Lifecycle observed over 3 weeks. On wood of fallen log with saturated surface and bryophytes present. Initially sighted in proximity of Trichia botrytis. Initially black and then silvery in gel, but once exposed to air - iridescent yellow, green, purple and orange colours. Apparently enjoyed by springtails.
Reference https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/228951185 for the Heterotextus miltinus.
~13mm long female.
Always thought these were Zonioploca latizona based on the images in Rentz's book, but it's WAY too small. Z. latizona females are ~23mm. They also have a ventrally yellow thorax, unlike the black here. Other differences include the entirely red legs and black head & face.
So I'm assuming it's an undescribed species?
two young darters on a bank of the River Murray with a parent not too far away
See observation for wasp. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200253257
Extracted from golden lichen growing on walnut tree.This is the fourth tardigrade species on this lichen, Ramazzottius is by far the most abundant.
Note: long zoom..crept over hill to take this shot and not disturb them. A pair have been breeding for 5 years on our farm.
~13.5mm long
Found in Senna artemisioides.
Found 4, 2 in each bush, but only managed to capture one from each.
They quickly dropped off onto the ground when felt threatened.
Also seems to have a metalic blue body.
www.ellura.info/Blattodea-Coleoptera-Hemiptera.html#Melobasis-sp
Crawling up the wall of my house after an unseasonably wet day in Adelaide.
It was on an eggplant bush in my vegetable garden. It has patches on it that look unhealthy? but I know so little about insects.
Two males (front & left) ornate, two females (back & right) shaw's?
She started building this nest started within 2 weeks of the 1st 2 fledglings leaving the 1st nest in the neighbors yard.
this post for the Dad.
posts for the young https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/193942985
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/193943006
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/193943065
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/194173121
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/194497466
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/194497489
and for the female
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195124095
It was tiny and landed on my shirt. As an indication of size the weave is of a normal tight weave cotton t shirt.
The first photo captures five of the six nankeen night herons seen at this location.
Evidence of a Megachile sp. (Leaf-cutter Bee) collecting material from a cultivated Hardenbergia violacea (white flower) ... OR... Someone has had fun with a variable hole-punch 🥰
Curious - what distance would the Bee travel to collect nesting material?
And which possible Megachile species are leaf-cutters here in the Adelaide Hills?
Beetle, orange with black head, wings, feeding on bottle brush bush flowers.
Record is for the duck being held by the woman in the black jumper. This duck was released immediately after the comparison photos were taken.
The other two are PBD x mallard hybrids, caught as part of dumped domestic mallard removal efforts by the Pacific Black Duck Conservation Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pacificblackduckconservationgroup
The first photo's hybrid has a green/yellow bill (harder to see in this photo), patchy facial markings, and legs are a little bit too orange. This one also had white trims above the speculum.
The female in the second and third photos:
Mainly the lower face stripes and cheeks that are different. Both sexes should look like the pure one, a thinner stripe, and Cleary defined cream face patches. The hybrid’s cheek cuts into the cream patch while the pure’s continues to the back of the neck. The hybrid's eye stripe doesn’t surround the eye, which we see a lot with hybrid ducklings. Her crown was a bit too streaked for a female.
Hybrids uploaded separately:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/190350029
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/190350244