Red Fingernail Bug

Description:

A small red bug approximately 18mm long and with luscious strong red, yellow and magenta colours - looking very much like a 'painted' fingernail. When it first flew past I thought it was a red moth.

Habitat:

On glass window around midnight in suburban back yard.

Notes:

Also called 'Red fungus bug' although I'm not yet sure why. The second shot uses light from both sides of the window so gives a better idea of the glowing colour you see when it's flying. Most notably it is a native species of both New South Wales and New Zealand. One would have to ask the question 'Is this another species that got blown across the ditch?'... an update on this - I was just reading about some serious lepidopterists who set up lights and screens on the west coast of NZ to catch Australian moths. Whenever a cold front is coming from the west (Australia) it is often preceded by strong northerly winds that stream hot, insect laden air across the Tasman Sea. It's therefore very likely this little critter could have made the journey any time over the last few million years as it flies very much like a moth. They got our 'Redback spiders' so it's a workable theory. Order: Hemiptera Superfamily: Fulgoroidea Family: Achilidae Genus: Achilus