Lilybrook Break - 15 August 2020

Ferns sprouting out of the rock at Lilybrook Break

It was a damp looking morning but still there were twenty members happy to brave the weather. 

Admiring the old Blue Gums

A shower as we started, and a downpour at the end but inbetween was perfect, fine and warm. 

Baby Blue Eyes (Evolvulus alsinoides)

Spring wildflowers were just coming into bloom. 

Fauna species lists:

Birds: Brown Quail, Australian Wood Duck, ,Bar-shouldered Dove ,Australasian Darter, Great Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Australian Pelican, White-faced Heron, Straw-necked Ibis, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Whistling Kite, Dusky Moorhen, Black-winged Stilt, Masked Lapwing, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Little Corella, Long-billed Corella, Galah, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Little Lorikeet, King Parrot, Pale-headed Rosella, Little Bronze-cuckoo, Pheasant Coucal, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, White-throated Gerygone, Striated Pardalote, White-throated Honeyeater, Striped Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Noisy Friarbird, Little Friarbird, Grey-crowned Babbler, Rufous Whistler, Olive-backed Oriole, Pied Butcherbird, Grey Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Magpie-lark, Golden-headed Cisticola, Tawny Grassbird, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Double-barred Finch.

Mammals: Eastern Grey Kangaroo

Butterflies: Common Grass-yellow (Eurema hecabe phoebus), Small Grass-yellow (Eurema smilax), Common Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina nerina).

When is an apple, not an apple?

Apple galls

On our latest field trip, we came across these funny looking growths on the fresh eucalypt regrowth along the burnt ridge of the Mt Mathieson track. Questions were asked and other than that they were galls made by small insects nothing else was offered.

Recently I've been reading some of our old newsletters and the words of one of our contributors came to me - “…the impulse to know, to want to learn, to discover for one’s self,  .... in other words one gets caught up in the excitement of discovery.” This was me in a box. I wanted to know more about these galls.

Searching the www finds a little information though usually quite academic but I was hooked. I was caught up in the excitement of discovery. 

More apple galls

The type of gall depends on the parasite that produces it. They can be wasps, beetles, midges or something even smaller such as viruses, fungi and bacteria. The insect parasite lays her egg in the plant which forms a protective, woody growth around it. Hence a gall. Psyllids, tiny sap-sucking insects related to lerps, cause galls on native trees. Schedotrioza spp. form distinctive spherical “apple” galls on eucalypt leaves.

Psyllids are approximately 4 mm long and hold their wings roof-like over their bodies and look a little like miniature cicadas. The immature psyllids are specialist feeders, with many species restricted to one plant type or even a single species of plant, and often to particular parts of the plant (leaves, new shoots, etc.) or growth stages (either young or mature foliage). Adults disperse over short distances by jumping or flying, but many species may travel long distances on air currents.

Apple Gall through a Eucalypt leaf

Webliography:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/sternorrhyncha

http://oneminutebugs.com.au/gall-inducing-insects/

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/390283/Psyllids-Insect-Pests-of-Eucalypts.pdf

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/390283/Psyllids-Insect-Pests-of-Eucalypts.pdf 

Mt Mathieson Trail Reconnoitre

The leader and I went to check the Mt Mathieson Trail for the July outing on Friday. 

Grasstree spikes on a burnt ridge, Mt Mathieson

It was beautiful weather, warmer than usual for this time of the year. We only went as far as the Lookout, about 2 km. It was upsetting to see how bushfire damaged the area was. A phantom of its former glory. 

Yes, shoots are coming back on the trees and the Xanthorrhoea (grasstrees) are looking healthy but so little canopy and few birds. By the time of our outing the grasstree flower spikes should be fully out. Already some of the early bloomers were attracting bees and butterflies.

Large Grass-yellow on grasstree flower spike

Not all the grasstrees survived however. The one below had this fungi growing on its rotting stem. Don't know which species of fungi it is.

Fungi growing on burnt grasstree

Although fire-ravaged it was a lovely walk with amazing views at the lookout and plenty of birdlife in the thicker scrub. I'm looking forward to our return on Saturday July 18. See previous post for details.

July Outing - Trip Mt Mathieson Trail, Spicer’s Gap, 18 July 2020

Moss's Well Track since the 2019 bushfire (Photo taken May 2020)

April 2011 was the last time the club paid a visit to Spicer’s Gap. Time to revisit this area. We will also check out the fire damage of 2019 and how the bush is recovering.

Time: 8.30am meet – 9am start, 18th July 2020

Where: Spicer’s Gap Picnic Ground (next to the Camp grounds).

Directions: From Boonah drive south on the Maroon/Rathdowney Road for 4 kms and turn right onto the Mt Alford Road and onto Mt Alford. Bear right at Mt Alford, past the school, and drive up the Teviot Range on the Lake Moogerah Road. At 18.7 km from Boonah turn left onto the Mt Edwards/Lake Moogerah Road at the back of the Lake, some of this road is gravel. Continue on the Mt Edward/Lake Moogerah Road for 10.6km then turn left into Spicer’s Gap Road. Drive up Spicer’s Gap Road 7km to Spicer’s Gap Picnic Ground. This road is gravel and is in good condition to Spicer’s Gap Picnic Ground.
For those travelling from Ipswich/Brisbane, head along the Cunningham Highway and 5km after Aratula turn left into Lake Moogerah Road. Drive 5.7km and turn right into Spicer’s Gap Road and continue up to the Spicer’s Gap National Park Picnic Ground.

Features: Rainforest, eucalypt forest, birds, butterflies and other invertebrates, and occasionally koalas can be seen in the area. The Pioneer Graves and Moss’s Well are some of the historical features to view during this expedition.

Activities/Level of Fitness: This is a field trip that should suit everyone. We will walk along part of the Mount Mathieson Trail which is 3.6 km return. There is a longer circuit walk approximately 8.1 km which can be arranged at the time for those who wish to participate in this. For the less energetic, pottering around the area at Spicer’s Gap Picnic area and the Pioneer Graves will bring many delights. This is a nice time to catch up with fellow field naturalists. Lunch will be back at the Spicer’s Gap Picnic Grounds. 

Facilities: There are composting toilets at the Picnic Grounds.

What to Bring: Morning tea, snacks, lunch, drinks and chairs. The usual protective gear for a walk including hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, plenty of water for drinking and washing hands, hand sanitizer, camera and binoculars. Good walking shoes are advisable.

Upon Arrival: Please register in the Attendance Book and pay your $2 per person participant fee. 

Some of the Government COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and the FFNC field trips will follow the guidelines set out below.
Guidelines at 16th June 2020 (this possibly may change by 18th July)

1. Club activities will be restricted to 20 people

2. Members must register via email at least 48 hours before the start of the outing.
3. Participants will need to maintain social distancing as much as possible.
4. Please do not attend any outings if you are feeling unwell or showing cold or flu-like symptoms.
5. The club will provide hand sanitizer at the sign on station.
Please bring your own sanitizer to use at the drop toilet near the picnic ground/campground and for other personal needs.

Hibiscus Harlequin Bugs

 

Male Hibiscus Harlequin Bug         Photo: A. Podlich

These insects are like miniature Christmas decorations; the males are blue and the females are orange. They are being reported in many places in our area at the moment. Although lovely to look at, unfortunately they are not very lovely in our gardens. They are sap suckers on plants in the family Malvaceae, which includes cotton and hibiscus. They can become a bit of a pest in cotton, giving it an alternative name, Cotton Harlequin Bug. They are also found on Flame Trees (Brachychiton acerifolius) and other brachychitons, grevilleas and bottlebrushes. The females below were on the Native Rosella (Hibiscus heterophyllus) at Teviot Creek, Dugandan.

Female Hibiscus Harlequin Bug    Photo: W. Dunn

Eggs are laid around twigs and the females guard them until they hatch and sometimes after, while they are young instars. 

The Hibiscus Harlequin Bug is found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea and some Pacific islands.

Females guarding eggs     Photo: W. Dunn

 For more photos go to this link. 

Out and About

Male Scarlet Percher, Diplacodes haematodes
taken at Mt French. Photo: A. Podlich

Isn't it wonderful to go for a walk in the bush again? And it's still lovely and warm through the day. Warm enough for some dragonflies to be enjoying the sunshine as well. Walking beside Warrill Creek I saw many dragonflies. There were dozens of Scarlet Perchers in one spot, both males and females. The male is all red even their eyes and their wings are gold with a reddish tinge. The females are yellow and very difficult to photograph against the yellow-brown of winter grass.
Can you find her in the picture below? I'm being a bit cheeky as she's very tiny. Click on the image to enlarge.

Female Scarlet Percher, Diplacodes haematodes. Photo: L.Beaton 

They were basking in the sunshine on the dry grass and the dusty verge of the road.

Common Archtail, Nannophlebia risi.
Photo: L. Beaton

A few kilometres down the creek I found this Common Archtail, a dragonfly I had never seen before. It's quite dark when flying around but when it settles the emerald eyes are like beacons. It was also enjoying the sunshine and posed beautifully for me.

Out and About in Your Garden

Varied Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina) female
Photo: L. Beaton

Naturalists can't stop natting and social distancing doesn't mean you can't get 'up close and personal' with the natural world in your garden. Everybody has seen the explosion of butterflies and moths recently. This is a good chance to enjoy them.        
This butterfly is a native of Madagascar, India, South-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Here we call it a Varied Eggfly or, even worse, a Common Eggfly. A rather banal name for such a lovely butterfly. In New Zealand they're called Blue Moon and seeing a male's colours catch the sunlight, it is not surprising.

Varied Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina) male
Photo: A. Podlich

The males' white markings are supposed to look like eggs; hence their name. Varied is because the females vary in pattern. Usually they have an orange patch on their fore wing, but can be from no orange markings (rare) to orange on both fore and hind wings. While Kiwis believe the bright blue circular patches resemble the full ‘blue moon’ in the dark sky.            
However, could their name be linked to the fact that the females are so particular with their eggs. They very carefully select the leaf on which to lay them. Scientists believe they are checking the plant is free from predators such as wasps and ants. Then they are one of the very few butterflies or moths to guard their eggs and sometimes even the newly hatched larvae. Not all females do this but the survival rate is better when they do.
The males also guard the host plants, defending their patch by chasing off unwelcome butterflies of any species. They will even investigate large mammals that enter their territory, often landing on humans.

Photo: L. Beaton

The caterpillars eat a variety of plants, including Sweet Potato and Eggplant leaves, as well as native and exotic weeds. They feed at night and hide away from the plant during the day.

Although they are butterflies of the wet tropics where they fly all year, they have also been recorded in arid areas such as western Queensland and even Alice Springs!

Acknowledgements:

"Butterflies of Australia" I.F.B. Common & D.F. Waterhouse 1981

"Australian Butterflies" Charles McCubbin 1985

"The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia" Michael F. Braby 2004

http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/nymp/bolina.html Coffs Harbour Butterfly House

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347288802136 "Animal Behaviour" Volume 36, Issue 5, September–October 1988, Pages 1425-1431

https://www.lfwseq.org.au/blue-tiger-migration/ Deborah Metters

https://australianbutterflies.com/the-common-eggfly-butterfly-10-incredible-facts/ Australian Butterfly Sanctuary

https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/19494200 Project Noah

https://www.butterflyidentification.com/blue-moon-hypolimnas-bolina.htm Butterflies in USA

ACTIVITIES CANCELLED

Cucumber Moth, Diaphania indica

As you are well aware the COVID-19 has impacted on all individuals and organisations throughout Australia and the world.
The FFNC committee, via emails, has agreed to suspend all activities; our meetings, walks, camps and events from this moment until further notice. This being in accordance with the current Australian government health and safety guidelines.
What we could do from home, is keep focused on our fauna and flora in our immediate surrounds and add to our growing database the birds, butterflies, bugs, other insects and wildlife in our own backyards. Send your Fassifern sightings and pics, if you've got them, to our email address (scroll down the left-hand margin). We'd love to see them. Or if you want to share, post them on our Facebook page. 
Only pics from the FFNC survey area, please. Like this Cucumber Moth in my garden last month.

AGM - Boonah, 21 March 2020

CANCELLED! 
Time: 6 pm for 6.30pm start

Kalbar, EJ ("Kalbar") Smith's patch

Where: Baptist Hall, cnr Church & Macquarie Streets, Boonah

What to Bring: a plate of supper to share, show-&-tell.

Upon Arrival: Please register in the Attendance Book and pay your $4 per person participant fee (This helps to pay for the hire of the hall.) 

Agenda:

• Executive reports
• Voting for the executive positions for 2020 (Noela's latest stretch as secretary has been for 10 years and she is retiring.)
• Guest Speaker: Darryn Schneider whose topic is 'EJ ("Kalbar") Smith who was a naturalist in the Fassifern in the 1920s, '30s and '40s. 
• This will be followed by supper and socializing with time to view the interesting items and photos.

Outing Report - Odonata at Lilybrook, 15 February 2020

What a day! 

Chris Burwell entertaining the Field Nats

Due to the heavy rain and closure of the Coulson road junction in the days before our outing, we moved Chris Burwell's presentation on Odonata to the first activity of the day. The shed soon became full with many members remembering Chris as a lad chasing insects on our early Field Nats outings. Did FFNC have a little input into his being senior curator of Entomology at the Queensland Museum? We like to think so.

After knowing a lot more about damsel/dragonflies and being enthused to find our local species we set off for Lilybrook as the junction had opened that morning. They were ideal conditions and a total of 14 different damsels & dragons were identified and one other at the Coulson shed. As well, there were other invertebrates, 13 different butterflies and 41 species of birds.

Starting out for the water with nets to the ready

Plenty of dragonflies here

Capturing a damselfly for identification

Up close and personal

 Fauna  introduced species = _*

Birds: Brown Quail, Plumed Whistling Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Crested Pigeon, Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Great Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Australian Pelican, Whistling Kite, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Australian King Parrot, Pale-headed Rosella, Pheasant Coucal, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Brush Cuckoo, Laughing Kookaburra, Sacred Kingfisher, Rainbow Bee-eater, Weebill, White-throated Gerygone, Striated Pardalote, Noisy Miner, Brown Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Striped Honeyeater, Grey-crowned Babbler, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Cicadabird, Rufous Whistler, Olive-backed Oriole, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Restless Flycatcher, Magpie-lark, Tawny Grassbird, Welcome Swallow.

Butterflies: Blue Triangle, Orchard Swallowtail, Lemon Migrant, Common Grass-yellow, Small Grass-yellow, Australian Gull, Caper White, Lesser Wanderer, Blue Tiger, Common Crow, Meadow Argus, Spotted Grass-blue, Common Grass Blue.

Spiders: Australian Jewel Spider (Austracantha minax).

Damsel/Dragonflies: Wandering Ringtail (Austrolestes leda), Eastern Billabongfly (Austroagrion watsonia), Redtail (Ceriagrion aeruginosum), Aurora Bluetail (Ischnura aurora), Common Bluetail (Ischnura heterosticta), Gold-fronted Riverdamsel (Pseudagrion aureofrons), Blue Riverdamsel (Pseudagrion microcephalum), Australian Tiger (Ictinogomphus australis), Palemouth (Brachydiplax denticauda), Wandering Percher (Diplacodes bipunctata), Scarlet Percher (Diplacodes haematodes), Black-faced Percher (Diplacodes melanopsis), Water Prince (Hydrobasileus brevistylus), Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum), Short-tailed Duskdarter (Zyxomma elgneri).
Moths: Joseph's Coat Moth (Agarista Agricola) 1.

Other Invertebrates: Christmas Beetle (Anoplognathus porosus), Orange Potter Wasp (Eumenes latreilli), Cherrynose [cicada] (Macrotristria angularis).

Amphibians: *Cane Toad.

Reptiles: Red-bellied Black Snake.