Gonzo

Today I am showing you just one of the many types of weevils found here in Australia.

 Some weevil species are a serious pest that threaten trees, vegetable and grain crops.

This particular weevil reminds me of one of the muppet characters called 'Gonzo'

Cheerio for now,

Sandi x

Zebra Blue

Today I have found for you a most gorgeous little butterfly - the Zebra Blue. The underside of the wings have exquisitely marked patterns. The top side of the wings are shiny blue-grey.

They are rarely found not far from this shrub (above) - the Plumbago, as its' green caterpillars love to feed on the buds and flowers. This blue plumbago is hanging over our side fence near my veggie garden. It is such a delight to spy a little Zebra Blue flitting around the pretty flowers.
Do you have Zebra's in your garden?

Cheerio,
Sandi x

Wordless Wednesday

Sandi x

I Spy a Spider

Who is looking at who?
Today I have found for you a Bronze Jumping Spider.
A small spider with excellent eyesight. (notice it's large front pair of eyes). They can turn their head separate from their body to look at objects.
Jumping spiders do not make webs to catch their prey. Instead they hunt by jumping on small insects.
Fascinating to watch.

Cheerio for now,
Sandi x

What's that on the gate

Sitting out on the verandah with a cool drink yesterday, I noticed that the garden gate didn't look quite right.

On closer inspection, there was a small green tree snake, taking a short cut across the gate .
 These shy little snakes are non-venomous, and hunt for frogs and skinks.
Just after I took the photo, it skedaddled off into the hedge......


Cheerio for now,
Sandi x

Grey Huntsman

.....or poke it with a tape measure in this case.

 A common visitor in these parts is the Grey Huntsman spider.

They can grow as big as a hand span.

 Huntsman spiders are fast,

and hunt quite easily upside down on ceilings or walls.
They only seem to hang around for a few days, then they disappear.

Quite an impressive spider!


Sandi x

Blending In

A couple of  little spiders for you to look at today.

The first one is a flower spider. What unusual markings it has.

These guys usually sit inside a flower to ambush their prey.

The second one is a crab spider.

It would be very hard to spot sitting on a plant stem or the trunk of a tree.

I have a few more spiders to show you, but I will keep them for another day.
Cheerio,
Sandi x

A Rather Large Lacewing

I found this lovely lacewing (Nymphes myrmeleonides) recently. It had been attracted by the house lights.

These particular ones are sometimes mistaken for dragonflies.

You can see how they get their name 'lacewing' from their gauzy, net-like wings which are very richly patterned with veins.

I am constanly amazed by the variety of wildlife found in my garden, and hope you enjoy discovering them with me.

Cheerio,
Sandi x

A little Crabby

Walking along Currimundi beach one morning, we came across this little fellow.

Look at those amazing eyes!

It is a stalk-eyed ghost crab.

Look out Cricket.....it will grab your nose!

Cheers,
Sandi x

Wordless Wednesday

Cheers,
Sandi x

A little Longicorn

What a cute little face, can you guess what it is?


.......A longicorn beetle.

Cute little fella isn't he?

I love the camouflage colouring on this beetle.

......and the long antennae.

Dropping by

Frequent visitors to our garden are the colourful and raucous rainbow lorikeets.

Quite a large group arrived to tuck in to some sunflower seeds.

A bit of squabbling over getting a spot on the feeder.

Coral tree flowers are a favourite source of nectar for the rainbow lorikeets too.
We have several of these large trees in our yard adding a splash of red amongst the (almost) bare winter branches.
Hope you enjoyed today's post,
Sandi x

The Evening Brown

The 'Evening Brown' butterfly is cunningly disguised as a leaf.
Resting during the day on the ground with it's wings folded makes it difficult to detect......until you walk nearby. The startled butterfly will often land not too far from where it was sitting.......making a great game of hide and seek.

You can catch a glimpse of the beautiful outer wing colours above.

My book says,

'The Evening Brown does not visit flowers, but sucks juice from fermenting fruit'.

Mmm......I wonder if some of that juice is alcholic? Perhaps it is having fruit cocktails in the evening....

 

Cheers,
Sandi x

A Beautiful Beetle

How gorgeous is this little jewel of a beetle?

Shining in the sun like an irridescent christmas decoration.

I could not find the name of this one.
**Edited 17-2-14   I now know this beetle's name - (very rare apparently)
it is Spilopyra sumptuosa
a chrysomelid beetle.
Its host is the tuckeroo tree.

It was tricky taking a photo as it was a very busy beetle not wanting to stay still.

 

You can see that the beetle is quite tiny compared to the size of my fingers.

I am very lucky to have such treasures living in my backyard.

Until next time,

keep your eyes out, you may just find your own tiny treasure,

Sandi x