Zaprochilus australis or Z. mongabarra? Or Z. ninae?? Or *checks notes* jingle bells
Did you know that we have more than one Zaprochilus species?? That's right, not everything is Z. australis. In fact, we actually have a grand total of four Zaprochilus species spread across the country.
Now of course, as you can probably tell from the iNat sightings, Z. australis is by far the most abundant and widespread species. In the east it's known as far north as the Hervey Bay region, and in the west it extends virtually to Perth (although it seems to be much rarer in this part of its range). It doesn't extend far into the more arid regions but it is widespread and common in Tasmania. Over the majority of its range it's the only species present and there really isn't anything else you could confuse it with. I'm sure we all know what it looks like but on the off chance that you've forgotten, here's my only sighting of the species:
So, what about the other three species? Well we have some iNat sightings of Z. mongabarra:
Now to the untrained eye I'm pretty sure that these two species look almost identical. The difference is quite subtle, but once you know what to look for it's extremely easy to tell the two apart. Just before the end of the wings of Z. mongabarra, there is quite a noticeable bump. That's because the forewings wrap around the hindwings, and the hindwings keep going after the forewings have ended. Not all individuals have such a pronounced bump, but they always have the forewings significantly shorter than the hindwings, as opposed to Z. australis which has the two ending at about the same place. Have a look at this female for a more subtle bump:
Z. mongabarra has a more restricted distribution than Z. australis but it's still fairly widespread. It appears to be most common in Southeastern Queensland but it's known from as far north as the Wet Tropics in North Queensland as well.
Now the other two Zaprochilus species we do not yet have iNat sightings of, but for different reasons. Z. ninae is known from coastal NSW between Jervis Bay and Batemans Bay and it is apparently not too uncommon. Unfortunately though it is virtually identical to Z. australis. It's supposedly a little larger, but the males are pretty much indistinguishable from Z. australis except for the genitalia. Females are a little easier but you need a very good view of the subgenital plate to distinguish them.
Here are the subgenital plates (and surrounding area for Z. australis) of Z. australis (left) and Z. ninae (right):
They are still quite similar, but with a good underside photo the two species should be easily distinguished. The carina (sometimes visible as tubercles) at the base of the subgenital plate of Z. australis should be the easiest feature.
So what about the final Zaprochilus species? Z. jingemarra is very easy to distinguish indeed, but it's also incredibly rare. In fact, it's only known from a single specimen:
As you can see, the wings are tiny! The male is unknown but probably quite similar, or perhaps with intermediate wings. Or perhaps even with full wings - we just don't know. It's only known from near Jingemarra in western WA, so if anyone's in the area keep your eyes peeled!
