#803-815 - True Bugs
#803 - Amorbus robusta nymph - Clown Bug
The brightly coloured and probably noxious fourth instar nymph of a Eucalyptus Tip Wilter. I’ve covered the adults before, which are a large by dull brown insects.
Beeliar, Perth
#804 - Fam. Aleyrodidae - Whitefly Pupa
The transparent object at right, with the eyes and cross bar, is the pupa of a whitefly, and similar to the pupa of the Citrus Whitefly Dialeurodes citri, a major pest. You can tell it’s a pupa because the adult eyes are starting to show - nymphs are similar, and similarly fastened to their host leaf, but don’t have obvious eyespots yet. Adults are fully winged and look very different.
Because they can spread plant diseases, the 1550 species of whitefly do hundreds of millions of dollars in estimated damage to crops. Bemisia argentifolii alone is a vector for almost 60 other viral plant diseases
On top of sucking sap from the host plant and injecting viruses, further damage is done by the mold that grows on their honeydew.
Chemical control of whitefly infestations is extensive, but there are alternatives, at least on the small scale. According to Wikipedia:
Washing the plant, especially the undersides of leaves, may help reduce the number of the pests on the plants and make their management by other methods more effective. Whiteflies are also attracted by the color yellow, so yellow sticky paper can serve as traps to monitor infestations.Dead leaves or leaves that have been mostly eaten by whiteflies can be removed and burned or carefully placed in closed bins to avoid reinfestation and spreading of the disease.Early detection in combination with hosing or vacuuming of diseased portions as well as removal of any section that is heavily infested.
Several predators and parasitoids may be effective in controlling whitefly infestations, including green lacewings, ladybirds, minute pirate bugs, big-eyed bugs, and damsel bugs.
(the black object at left is a scale insect that I'll be covering at a later date)
Melville, Perth
#805 - Fam. Clastopteridae - Large Tube Spittlebug Refuges
Enormous refuges built by certain froghoppers. These are huge compared to the usual white chalky varieties I see around here. I don’t recognise the plant, unfortunately, but given it was only a few blocks from here I should go back and see if they’re still there, and whether I can find the insects responsible.
Wellard, Perth
#806 - Fam. Aradidae - Flat Bugs
A family of very flattened bugs, distantly related to stink bugs, and of little economic import. Only a few have been studied, but they’re thought to feed on fungi and can be attracted with bark beetle pheromones.
In milder climates, Aradids are most often found under bark, as were the half-dozen I found here. In the tropics, they may live in leaf litter, or be found on fallen branches. Tropical species are often apterous.
Dawesville, Perth
#807 - Adrisa sp. - Burrowing Bug
Small, fairly common true bugs of the family Cydnidae - Of the 770-odd species of Burrowing Bug, 27 are minor crop pests, and six species are thought to feed on peanut plants. Little is known of their biology, but they are known to feed on roots, fallen twigs, and seeds.
Baldivis, Perth
#808 - Havinthus longiceps - Long-headed Assassin Bugs
Fam. Reduviidae, IDed by Dr Mallik Malipatil, an expert on Hemiptera. Apparently this is the first record for the species in WA on the Atlas of Living Australia, and the first photo.
Found under bark on a tree branch a meter off the ground, along with millipedes, beetles, and so on. Baldivis, Perth
#809 - Pseudobargylia sp. - Brown Thread-legged Assassin Bug
Unlike other Thread-legged Assassin Bugs, this genus apparently not evolved to hunt spiders, and is a more general predator. A good number of species are wingless as adults, which is unusual for true bugs, but seems to have been a running theme in a number of my recent posts.
Found under a log in Wellard, Perth
#810 - Coranus sp. Assassin Bug
Large Assassin Bugs often marked with black and white checks along the flanks.
Munster, Perth
#811 - Flatid Nymph
Little green nymphs with fuzzy butts. This one is probably Siphanta, given all the adults around my carport in the very hottest weather when even the insects and spiders try to come in out of the scorching sun.
Wellard, Perth
#812 - Green Psyllid
A tiny green psyllid adult. Could be another Gylcaspis species - the Red Gum Psyllid, which is a pest overseas, rather resembles this one. But there are so many species and the limitations of my cameraphone are so strong that I’m unwlling to take the ID any further.
#813 - Melanacanthus scutellaris - Small Brown Bean Bug
A Broad-headed Bug (Fam. Alydidae) and an agricultural pest of beans and other Fabaceae, and native to the Australian mainland - reported from NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and probably the Northern Territory as well. A little over one centimeter in length (not including legs and antennae) with long antennae and a cream stripe along each side, although the stripe less distinct in the somewhat rounder females.. Males, like this one, also have a prominent pale patch on the scutellum.
Melanacanthus has a short spine on each ´shoulder´ (less pronounced than on Riptortus sp. - the large brown bean bugs), and thickened, spiny hindlegs (thinner than those of Riptortus sp.). The nymphs are dark brown or black and mimic ants.
South Fremantle, Perth
#814 - Sextius sp. - Acacia Horned Treehopper
Green Treehoppers (Fam. Membracidae) feed in groups on plant shoots, usually lined up along branches. They excrete honeydew, which attracts ants and leads to the growth of black-grey mould on the plants. I didn’t notice any ants or mould, but I certainly noticed the long razor-sharp thorns on this Acacia.
Females lay eggs in slits cut into wattle tree branches, and the nymphs have a long tail segment but no wings.
Found at a truck stop halfway between Perth and Bunbury.
#815 - Pogonella sp. - Brown Horned Treehopper
Small brown Horned Treehoppers (Fam, Membracidae) with cream markings and big horned shoulders. There’s two species in Australia, but I don’t know how to tell them apart. Sexual dimorphism doesn’t help.
Success, Perth
The brightly coloured and probably noxious fourth instar nymph of a Eucalyptus Tip Wilter. I’ve covered the adults before, which are a large by dull brown insects.
Beeliar, Perth
#804 - Fam. Aleyrodidae - Whitefly Pupa
The transparent object at right, with the eyes and cross bar, is the pupa of a whitefly, and similar to the pupa of the Citrus Whitefly Dialeurodes citri, a major pest. You can tell it’s a pupa because the adult eyes are starting to show - nymphs are similar, and similarly fastened to their host leaf, but don’t have obvious eyespots yet. Adults are fully winged and look very different.
Because they can spread plant diseases, the 1550 species of whitefly do hundreds of millions of dollars in estimated damage to crops. Bemisia argentifolii alone is a vector for almost 60 other viral plant diseases
On top of sucking sap from the host plant and injecting viruses, further damage is done by the mold that grows on their honeydew.
Chemical control of whitefly infestations is extensive, but there are alternatives, at least on the small scale. According to Wikipedia:
Washing the plant, especially the undersides of leaves, may help reduce the number of the pests on the plants and make their management by other methods more effective. Whiteflies are also attracted by the color yellow, so yellow sticky paper can serve as traps to monitor infestations.Dead leaves or leaves that have been mostly eaten by whiteflies can be removed and burned or carefully placed in closed bins to avoid reinfestation and spreading of the disease.Early detection in combination with hosing or vacuuming of diseased portions as well as removal of any section that is heavily infested.
Several predators and parasitoids may be effective in controlling whitefly infestations, including green lacewings, ladybirds, minute pirate bugs, big-eyed bugs, and damsel bugs.
(the black object at left is a scale insect that I'll be covering at a later date)
Melville, Perth
#805 - Fam. Clastopteridae - Large Tube Spittlebug Refuges
Enormous refuges built by certain froghoppers. These are huge compared to the usual white chalky varieties I see around here. I don’t recognise the plant, unfortunately, but given it was only a few blocks from here I should go back and see if they’re still there, and whether I can find the insects responsible.
Wellard, Perth
#806 - Fam. Aradidae - Flat Bugs
A family of very flattened bugs, distantly related to stink bugs, and of little economic import. Only a few have been studied, but they’re thought to feed on fungi and can be attracted with bark beetle pheromones.
In milder climates, Aradids are most often found under bark, as were the half-dozen I found here. In the tropics, they may live in leaf litter, or be found on fallen branches. Tropical species are often apterous.
Dawesville, Perth
#807 - Adrisa sp. - Burrowing Bug
Small, fairly common true bugs of the family Cydnidae - Of the 770-odd species of Burrowing Bug, 27 are minor crop pests, and six species are thought to feed on peanut plants. Little is known of their biology, but they are known to feed on roots, fallen twigs, and seeds.
Baldivis, Perth
#808 - Havinthus longiceps - Long-headed Assassin Bugs
Fam. Reduviidae, IDed by Dr Mallik Malipatil, an expert on Hemiptera. Apparently this is the first record for the species in WA on the Atlas of Living Australia, and the first photo.
Found under bark on a tree branch a meter off the ground, along with millipedes, beetles, and so on. Baldivis, Perth
#809 - Pseudobargylia sp. - Brown Thread-legged Assassin Bug
Unlike other Thread-legged Assassin Bugs, this genus apparently not evolved to hunt spiders, and is a more general predator. A good number of species are wingless as adults, which is unusual for true bugs, but seems to have been a running theme in a number of my recent posts.
Found under a log in Wellard, Perth
#810 - Coranus sp. Assassin Bug
Large Assassin Bugs often marked with black and white checks along the flanks.
Munster, Perth
#811 - Flatid Nymph
Little green nymphs with fuzzy butts. This one is probably Siphanta, given all the adults around my carport in the very hottest weather when even the insects and spiders try to come in out of the scorching sun.
Wellard, Perth
#812 - Green Psyllid
A tiny green psyllid adult. Could be another Gylcaspis species - the Red Gum Psyllid, which is a pest overseas, rather resembles this one. But there are so many species and the limitations of my cameraphone are so strong that I’m unwlling to take the ID any further.
#813 - Melanacanthus scutellaris - Small Brown Bean Bug
A Broad-headed Bug (Fam. Alydidae) and an agricultural pest of beans and other Fabaceae, and native to the Australian mainland - reported from NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and probably the Northern Territory as well. A little over one centimeter in length (not including legs and antennae) with long antennae and a cream stripe along each side, although the stripe less distinct in the somewhat rounder females.. Males, like this one, also have a prominent pale patch on the scutellum.
Melanacanthus has a short spine on each ´shoulder´ (less pronounced than on Riptortus sp. - the large brown bean bugs), and thickened, spiny hindlegs (thinner than those of Riptortus sp.). The nymphs are dark brown or black and mimic ants.
South Fremantle, Perth
#814 - Sextius sp. - Acacia Horned Treehopper
Green Treehoppers (Fam. Membracidae) feed in groups on plant shoots, usually lined up along branches. They excrete honeydew, which attracts ants and leads to the growth of black-grey mould on the plants. I didn’t notice any ants or mould, but I certainly noticed the long razor-sharp thorns on this Acacia.
Females lay eggs in slits cut into wattle tree branches, and the nymphs have a long tail segment but no wings.
Found at a truck stop halfway between Perth and Bunbury.
#815 - Pogonella sp. - Brown Horned Treehopper
Small brown Horned Treehoppers (Fam, Membracidae) with cream markings and big horned shoulders. There’s two species in Australia, but I don’t know how to tell them apart. Sexual dimorphism doesn’t help.
Success, Perth