OzAnimals

What kind of moth is this?

flickr — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:09:12 +0000

I photographed this moth on a brick wall. At rest it looked like a fairly boring brown moth, but when it moved you could see the black and white hindwings. Compared with all the other little brown moths on the wall that night, this one looked quite attractive. The wing span is about 6cm. if anyone knows what it is, please let me know.

Kangaroo Harvesting in Australia

admin — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:25:30 +0000

There has been a lot of publicity recently about the proposed cull of 500 kangaroos in Belconnen in the Australian Capital Territory. Compared with the total number of kangaroos killed each year in Australia, this is a small percentage of the total. There is a significant commercial kangaroo industry in Australia that “harvests” wild kangaroos - mainly for meat and skins. The total kangaroo quota for 2007 was about 3.6 million. There are over 50 species of kangaroos and wallabies in Australia, with the following species killed commercially:

Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus), areas harvested Qld, NSW, SA,WA
Eastern Grey Kangaroo (M. giganteus), areas harvested Qld, NSW
Western Grey Kangaroo (M. fuliginosus), areas harvested NSW, SA, WA
Common Wallaroo (M. robustus), areas harvested Qld, NSW, SA
Bennett’s Wallaby (M. rufogriseus rufogriseus) known as the Red-necked Wallaby on mainland Australia, areas harvested Flinders and King Islands, Tasmania.
Tasmanian Pademelon (Thylogale billardierii), areas harvested Flinders Island, Tasmania.

Commercially harvested kangaroos are used to produce high quality leather, fur and meat products. Most Australian states now sell kangaroo meat for human consumption. (In the past it was mainly used for pet food).

Kangaroo Harvesting is a controversial issue with strong views for and against. The following links give some different perspectives from government, conservation / environmental groups and the kangaroo industry.

Government:

Conservation Organisations:

Kangaroo Industry:

King Parrots in Sweden

admin — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:28:53 +0000

I got an email the other day from Hans Engstrand in Sweden. Hans is breeding King Parrots and currently has 23 of them. They are hardy birds and can thrive in Sweden in temperatures down to minus 20 degrees. On his web site www.kungsparakit.com he has photos of King Parrots in the snow.

For more information on this bird, see the OzAnimals King Parrot page

Praying Mantis eyes change colour at night

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:06:15 +0000

Did you know that Praying Mantis eyses changed colour at night - I didn’t realise this until a couple of days ago. I photographed this Mantis at night on one of our potted fig plants, and the red eyes were very noticable.

In daylight I noticed what looked like the same mantis on the same potted plant, but the eyes were green and pink. I took a couple of photos and sure enough the eyes were much paler in daylight. After a bit of searching on the web, I found other references to mantis eyes changing colour in low light. I’m not sure if all species do this or just certain species?

Granny’s Cloak Moth

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:11:57 +0000

Granny’s Cloak Moth is a large brownish grey moth. You often see them in dark buildings like in your garage, or shed or in outdoor dunnies. They look faily drab boring moths but in the light of the flash they have quite a nice pattern. Click on the pic for more info.

OzAnimals - More Insects - Wasps, Moths, Flies etc.

admin — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:58:07 +0000

Over the last few weeks, I’ve added a few dozen new pages to the insect section of the site.

The list of species as at 3rd February is as follows:
Granny’s Cloak Moth ( Speiredonia spectans )
Emperor Moth ( Syntherata janetta )
Emerald Moth ( Chlorocoma sp )
no common name ( Parotis marginata )
Heliotrope Moth ( Utetheisa pulchelloides )
Salt and Pepper Moth ( Utetheisa lotrix )
Orange Spotted Tiger Moth ( Ceryx sp )
Tiger Moth ( Arctiidae family )
Tussock Moth ( Lymantriidae family )
no common name ( Cardamyla carinentalis )
no common name ( Cardamyla didymalis )
Pink Bellied Moth ( Oenochroma vinaria )
Orchard Swallowtail ( Papilio aegeus )
Common Crow Butterfly ( Euploea core )
Evening Brown ( Melanitis leda )
Zebra Blue Butterfly ( Leptotes plinius )
Cycad Blue Butterfly ( Theclinesthes onycha )
Wanderer Butterfly ( Danaus plexippus )
Orange Palm Dart Butterfly ( Cephenes augiades )
Splendid Ochre ( Trapezites symmomus )
Varied Dusky-blue ( Candalides hyacinthina )
Hairy Line-blue ( Erysichton lineata )
Blue Tiger ( Tirumala hamata )
Scarlet Jezebel ( Delias argenthona )
Meadow Argus ( Junonia villida )
Gum Tree Shield Bug ( Theseus modestus )
Assassin Bug ( Pristhesancus plagipennis )
Rose Aphid ( Macrosiphum rosae )
Milkweed Aphid ( Aphis nerii )
Mango Planthopper ( Colgaroides acuminata )
Cicada ( Cicadidae family )
Bronze Orange Bug ( Musgraveia sulciventris )
Lantern Fly ( Fulgoridae family )
Spittlebug ( Philagra parva )
unknown ( Lygaeidae family sp1 )
unknown ( Lygaeidae family sp2 )
unknown ( Lygaeidae family sp3 )
Milkweed Bug ( Spilostethus sp )
Garden Mantis ( Orthodera ministralis )
Burying Mantis ( Sphodropoda tristis )
Stick Mantis ( Archimantis latistyla )
Lemon Migrant ( Catopsilia pyranthe )
Termite ( Termitidae family )
Thrip ( Phlaeothripidae family )
Dome-backed Spiny Ant ( Polyrhachis australis )
Sawfly ( Pterygophorus insignis )
Indian Meal Moth ( Plodia interpunctella )
Silent Leaf-runner ( Metioche vittaticollis )
Gum Leaf Katydid ( Torbia viridissima )
Variable Ladybird ( Coelophora inaequalis )
Transverse Ladybird ( Coccinella transversalis )
Twenty Eight Spot Ladybird ( Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata )
Striped Ladybird ( Micraspis frenata )
Fungus-eating Ladybird ( Illeis galbula )
Common Spotted Ladybird ( Harmonia conformis )
Yellow Shouldered Ladybird ( Apolinus lividigaster )
Click Beetle ( Elateridae family )
Longicorn Beetle ( Cerambycidae family )
Gum Leaf Beetle ( Paropsis sp )
Lycid Beetle ( Lycidae family )
Soldier Beetle ( Cantharidae family )
Scarab Beetles ( Scarabaeidea family )
Brown Cockchafer ( Rhopaea magnicornis )
Nectar Scarab ( Phyllotocus apicalis )
Snail Parasite Blowfly ( Amenia imperialis )
Blowfly ( Amenia unknown species )
Blowfly ( Calliphoridae family )
Native Drone Fly ( Eristalinus punctulatus )
Common Hover Fly ( Ischiodon scutellaris )
Vinegar Fly ( Drosophila sp )
Mosquito ( Culicidae family )
Long Legged Fly ( Austrosciapus connexus )
Robber Fly ( Asilidae family )
Horse Fly ( Tabanidae family )
Fruit Fly ( Tephritidae family )
Grey-Striped Fly ( Sarcophaga aurifrons )
Crane Fly ( Tipulidae family )
Paper Wasp ( Polistes sp )
Spider Wasp ( Pompilidae family )
Paper Wasp ( Vespidae family )
Gasteruptiid Wasp ( Gasteruption sp )
( Ropalidia socialistica )
Flower Wasp ( Tiphiidae family )
Banded Caterpillar Parasite Wasp ( Ichneumon promissorius )
Black and White-striped Ichneumon Wasp ( Gotra sp 1 )
Black and Yellow-striped Ichneumon Wasp ( Gotra sp 2 )
Ichneumon Wasp ( Xanthopimpla sp )
Orchid Dupe Wasp ( Lissopimpla excelsa )
Hedge Grasshopper ( Valanga irregularis )
Antlion ( Myrmeleontidae family )
Green Lacewing ( Chrysopidae family )
Plume Moth ( Pterophoridae family )
Mango Flower Beetle ( Protaetia fusca )
Brown Flower Beetle ( Glycyphana stolata )
Blue-banded Bee ( Amegilla pulchra )
Honey Bee ( Apis mellifera )
Leafcutter Bee ( Megachile sp )
Mantis Parasitic Wasp ( Podagrion sp )
Potter Wasp ( Paralastor sp )

Difference between Sawfly larvae and Moth/butterfly larvae

admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:34:43 +0000

How do you tell the difference between sawfly larvae and moth/butterfly larvae.

From what I’ve read, one way to tell the difference between sawfly larvae and moth larvae is to count the legs. Sawfly larvae have 9 or more pairs of legs - 3 pairs of true legs at the front and 6 or more pairs of stumpy legs (called prolegs) at the back. Butterfly and moth caterpillars never have more than eight pairs of legs (3 pairs of true legs plus up to five pairs of prolegs).

Also sawfly larvae are often seen in clumps eating the same leaf, and wave their heads around when disturbed.

Jupiter Photograph with 200mm Lens

admin — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:38:38 +0000

To get a really decent photo of Jupiter showing the bands of the planet requires some specialist equipment including a decent telescope. However you can take a recognizable photo of Jupiter and its four main moons with much more modest equipment. With a basic SLR camera and a telephoto consumer zoom lens (e.g a 100-300mm zoom from Tamron or Sigma or your favorite camera manufacturer will do). I had a crack at it with a Samsung Schneider SA 50-200mm zoom lens (this is the same lens as the Pentax DA 50-200mm).

The photo below is taken with a Pentax K100D digital SLR camera with a Samsung Schneider SA 50-200mm zoom lens. You can just make out the four moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

Samsung SA 50-200mm photo of Jupiter - not exactly telescope quality but you can make out 4 moons. K100D - 1s, f8, iso 1600 - cropped heavily but no other pp.

Camera Make: PENTAX Corporation
Camera Model: PENTAX K100D
Focal Length: 200.0mm (35mm equivalent: 300mm)
Exposure Time: 1.000 s
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO equiv: 1600
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Center Weight
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual

Identifying the Moons of Jupiter

The first challenge is to figure out where Jupiter is in the sky . check out www.xxxx
A tripod (and preferably a cable release) is required for a shot like this. Focus the lens manually on the stars and get Jupiter i the viewfinder. For the shot below I had the lens at full zoom (200mm) with shutter speed of, aperture f8 and ISO xxx.

In order to confirm that the white dots on your photo is an image of the moons of Jupiter, you can look up the moon positions for that date and time on the internet at www.hjk.xxx. Here is

Macro - Focus Stacking with CombineZM

admin — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:07:53 +0000

One of the challenges of close up work is the very limited depth of field (i.e. not much is in sharp focus). You can increase depth of field by stopping down the aperture to f11 or f16, but depending on how large your subject, you may only have a few millimeters in focus (less than a mm at high magnification).

One way round this depth of field limitation is to use “Focus Stacking” software to get extended depth of field. This is where you take a series of shots of a scene, focussing each shot slightly differently until you have covered the whole area you want in focus. The software combines the images into a single image with much greater depth of field than the original shots.

CombineZM

I decided to use CombineZM - a free image stacking software product from www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk There are other products that do the same thing such as Helicon Focus.

So how did CombineZM work? To find out I tried a quick test using a Pentax 50mm lens with a 20mm extension tube on a Pentax K100D digital SLR. The camera was on a tripod. I took 15 images f8 (probably didn’t need that many images).

I installed CombineZM and using the default settings stacked the 15 images. You can see the result in the shot below. It looks quite promising -the whole “scene” is in sharp focus.

For comparison, below is one of the individual shots from the camera before stacking.

For nature photography, this technique could be useful for plants or other objects that do not move. For moving things like insects it wouldn’t be much use though. If you find a bug that stays still for long enough it would work fine - maybe a dead one for practice

I’m interested in it for macro work, but it looks like it could be used in a much wider range of photography.

Macro - The Fly’s Eyes

admin — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:33:05 +0000

One of the challenges when starting out with macro is to get a photo of the eye segments of a fly. There are a number of ways you can go about it - a dedicated macro lens like a Tamron SP 90mm 1:1 macro or Sigma 105mm EX DG macro (or the Canon / Nikon/ Pentax etc. equivalent) would be fantastic.

You can still shoot the Eyes of the Fly without a dedicated macro, though. For the photo below, I used my Pentax K100D digital SLR with a 25-year-old Pentax 50mm f1.7 manual lens with extension tubes.

One day while out shooting bugs, a fly landed on my finger and decided to have a feed. Luckily I had the extension tubes on already, and it landed on my left finger so it was easy to swing the camera round to get a few shots . I’m not sure what species of fly it was - some kind of blood-sucking blowfly thing - the kind that annoys everyone at the barbeque. For photographic models, these flies are great, as once they are feeding they stay still for a while giving a wonderful opportunity to practice your macro skills.

This shot was taken just after it finished feeding. To get acceptable depth of field, aperture was set to f11.

It is a bit disconcerting to see that spiky thing being poked into your skin, but for the keen photographer that is a small sacrifice …gross.

Camera Make: PENTAX Corporation

Camera Model: PENTAX K100D

Image Date: 2007:10:12 14:22:22

Flash Used: Yes (Manual)

Exposure Time: 0.0080 s (1/125)

ISO equiv: 200

White Balance: Auto

Metering Mode: Center Weight

Exposure: Manual

Exposure Mode: Manual

And finally here is a crop to show the Fly Eye segments

Happy shooting.