r/AustralianInsects 4d ago

Other National Moth Week Calls On Citizen Scientists To Share Photos That Could Lead To New Discoveries

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18 Upvotes

r/AustralianInsects 9h ago

photography Handsome beetle with antennae

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64 Upvotes

Beaut beetle which I noticed flying and which then landed in the grass at my feet. Managed to get some reasonable shots as it moved quite slowly and let me get quite close before flying off. Seen at Glen Erin near Bowen Qld. Canon R10 and RF100-400 lens. Hand held, natural light. According to iNaturalist this is Rhipicera mystacina.


r/AustralianInsects 2h ago

Insect appreciation 🦋 Carpenter bee

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8 Upvotes

r/AustralianInsects 12h ago

ID request Hey anyone know what this caterpillar is SYDNEY NSW

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24 Upvotes

Hi guys I work the streets of Sydney and as I was cleaning I stumbled across this little guy, I had always paid attention to insects growing up had a time when I was obsessed with them but never seen something so alien even in my books.


r/AustralianInsects 1d ago

photography Female Cairns birdwing

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21 Upvotes

Now a female in the backyard. (Townsville)


r/AustralianInsects 3d ago

Insect appreciation 🦋 Male Cairns bird wing.

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381 Upvotes

Found this guy today. Male Cairns birdwing (Townsville)


r/AustralianInsects 4d ago

photography Neon Cuckoo Bee

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57 Upvotes

r/AustralianInsects 5d ago

photography Immature gall insect, probably Schedotrioza genus, cranky I removed it from gall & placed it on kitchen paper to document

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125 Upvotes

Parrots had chomped off leaves from a bloodwood, and many of the leaves had galls on, so I opened up one of the galls and found this instar stage of the insect inside!

I rested my torch on the kitchen bench, so it lit up the body. If the light had just been above, it would just have looked like a greyish blob surrounded by a white fringe.


r/AustralianInsects 4d ago

ID request Caterpillar 🐛

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19 Upvotes

Magpie Moth? Brisbane. What is the yellow under him? Is it normal. He seemed to try to chew it off.


r/AustralianInsects 8d ago

Insect appreciation 🦋 Exactly what you want to step on when you get out of bed on a freezing cold morning

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244 Upvotes

Thanks for that, red triangle slug. I will put you outside


r/AustralianInsects 8d ago

ID request Can anyone tell me what this is?

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17 Upvotes

It’s some sort of caterpillar, but there are thousands of them all over in Melbourne along the Yarra river


r/AustralianInsects 9d ago

ID request Does anyone know what this funky looking dude is?

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56 Upvotes

Found in Springbrook NP SEQLD. I thought it was lichen at first glance but then I started questioning my whole existence 🤣


r/AustralianInsects 9d ago

photography Scarab beetle, Onthophagus quadripustulatus, described way back in 1775, has lots of records, but mine was the first photo of it online

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39 Upvotes

I spotted this teeny tiny scarab beetle when out weeding, on a bare patch of ground, rolling some wallaby dung. I knocked it onto the ground so it was easier to photograph, but I was so tired from weeding, I just took a couple of overhead shots and that was it.

I uploaded it to iNaturalist, where one of the experts identified it as Onthophagus quadripustulatus. Which at that point, had no images online at all, beyond mine!

So mine was the first, and has sine allowed someone else on iNat to ID their own tiny scarab beetle.

It's bizarre that a beetle first described by science two and a half centuries ago has so few photographs. Possibly because it's so small!

As with other poorly documented insects I've also photographed at the end of a long stint of weeding, and was too tired to photograph from all angles, I was kicking myself for not taking a methodical set of photos of this little guy!


r/AustralianInsects 9d ago

Other Can someone explain the laws around pet insects within tasmania?

2 Upvotes

Hello, I wasn't sure where to post this as there are many different subreddits. I've been checking out different things about this, and have talked to people generally– but it's always confused me. As there is terminology I don't get, or stuff from other states or animals entirely that come in. Not to mention differences of alive/dead. I never grew up around anyone into any of this stuff to explain it to me.

From what I gather, Tasmania is very strict compared to the mainland. But I'm still a bit lost on what I'm allowed without some sort of permit/license, and what I am with a permit/license of some kind.

If anyone could give me some simplified blunt explanations or lists, I'd really appreciate it ! Thank you


r/AustralianInsects 10d ago

ID request ID please

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36 Upvotes

Near lane cove national park, my finger is ~9cm long. Found in a big pile of wood chips.


r/AustralianInsects 11d ago

ID request Friend or foe?

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51 Upvotes

I’ve seen quite a few of these around lately. Nthn NSW


r/AustralianInsects 12d ago

ID request What is this critter? Found on table in Queensland, Australia, finger for scale

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157 Upvotes

Appears to have some sort of debris or growth on its back, doesn’t move much and has a small tail or stinger. 6 legs and mandibles on front


r/AustralianInsects 13d ago

ID request Hi is this carpet beetle larvae? Thank you - found in bedroom Melb Aus

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10 Upvotes

r/AustralianInsects 13d ago

photography Eastern Dobsonfly

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47 Upvotes

r/AustralianInsects 14d ago

photography Backswimmer from Enithares genus swimming very slowly in dam because of leech on its back

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70 Upvotes

Backswimmers are aquatic insects that swim upside down.

I was taking a photo of the backswimmer and only noticed the leech attached to it when I zoomed in.

The leech species is Helobdella europaea, for anyone interested. And these tiny little leeches love to attach themselves to the various aquatic insects that live in the dam. To the point that some of the over-leeched aquatic insects are basically immobile.


r/AustralianInsects 15d ago

photography Bee fly, Systropus flavoornatus. Only 3 records of it in ALA, 2 of which are from iNat & 1 of those is mine.

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193 Upvotes

Another insect from my archives. It mimics a wasp more than a bee, but it's still part of the bee fly family.

I found it spotlighting at night, resting on a dead twig on an acacia.

While other people spotlight for birds and mammals at night, I find that it's also a great time to find daytime insects. They're often more visible against the dark night, when resting on grass blades or low branches, than during the day, when they can blend into the bright, visually noisy background. Plus, they're too sleepy to fly away quickly!


r/AustralianInsects 14d ago

breeder/seller Tiger beetles able to send?

1 Upvotes

Have wanted tiger beetles for a long while- just wondering if anyone actually breeds them? And if they can be bought possibly (I know they only live for a few months max). I regularly check bug frenzy or minibeast but have never seen them in stock.


r/AustralianInsects 16d ago

photography Frill Necked Lizard

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25 Upvotes

r/AustralianInsects 17d ago

photography From my archives: Christmas beetles making more Christmas beetles

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376 Upvotes

Found this pair mating on a grass stem over summer. Last photo shows how they, erm, connect, which I found rather fascinating.

I think the exact species of Christmas beetle is Anoplognathus pallidicollis.


r/AustralianInsects 18d ago

ID request This was in our kettle. What the hell is it? Are it's spawn inside me now?

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90 Upvotes

Found in the kettle, i dont understand how it got in there. Our taps have filters, it's boiled several times a day. About 3cm long. Ballarat, Victoria.