Update on Birdwing Butterflies at Townsville (by Barbara Weller)

The caterpillars eventually stripped and ring-barked the vine and had to be relocated for their survival. Approximately 50 caterpillars and pupae were adopted by a carer. My daughter was given a replacement vine which, when I visited recently, had two very large caterpillars living on it. There was also a female Birdwing Butterfly flying around, no doubt, looking for a place to lay her eggs.

(Photos by Karen Weller)

Stripped vine

Birdwing Caterpillar

Caterpillars ready to pupate

Queensland Road Trip - article and photos by Mary Petr

In May I took my brother and his girlfriend on a three-week road trip – Carnarvon Gorge, Blackdown Table-land National Park, Eungella National Park, Cania Gorge National Park, Lady Elliot Island, Noosa Headland, and Mary Cairncross Park, as well as Girraween and Bald Rock after we returned to Toowoomba. They loved everything. After the platypuses at Eungella, they said they wanted to see an echidna. I told them not to count on it. But three days later we saw two, which did not seem at all bothered by being followed around and photographed. In fact, one of them was about 30 seconds away from climbing over our feet when one of us stepped aside. It rolled up, then unrolled and continued on towards us. I stepped aside and this time it changed direction. But I could not give them a koala. My brother took videos of the platypuses and echidnas which are at the following YouTube links:  rxxl9F6Htas   73sXPa7kZSg. 

Echidna

Platypus

Fairy Dell Gully - Neil McKilligan

Our member Jan Veacock did a good piece of detective work in unearthing a map locating Fairy Dell Gully (FDG) in the western Helidon Hills. Judged by E.A.R. Lord’s October 1956 map, reproduced in the Darling Downs Naturalist, the FDG Creek discharges into 15-Mile Creek a short distance upstream from where Para-dise Creek joins 15 Mile. Its tributaries originate on the eastern slopes of White Mountain.

These are my impressions of this fascinating rocky terrain from having walked its length several times (as have some bush walking members of the TFNC). My topographic map Murphys Creek 9343-33 shows Fairy Dell Gully but does not name it. Veteran bushwalker Bill Hoogendoorn named it Bum Bum Creek, presumably after some discomfiting accident on its steep slopes. My book Bush Walks in the Toowoomba Region (McKilligan and Savage 2009) identifies FDG as part of Walk 14 and shows the walk route following much of the length of FDG and one of its tributaries. Along most of its length it is steep walled and its sandstone floor is gently sloping and clear of debris and other obstacles to progress. Its tributaries are steep and narrow but sculpted by erosion into a series of stone steps that make for easy climbing. This area has an abundance of native wild flowers but I have seen no fairies!

One can access its tributaries from the slopes of White Mountain but more easily locate its mouth as follows. Drive from Murphys Creek township via the road that would eventually take you to Hampton, but after 2.4 km turn right into Paradise Creek Road and follow it to where it turns and goes sharply downhill. You can ignore the Keep Out signs as this is a public road. Park at this bend and enjoy the view across 15-Mile Creek to Red Rock, a high, red coloured cliff favoured by assailers. Wild flowers are prolific on this rocky ridge. Walk or drive the steep, rough track down to near the junction of Paradise and 15-Mile Creeks. Fairy Dell Gully Creek is roughly 100 metres upstream. Due to the 2011 flood its entrance is partly obscured by fallen timber but it is still accessible.

Pale Field Rat - Rattus tunneyi

This rat is distinguished by long, bridled yellowish-brown fur, paler than other Australian rodents; large protuberant eyes, relatively large ears; somewhat tapering muzzle and pale feet. It inhabits well-watered tropical and sub-tropical tall grassland. By day it sleeps in a nest in a shallow burrow system with several pop-holes. At night it feeds on grass stems, seeds and roots. Breeding occurs in autumn in Queensland and somewhat later in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The female has 10 teats and usually rears four or five young who become independent around three weeks of age.

 

         (Submitted by Lauren Marlatt, from Mammals of Australia)

July 2018 Outing Report: Pechey Homestead

Twenty-one members and three visitors made their way to Pechey Homestead, near Crows Nest, to visit the property of John O’Brien and Liz Pechey. Their property had, as John explained at the beginning, three strands of ‘forestry’: (i) about 30 acres of blackbutts and spotted gums (ii) about 30 acres of hoop pines, and (iii) about 5.5 hectares of semi-evergreen vine thicket. This last patch had been cleared by the family of most of the weeds, such as asparagus ferns, privet, and lantana. Also on hand was Steve Plant (and his son Alex) to lead us on walks through at least two of these patches.

Hoop pine

Our walk, on this cold morning, began with a slow amble through the garden around the old homestead. There was a hoop pine that, in a photo of 1921, was about 60 centimetres tall but after almost a hundred years is a magnificent giant. As we walked around we were also informed about a number of things: ecofarm stay that was being offered, that the water table underneath the property was 400 feet down, that Jarawair artefacts had been found on the property and, with the approval of the Jarawair people, had been made a part of the landscape near the homestead. We walked past the ‘History Hut’, where some early photos of the area and the family sawmill were displayed, as were a collection of accounting books from the sawmill days. The hut also contained old books, which were part of a library.

After the short garden walk, we went with Steve Plant to the vine scrub. He explained how the disappearance of a top storey of trees led to this vine scrub. This area was cleared about a 100 years ago and what we see today is a 100 years growth. Among the things pointed out were: orange boxwood (May-tenus disperma), climbing black-fruited asparagus (Asparagus plumosus) and how to get rid of it, crows ash (Flindersia australis) – which raised a discussion about how good its wood was and how it had been used in halls (made a good dance floor); a weed, corky passion fruit (*Passiflora suberosa), a patch of hoop pines obviously planted in a line, brush caper berry (Capparis arborea) with its two thorns (now) in between which had been the leaf of the plant. Other plants and trees that were pointed out were: black-fruited thornbush (Pittosporum viscidum), lignum (Vitex lignum-vitae), grey gums (Eucalyptus biturbinata), brush box (Lophostemon confertus) climbing red-fruited asparagus (*Asparagus africanus) and bridal asparagus (*Asparagus asparagoides). (Ed: the asterisk marks the weedy introduced species). Looking at the list above, it is obvious that the work of eliminating weeds is an ongoing struggle.

Destroyed patch of blady grass

Our next walk was to another patch of the property, a former pine forest. Steve Plant was full of information about this patch, how the remnants had been destroyed to start a pine forest, rather than re-planting it with more of the types of trees that had been felled. The following were pointed out to us: Ebony tree (Diospyros australis), stringy bark (Eucalyptus eugenioides), blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna), tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys), and Gympie messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana). We also saw a patch of blady grass (Imperata cylindrica), part of which looked as if it had been poisoned. Steve Plant explained that underground there was a network of tunnels created by native rats (Rattus tunneyi) and they loved eating the tuber of the grass because it was sweet (food on demand during the season!!) and thus killing it.

This walk took us to lunchtime enjoyed in the sun in the open. Even though it was cold, the day was enjoyable because of the generosity of John and Liz, and the knowledge of Steve Plant as he led us through two of the three special patches on the property. 

(Report by Francis Mangubhai, with thanks to Trish Gardner 

for help with the names of the plants)

Bird List for Pechy Outing (compiled by Nicci Thompson)

Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Rainbow Lorikeet, Superb Fairywren, Eastern Spinebill, Brown Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Lewin's Honeyeater, White-browed Scrubwren, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Thornbill, Australian Magpie, Varied Sittella, Eastern Yellow Robin, Red-browed Finch, Double-barred Finch. 

Speaker Report for July, 2018 - Yarning about Dragonflies: In Memory of Barry Kenway - Rod Hobson

Barry Kenway with 'Annette' (a net!)

It has taken some time for the club to capture the ever-busy Rod for this presentation. He and Barry, Rob Ashdown and Chris Burwell spent many hours together catching and studying dragonflies locally.

In 2012, when I was speaker convenor, Barry approached me and said that he would like to do a talk. I asked him about the subject and he replied, "Dragonflies of course!” I thought it only one of several possible replies. Those of us who had spent any time with Barry on walks or outings will recall that his range of interests was well beyond dragonflies. Frogs was what I first knew him for, but spiders and butterflies were well up the list, and it would be true to say that every creature and plant, and their connections to the environment were his interests.

Unfortunately, Barry passed away in early 2013, with his talk still in the planning, but his enthusiasm was now shared with us by Rod.

Dragonflies belong to the insect order Odonata (meaning 'tooth jaw') which includes dragonflies (Epiprocta) and damselflies (Zygoptera). There are 29 families and 320 known species in Australia. The Order can be traced back to the Upper Carboniferous and Upper Permian, and the two groups diverged about 230 million years ago. The largest insect known from the fossil record is a dragonfly-like insect (Meganeuropsis permiana of the Order Protodonata) with a 70-centimetre wingspan. This insect would be clearly recognisable as a dragon-fly today.

All Odonata are hemimetabolous, meaning that they undergo incomplete metamorphosis i.e. egg hatches to a nymph (known as a naiad) which grows and emerges as an adult at its last ecdysis (skin shedding) i.e. there is no pupal stage as seen between caterpillar and butterfly.

All Odonata are formidable predators at both stages of their life cycle.

The nymphs are aquatic and are ambush predators, capturing prey (including other insect larvae, small fish or tadpoles) by means of the labium, an elongated extensible and retractable lower jaw structure armed with hooks. They breathe via gills. Damselfly naiads have three leaf-like gills protruding from their rear, while those of dragonflies have gills inside the rectum, where water is pumped around by muscles, and oxygen absorbed into the respiratory system.  

Mature larvae emerge from the water, cling to vegetation and shed their skin to emerge as winged adults. Some species remain as naiads for up to two years, shedding their skin up to 15 times.

Adults, especially dragonflies, are swift and powerful fliers and hunt on the wing, capturing any suitably sized flying prey, including other Odonata. The aptly named northern American 'Dragon Hunter' has even been photographed eating a Ruby-throated Hummingbird! 

The thorax is large to accommodate powerful muscles; the wings are strong and superbly co-ordinated. Each of the four wings has a thickened dark patch near the tip at the leading edge; this is termed a pterostigma, and is often found on the wings of fast flying predatory insects. It assists with stabilising the wings at high speeds, and during gliding. 

The compound eyes are extremely large and have up to 30,000 facets, and vision is 360 degrees in most species. There are three simple eyes between the two compound eyes. Prey is captured and encased by spiny legs and crushed by powerful mandibles. 

Mating and reproduction in odonata are distinctive to say the least. The male grasps the female behind the head with a pair of claspers at the end of his abdomen. (He is usually more brightly coloured and patterned than the female). He has previously transferred sperm to a specialised organ just behind his thorax, and the female now bends the tip of her abdomen forward to connect with this. This contortion results in the of the pair making a heart outline shape. When copulation is complete the female frees her abdomen from the male's, and they take off with the female carried behind. The male then dips down repeatedly to water and the female lays one egg at a time in the water or attached to submerged vegetation.

Males are territorial and will drive off competitors.

There are many photographs and videos of this online for those interested.

Dragonflies and damselflies are harmless to humans. They are not poisonous or venomous, do not sting or cause damage or disease, but are rather considered as important environmental indicators. They are sensitive to pollutants and poisons, and to changes in the habitat such as siltation or water loss. They consume large numbers of larvae and adults of mosquitoes and other biting insects.

They have been important to Japanese and Chinese art, and were popular in the Art Nouveau Movement. In Japanese culture they represent autumn and summer, and symbolise power, agility and victory. Japan was once termed Akitsushima (Dragonfly's Island) due to the large numbers flying over paddy fields (and the symbolic connection with the importance of rice in the Japanese culture).

I will not attempt to list all the species shown in Rod's well-illustrated presentation, but their common names are whimsical and worth listing....Scarlet Percher, Blue Skimmer, Australian Emperor, Gold-fronted River-damsel, Unicorn Darner, Jade Hunter, Royal Tigertail, Graphic Flutterer, Sapphire Rockmaster, Elegant Wire-tail, Wide-faced Forest Darner, Mosquitohawk, Evening Darner, Southern Vicetail, Pygmy Percher, Water Prince, Short-tailed Duskdarter, Common Flatwing, Variable Tigertail, Slender Skimmer  - should be made into a song or poem.

Special mention is due to The Australian Southern Giant Darner which achieves speeds of 50km/h; the migra-tory Wandering Glider (also aptly called Globe Skimmer), the most common dragonfly on earth, which migrates between India and Africa flying over the Himalayas at over 6000 metres altitude, and occurring in Australia, the Americas and southern Europe. Some of the rarest – the Superb Emerald, and the Thylacine Darner – are threaten by habitat loss in coastal Queensland.

Then lastly, said to be Barry's favourite...a damselfly, the Southern Whitetip Episynlestes albicauda.

Thanks to Rod for a fine tribute to his and our friend Barry, and acknowledgement to Rod, Robert Ashdown, Chris Burwell and the late Barry Kenway for photographs used in this presentation.

(Report by Cheryl Haxen)