Bird of Paradise Fly

Description:

Also known as Giant Scale Insect, the females are very different from males and much bigger. This specimen measured just over 2cm. It's a slow moving insect, brown in colour covered in white 'dust'. It took me a while to figure out what it was, as it was the first I ever saw and it reminded me of a cockroach.

Habitat:

Coastal scrub near Hopetoun, in the south of Western Australia.

Notes:

They belong in the family Margarodidae.