Photos / Sounds
What
Family BlattellidaeObserver
matthew_connorsDescription
Ah, a roach. What is it? Good question. It is something. Well, it's Neotemnopteryx or Paratemnopteryx at least, probably the former
Photos / Sounds
What
Aritella gurrinyaObserver
matthew_connorsDescription
Okay, males are a little easier so maybe we can get somewhere. Using the same reasoning as before, it's definitely Aritella, and the mirror is divided into at least three cells (maybe more but hard to see), so it must be in the Ilya Group or the Dumpalia Group. All of the Dumpalia Group are only known from WA so I am happy calling this Ilya Group. There are a lot of species but maybe we can get somewhere.
A. girralonga is out of range but it looks like everything else is fair game! The forewings are not darkened so A. fulviceps is out. A. chidnaria similarly has some areas of the forewing nearly black. A. cooma has the pronotum slightly wider at the front than at the rear. A. arinya has the face mostly yellow. So that leaves us with A. ilya and A. gurrinya. The key actually does separate them on external characters, with A. ilya having some forewing veins very light yellow and A. gurrinya having them all essentially the same colour as the membrane. I'm not seeing any traces of yellow veins here, and indeed the description also states that A. ilya has the pronotum wider in front than behind. So I am pretty happy calling this A. gurrinya!
Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
Normally a Lepidogryllus ID is out of the question because they are essentially identical, but L. parvulus has not been recorded near here so I'm fairly happy calling it L. comparatus
Photos / Sounds
What
Aritella fulvicepsObserver
matthew_connorsDescription
See now this is an interesting one. Normally I would not attempt it with the notes given in Otte & Alexander (1983), but we also have Rentz & Su (2019) to go on. The latter shows A. fulviceps as looking like this, and calls it "a very distinctive species". Otte & Alexander's description matches this too, with extensive darkened regions on the forewings. Now, is that enough to be sure? No, probably not. But there is something additional - all the little pattern details are the same as in Rentz & Su's photographs. The pattern on the pronotum and legs are pretty much identical, and the overall shapes and proportions are the same (including ovipositor length). So tentatively I am happy to call this A. fulviceps
Photos / Sounds
What
Red-headed Centipede (Scolopendra morsitans)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
A bit dusty
What
Genus AritellaObserver
matthew_connorsDescription
I'm actually quite liking the crickets at the moment. So what is this? We have a male as well in a few sightings which I initially thought would be the same species, but as it turns out I may even have two different species here in the females. So what are these red-headed crickets? They're Modicogryllini, and the red head, pale legs, lack of stripes on the head, and divided mirror (in the male at least) puts them in the Aritella group. The divided mirror of the male and rather long forewings of the female place them firmly in Aritella itself.
So how far can we go into the genus before we get stuck? The head is not black, so it's not A. laticaput or in the Duldrana Group. Aaaaaand I don't think we can really go further than that unfortunately. Even the males are very difficult without call or dissection, and there are more than twenty species in the genus. But that's okay, genus is good
What
Genus SclerolaenaObserver
matthew_connorsDescription
I have no idea what this is - I unfortunately did not notice it until looking back at my photos. From the size of the snail next to it, the entire structure is somewhere between 2 and 3 cm long
What
Peaceful Dove (Geopelia placida)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
Another familiar face from the east coast
What
Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
Okay last finches for the day I promise! They were so numerous
What
White-plumed Honeyeater (Ptilotula penicillata)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
Yellow and grey
What
Red-winged Parrot (Aprosmictus erythropterus)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
Love a cheeky parrot
What
White-plumed Honeyeater (Ptilotula penicillata)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
And a blurry honeyeater at the water too
What
Sandalwoods, Mistletoes, and Allies (Order Santalales)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
This one I know is a mistletoe
What
Black-fronted Dotterel (Charadrius melanops)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
when will my reflection show
What
Little Friarbird (Philemon citreogularis)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
Someone familiar
Photos / Sounds
What
Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
Some younger ones
What
White-plumed Honeyeater (Ptilotula penicillata)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
Looking straight at me
What
Flowering Plants (Subphylum Angiospermae)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
Very narrow leaves on this
Photos / Sounds
What
Diamond Dove (Geopelia cuneata)Observer
matthew_connorsDescription
My first diamond dove! Such an elegant species