'Lactura dives' from Milner in Darwin one of only five records on #iNaturalist

www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#wildoz #Ozinverts #moths

An adult female wolf spider of the family Lycosidae with about 100 baby spiders covering the rear portion of her head and the entirety of her abdomen. The spiderlings are so tightly clustered upon her that her rear becomes a shapeless blob of tiny spiders. She looks tired.

I don't have kids because 🌏 but next time you're doing the school run and the kids are fighting in the back have a thought for this female wolf spider with the kids on board. #WildOz #Spider #OzInverts #Nature

A glamorous longicorn beetle sits on a white buddleia flower head, drinking nectar. The beetle is elongated and black, with tan pinstripes, swollen segments on the very long legs, and ridiculously long red antenna.

Our backyard has another 'first' record for an insect species in Armidale @inaturalist.bsky.social, Amphirhoe sloanei(?). So many possible reasons for 'firsts', eg few people looking; less common species; dispersal from the coast (random or migration)... we'll probably never know #wildoz #ozinverts

A side view photo of a flower-feeding march fly on a white papertowel, against a white background. The fly has a simple oval body covered in fluffy hairs, big colourful eyes, transparent wings and spindly black legs. Its triangular compound eyes shine green and yellow. The fluff on its underside is an off-white colour, while the fluff on its back and on the end of its abdomen is bright, saturated orange.

A top view photo of the same fly, now sitting on dark striped fabric. In this photo you can see the top of its eyes touch, the very top of its thorax has no fuzz, and that there is a tear in its right wing.

A sideview photo of the same fly as it drinks sugarwater out of a green spoon. It seems to be unsteady on its legs, but the end of its long mouthpart opens up to drink the liquid.

Found this fella looking like it was on its last legs. My partner and I tried to revive it with some sugar water, and it did drink more than its fill... but alas, twas its final meal😔

🪲ID Guess: Flower-feeding March Fly
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts #bugdeath

A side view photo of an extremely fluffy bag shelter moth sat on the tip of a finger. The moth is covered in cream coloured hairs all over its stout little body, poofing up on the back of its head, thorax, abdomen, and the first two joints of its legs. The fluff on its abdomen is a caramel colour with black splotchy stripes running across the top. It has cream coloured wings that look way too small to carry its big fluffiness, two feathered antennae, and two big round eyes.

A front view photo of that same moth. The sheer fluffiness of its body makes it look like a fuzzy circle with eyes, little stick legs and triangular wings faded in the background. Its little face is dwarfed by its big black eyes on either side of it.

A three quarter front view photo of the same moth. In this photo you can see that it seems to tuck its head down into its chest floof.

CUTEST FLOOFER EVER!!!!!
(Later found out that this species has skin-irritating hairs lmao, my finger was fine tho yay)

🪲ID Guess: Bag-shelter Moth
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts #moths

A photo of a white garland house hopper spider in the middle of eating different species of jumping spider on a brown leaf. The house hopper spider has a fuzzy, light brown, chestnut shaped abdomen with four dark vertical stripes running along it. Its thorax, head and legs are hazel, shiny and almost half transparent, and it has a dark brown patch on the top of its head rimmed with white. It has six round black eyes and its chelicerae are stabbed inside its meal. The spider being eaten is yellow, orange and white. Its eyes, the same as the spider eating it, seem to stare at the other.

Its a spider eat spider world out there
(This looks like a scene smugpugchimera would draw ngl)

🪲ID Guess: White Garland House Hopper
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts #spider #animaldeath #bugdeath

A three quarter front view photo of a maculate ladybug sitting near the edge of a green leaf. The background has a soft dark blue hue that lights the photo. The ladybug has a half-circle shape, its smooth elytron curves into a round slope down to its triangular head. It is mostly a dark orange colour with black splotchy spots on its elytron. It has two big black eyes, short antennae and segmented orange legs. Its mouthparts seem to be mid-movement.

Maybe my most professional looking photo xD
The oncoming storm clouds with overcast sun made the absolute perfect lighting and atmosphere for this little ladybug

🪲ID Guess: Maculate Ladybird
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A photo of a tiny fungus weevil sat near the edge of a green leaf, the leaf seems very large compared to it. The weevil has a compact, rounded abdomen and thorax that tapers down into the short snout on its face. It has stubby segmented legs, big rounded black eyes and long antennae with a slight curve. It is mostly a medium brown colour, with its thorax having mottled browns patterned in vertical stripes

Tiiiny wevil <333

🪲ID Guess: Fungus Weevil (Araecerus)
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A closeup photo of a light brown moth hiding beneath a dead leaf, zoomed in on its face. Its face and eyes are dark brown and have a hazy black pupil, its snout is fuzzy and pointed, its thin antennae are folded against its wing and it has tiny speckles all over the rest of its fluff.

A photo of the same light brown moth hiding beneath a dead leaf that is almost the exact light brown colour as the moth The moths wings fold into a wide triangular shape, it is mostly that light brown with some darker brown speckles and a hazy line across it. The moths dark brown eyes and long snout can be seen poking upward.

A front view photo of the same moth. In this photo we can see its legs are striped light and dark brown.

:^)

🪲ID Guess: Neat Epidesmia
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A sideview photo of a little brown pony ant peering dramatically off the side of a long green leaf. The ant has small, cute proportions, spindly legs and wiggly antennae. Its little brown body is a shiny red-brown with a bubbly texture n its thorax and head.

Found this feller in my partners hair, but when I relocated it to a plant it just stared down the edge like this, for a like a solid minute 🤨 you good bro?

🪲ID Guess: Pony Ants
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A three quarter side view photo of a flatinae leafhopper sitting on the underside of a long leaf. The bug is a flat rectangular shape, the back of its wings making the end of the rectangle, then tapering into its front legs and beak-like head. It is a pale mint green colour, and its eyes are small with a smaller pupil dotted in the middle, giving it a shocked expression.

Got that ⊙-⊙

🪲ID Guess: Flatinae
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A photo of a cicada shell clung onto mossy tree bark, angled diagonally. The shell is a reddish brown and transparent in some parts, you can see the green background shining through the eye, back and abdomen parts.

Genuinely one of the nicest photos I've taken, and its of a molt lol

🪲ID Guess: Cicada molt
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A closeup photo of a shiny, maroon coloured spider ant with a long face and thin body peer over a yellow flower and poke its long antennae into the center. It has specks of pollen all over it.

A top view of that same spider ant, running across a dark green leaf with even more pollen on its face, antennae and legs. This photo better shows the length of the ants legs and antennae, which seem to exceed its body length.

Look at the pollen all over its face, its lost in the sauce fr

🪲ID Guess: Spider Ants
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A side view photo of a fuzzy orange european honey bee scurrying over the tops of small purple flowers. The honey bee has a stocky body with soft looking fluff covering its head and thorax, a black and yellow striped abdomen, transparent wings folded over its back, and thick black legs.

A photo of the underside of a european honey bee as it balances on the white petal and yellow stamen of a citrus leaf. It has its legs spread between the two anchor points, and it peers down into the middle of the flower.

A photo of a european honey bee sat on the bottom petal of a yellow flower, sticking its head into the middle. There are more of the same flower framing the rest of the photo

Busy little bees 🐝

🪲ID Guess: European Honey Bee
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A sideview photo of a red, yellow and black ichneumon wasp sitting on a green leaf. The wasp has a very long, spindly body. It has a small head yellow head with black eyes and long antennae, a round black and red thorax, and pin-like red abdomen connected with a thread-thin waist. It has spindly long legs, the front two yellow and the back legs much longer with each segment a different colour, starting with red, then black, then yellow.

I was SO SO SO excited when this gorgeous wasp sat still long enough for me to get a nice photo!!!!

🪲ID Guess: Ichneumonid Wasps (Subfamily Anomaloninae)
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A sideview photo of a garden orbweaver spider sitting curled up on the tip of a dark green leaf, a ray of sun cast over it while the rest of the photo is in shadow. The spider has a large body with light brown hairs, small dark eyes, and long legs curled close to its body. Its big triangular abdomen has geometric patterns on the top with lighter and darker shades of brown.

Got a dramatic spotlight on this one

🪲ID Guess: Orbweavers
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts #spiders

A three quarter view of a lantana hispid bug peering over the edge of a green leaf. The bug has a flat, rectangular body, only deviating from the geometry with its round little head. It has short red antennae tipped with white, black eyes, and its thorax and elytron are a shiny textured chitin coloured black and yellow. It has short red legs that cling to the edge of the leaf.

Flattened....

🪲ID Guess: Lantana Hispid
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A side view photo of a fuzzy weevil clinging upside down to a leaf stem. The weevil has a chunky, velvety body coloured mostly orange-ish brown and beige. It has a short snout, round eyes, and chunky legs that curl around the leaf stem. Its thorax and elutron are stout and rounded with some dark brown splotches between the velvety fuzz

See this anxious fella, clinging to a leaf for dear life with the fear of unknown horrors in its gaze. Mood.

🪲ID Guess: Weevil
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A top view photo of a treehopper sitting on a green leaf. The treehopper has a wide front body that tapers into a teardrop end at its wing tips. Its flat head has two large eyes on each side, and a thorax that sits atop its head like a hat with two spines that looks like a cat-ear beanie. It has two semi-transparent wings folded at its side, and six little legs evenly spaced beneath it. It is mostly black with brown eyes and a white stripe at its side, its body seems to be covered in fine, short hairs

It looks like it has a cat-ear beanie <3

🪲ID Guess: Treehopper - Terentiini
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A side view photo of a leafhopper sitting ontop of a piece of grass, with its two hind legs raised and one foreleg pointing upward. The leafhopper has a flat head with oval eyes and a long body mostly covered by its wings. It is mostly a beige colour with some dark brown.

"Hallooo"👋

🪲ID Guess: Silver leafhopper
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A three quarter front view photo of a 28-spotted potato ladybird beetle standing on the edge of a large green leaf peppered with holes. The beetle is very rounded, bright orange body with black splotchy spots over its elytron, a couple spots on its thorax, and two oblong eyes on its little head tilted inward which gives it a worried look. It's body is covered in a fine fuzz as if flocked.

worried little eyes🥺

🪲ID Guess: 28-Spotted Potato Ladybird
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

Huge communal spider web, with five large orb weavers sharing the space, visible against the blue sky background

Social spiders! Found this huge communal web, shared by five visible adult female orb weavers, strung across a popular walking path at Mooloolaba Beach #ozinverts #wildoz

A sideview photo of a yellow grass lynx spider sitting on the tip of a mottled green leaf. The spider is bright yellow with a large teardrop abdomen, boxy head and angular long legs with spikey hairs along them. It's small black eyes seem focused forward, and its pedipalps relaxed over its red tipped chelicerae

I'm very chuffed with this photo, it does justice to the cool lynx spoods🤩

🪲ID Guess: Grass Lynx Spiders
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A side view photo of a brown seed bug perched on the end of a dark green leaf against a muted green, blurry background. The bug has rice-grain proportioned body, mostly brown but with some segments a dark green. It has a small pointed head with little dark red eyes, segmented antennae, and transparent wings folded neatly over its abdomen. Its body and legs are covered in a short fluff

It looks so melancholic in this photo... wistful bug

🪲ID Guess: Caledonia Seed Bug
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A three quarter front view of an iridescent leaf cylinder beetle sitting on the unfurled petals of a closed yellow flower. The beetle has a thick, rotund body coloured bright yellow. Its legs, antennae and oblong eyes are black, and there is a hint of its shiny carapace on its back in this photo

A photo of that same beetle sitting in the same spot, taken from behind. In this photo its black head, yellow thorax plate, and iridescent green carapace can be better seen. Its abdomen is so chunky that the carapace doesn't cover the whole top of it

What a photogenic fella!

🪲ID Guess: Iridescent Leaf Cylinder Beetle
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A three quarter top view photo of a trig cricket sitting on the stem of a brown dead leaf. The cricket has a small body with its back legs almost as big as its whole body and antennae even longer. Its body is black, its legs a light brown and its eyes muted dark red. It has sharp hairs on its hind legs and two spines coming from the end of its abdomen. Its shiny transparent wings fold neatly over its abdomen

A photo of the same species of cricket, this time at side view and sitting on the edge of a green leaf, surrounded by other leaves and long blades of grass. With this angle the pointed mouthparts and dotted antennae can be better seen

Been affectionately dubbing these guys 'trig crickets' when I see them :>

🪲ID Guess: Trigonidium
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A three quarter bottom view of a juvenile silver orb spider sitting in the middle of its web against a bright green, blurred background. The spider has half transparent green legs with yellow joints, a darker yellow sternum, and a brown abdomen specked with light silver and some yellow, becoming more silvery near the top of its abdomen

Is a juvenile silver orb spider I think? is round instead of long lmao

🪲ID Guess: Silver Orb Spider - Juvenile
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts #spiders

A side view photo of a tiny wasp sitting on the tip of a green leaf. The wasp has a very small frame, with a little round head, bigger thorax, and longer abdomen. Its head and thorax is a bright shiny orange, and it has large black eyes and long black antennae. Its abdomen is white on the sides and black on the top and bottom. Black wings fold neatly over its back, and its little legs grip gently onto the leaf

Dainty <3

🪲ID Guess: Braconid Wasps
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A three quarter top view photo of a bee fly sitting on a half-closed purple flower. The fly has an incredibly fluffy light brown body, with two large eyes that touch in the middle, small antennae, and a long pointed proboscis. It has long legs, half light brown and half black, and two transparent wings at rest by its sides.

I can't describe how excited I was to see this little cutie, let alone get a nice photo of it :DDDD
You can see the pollen on its proboscis <333

🪲ID Guess: Bee fly - Bombyliini
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts

A top view photograph of the inside of a bright yellow flower and five little stingless bees scurrying about its stamens. The bees have small, shiny black bodies with transparent wings folded neatly over their backs, triangular heads with big eyes, and thin antennae

It was so hard getting photos of these busy little guys!

🪲ID Guess: Stingless Bees - Tetragonula
#bugsky #ozinverts #inverts