Three Arthropodean Visitors

..... a moth, a beetle, and a spider.

While I have not been actively searching for interesting spiders and insects, I have crossed paths with several over the last week or so..

1. Southern Old Lady Moth

Southern Old Lady Moth, Dasypodia selenophora - Close up showing labial palps and coiled proboscis

Southern Old Lady Moth, Dasypodia selenophora - Dorsal view

Southern Old Lady Moth, Dasypodia selenophora -  Detail of wing scales

 (click to enlarge)

The Southern Old Lady Moth, Dasypodia selenophora, can be found in the southern half of Australia, as well as Norfolk Island, New Zealand and Macquarie Island. One particular Southern Old Lady Moth can currently be found in my house. They like to hide in dark places by day and so they often come into houses or other buildings.  After taking the above photos, I wanted to coax it onto some glass so I could photograph the underside. However, the sprightly old lady made it's escape and has not been seen since.

Why is it called "Old Lady"?  Probably for the same reason as another moth of the same name in Britain. The pattern was said to be like that on an old lady's shawl. Another common name for this species, Golden Cloak Moth, suggests a similar meaning.

So how do the moths get down to Macquarie Island (1546 kilometres south of Hobart). Apparently they hitch a ride on prefrontal airflows (northerly winds) ahead of cold fronts.  In one such event it was estimated that the Old Ladies, flying at 300m asl, could have reached Macquarie Island in under 10 hours. A nocturnal temperature inversion kept the temperature at above 5C.  They would have been traveling at around 100 m.p.h. What a ride!

2. Fuller's Rose Weevil

Fuller's Rose Weevil - Asynonychus cervinus - Lateral View (Click to enlarge)

This 8mm long, beetle was found in the garden on the underside of our rhubarb leaves. Some one on the Bowerbird web site has identified it as Fuller's Rose Weevil (Asynonychus cervinus). It is an introduced pest in Australia and many other countries, probably originating from Central and South America.   It has a large number of host plants but is best known as a pest of citrus. So, you may wonder,  why is it named Rose Weevil? According to the University of Florida Entomology and Nematology Department, this weevil "caused considerable damage to winter roses when it was first reported in the United States from California in 1879."

The elytra (wing covers) are actually fused together rendering this evil wee weevil flightless.  Another interesting facet of this beetles life is that it reproduces parthenogenetically. (no male required). In fact only females have been recorded.

3. Cupboard Spider

 

Cupboard Spider, Steatoda grossa. -  Lateral View  - (click to enlarge)

Cupboard Spider, Steatoda grossa. - Oblique  Dorsal View  (click to  enlarge)

While sorting out a large wooden box full of old blacksmith's tools I came across a relative of the infamous Redback spider Latrodectus hasseltii. It's known as the Cupboard Spider, Steatoda grossa. Like the weevil above, this is a cosmopolitan species but it is considered to be a native of Europe, including Britain.

Are they dangerous to humans? There is at least one well documented case of a  22-year-old female bitten on the shoulder by a Cupboard spider. She developed nausea, vomiting, and severe local and regional pain; symptoms similar to that  caused by the bite of Latrodectus spiders such as the Redback..  In fact, the symptoms were succesfully treated with Redback spider antivenom.



References:

• Common I.F.B. (1990) Moths of Australia - Melbourne University Press
• Greenslade P., Farrow R. A., and Smith J. M. B. (1999). Long distance migration of insects to a subantarctic island. - Journal of Biogeography 26 , 1161–1167.
• Graudins, Andis; Gunja, Narendra; Broady, Kevin W.; Nicholson, Graham M. (June 2002). "Clinical and in vitro Evidence for the Efficacy of Australian Red-back Spider (Latrodectus hasselti) Antivenom in the Treatment of Envenomation by a Cupboard Spider (Steatoda grossa)". - Toxicon (Case report) 40 (6): 767–75.
• Gyeltshen, J. and A. Hodges. (2006, revised 2012) Fuller Rose Beetle, Naupactus godmanni (Crotch) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionidae). - Entomology and Nematology. Florida Cooperative Extension Service. University of Florida IFAS. 

Life on a Brain Fungus

… Mites and Springtails on Tremella fuciformis


Yesterday I took a photo of a jelly fungus on a rotting log up in the backyard. Then I noticed that what I thought were specks of dirt were in fact little mites, apparently feeding on the fungus. I tried for some close up shots but the detail is lacking. However you can see they have a shield like process at what, for simplicity, we'll call the shoulder. From what little I can find on the subject, these seem to belong to the family Galumnidae.

It wasn't until I looked at the first photos that I noticed other tiny creatures crawling around. These turned out to be tiny Poduromorph springtails. Having placed some in a container I witnessed one jump at least 5 cm. Quite a feat for an animal a mere 1.8 mm in length.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

White Brain Fungus - Tremella fuciformis
(You can see the mites and springtails more clearly on the larger image)


A Springtail - Order: Poduromorpha - less than 2mm long



Galumnid Mite just over 1 mm long

You can just make out the shield like process at the right shoulder.

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Ticks on Blue-tongue Lizard

(Edited on 21st Dec 2009 to reflect new information)

This Blotched blue-tongue Lizard (Tiliqua nigrolutea) was found here in my backyard. Closer inspection showed it to be covered in ticks, mostly at the back of the neck as well as in the axilla or armpit.

One fully gorged tick was actually causing the lizard discomfort (judging by the way it was walking) so we decided to remove them. Blue-tongue lizards are quite commonly parasitised by ticks. In fact some species of tick only feed on reptiles. Of the nine ticks we removed there were three distinct types. I had originally thought that these were three separate species but thanks to the helpful advice from Dr Bruce Halliday and Prof. Michael Bull I now know that they are all the same. They are the Southern Reptile Tick, Bothriocroton hydrosauri formerly known as Aponomma hydrosauri. There were more ticks in the lizards ears but I did not want to risk causing damage as their ear drums are close to the surface. A local herpetologist recommended putting vegetable oil on the ticks which should cut off their air supply and get them to drop off. This might be worth a try if your squeamish but it did not work for me. I've since been told:

"It is quite ok to physically pull the ticks from the ear. There may be a little bleeding but it is temporary, and probably far more effective than any oil treatment. Actually the ticks do little damage to the lizard unless there is an excessive load, and indeed they are just as much a component of the biodiversity as the lizards, so it is probably best just to leave the natural interaction intact. The fully engorged female tick you found in the axilla of the arm, may have caused a little discomfort, but they only remain in that state for a very short period of time before detaching to lay eggs."

The following taxonomy is based on the "Australian Faunal Directory" web site.

• Phylum: Arthropoda
  
• Class: Arachnida
  
• Superorder: Acarina
  
• Order: Parasitiformes
  
• Suborder: Mesostigmata
  
• Superfamily: Ixodoidea
  
  
  
  • Family Argasidae (Soft ticks)
    
  • Family Ixodidae (Hard Ticks)
    
  
  

You can clearly see the scutellum (shield like plate at the back of the head) in two of my ticks photos below which is a feature of Hard Ticks ( Ixodidae). I had thought Tick C below was of the Argasidae as there seemed to be no obvious scutellum. This turned out to be a case of not seeing the forest from the trees as apparently in the male the scutellum covers the whole body.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Blotched blue-tongue Lizard (Tiliqua nigrolutea)

A fully gorged tick in the the axilla as well a a smaller one of a different species below it.

Ticks (Bothriocroton hydrosauri )under the scales on the back of the lizards neck.

Tick A - An engorged female (Bothriocroton hydrosauri )

Tick B - A female in the unengorged state (Bothriocroton hydrosauri )

Tick C - A male (Bothriocroton hydrosauri )
these do not become engorged like the females do

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Spider Takes Earwig

.....Walk into my parlour

With the temperature down to about 4 degrees last night there was not much happening at the moth trap. I soon found that all the action was happening inside when I spotted this spider in the bathroom window. It had just caught an earwig which was still fighting for it's life. The spider kept retreating and then diving in trying to hogtie the spider.The earwig was relatively free to move except for it pincers which were totally entrapped. This morning the spider was enjoying earwig for breakfast.

Oh and does anyone know what these spiders are? At this stage I'm assuming family Theridiidae and possibly Achaearanea sp.

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

#1 - Gotcha!

#3 - Struggle

#3 - Hogtied

#4 - Breakfast

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A Jumping Spider

.....named Groucho



All I can say about this one is that it is a Jumping Spider of the family Salticidae, and that it certainly lives up to it's reputation. With a total body length of only around 5mm-6mm it managed an amazing jump of about 40mm - 50mm in an effort to escape my camera. It succeeded too. It landed down a deep crevice in a tree stump where I could no longer see it.

In the absence of a more precise name I've decided to call him Groucho. If you can't see any resemblance then you may need to compare photos #3, #4 and #5 :-)

Edit: I've since found that this is Opisthoncus polyphemus

(Click Photos to Enlarge)

A Small Jumping Spider - Opisthoncus polyphemus

A Small Jumping Spider - Opisthoncus polyphemus

A Small Jumping Spider - Opisthoncus polyphemus
Do you see the Grouch Resemblance?

For those with no imagination :-)

... and of course the real Groucho Marx

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Shield Spider / Badge Huntsman

.....Neosparassus diana (Koch, 1875)

This spider of the Sparassidae family is known as the Shield spider or Badge Hunstman. It hunts at night, usually on tree trunks and among foliage. By day it will be hidden away under some loose bark or even under stones. It has been known to occasionally come into houses. The one photographed below was certainly trying to come into my house as it was found on the back screen door. Fortunately it couldn't figure out how to pull the handle :-)

These spiders are fairly widespread in Tasmania and also occur on the mainland. The colour can range from yellowish brown to orange. The female's body length can be up to 22mm and the male 17mm. It has two straight rows of eyes with the eyes at the back being smaller. Between the two rows of eyes are some yellowish white hairs which to me gives the appearance of eye brows.

Another identifying feature is the 'badge' on the ventral surface of the abdomen. While this badge can vary a bit, it basically consists of a black area with two white spots. As I did not fancy holding the spider on it's back while taking it's photo, I have instead drawn a rough picture of the 'badge' which I have included below.

At this time of year (Sep/Oct) the female will make a nest by joining together some leaves or grass and within this she makes her egg-sac.

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

Shield Spider - Neosparassus diana

Ventral view of abdomen showing the 'shield' or 'badge'

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Gum-footed Tangle-web Spiders

.....family Theridiidae

The spider family Theridiidae gets it's common name from the structure of the webs. An apparent chaotic tangle, the web is in fact an ingenious trap consisting of vertically stretched threads that are attached to the ground with globs of gum. When the potential prey walks into one of the threads, it retracts and the prey is flung into more threads, thus immobilising it. . This family includes one of the most infamous of Australian spiders, the Redback, Latrodectus hasselti. However the spiders below belong to the closely related genus, Steatoda.

These tend to be smaller that the Redback but you will notice some similarity in form. Some even exhibit a small red spot. These are extremely common in my backyard and can be found under just about any rock (and believe me, as a vegetable gardener, when I tell you I have a lot of rocks here). I have even found them a good 600mm below the surface in a small cavity under a rock.

It is said a bite can induce headache and nausea but bites are not common due to the small size of the fangs.

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

Steatoda.sp - This one found at least 600mm underground

Steatoda.sp - female with egg sac under a rock

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Australian Jumping Spider

.....Breda jovialis

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

After seeing JL's recent post here I mentioned that I would share this photo of an Australian Jumping Spider, Breda jovialis, taking a huntsman. It's not a recent photo - it was taken in October 2006.

In the bush these spiders are found under loose bark on trees but these days, the nooks and crannies of house walls and garden fences are equally acceptable to them. Adults are found during spring and summer. The females body length is 9mm while the males body length is only 6mm.

(Click Photo to Enlarge)

Australian Jumping Spider - Breda jovialis - takes a huntsman

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Garden Orb Weaver Spider

.....Eriophora pustulosa

This spider was found on my Vegetable garden fence last Wednesday evening. It is, I believe, Eriophora pustulosa, the Garden Orb Weaver. The species is very variable in colour and pattern as it takes on the colour of it's surrounding. It ranges from yellowish right through to black.

The USQ's Find a Spider site says, the "presence of two projections (tubercles) on the front upper surfaces of the abdomen and a row of three near its pointed end are characteristic of this species." These can be seen best in photo #1. Below the three posterior tubercles are another two vertically aligned tubercles so if you were to view it from behind all five projections would form a letter T. (see diagram #5) It also has a dark quadrilateral area on the ventral surface which is surrounded by a white margin as can be seen in photo #4.

Female body length is 7 - 15mm and males 7 - 8 mm.

Note: older texts refer to this species as Acroaspis tuberculifera or Araneus pustulosus

#1. Garden Orb Weaver Spider - Eriophora pustulosa

#2. Garden Orb Weaver Spider - Eriophora pustulosa

#3. Garden Orb Weaver Spider - Eriophora pustulosa

#4. Garden Orb Weaver Spider - Eriophora pustulosa

#5. Dorsal view of abdomen showing general position of the tubercles

References:
Hickman V.V. - 1967 - Some Common Spiders of Tasmania - Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
University of Queensland Find a Spider Guide - http://www.usq.edu.au/spider/find/spiders/612.htm

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Fungus and Mites

I found this fungus on a tree at Leven Canyon today. I did not measure it but I'd estimate they are each is about 7 - 8 mm in diameter.I have no idea what it is yet as I'll need to get to the library. However, even more interesting are the little mites. As is often the case, I did not notice these until getting home which is a pity as I would have liked to have tried for a closer shot.

If anyone knows more about either species I be glad to here from you.

(Click Photos to Enlarge)

Fungus with mites

Fungus with mites

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Social Huntsman Spider

... Delena cancerides

This afternoon I came across this spider - Delena cancerides. This is Tasmania's largest Huntsman spider. It is known as the 'Social Huntsman' as it can live in colonies of up to 300. It is rather flat bodied and generally lives under the bark of trees. This one was found on a star post when I removed a bit of tin that was attached to it. A couple of months ago, my wife picked up a cardboard box which had been lying rotting in the bush for quite a while. We both freaked out when we seen three of these huntsmen crawling on her. (Don't worry - I composed myself long enough to be able to rescue her) So..... apparently they also like to live between sheets of old cardboard :-0

For scale, the blue and yellow marks on the first photo are each 1 cm long. The star post is 4.5 cm across.

Warning: Arachnophobes should not scroll down any further.



Click to see larger version

Social Hunstman - Delena cancerides

Social Hunstman - Delena cancerides

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Giant Tasmanian Cave Spider - Hickmania troglodytes

• Order: Araneae
• Family: Austrochilidae
• Subfamily: Hickmaniinae
• Species: Hickmania troglodytes (Higgins & Petterd, 1883)

The Giant Tasmanian Cave Spider was first recorded in the limestone caves at Mole Creek in 1883. It is endemic to Tasmania but is widely distributed throughout the state. Despite it's common name it is not confined to caves. Any cool cavity large enough to support it's extensive web may be used. They have even been found under bridges and in large hollow logs. I have seen them in several places including Gunns Plains Cave and in a mine adit near Montezuma falls which is where the following photographs were taken.

The females body length can be up to 20mm and the males 13mm. However the leg span can be up to 180mm. They build a large horizontal sheet like web on the roof of the cave or cavity. One web was recorded to be 122 cm long by 61cm wide. The large pear shaped egg-sac is about 49mm long by 26mm wide. When in caves it is left undecorated as seen in my photo below. However if the spider is, for example, in a hollow log, it will cover the egg-sac in small particles of wood and debris. Spiderlings emerge from the sacs after 8-10 months. This spider is also noted for it's long lifespan, possibly lasting several decades.

Female with egg-sac

Reference:

• Some Common Spiders of Tasmania - Tasmanian Museum & ArtGallery
• Tasmanian Cave Spider (Fact Sheet) - Australian Museum

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