Journal 8
Sunshine Coast Biocontrol Facility, Glenview - 3:30pm - 5pm - 24th August, 2022
This week we had a "Bug Lab" at our facility. We used an amazing microscope which projects onto a computer screen to get a closer look at the Insects, Arachnids and even Gastropods (snails and slugs) that we found.
Our Bugclubbers were very good at finding a wide variety of specimens for us to look at and then release. We used beat sheets, looked under rotting logs and leaf litter and also checked a couple of pitfall traps that had been setup earlier. We are finding more insects as spring approaches and they start to emerge from their winter hiding places.
We found a few Rhinoceros beetle larvae and the undescribed beetle larvae (Genus Meracantha). These larvae will soon be little beetles which will be roaming and flying about pollinating springtime flowers.
An Assassin Bug was also found. They are ambush predators and use their proboscis to impale prey and inject saliva which turns the prey's body contents to liquid. They then suck up the juices through the proboscis, which acts like a straw. (Queensland Museum). There are more than 300 species of Australian Assassin Bugs and many of them have a nasty bite, so make sure you never pick one up just in case!
Keep checking back on our Bug Club Project to see if some of our unidentified observations have been identified.
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