It was still wildflowers-a-plenty during October, with some particularly special ones spotted by Ranger Dan during our Seniors Week Wildflower Walk at Castle Creek Conservation Reserve. But first we’re going to take a look at what was seen at Swainsona Conservation Reserve.
Some grey guinea flowers (Hibbertia obtusifolia) were out with their bright yellow flowers and grey-green leaves. Joining them in the yellow department were bulbine lilies (Bulbine bulbosa) and murnong/yam daisies (Microseris walteri). The constant wind made photography a little challenging but we still managed to capture this native bee (Lasioglossum sp.) taking shelter in a murnong flower. Many of the close to 2000 species of native been in Australia are important pollinators of both native and crop species and just look at that pollen on the furry abdomen and hind leg of this individual! Lasioglossum bees are found Australia-wide and usually nest in burrows in the ground.
A couple of other impressive and interesting insects seen at Swainsona this month include this fly in the genus Comptosia, commonly known as bee flies. Some species in this genus resemble bees (hence the name) and it’s thought that this disguise might be a clever way to avoid predation. Again, these critters are important pollinators as they go from flower to flower feeding on pollen and nectar. Then we have the tiny yet quite spectacular green-head ant (Rhytidoponera metallica) with a Latin name to match its iridescent colours! But beware, this beauty can be a beast with a painful and venomous bite! Quite a few of these have been seen lately, so make sure you slow down and really take the time to look closely; nature is full of surprises! You can find green-head ants all over Australia except Tasmania and in all kinds of environments. They are helpful to native plants by consuming and scattering their seeds and are themselves a tasty snack for echidnas.
Now for some flowers of the purple variety with twining fringe-lily (Thysanotus patersonii) and twining glycine (Glycine clandestine) coming into bloom along with some waxlips orchids (Glossodia major) that were still out.
Lastly, the little bits of rain were still managing to keep things green and lush and there were even some fungi still producing fruiting bodies, such as this bolete mushroom.
If you’ve read our article about the Seniors Week event at Castle Creek, then you’ll already know about most of these gorgeous blooms, but if not, read on! There were several orchids to find, including the hooded caladenia orchid (Caladenia cucullata), purple beard orchid (Calochilus robertsonii), and the small spider orchid (Caladenia parva) as well as the many flowered matrush (Lomandra multiflora), chocolate lilies (Anthropodium strictum), and milkmaids (Burchardia umbellata).
A little later in the month, a few different sun orchids were out in flower including the larger forest sun orchid (Thelymitra arenaria) and the smaller salmon sun orchid (Thelymitra rubra). You need to catch these orchids later in the day, when the sun is shining as they generally only open after a few hours of sunlight before closing again for the night. There are around 70 species of sun orchids in Australia, occurring in every state except the Northern Territory.
Large numbers of these bugs were seen around Castle Creek! They are Tholosanus proximus – in the family Pentatomidae (from the Greek ‘pente’ meaning five and ‘tomos’ meaning section which refers to the five segments of their antennae). They are true bugs, meaning that they have piercing and sucking mouthparts. Commonly called shield bugs due to the shape of their body when viewed from above, or as stink bugs due to their ability to release a pungent spray when disturbed!
Now that the weather is warming up and drying out, make sure you take care out in the parks by wearing appropriate clothing, taking plenty of water, and keeping that snake bite kit handy!
