, 119
_Trigonotarsus rugosus_, 189
_Trioza carnosa_, 366
_Trioza casuarinae_, 366
_Trioza banksiae_, 366
_Trioza eucalypti_, 366
Triozinae, 365
_Trogodendron fasciculatum_, 169
_Trogoderma froggatti_, 149
_Trogoderma apicipenne_, 149
_Trogosita mauritanica_, 144
Trogositidae, 144
Troides, 225
Trombiididae, 98
_Tropidoderus childreni_, 37
_Tropidoderus decipiens_, 38
_Tropidoderus iodomus_, 38
_Tropidoderus rhodomus_, 37
_Trox australasiae_, 155
_Trox dohrni_, 155
_Trypeta bicolor_, 308
_Trypeta musae_, 308
_Trypeta poenia_, 308
Trypetidae, 306
_Tryxalis rafflesii_, 43
Tubulifera, 393
Tussock Moths, 252
_Tyora hibisci_, 367
_Tyora sterculiae_, 367
Types, 409
_Uracanthus cryptophagus_, 193, 195
_Uracanthus triangularis_, 193
Urania, 232
Uraniidae, 232
Vapourers, 252
_Vedalia cardinalis_, 210
Velvet mites, 98
_Venustria superba_, 351
_Verania frenata_, 209
Vespa, 112
Vespidae, 112
Vine-moth bug, 330
Walking Straw, 36
Warble-flies, 317
Wasps, 68
Wasp flies, 305
Water beetles, 133
Water boatmen, 345
Water bugs, 342
Water fleas, 289
Water moths, 66
Water scorpions, 343
Water striders, 337
Wattle-pig, 183
Web-spinners, 28
Weevils, 181
Whirligig beetles, 134
Whistling moths, 234
White ants, 20
Whites, 223
Wine flies, 306
_Winthemia lata_, 312
Wireworms, 166
Wood ants, 98
Woodborers, 178
Wood moths, 231, 239
Woolly Aphids, 369
Woolly Bears, 248
Wrigglers, 289
_Xantholinus erythrocephalus_, 137
_Xenica achanta_, 219
_Xenica correae_, 219
_Xenica fulva_, 219
_Xyleborus solidus_, 178
Xylocopa, 116
_Xylocopa aestuans_, 117
_Xylocopa bryorum_, 117
_Xylonychus eucalypti_, 157
_Xylotrupes australicus_, 159
_Xystmatodoma guildingi_, 281
Yellows, 223
Yellow-fever mosquito, 290
Yellow Monday, 349
Yellow-tinted Delias, 224
Yellow-winged locust, 41
_Ypthima arctous_, 218
_Zanessa rubrovariegata_, 342
Zelotypia, 241
_Zenithicola australis_, 169
_Zenithicola obesus_, 169
_Zeuzera cinerens_, 243
_Zeuzera eucalypti_, 242
_Zeuzera liturata_, 243
_Zeuzera macleayi_, 243
Zeuzeridae, 242
_Zinckenia recurvalis_, 270
_Zonitis bipartita_, 177
_Zonitis brevicornis_, 177
_Zonopetala decisiana_, 279
_Zopherosis georgii_, 173
Zygaenidae, 236
Zygopteridae, 51
Zygotricha, 306
_Zygrita diva_, 200
[Illustration]
Transcriber’s Notes:
1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been
corrected silently.
2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have
been retained as in the original.
3. Italics are shown as _xxx_.
4. Bold print is shown as =xxx=.
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