Predatory Katydids

Gram for gram, there’s probably not much separating the Raspy Cricket (above) from its Cicada prey.  Both dropped to the ground at the feet of a small group of nightwalkers last evening, amidst the desperate, resonating alarm-calls of the victim.

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Macleay’s spectre – Extatosoma tiaratum

In a most improbable sighting yesterday afternoon, an attachment to a wait-a-while rachis had the tenor of an insect, so I took a closer look and was delighted to find this male Macleay’s Spectre (Extatosoma tiaratum) Spiny Leaf Insect.

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Neon Cuckoo Bee (Thyreus nitidulus)

In another stunning exposé of blue, the neon cuckoo bee (Thyreus nitidulus) roosts in the company of half a dozen others, on the peripheral stems of a fallen branch.

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Yellow Walnut (Beilschmiedia bancroftii)

At the top of the cabinetwood timber industry’s wish list, the chunk of trunk in the foreground contains the equivalent of $100,000 worth of spectacular hardwood asset – Yellow Walnut (Beilschmiedia bancroftii).  Of course, under World Heritage legislation, its protection confers a potential three-year jail term for any attempt at removal.

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Two-spined Spider (Poecilopachys australasia)

Behold, the colourful Two-spined Spider (Poecilopachys australiana).  This species forms a very loose wheel-web; most often, it would seem, in a horizontal plane.  Like many small wheel-web weavers, it is far too much of a target for birds during the day, so it dismantles its web before dawn and hides beneath green leaves.