Still kickin

I wondered if the Assasin Bug nymph that I spotted would survive, particularly after removing the sorghum it was sitting on and feeding it to the chooks. Well, it may not be the same one but at least one adult is still kickin.

Assassin Bug adult side-on

Assassin Bug adult from above

I never thought there was so much variety in grasshoppers, but here is yet another colour. The poor thing is looking at me perhaps knowing it's about to be fed to the chooks.

My wife tells me this Earwig at the bottom of a bowl of tomatoes I harvested was in the fridge for two days. It seems none the worse for wear.

Every morning and evening this pair of Kookaburras likes to sit on the neighbour's TV aerial and sing, 'This is my spot'.  Hopefully their spot is more plentiful if I reduce the cane toad population so that more lizards can eat and grow.

Big bug hunters of the night

Such a pity that two of the biggest bug hunters of the night are introduced species. It's not a pity that cane toads make great fertiliser!

Overexposed Asian House Gecko

The cane toads are out in force tonight after some rain. Several brave ones attempt crossing the roads into new territory but not all of them make it... I go out a couple of times a month to get a couple of small shopping bags full and stick them in the freezer (for a relatively humane death).  They are quite easy to locate and catch. They generally prefer short grass and like to sit on the edge of hedges / flower beds where they can make a quick escape into greenery. Shining a bright torch light on them temporarily keeps them still. Then all you have to do is pincer grab them behind the brown, bony ridge in line with their eyes and front legs. This way you avoid the poison gland and they usually can't get their feet to touch your hand. Take care not to point their bottoms towards you though. Many empty their bladder in fright!

Bugs in a moment

I haven't had much time lately to do either photography or update my blog. The weather has been very dry so watering the garden of an evening takes quite a long time. The rest of my time is almost entirely devoted to looking after my wife and very cute little daughter. Gwen is now almost 6 weeks old and seems to be growing a centimetre every week! 

This case moth chose the odd position of next to our front door to do a little rapelling. It went up and down the wall 3 times over the course of 2 days before disappearing.

This small beetle decided to visit our house but fearing it was mistaken as to its lodgings I put it outside to continue its travels (can you tell I've been listening to the Lord of the Rings? There is a fantastic BBC adaption for radio on 13 CDs that Renee gave to me a few years ago. Some of the accompanying music is a bit off the planet when trying to create Elvish singing but that is but a small blemish on its high production values.). My mother tells me it is a Christmas beetle that has a tendency to strip trees bare in Darwin.

Another Harlequin bug visiting the Hibiscus against the study wall.

Sunflowers and tomatoes

We've had a good harvest of sunflowers and cherry tomatoes thanks to the chook poo compost. Of course the insects want their fair share, probably about 1/5th to 1/4 of the tomatoes. Still, Renee is having trouble getting through all the tomatoes and is turning them into salsa and relish.

The harvest from one sunflower head

A more grown up hedge grasshopper than the last photo. They absolutely love munching on sunflower leaves.

Queensland Fruit fly female, Bactrocera tryoni (ID source Brisbane Insects and Spiders). She was quite unconcerned with having her photo taken. No doubt she was very focused on laying eggs.

Fruit fly

My attempt at an arty shot of a sunflower head. Can you spot the grasshopper to the right of the flower's centre and another insect hiding behind the petals in the top right?

Garden predators

We are getting fabulous harvests from our vege patch, with special thanks to our patrollers. We have numerous spiders, wasps and now I spotted an assassin bug!

Unidentified spider on south facing wall

St Andrew's Cross spider with one grasshopper already wrapped and another just caught.

Part of our chooks laying mash is sorghum seeds and we've had a few plants spring up from chook compost. The maturing seeds provide great camoflage for an Assassin Bug, Pristhesancus plagipennis (ID source, OzAnimals). I will be interested to see if this nymph survives to adulthood.

Assassin bug nymph