Category Insects, Arachnids, and Bugs

Macleay’s Spectre Stick Insect

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The Macleay’s Spectre Stick Insect (Extatosoma tiaratum) is a phasmid insect, related to the Praying Mantis. It is also known as the Giant Prickly Stick Insect and the Spiny Leaf Insect.

The Macleay’s Spectre Stick Insect can be brown, white, cream, green, reddish, or yellowish and is camouflaged in plants. It has a long, rounded body. Both the male and the female has wings, but the wings of the female are too small for flying. The male has spikes on his face, and the female has spikes on her body and face.

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Lime Butterfly

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The Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus) is a common insect in the family of swallowtail butterflies. It is also known as the Lemon Butterfly, the Lime Swallowtail, and the Chequered Swallowtail. Unlike most swallowtails, it does not have the swallow-shapped tail.

The Lime Butterfly is black with a wide irregular yellow band and irregular spots on its wings. Its upper hindwing (back wing) has a red spot with blue edging. Its underside is similar to its upperside, but paler. It has dark reddish-brown club-shaped antennae. Its body is black.

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Robber Fly

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The Robber Fly (Asilidae sp.) is an insect. It is also known as the Assassin Fly.

The Robber Fly is hairy with bristles. Its body has three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. Its body is long and tapered, and can be brown, black, or grey. It has a short proboscis (sucking nose) and three simple eyes, called ocelli, between their two compound eyes. Its antennae are short with three segments. It has six spiny legs. It has a sharp ovipositor (egg-laying segment). It has smoky-coloured wings.

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Common Birdwing Butterfly

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The Common Birdwing Butterfly (Troides helena) is a large insect in the Papillionidae family of butterflies.

The male and female Common Birdwing Butterfly look slightly different. The male has black wings, with yellow on its hind-wings and one or more black spots. It has a black body with a yellow belly. The female has more obvious veins in her wings. Her hind-wings have a series of large, oval black spots. Her belly is dark-brown.

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What is the difference between the Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Tarantula and the Mexican Red-Knee Tarantula?

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What is the difference between the Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana) and the Mexican Red-Knee Tarantula (Brachypelma smithii).

The Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Tarantula and the Mexican Red-Knee Tarantula are both ground-dwelling arachnids with an exoskeleton. The male of each species has a shell on its back, called a carapace.

The male Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Tarantula has a black carapace and the male Mexican Red-Knee Tarantula has a yellowish-brown carapace.

The Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Tarantula has pink-red hairs along its legs and abdomen, whereas the Mexican Red-Knee Tarantula has three dark reddish-orange coloured rings on its legs.

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Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Tarantula

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The Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana) is a large spider. It is an arachnid.

The Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Tarantula is glossy black, and when it is an adult it has pink-red hairs along its legs and abdomen. It is hairy, with long legs. When it is threatened, it raises its two front legs in the air. It has fangs and can bite. Adult males have a black shell, called a carapace, on its back.

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Common Picture Wing Dragonfly

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The Common Picture Wing Dragonfly (Rhyothemis variagata) is also known as the Variegated Flutterer. It is an insect in the Libellulidae family.

The Common Picture Wing has four transparent and yellow wings with black markings. Its abdomen and head are dark-coloured with a green sheen. The female has more yellow on her hind-wings than the male. The male has no yellow colouring on his fore-wings.

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Antlion

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The Antlion (Myrmeleon sp.) is an insect. It resembles a dragonfly, but it is not related to the dragonfly or damselfly.

The Antlion has 4 stages: egg, larvae (often called a doodlebug, because it leaves squiggles in the sand), cocoon, and adult. The adult Antlion has two pairs of long, translucent wings and a long, slender abdomen. It has an exoskeleton on the outside of its body, which is thin and delicate. It has clubbed antennae.

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Painted Jezebel Butterfly 

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The Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete) is a medium-sized butterfly in the Pieridae family – the white, yellow, or orange butterflies.

The Painted Jezebel has a dark body with medium length antennae. The female has yellow, white, and orange-red wings with black lines. Males are paler. The female’s bright colours are on the underside of the wings. The upper side is white with black veins (lines).

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