#1574-1577 - More Miscellany
#1574 - Quambalaria coyrecup - Marri Canker
Marri Canker is a serious disease of Corymbia calophylla, and infects up to 80% of urban Marri trees. That includes the one in my front yard :(
The fungus was first noticed in the 1930s, but became increasingly common in the 70s. It’s quite likely that the fungus is already present in the trees, but when they’re stressed by climate change, soil disturbance, or all the trees around them being cut down to make room for more houses, all it takes is a injury to the bark to cause the slow death of the tree. Trees next to roads are especially vulnerable, but the health of trees across the entire SW is under threat.
As the fungus spreads, these oozing wounds get larger and larger, until they girdle the trunk or branch and kill everything further from the ground. The tree in my yard has already lost a number of large heavy branches.
#1575 - Nothancyla verreauxi
Photo by Jason Lawrence, at Falls Creek, Victoria.
A Green Lacewing species with even more beautiful wings than most in the family. I don’t have any other information on the species, apart from the fact that most records come from the SE of the country, and a single one from the SW.
#1576 - Argulus sp. - Fish Louse
A photo sent to me by Luisa Delgado in Bucharest. A bit of a long way for an Australian entomology group, but I still managed to ID it.
The Argulidae are parasitic crustaceans of uncertain affiliation. They seem to be pretty ‘primitive’ but the complete lack of a fossil record doesn’t help.
Fish lice can be a few millimetres in size to over 30mm long, although the females tend to be larger than the males. Almost all are ectoparasites on fish, with a few on invertebrates or on amphibians. The body is generally oval and flattened, covered by the carapace. Their eyes are prominent as in the photo, and the attach themselves to the host with mouthparts and antennae modified to form a hooked, spiny, sucker-bearing proboscis. They can also swim when not attached to a host, which probably explains the need for eyes. They leave their hosts for up to three weeks to mate and lay eggs, then seek a new host and feed on mucus, sloughed-off scales, or blood. The larvae are also parasitic.
They can become a serious pest in aquaculture and aquaria, but are rarely found in significant numbers in the wild.
#1577 - Deliochus zelivira
Photo by Rex Dunnart, in Eden Hills, South Australia
This spider is a relative of the common leaf-curling spider, Phonognatha graeffei, and makes a similar retreat from fallen Eucalyptus leaves, but is not seen as often. This is a male - much smaller than the female. The females also lack the stripes.