kwalker

Hi Vic. I can confirm that this is not Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Halyomorpha halys - and thank goodness. BTW - Superb pictures!

Hi Christiane

That's a sawfly larva - probably in the genus Perga.

Cheers

Ken

Hi Christiane,

Been off travelling again - now finally back!

The beautiful web you have photographed belongs to the Tent Spider - Cyrtophora moluccensis FAMILY ARANEIDAE

Here is a link with lots of info for you as well as images of spider itself:

http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_...

Cheers -- Ken

Insects use colour patterns for survival in mainly 3 ways.

1. Camouflage. These colours are usually not striking but rather blend in like a dead leaf or a mottled pattern that resembles light passing through the leaves of a tree.

2. Confusion. These colours are a mix of striking and dull. A good example is any butterfly that has brilliant colours on the upper wings and dull colours below. When a bird chases a butterfly with such colours, as the butterfly flaps its wings the bird gets confused by the constantly changing colours from brilliant flashes of blue to dull colours of brown. When the butterfly comes to rest on a twig and closes its wings, the brilliant colours disappear to a a dull colour and the bird is left wondering where its dinner went to.

3. Warning. Many insects display bright colours to warn of danger - red is a well used colour in nature. Insects use bright colours so that predators can easily recognise the warning colours and avoid eating them. Many other insects then mimic these warning colours when indeed they do not contain any poisons themselves. The trick is for the non poisonous species to never outnumber the poisonous species else there is higher chance of a predator eating a non poisonous specimen and not learn the warning colours.

Colours are great in insects but there is always a reason for their patterns and it always has something to do with survival or mate recognition.

cheers,

Ken

That is a male Halictid bee probably belonging to the genus Halictus.

That is a Zygaenidae moth but I am unsure of the scientific name. Great moth warning colours.

Hi Christine - Just back from the Solomon Islands. Great place but my flights were a nightmares with delays and lost luggage. Oh well.

Your picture is of lacewing eggs - Nymphes myrmeleonoides (Insecta: Neuroptera: Nymphidae).

Here is what the adult looks like:

http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Nymphes%20...

Cheers,

Ken

In this case, there are only Family common names rather than individual common names.

Yes - this is a weevil belonging to the subfamily Entiminae and I believe it is the eucalyptus snout beetle Gonipterus scutellatus Gyllenhal, 1833.

Here is a link to my images of this weevil:

http://www.padil.gov.au/pests-and-diseas...

sy Ken

I have a terrible job don't I. (:->!