Little Tiger

Today I have found for you a Lichen Moth. It is in the Tiger Moth family.
As the name suggests, it feeds on lichens. It has striking black and orange patterns on it's wings. Quite a common but beautiful little moth.

Sandi x

Harlequins

These jewel-like bugs are known as Harlequin bugs. Their colours - bright metallic greens, blues and red make them easy to spot on the tree. These bugs suck sap from hibiscus plants and their relatives. Their main native food plant is the Beach Hibiscus (or Cotton Tree). The females (the big red bug on the left) lay clusters of eggs around twigs and guard them until they hatch. If disturbed, they emit a pungent odour. Phew!

(so don't be tempted to poke them with a stick :)

Cheerio for now,

Sandi x

Hawk Moth - the humming bird of the moth world

I found this beauty sitting on one of my garden plants.
It is one of the hawkmoths.
 I carefully placed the moth on a post to photograph it.

It promptly flew onto my jeans,
perhaps it did not like sitting out on the post.

These moths hover over flowers to sip nectar with their long tongue.
A little like the way humming birds do....
A sight to behold.
I hope you enjoyed today's post.

Cheerio for now,
Sandi x

Froggie Find

Hubby discovered this little guy hopping around in the bathroom this morning. It is a 'Broad-Palmed Rocketfrog' .It is an Australian ground-dwelling tree frog and can be found from mid-Queensland to south of Sydney, NSW.

A very handsome little frog - a creamy fawn colour with black markings.
It gets its name from its long pointed snout.
The Rocket Frog's legs are extremely long and allow them to leap farther than most other frogs of the same size.

And just look at the stiking colours on those legs.

I feel so lucky to see these amazing little amphibians up close.
Sandi x

Magpie moth

Today's little beauty is a 'Magpie Moth'.
It is in the Arctiidae family, (Tiger Moths)
It's wings are a dark brown, with a white patterned band accross.
Their abdomens have black and orange rings, the typical Tiger Moth's warning colour pattern.

 

I hope you enjoyed today's post.

Sandi x

The Wanderer

 

Don't you love this stripey caterpillar?

I found a bunch of them on a cotton bush growing by the local roadside recently.

The caterpillar will eventually turn into the 'wanderer' or 'monarch' butterfly.

 This is what the cotton bush (food source) looks like. Children often play with the seed pods.

So keep your eyes out, you may just see a wanderer fly past.....

 

Cheerio for now,

Sandi x

Slippery Little Sucker

Sometimes when we get lots of wet weather, you may find these guys lurking around......

leeches.......
coming to suck your blood.......
wha-ha-ha!!!


Sandi x

Fun-gi :)

Imagine my surprise when these guys  :)   popped up in the garden.

They are members of the stinkhorn family (Phallaceae) of fungi.
The stinkhorns (as the name suggests) smell revolting and attract flies and other insects to help disperse the spores.

Here is another type of stinkhorn, the shape reminds me of a starfish.

Hope you liked today's post.

Cheerio,
Sandi x

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