Scorpionfly Nannochorista dipteroides, Mount Wellington, Tasmania, November 2017.
A hundred years ago, a Mr Robert John Tillyard, zoologist at the University of Sydney, published a description of an entirely new family of austral scorpionflies, the Nannochoristidae, and designated as the type species one Nannochorista dipteroides, from Hobart and Mount Wellington. The first specimens had been collected the previous year by George Hurlstone Hurdlestone Hardy, a prolific entomologist and, at the time, the acting curator at the Tasmanian Museum. Hardy had found several specimens of an unknown insect while sweep-netting for flies (his speciality) “in a little water-course which flows from the leakage of a portion of the Hobart Waterworks scheme”, off Strickland Avenue, and had sent them to Tillyard for identification. Tillyard “at once wrote and urged him to obtain more”, and describes how Hardy “became fully seized with the importance of his discovery, and spent all his available time in October and November [2016] searching for it”. Nevertheless, by the time Tillyard himself made the trip south in January 2017, “the insects were evidently over”. He and Hardy did, however, find several further up Mount Wellington at The Springs. In all cases, the insects were found by sweeping or beating foliage of vegetation overhanging the water-channel.
Taking my cue from Hardy, I returned to Strickland Falls the weekend before last to see if I could net any Nannochorista. I failed but, becoming “fully seized” with the notion of re-finding the species a century after its discovery, walked to O’Grady’s Falls, a little higher up the same Hobart Rivulet, last weekend. The very first sweep of a small sassafras overhanging the rivulet produced a fine specimen of Nannochorista dipteroides. It was a very flighty insect, and clearly adapted to the cool conditions: even after a spell in the fridge in a plastic container it wouldn’t sit still for long, and the only photo that I managed was this one of it perched on the edge of the container.
Having also described a species of Nannochorista from montane New South Wales in the same paper, Tillyard had a hunch that they might also occur in New Zealand, and raised the possibility with entomologists there. Sure enough, specimens which he allocated to another new genus soon came to light. The idea of plate tectonics, and of the supercontinent of Gondwana, were unknown in Tillyard’s day yet his comments were prescient. He wrote: “the bearing of this discovery upon the Antarctic Theory as advocated by Mr Hedley [Charles Hedley, mollusc expert at the Australian Museum] is obvious…The distribution of this family, so far as at present known, in Tasmania, the Eastern Highlands of Australia, and in New Zealand, can only be explained by dispersal from an original common Antarctic ancestor. If another form belonging to this family were to be found in South Chili or Patagonia, the evidence would be complete; but it seems almost hopeless to expect this region to be well searched for such out-of-the-way insects, for a very long time to come”.
As it turned out, two of the three currently recognised Patagonian species were described only a decade later.
Southern snow-flea / Snow scorpionfly Apteropanorpa tasmanica, Mount Wellington, Tasmania, April 2017
Need help with this bizarre thing. In the field I was convinced we saw a centipede (which would have been exciting as no centipedes have been reported from Uweinat), however looking at the photos it became clear that it only has three pairs of legs, and three long caudal filaments. Initially was not sure whether we are seeing a larva of some other order, or an adult of some obscure member of Zygentoma.
Found underneath a rock at midday at Three Island Crossing Park. Warm day in the low 70s. No cloud coverage. Breezy.
Found in a garden bed.
We were asked by local guides not to share the precise location of any photos from the trip since we were going to some private/secret/sacred locations throughout the week that see trespassers often. I figured it would be better to be overprotective rather than accidentally share something I shouldn't have, so I have edited the accuracy to cover the entire island.
in a sample of this lichen: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195530303
MBL Director requested that we try to locate specimens. I purchased the Pennak/Zinn paper describing the group which identified Nobska Beach as a known location from June/July 1939 and a source for the cotypes.
On Sep 20, Bill Grossman made a series of samples at Nobska Beach. He made a series of samples from high to low water at four locations running west to east more or less evenly spaced along the beach. At each location he took three to five samples from the high water mark down by 2-2.5 meter increments. Based on the paper's details he took a vertical shovelful of sand and sampled between 12-15 cm from the surface.
The resultant 16 or so jars were examined by MBLs Carsten Wolff. He found two specimens in the lowest (wettest) sample of the middle two sampling locations. He will look for additional specimens in the samples.
ID is probably wrong; I just put in the suggested ID even though there aren't other sightings in the state. I'll try and figure it out later.
Host: Picea sp. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155281342
Resource - See Spruce Bud Midge pg 54: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwieksfY0a_-AhUgMDQIHehvC60QFnoECBcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fs.usda.gov%2FInternet%2FFSE_DOCUMENTS%2Fstelprdb5315942.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0Y5WoWZJ0VPWWojcIsu_b7
Keyed to Lenarchus with Ruiter 2000, but highly doubt this is what it is. Probably Limnephilus
Flatspine stickseed (var. redowskii) is common along roadsides and road cuts in the sagebrush steppe of the Idaho side of Bannack Pass, Lemhi County, Idaho.
Beneath rock. Sage steppe habitat.
On Artemesia sp. foliage. Sage steppe habitat.
4 pupae found on underside of piece of wood, held in place by loose webbing. Pupae removed and placed in plastic vial. On Apr-2 adult flies emerged from 3 of the pupae. Forest/riparian habitat. Voucher specimen placed in Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History (as part of the Deer Flat NWR Insect Biodiversity Survey) at The College of Idaho, Caldwell, ID.
On mud at bank of irrigation ditch. Riparian habitat. Voucher specimen placed in Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History (as part of the Deer Flat NWR Insect Biodiversity Survey) at The College of Idaho, Caldwell, ID.
Found under rocks surrounding cabin
Pictures of wing venation here - https://bugguide.net/node/view/1966446
Picture 1- Habitus, Picture 2 - Forecoxae, Picture 3- Fore femur, Picture 4- Thorax
This appears to have some characteristics of the Plecoptera so this possibility is just a tentative start. I welcome advice about its i.d.!
along Stawamus FSR
Observed active at 8am, despite flash
Found this species up at the Nature Center at Devil's Lake State Park.
At up to 2 inches long, it is one of the largest known "click" beetles in the family Elateridae. The huge false eyespots make it readily identifiable; it is thought these startle predators into thinking they are confronting an animal much larger than it really is. The true eyes are located behind the base of the saw-toothed antennae. Most click beetles are considerably smaller and not as conspicuously marked.
Approx 4cm long. Curled into a ball. Pill Millipede?