My passion for insects and spiders has evolved over the last couple of decades when I moved from Sydney to Central Australia (20 years ago). From being squeamish about most crawling insects and spiders, it was my trusty mobile phone that ignited a passion for documenting the small creatures that lived in my home, my garden, my workplace, and the parks and bushland around me. There have been many photos taken on my trusty mobile that have become my favourite over time…
Ophiusa parcemacula (Owlet Moth / Figure Eight Moth), Alice Springs NTCalpinae (caterpillar – Fruit-piercing Moth) on Acacia kempeana (Witchetty Bush), Alice Springs Desert Park NTConvolvulus Hawkmoth (Agrius convolvuli), Alice Springs NTGiant Wood Moth (Endoxyla cinereus), Alice Springs NT
Learning never stops, when you find out that three different looking caterpillars, are actually the same species… Hyles livornicoides (Australian Striped Hawk Moth).
The Yeperenye / Yipirinya Caterpillar is also the sacred totemic ancestral being for the Arrernte people of Alice Springs in Central Australia. The aboriginal spelling is Ayepe-arenye, being pronounced Yep-ah-rin-ya and is the most important of three caterpillars that play the major role in the local Dreaming stories (there are actually four caterpillars and a carab beetle that were the ancestral beings that created parts of Tyerretye (Macdonnell Ranges), that included certain gaps, rock piles, trees and woodlands in the Mparntwe (the Arrente term for Alice Springs ) region.
Hyles livornicoides (caterpillar of the Australian Striped Hawk Moth), Alice Springs NTHyles livornicoides (caterpillar of the Australian Striped Hawk Moth), Alice Springs NTYeperenye Caterpillar – Australian Striped Hawk Moth (Hyles livornicoides), Alice Springs NT
Golden-browed Resin Bee (Megachile aurifrons), Alice Springs, NTGolden-browed Resin Bee (Megachile aurifrons), Alice Springs, NTGolden-browed Resin Bee (Megachile aurifrons), Alice Springs, NTMegachile aurifrons vs Makita (Native bee vs Makita), Alice Springs NT
and other beautiful winged insects…
Scarlet Percher (Diplacodes haematodes), Alice Springs, NTMale Radumeris tasmaniensis (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp), Alice Springs NTYellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris radula) with black ants on lemon blossoms, Alice Springs NTCryptocheilus bicolor (Spider Wasp), Alice Springs NTFemale Orthetrum caledonicum, Alice Springs, NTNeedlewood (Hakea leucoptera) with Soapberry Bug (Leptocoris sp), Alice Springs NTAustralian Sheep Blowfly/Green Blowfly (Lucilia cuprina), blowing a nectar bubble, Alice Springs NT
The diversity of the commonly named beetle group of insects are an eye-opener…
Snout Beetle (genus Lixus, family Curculionidae), Alice Springs NTCalosoma oceanicum (Ground Beetle), Alice Springs NTLarge Auger Beetle (Bostrychopsis jesuita), Alice Springs NTPhoracantha recurva (Eucalyptus Longhorn Beetle), Alice Springs NTSoft-winged Flower Beetle (genus Carphurus), Alice Springs NTChlorobapta frontalis (Flower Beetle), Alice Springs NT
Despite the casual similarity, cockroaches and beetles are not closely related, both belonging to different scientific orders within the class Insecta. Cockroaches belong under the order Blattodea, whilst beetles belong to the order Coleoptera.
Bush Cockroach (Ellipsidion humarale) with pupal case of Hyalarcta nigrescens, Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Everyone in Central Australia knows about flies, but not all flies are the same…
Exorista (fly, Diptera), Alice Springs NTGreen Blow Fly (Lucilia cuprina), known as Greenbottle Fly and Australian Sheep Blowfly, Alice Springs NTAustralian Sheep Blowfly (Lucilia cuprina) also known as Green Blowfly, Alice Springs NT
and the Bristle fly…
Bristle Fly (family Tachinidae, genus Microtropesa), Alice Springs NT
and the Soldier flies…
Genus Odontomyia (member of Soldier Flies Family Stratiomyidae), Alice Springs NTBlack Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens), Alice Springs NTOpaluma (Australian Soldier Fly), Alice Springs NT
and the Drone fly…
Male Golden Native Drone Fly (Eristalinus punctulatus), Alice Springs NT
and the March fly…
Male March-fly (genus Tabanus, family Tabanidae), Alice Springs NT
and Bee flies…
Neosardus sp (Bee Flies family Bombyliidae), Alice Springs NTBalaana Beefly (Balaana abscondita), Alice Springs, NT
and the Hover fly…
Yellow-shouldered Hover Fly (Ischiodon scutellaris), Alice Springs NT
and the diversity of Orthoptera…
Macrotona Grasshopper (genus), Alice Springs NTOrthodera marginata (Australian Green Mantis), Alice Springs NTGiant Green Slantface Grasshopper (Acrida conica), Alice Springs NTCoryphistes sp (Bark Mimic Grasshopper), Alice Springs NTSpiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NTGarden Mantis (Orthodera ministralis)Juvenile Valanga irregularis (Giant Grasshopper), Alice Springs NTSubfamily Phaneropterinae, Alice Springs NT
and of course our diverse group of arachnids…
Male Red-headed Mouse Spider (Missulena occatoria), Alice Springs, NTBanded Garden Spider (Argiope trifasciata), Alice Springs NTHackled Orbweaver (family Uloboridae), Alice Springs, NTGreen Lynx Spider (genus Peucetia), Alice Springs NTElegant Water Spider (Dolomedes facetus), Alice Springs NTBadumna insignis (Black House Spider), Alice Springs NTNyssus coloripes (Orange-legged Swift Spider), Alice Springs NTGnaphosid (Ground Spider), family Gnaphosidae, Alice Springs NTOrbweaver Spider (family Araneidae), Alice Springs NTWater Scorpion (Laccotrephes tristis), Alice Springs, NT
As you are out and about in Alice Springs, keep your eyes peeled for some of the amazing Alice Springs insects and spiders… whether it is in your home, your garden, parks and bushland, many of the insects can be easily snapped on your mobile phone.
