September outing to Gatton

It was fortuitous that the topic of the September meeting was the Apex Lakes and that we were able to use our outing date to visit the Lakes and the nearby University of Queensland lakes. Eleven Field naturalists met at the bird hide opposite the island in Lake Apex which at one time was destined to be a wedding venue but permission was not granted by the colony of Australian White Ibis.

We were joined, briefly, by several members of FOLA (Friends of Lake Apex) who were there to replant trees in the Arboretum, which had been pulled up by vandals the previous night. FOLA members were able to remind us of the history of the Arboretum and talk about the Hairy Alectryon (Alectryon tomentosis) - tomentosis refers to the hairy leaves and hairy young shoots. First described by Ferdinand Van Mueller, it is now listed as ‘endangered’ in Eastern Australia. FOLA are collecting the black seeds (from inside of a bright red aril) for propagation. Within the Arboretum are many Silky Oaks (Grevillea robusta), Bunya Pines (Araucaria bidwillii) and several Brachychiton (B. rupestris, B. populneus, B. discolour).

Our group then began a stroll around Lakes Apex and Freeman. With the excellent leaflet put together by FOLA, we were able to ‘tick off’ an extensive bird list. It was noticeable that the ‘rarer’ birds were on Lake Freeman, far from the Cultural Centre and the Sunday picnics.

After lunch Tricia Allen led a small group of us to the lakes in the campus of the University of Queensland.  What a reward that was! Lakes Lenore and Galletly were populated with Avocets (eat your heart out Lesley Beaton - we saw them wading and swimming!), Pink-eared Duck in abundance, Freckled Duck, two types of dotterel, to name but a few. I was so overwhelmed that I had to be prompted to write down also the more common species. See the list below. Galletly Lake was built in 1955 to provide a hydraulic system for student teaching purposes. It is now an important stop-over for migratory birds, including the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.  The island in the middle has been revegetated to maintain a variety of protected habitats for birds, turtles and amphibians. Weather was good, lots of birds, good company: no better way to spend a Sunday in September!

Bird list for Lakes Apex and Freeman

Pelican, Darter (male and female), Little Pied Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Australasian Grebe, Plumed Whistling Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Hardhead, Australian Wood Duck, Masked Lapwing, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamp Hen, Eurasian Coot, Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Australian White Ibis, Royal Spoonbill, Little Corella, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Little Lorikeet, Little Friarbird, Noisy Friarbird, Brown Honeyeater, Willie Wagtail, Magpie Lark, Welcome Swallow, Australian Reed Warbler, Crested Pigeon, Striated Pardalote, Rufus Whistler.

Bird list for Lakes Lenore and Galletly

Avocet, Black Winged Stilt, Pink-eared Duck, Masked lapwing, Black Duck, Magpie Goose, Red Kneed Dotterel, Black Fronted Dotterel, Australian Grebe, Freckled Duck, hybrid Mallard-Black Duck, Plumed Whistling Duck, Brown Honey- eater, Masked Lapwing, Purple Swamp hen, Grey Teal, Eurasian Coot

(Written by Linda Mangubhai)

September Speaker's Report

Several member of FOLA (Friends of Lake Apex), led by Alan Wearing, and Rob and Jocelyn Wilson gave a comprehensive account of the history of Lake Apex and particularly the work their group has undertaken since its inception. FOLA is a non-profit volunteer organisation committed to the preservation, protection and prom-otion of the environmental and passive values of the Lake Apex Parklands at Gatton.

Although Lake Apex was initially developed by the Apex Club of Gatton in the early seventies, FOLA only became an active group following the public outcry over the secretive removal, by the Council, of the trees on the western island in the lake in 2009. Since then they have worked tirelessly to promote the environmental values of Lakes Apex and Freeman.

The speaker outlined various promotional events that have been held to publicize their cause. Some of these include photographic displays in the Cultural Centre, Open Day morning teas at the Lake, public speaking, production of a calendar in 2011, a bird photography workshop and bird watching tours assisted by Toowoo-mba Bird Observer members.

A major breakthrough in negotiations with the Council was the forming of the Lake Apex Community Advis-ory Committee, by the Lockyer Valley Regional Council. FOLA has three representatives who attend these meetings. This led to the development of the Lake Apex Master Plan in December 2011.

In 2010 FOLA adopted the development and maintenance of the Dry Rainforest Arboretum as a project and despite some major setbacks, notably repeated vandalism, they can be proud of what they have achieved. Hundreds of trees have been planted, and sometime replanted by them, often with the help of various volunteer community groups.

The speaker also outlined some of the unpleasant political issues the group has had to cope with including:

• Council's lack of general maintenance of the Park
• Indiscriminate clearing of the Lake edge vegetation
• Stormwater run-off into the Lakes from a nearby housing development which is adversely affecting the water quality and plant growth in both Lakes.

In March 2012 FOLA, in conjunction with Birdlife Southern Queensland, released two excellent brochures which are now widely available. These are: Bird Places of the Lockyer Valley and A Guide to the Birds of Lakes Apex and Freeman. Those of us who attended the excursion to the Lakes on the following Sunday saw firsthand the results of the wonderful work this group is doing.

(Written by  Tricia Allen)

A New Frog Book for Toowoomba Field Nats Library

Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia by Marion Anstis (2013). Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 829 pages.

This comprehensive book on Frogs of Australia has been bought by the Field Nats, with a grant from the Barry Kenway Memorial Fund, to be put into its library. Marion Anstis, the author, began her working life as a high school music teacher, but had a passion for frogs since childhood. She is now a frog biologist with a PhD from New Castle University. 

The book has been designed to help to identify live tadpoles, frog eggs, metamorphs, and adult frogs in Australia. It has three parts, the first two fairly short in comparison to the third:

• Part I deals with the developmental stages from egg to near metamorphosed frog.
• Part 2 explains various features of tadpoles, eggs and frogs used during identification.
• Part 3 deals with living frogs in their natural habitat. It has many illustrations and photos, calls they make.

For frog specialists, or a would-be specialist, there is a useful key for genera of tadpoles and direct development.

Take as an example, the Striped Frog Marsh (Limnodynastes peronii), found in our area and shown on the poster 'Frogs of Toowooomba': this is how it is treated in the book:

• Photos of adult frogs, one of them taken at night in Ravensbourne National Park
• Embryos
• Tadpoles
• Metamorphosis
• Behaviour
• Similar species

It is a beautifully bound book that one could dip in whenever one has a few moments to spare, or when a naturalist moment occurs. 

(Francis Mangubhai)

August Speakers' Reports

Report 1: Fungi of the New Forest (UK). Talk by Diane Ball

In 1079 William the Conqueror declared a large tract of woodland and heath south of his Winchester Castle to be a royal hunting ground. This land would be subject to the considerably severe ‘Forest Law’ – hence the New Forest. The area actually consisted of some open forest, small farms, heath (a result of Bronze Age people clearing the woodland) and grazing land.

As the soil was quite poor and acidic and unsuitable for agriculture, the land has remained mostly undeveloped through the centuries and to this day. The New Forest was designated a National Park in 2004 and is 56,651 ha (566 sq miles) in area. It is Europe’s largest area of ancient pasture woodland with about 2,000 free roaming ponies as well as deer, donkeys, cows and in autumn, pigs. It attracts approximately 18 million visitors a year.

Orange birch bolete (Leccinum versipelle)
(Photo: Diane Ball)

About 2,700 species of fungus have been found in the Forest. Many of these have very descriptive common names. Photos were shown of many gilled fungi starting with the plentiful Amanita sp of which the well-known fly agaric Amanita muscari is one. Many of these, especially A.phalloides (death cap) and A.virosa (destroying angel), are extremely poisonous. Russula spp, the brittlegills, are often brightly coloured and these were prolific. Other gilled fungi included Lepiota sp – parasols, Collybia  sp – toughshanks, Lepista sp – blewits, Clitocybe sp – funnel caps, Laccaria sp – deceivers, Lactarius sp – milk caps, Mycena sp – bell caps, Hyphololoma sp – brick caps, Cystoderma sp – powdercaps and Gymnopilus sp – rustgills. A number of boletes were represented. Most of these have a distinct cap with pores instead of gills. Leccinum versipelle, the orange birch bolete is a particularly attractive one.

Dyer's polypore (Phaeolus schweintzi)
(Photo by Diane Ball)

Large numbers of bracket fungi are found in the wooded areas often in overlapping tiers, some quite large. Many cause diseases in their hosts – butt rot, white rot and heartwood rot among them. The fungi produce enzymes which can break down lignin and cellulose. Phaeolus schweintzii has several common names – fuzzy polypore/velvet-top/dyer’s polypore – this last because it is a source of green, yellow and brown dyes. The olive-brown pores run onto the stocky stem and become maze-like with age giving the fungus a striking appearance.

The last main group of fungi are the puffballs – Lycoperdon sp, Vascellum sp, and Scleroderma sp. These have very short or buried stems and tend to be globular. The talk finished with photos of some of the odd fungi which do not fall into major categories:- Clavulinopsis sp – the orange club, Sparassis crispa – cauliflower, Exuda glandulosa – witch’s butter and a slime mould Lycogala terrestre – wolf’s milk.

A marble quarry

Report 2: Geology of Greece. Talk by Bob Fuller

Long-time club member, Bob fuller gave a fascinating insight into some of the geology of Greece, following his recent trip there with his wife, Leanne. From their travels, and from his own research, Bob detailed connections between mining (of marble, lead, silver and gold) and the ancient history of Greece in particular on the Attica Peninsula, and on some of the islands in the Aegean Sea. 

"Greece's history and its geology are inseparable," said Bob.

Bob's photographs illustrated so much - mountainous landscapes, how marble is formed, marble quarries, how marble is transported, restoration work on ancient buildings and monuments, etc.

Bob explained three common reasons why archaeological sites had become covered: river silt (e.g. at Olympia), rock fall (e.g. at Delphi) and volcanic eruption (e.g. on the island of Santorini). Special features of Bob’s photo-graphs were details of Santorini, showing, for example - volcanic banding in the caldera, grapevines trained to a low-growing form as protection from strong winds and terraced houses built on steep slopes. Thank you Bob

(Report by Michael Rooke)

OUTING REPORTS: Boondall Wetlands and Nudgee Beach, 06 July 2014



Rod talking about the flora (photo F.Mangubhai)

A cold group of Field Nats met in Neil Street but were soon warmed by the smiling faces of Phil and Cheryl in the bus. On the way Rod Hobson spoke about the marine wetlands and remarked on features such as a huge flock of Magpie Geese feeding in the paddocks at Gatton and one of the most easterly patches of Brigalow at Marburg. As soon as we arrived at the Boondall wetlands it was morning tea which we had in the sunny car park to the calls of Noisy Friarbirds and a Grey Butcherbird. We set off on the Billai dhagun walk with Rod surrounded by eager Natters with a thirst for knowledge. This walk starts at the Environmental Centre and wanders through six or more different ecosystems. One of the most notable is the Casuarina forest which gives the circuit its name. This has an ethereal beauty of its own with the spindly trunks, wispy foliage and Sporobolus virginicus under- story. A number of birds and butterflies were seen here; Mistletoebird, the Whistlers, Brown Honeyeaters, Spangled Drongo, Grey Fantail, Common Crow butterfly to name a few. 

The saltmarsh fascinated us with its reddish coloured samphire. It was here that we saw the majestic White- bellied Sea-eagle and Brahminy Kites overhead in the clear blue sky. The boardwalk led us to the bird hide on the junction of Nudgee and Cabbage Tree Creeks. Here we were delighted with close-up views of White-faced Heron, Little Egret, Collared Kingfisher and even the elusive Mangrove Gerygone, one with a band on its leg. 

Eucalypts were flowering and the lorikeets were making the most of it so blossom covered the ground. Members collected at least three species which are still to be identified. Butterflies started to appear as it was later in the day and cameras were at the ready. 

(Tawny Frogmouth (photo: F. Mangubhai)

On the way back some of the members with Rod were lucky enough to taste some bush tucker while those at the front had great views of a Tawny Frogmouth near the Environmental Centre. With the one hour walk taking the Nats probably two and a half it was time to go to Nudgee Beach for lunch.

Then it was off on the second part of our day at Moreton Bay. This was the Tabbil-Ban dhagun boardwalk and we started at the water’s edge in the mangroves. Much to our enjoyment Rod discovered three different types of crabs, stingray depressions, whelks and winkles. As we walked through the mangroves we were sheltered from the stiff breeze and the sun was warm on our backs. We watched the fish in the deeper holes of Nudgee Creek and toadfish swimming around the aerial roots or pneumatophores of the mangroves. 

As well as the mangroves we saw two types of Casuarina along the boardwalk; Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana and Casuarina glauca. Horsetail She-oak, Casuarina equisetifolia, is not common to Toowoombarites being a coastal species. The characteristic foliage is like a horse’s tail. Its distribution is from Burma through south-east Asia to eastern Australia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The subspecies incana is only found in Australia and the Pacific.

With just one stop to pick up the caffeine fiends at the coffee shop, we set off for home. Thanks to bus driver, Phil, who had us back on the dot of 5.00pm, and thanks to Rod for a truly marvellous and enlightening day.

(Report by Lesley Beaton)

Lists - compiled by Lesley Beaton from member’s sightings.
Billai dhagun (Place of She-Oaks) Circuit, Boondall Wetlands:  Birds – Crested Pigeon, Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Tawny Frogmouth, Australian Pelican, Eastern Great Egret, White-faced Heron, Little Egret, Australian White Ibis, Pacific Baza, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Whistling Kite, Brahminy Kite, Crested Tern, Silver Gull, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Pale- headed Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, Collared Kingfisher, Mangrove Gerygone, Brown Thornbill, Striated Pardalote, Noisy Miner, Scarlet Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Striped Honeyeater, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Olive-backed Oriole, Grey Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Spangled Drongo, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, Magpie-lark, Welcome Swallow, Mistletoebird.

Butterflies – Black Jezebel Delias nigrina, Scarlet Jezebel Delias argenthona, Glasswing Acraea andromacha, Common Crow Euploea core, Large Purple Line-blue, Nacaduba berenice.

Moths – Joseph's Coat Moth, Agarista agricola.

Flora – Yellow Mangrove Ceriops tagal, Grey Mangrove Avicennia marina australasica, Sea Hibiscus Hibiscus titaceus, Common Samphire Sarcocornia quinqueflora, Sea Purslane Sesuvium portulacastrum, Australian Seablite Suaeda australis, Saltwater Couch Sporobolus virginicus, Horsetail She-oak Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana, Swamp She- oak Casuarina glauca, Corky Passion Flower Passiflora suberosa, Stinking Passion Flower Passiflora foetida, White Passion Flower Passiflora subpeltata, Ruby Saltbush Enchylaena tomentosa var. glabra, Pig Face Carpobrotyus glaucescens.
For the botanists amongst us, on the web, this link will find a list of the native plants of Boondall Wetlands starting on page 4.  http://www.northerncatchmentsnetwork.org.au/images/resources/publications/Plant%20List%20and%20Map.pdf

Tabbil-Ban dhagun (Place of Salt Water) boardwalk, Nudgee Beach: 

Birds – Crested Pigeon, Australian Pelican, Eastern Great Egret, Striated Heron, Australian White Ibis, Whistling Kite, Brahminy Kite, Caspian Tern, Silver Gull, Rainbow Lorikeet, Mangrove Gerygone, Striated Pardalote, Noisy Miner, Brown Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Australian Magpie, Rufous Fantail, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Welcome Swallow, Martin sp. 

Butterflies – Meadow Argus Junonia villida, Australian Painted Lady Vanessa kershawi.

Crustaceans – Richardson’s Snapping Shrimp Alpheus euphrosyne richardsoni, Rounded Porcelain Crab Petrolisthes haplodactylus, Mud Crab Scylla serrata (remains only), Furry-clawed Crab Australoplax tridentata, Broad-footed Mangrove Crab Metograpsus frontalis.

Molluscs – Gold-mouthed Periwinkle Bembicium auratum, Hercules Club Mud Whelk Pyrazus ebeinus, Australian Mud Whelk Velacumantus australis.

Fish – Yellow-finned Bream Acanthophagus australis, Common Toadfish Tetractenos hamiltoni, Banded Toadfish Marilyna pleurosticta, Scalytail Toadfish Torquigener squammicauda.

Flora:  Pig Face Carpobrotyus glaucescens, Goat’s Foot Impomoeapes pes-caprae.

Other interesting sightings: Huge flock of Magpie Geese feeding in the paddocks opposite the Gatton Campus, University of Queensland. Chestnut Teal seen by Rod in a swamp beside the Gateway Motorway. 

Addendum to the Imbil camp list These two birds were left off the Imbil camp list. They were seen at the Cabins by the Creek. White-faced Heron, New Holland Honeyeater.

(Report by Lesley Beaton)

Toad fish - boardwalk Nudgee Beach (photo F. Mangubhai)

 

 



July Speaker's Report

Nathan Garrod, speaking on local lizards showed images of the following reptiles, and gave information about each. Many questions were asked during and after Nathan’s presentation, with members showing a high level of interest in these lovely reptiles.

(Leaf-tailed gecko (with acknowledgement to Arkive)

Leaf-tailed gecko (Saltuaris wyberba) – from Stanthorpe, this gecko is about 12 centimetres long, a mottled colour which blends with the granite on which it hunts. It can alter its colour slightly to match its surroundings, and is nocturnal.  Southern spotted velvet gecko, or Tryoni’s gecko (Oedura tryoni) – a barking gecko, ground-dwelling, lacking sticky toe-pads. It vocalises as a warning and for defence purposes. This one was seen at Girraween.
                                                                                                        

Lesueur’s velvet gecko (Oedura lesuerii), Stanthorpe – an attractively patterned small gecko of about eight centimetres. It also uses camouflage. Small geckoes may be eaten by larger species. 

Golden-tailed gecko (Strophurus taenicauda) – several subspecies are found in southern Queensland and northern NSW, where some habitats are endangered. This species has black spots on a paler coloured body, with a gold area down the tail. It has reddish orange eyes. Some geckoes can exude a sticky substance as a defence.

Burton’s legless lizard, or Burton’s snake-lizard (Lialis burtonis) – this reptile is found Australia-wide, and is now classed as a “legless gecko.” It has no eyelids but does have clear scales over its eyes which it cleans with its tongue, and its tail forms two thirds of its total length. It lays two eggs and grows to 50 centimetres long. Its pointed, wedge-shaped jaw is strong, and enables it to prey totally on other lizards.

Mararet’s Rock skink (Egernia mararetae) – these skinks are up to 20 centimetres long, and live communally in burrows in groups consisting of several generations. They share a communal toilet area.

Common striped skink or Common garden skink (Lampropholis delicata) – a striped skink which feeds aggressively on insects, spiders and other lizards. Quite common in gardens.

Cunningham's skink (acknowledgement AROD.com.au

Cunningham’s skink (Egernia cunninghami) – a spiny skink to 30 centimetres long, variable in colour with spines on the dorsal and tail scales. It grows to 30 cm long, and lives communally with consecutive year’s off- spring amongst debris and fallen branches. It eats snails and vegetable matter, and may live for up to ten years.  

Blue tongued lizard (Tiliqua scincoides) – this large skink which grows to 35 centimetres, is common around Toowoomba. It has strong jaws so it can crack open snails. A northern subspecies grows to 65 centimetres long. It gives birth to as many as 30 live young in one or two litters per year. The young are self-sufficient from birth. 

Golden water skink or Eastern water skink (Eulamprus quoyii) – a large and robust skink with a golden stripe from above the eye to about the hips, a voracious predator which takes prey to half its size. 

Black rock skink (photo Museum Victoria

Black rock skink (Egernia saxatilis) – lives in specific habitat at Stanthorpe, preferring cracks in the granite boulders. It is threatened here by illegal reptile collectors.

 

Broad-banded sand swimmer (Eremiascincus richardsonii) – grows to 15 centimetres, with a banded pattern over the back and tail. Found west of St George and across the continent into West Australia, it has very smooth scales, and can swim through loose sand.

Major skink (Bellatorias frerei, syn. Egernia frerei) – a large skink to 18 centimetres, living in vine thickets and amongst rocks in subtropical areas. Eastern or common bearded dragon (Pogona barbata) – this reptile is not the frilled lizard, but does have a throat sac which is inflated and with its opened yellow mouth serves to deter predators. As an adult, it is vegetarian, eating flowers, clover and grasses. It is the largest Australian dragon, growing to 45 centimetres long. It is able to darken its skin colour to absorb or reflect heat. Juveniles differ in colour.

Southern angle-headed dragon (Hypsilurus spinipes) – from Goomburra and similar high-altitude habitats, this dragon has a crest of spines on its neck. The top and sides of the head meet to form an acute angle. They are frequently found on branches.

Nobbi dragon (Amphibolurus nobbi) – a small dragon which in the mature male has bright yellow markings along the sides of the body to attract females. Found on Table Top and also in Stanthorpe. Lace monitor (Varanus varius) – a large goanna to two metres, a scavenger and predator of any small animals. Common throughout the eastern states. Sand goanna (Varanus gouldii) – grows to 1.6 metres, living mostly on the ground. It is common in deserts but there is a community at Flagstone Creek.                                                                         

                                                              (By Francis Mangubhai and Glenda Walter)

June Club Outing Reports

Trish Allen organised a day in the Lockyer Valley, focusing on the Mt. Sylvia district, renowned for its patch- work landscape of irrigated vegetable and lucerne crops on the river flats with grass-fed beef being produced in the more undulating foothills. Whipbirds called as we began our first visit of the morning to Karen Gruner’s Land for Wildlife property, tucked away in Reibstein Road. This gave us an insight into the type of country the early German pioneers in the district would have selected. Karen and partner Michael chose their 57 acre property because of its possibilities as a safe haven for wildlife and in the four years that they have lived there, they have worked tirelessly towards restoring and conserving the flora and fauna on their patch. 

Their property has Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) growing on the tops of the hills, with semi-evergreen vine thicket on sedimentary rock closer to the valley floor. They face the frustrating task of battling with lantana, Madeira vine and tree pear. Their first plantings of trees have been very successful, notwithstanding the loss of newly established trees due to the floods of 2011 and 2013. The flora and fauna lists for this property would indicate that Karen and Michael’s vision to restore this property’s ecosystem is a worthy passion, and with continued hard work they will succeed. Their work makes them true modern-day pioneers in this valley.

After morning tea by the creek we moved to the property on the other side of the creek, belonging to Jim and Joan MacDonald. We enjoyed the shady walk along the avenue of Ficus Benjamina to meet Jim who is in his eighties. He has been planting native trees on his 40 acre property since 1983, his first planting being a wind- break of wattles and eucalypts. In 1987 he planted a wildlife corridor, and these plantings, including Red Cedar (Toona ciliate) and White Cedars (Melia azedarach var. australasica), are now maturing. Some species such as the Eucalyptus tereticornis are now self-propagating. It is obvious Jim is still passionate about planting trees and through trial and error he has learnt a great deal along the way. Jim’s success in growing trees on his property must be inspirational for Karen and Michael.

Jim MacDonald with frog poster (above)

Elattostachys xylocarpa Beetroot tree at Karen's place (above right) 

Phyllanthus microcladus (right)

Report and Photos by Jean Gundry

Trish and Adrian’s Trees - and a Cowpat 

The afternoon of our Upper Tenthill outing was spent at Trish and Adrian Allen’s former property, where we saw the remains of their 1970s planting of 1000 trees. Most of the trees had survived and were looking well established and comfortable on what is now a wooded slope, though the hoop pines (Araucaria cunninghamii) apparently succumbed to the first drought. The crows ashes (Flindersia australis) were looking particularly splendid, as might have been expected considering the magnificent old crows ashes occurring naturally at the bottom of the slope. There were also some large and lovely specimens of the South American racehorse tree (Tipuana tipu). Trisha spoke of her regret at having chosen to plant them. When she and Adrian had goats on the property, no seedlings survived. Since the goats have gone, however, the trees are showing a tendency to escape into the surrounding landscape. Having planted a few environmental horrors in my time, I can sympathise! Among other weeds, I planted some Tipuanas in the seventies. They were recommended by the Forestry Department, which supplied me with the plants. 

Dung beetle (See note below)

Having listened to Geoff Monteith’s fascinating talk on Friday night, we paid more attention than we usually do to the cow dung on the property, and wondered what wonders might be discovered in a particularly fresh, moist pile. Our new member Deb Ford has had prior experience of dung beetles, having been involved in a dung beetle collection exercise. Sure enough her sharp eyes spotted this little specimen, which was quickly scooped up on a stick. The process covered the insect rather liberally in dung, which seemed to offend it deeply, as it immediately began to clean itself using its middle pair of legs. I decided to help it along with a bit of a dunk and swish in the clean water of the dam. This led it to cling rather desperately to my finger, showing off its long back legs to the camera. Having paid attention on Friday night, we concluded that it must be a ball-rolling species, rather than one which would bury dung immediately under the cowpat. We also knew that this must be one of the species introduced by CSIRO, because our own native dung beetles, having evolved with the drier dung of marsupials, would not have been interested in this particular source of their favourite food. We hoped to see it start making a ball when, on being replaced on the pat, the         beetle began making rhythmical sweeps with its front legs. No ball seemed to be forthcoming, which led us to speculate that it was feeding.

 (Photo above: Trish Gardner and Lauren Marlatt examining the single dung beetle found in a fresh cowpat at Mt Sylvia - photos by Glenda Walter)

Report by Trish Gardner

Note:

Hello Glenda

Just back from out at Lake Nuga Nuga near Injune where I continued on to for a couple of nights after the Nats talk. Good work, that’s a dung beetle and it’s one of two species of the introduced African ball-roller Sisyphus. I showed pictures of their balls and the larva inside during the talk.

There are two introduced species S. spinipes and S. rubrus and they both occur widely in SEQ. They are very difficult to tell apart and impossible in a photograph. S. spinipes is the one I said does not bury its balls but just secretes them under the edge of a grass tussock. S. rubrus does bury its balls.

Cheers Geoff