Meadow Argus Junonia villida. A common butterfly and a good poser.
Pasture Day Moth Apina callisto. This one is freshly hatched. The caterpillars that are busy digging little holes in the ground in spring are now these guys.
This is a video of the Apina callisto caterpillar taken late August 2019 digging its hole. This video taken very close by to where this moth was today.
This is a male. They were hanging on for dear life in the wind today.
Nine Spotted Leaf Beetle Phyllocharis cyanicornis. He is just 7mm long.
Another chapter in the story of Apina callisto. An introduced European Wasp Vespula germanica is tearing into this moth. We watched as the moths wing fell off.
The wasp continued to attack the moth. We realised that the wasp was removing the wings on purpose, most likely to carry the body back to feed larvae.
The tiny Lucerne Leaf Roller Merophyas divulsana. The caterpillars like Honeysuckle and Abelia, of which there is plenty around here in the suburbs.
White-patch Bark Moth Scioglyptis lyciaria
The same type of camouflage colourings, but this moth is much tinier, and rests with abdomen sticking up, and has bent antennae Nacoleia rhoealis
Mayfly -order Ephemeroptera- the adult lives only about 2 days. The long, white-tipped cerci (tails) indicate this is a male.
Nest of Paper Wasps Polistes humilis from the eves of the house, with grubs visible. The nests never get to a great size, as sooner or later a magpie will come along to pull one down and stab at it for the wasp grubs inside.
