SPORTSMAN CREEK CONSERVATION AREA

Image of a female Rhinoceros beetle one of the largest of beetles which is distinguishable by not having the large  horn of the males which are used for jousting other males. The giant hand sized larvae live in soil and feed on rotting logs or decaying plant matter. A new species for the Conservation Area.

Sportsman Creek Longicorn Beetle image used to underline the seriousness of works by Danish Ceramics artist Inge-Marie Fruelands beetle-inspired products.

Also known as the Hibiscus Harlequin Bug the image on left is of an adult male with metallic blue and red patches. The image on right is a fifth instar Nymph with bright metallic blue colour. They feed mostly on young shoots piercing and sucking the stems of Malvaceae.  Not commonly found in the Conservation Area after hitching a ride in a visiting vehicle.

Known for the violin shaped pattern on their backs these attractive and common beetles live in heaths and woodlands. The female Fiddler Beetle lay their eggs in rotting timber or in damp soil under logs. The grubs feed on rotting timber and build cocoons of soil and debris in which they pupate. These beetles are harmless to humans. 

With over fifteen hundred recorded species across Australia and S/E Asia and twenty thousand species worldwide these common beetles are scavengers and feed on both fresh and decaying vegetation. Major predators include birds, rodents, sunspiders and lizards making them an important link within the food chain.

I.D. courtesy of Fiona Brell Interpretive Officer. Australian Museum.

Further reference – http://australianmuseum.net.au/DarklingBeetle

Belonging to the ground beetle family (Carabidae) with over two thousand five hundred species Australia wide these beetles are carnivorous and hunt on the ground or in trees. Their larvae feed on other insects. When threatened the Bombardier Beetle uses a special gland at its rear to mix together two chemicals, resulting in an explosion with a loud popping noise and an accompanying sizzle of spray and steam with temperatures over 100 degrees Celsius in the gland. Up to 80 explosions may be produced over a four minute period.

I.D. and reference courtesy of Martyn Robinson and Yvette Simpson. Australian Museum.

Further reading: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Bombardier-Beetle/

” A beetle not a bug. It is certainly one of the diving beetles in the family Dytigcidae, but there are a few black and yellow genera and species. This beetle could be in the genera Megaporus or Sternopriscus.”  Found in the dam feeding on small aquatic organisms.

It is Sandracottus bakewellii (Clark, 1864), an endemic Dytiscidae of Australia, distributed in tropical northern Australia and along the east coast south to Brisbane.

Lars Hendrich, entomologist, Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich, Germany

I.D courtesy of  Martyn Robinson. Naturalist Australian Museum. 

These small bugs reside on Eucalyptus and Acacia species and are sap suckers. 

I.D. courtesy of Kellie Harris. Interpretive Officer, Australian Museum.