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skeletonised melaleuca leaf

Melaleuca quinquenervia and Lophyrotoma zonalis

Description:

Soft healthy leaves of a beautiful young Melaleuca plant (Melaleuca quinquenervia) was being slowly skeletonised- with the main veins alone remaining. The branches had dried up and formed an interesting pattern. The culprits were an army of sawfly larvae (Lophyrotoma zonalis), tails up marching along both surfaces of the leaf, munching every bit (Pic # 4). The larvae were only about 11mm each

Habitat:

Melaleuca - an australian native plant

Notes:

There are a few spottings on PN of the melaleuca sawfly and larvae, but I don't think there are any (so far) of their ( small larvae) damaging work leaving behind such attractive patterns.... larger larvae eat the whole leaf as in www.projectnoah.org/spottings/8212557

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13 Comments

MayraSpringmann
MayraSpringmann 11 years ago

Wow! Incredible!!

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 11 years ago

amazing and beautiful spotting! Beauty in Decay!

Leuba Ridgway
Leuba Ridgway 12 years ago

Thanks Shanna & Karen - I think the plant must be half demolished by now !

KarenL
KarenL 12 years ago

Lovely!

ShannaB
ShannaB 12 years ago

Beautiful shots.

Leuba Ridgway
Leuba Ridgway 12 years ago

Thanks arlanda, Sachin and argybee

Leuba Ridgway
Leuba Ridgway 12 years ago

Ashish, sorry I don't have any more pictures of this plant. It is only a little sapling, about a year old - very slow growing ( maybe because it's being eaten so often!). It's about 60cm tall and does not have a trunk to speak of..

Leuba Ridgway
Leuba Ridgway 12 years ago

I have replaced one of the photos to better illustrate the purpose of this spotting.

Ashish Nimkar
Ashish Nimkar 12 years ago

Its interesting plant... Do you have picture of the trunk of this plant..?

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 12 years ago

These ones are possibly already just past the skeletonising size.
Nice work.

MartinL
MartinL 12 years ago

Wow... quite artistic for a sawfly

Sachin Zaveri
Sachin Zaveri 12 years ago

Nice series,

arlanda
arlanda 12 years ago

very nice!

Leuba Ridgway
Spotted by
Leuba Ridgway

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Spotted on Mar 6, 2012
Submitted on Mar 6, 2012

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