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December 2022
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82 Reads
Here we present observations of the blue ant, Diamma bicolor, two rearing events which subsequently failed, but which provide useful information and encouragement to future researchers. Erratum pg 37. cocoon size in text paragraph 5 should read 26 x 13 mm.
December 2022
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61 Reads
Stem-boring beetle attack can be devastating, both to the host plant, and to conservation-minded landowners. Here we provide the results of our research into the impact of the jewel beetle Cyrioides imperialis (Fabricius, 1801) on Banksia marginata specimens in a mixed tree planting, established on a property at Seymour, Tasmania, between 2007 and 2009. In finding 54% of the banskias were attacked by the beetle, tree location, position in the planting and rainfall were each likely to influence the degree of attack on the trees.
December 2021
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106 Reads
Forest harvesting, by its nature, may have detrimental consequences for the existing biota. Knowledge of the recovery of threatened species following such habitat change is important to inform future conservation management directions. Here we investigate the persistence and recolonisation of Hoplogonus bornemisszai (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) following forest harvesting over a 10-year period.
December 2021
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31 Reads
Australian Entomologist
Current knowledge of Castiarina insculpta (Carter) in Tasmania is reviewed, and the adult male and its genitalia are described and illustrated.
December 2020
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240 Reads
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2 Citations
The narrow-range Tasmanian endemic Miena jewel beetle, Castairina insculpta (Carter, 1934), known for less than a century, has experienced tumultuous changes of fortune. This article explores the impact of the 2019 Pine Tier fire on the species and its host plant.
December 2020
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133 Reads
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1 Citation
Covenanted land provides an important service to the conservation of native fauna and flora. Here we report on the impact of the jewel beetle Cyrioides imperialis (Fabricius, 1801) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) on a 10-13-year-old Banksia marginata revegetation stand in eastern Tasmania.
December 2020
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372 Reads
In this short article, the distribution of the blue colour variant of the Golden stag beetle Lamprima aurata Latreille, 1871 in Tasmania is explored.
November 2019
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156 Reads
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1 Citation
This study utilises an indirect source of data to investigate a high-elevation population of Hoplogonus simsoni Parry, 1875 at Poimena, NE Tasmania, an area significantly impacted by anthropogenic disturbance from 1875 to the 1960s. Exoskeletal material found in regurgitated pellets of black currawongs and forest ravens, as well as presence of intact beetles and larvae were used to confirm the existence of a population of H. simsoni on the slopes of Mt Poimena, an area predicted to be unsuitable for the species in 2004. Regenerating native vegetation leading to improved soil condition is considered essential for the continuance and expansion of the beetle population at this location.
November 2019
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363 Reads
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2 Citations
The ecology and parasitism of the Tasmanian alpine cockroach, Polyzosteria sp. is reported here for the first time. An unusual mass death event of Polyzosteria sp. observed along the shoreline of Lake Augusta in 2016 lead to a four-year quest to confirm that Gordian worms were the cause.
November 2019
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90 Reads
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1 Citation
Banksia marginata saplings are host to a number of invertebrate species. We report a new observation of stem usage and gall formation in B. marginata by Tragocerus spencii (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Tasmania.
... In 2020 we reported on an infestation of the banksia borer Cyrioides imperialis (Fabricius, 1801) occurring in Banskia marginata saplings in mixed native tree plantings at 'Templestowe', Seymour (Richards et al. 2020) (Plate 1). The plantings, then aged 10-13 years, became the target of a monitoring project investigating the impact of the borer on the young host plants, which has now been conducted annually for three years. ...
December 2020
... Fireprone vegetation is common across the elevation gradient, and the mountainous regions often experience wildfire. In the summer between 2018-19, a number of fires simultaneously occurred across rugged regions of the state, such as the Riveaux Road Fire and the Gell River Fire (Richards & Spencer, 2020). It was the hottest January in Australia and the second driest February on record in Tasmania (Hague, 2021;Handmer & Keating, 2020). ...
December 2020
... Any removal, disturbance, or fire damage to such logs will seriously affect the long term persistence of such species, particularly in relatively small reserves isolated by unsuitable habitat, including roads. One Tasmanian study in north east Tasmania documented high levels of road kill in wandering flightless stag beetles (Spencer & Richards 2013). ...
October 2013
... Three factors remained constant however: all specimens were female, were dead when found and came from the yingina / Great Lake area (Smith et al. 2004;Bowden 2010; Threatened Species Section 2020). The 2013 discovery of live C. insculpta by field naturalists caused entomological pulses to race and rapidly led to a significant increase in the collective knowledge of the species (Bonham et al. 2013;Spencer & Richards 2014;Richards & Spencer 2016, 2017. ...
December 2016
... Occupying a mere 700 ha within an 11-km 2 extent of occurrence, H. bornemisszai has the most restricted range of the Hoplogonus species and is listed as endangered on the TSPA. The larval stage of Hoplogonus is entirely edaphic, with the three larval instars consuming humus-rich, granitic soil (Richards & Spencer 2019). The larvae are energetic burrowers, occupying the upper 30 cm of the soil profile, while the adults also extensively tunnel and oviposit beneath the soil surface (Richards & Spencer unpublished data). ...
November 2019
... The observations at Seymour appear to support these findings. While T. spencii also appears to favour younger trees, and may be a contributing factor in banksia decline, it is less likely to cause tree death as it attacks the upper stem or branches and not the lignotuber (Richards & Spencer 2019). ...
November 2019
... Collectively the genus occupies much of central and southern Australia, from northern New South Wales, to Victoria, South Australia and across to Western Australia, where it reaches as far north as the Murchison district (Rentz 2014). The continental island of Tasmania has been included several times in accounts of the genus distribution (Roth 1999, Rentz 2014; while these treatments do not designate a species, an unnamed Tasmanian Polyzosteria is well documented in recent ecological literature (Spencer and Richards 2012, Fearn and Maynard 2017, Richards and Spencer 2019. ...
November 2019
... Even more agile invertebrate fauna such as the crustaceans Paranaspides Scott, 1935 spp. andOnchotelson Nicholls, 1944 spp., which use rocky substrate as shelter, can become stranded when water rapidly recedes (Richards et al. 2018). ...
December 2018
... The survivorship of the banksias and final composition of the tree plantings remains to be seen. The age at which C. imperialis first use trees is uncertain, but previous research indicates that the beetle prefers young banksia trees (Richards & Spencer 2018). The final outcomes may hinge upon a combination of factors including climate change, which will impact rainfall levels, along with the maturity of the banksias and their resilience to beetle attack. ...
December 2018
... For example, there are no field records of adult feeding for the 29 species of Lissotes, many of which are endemic to Tasmania. However, Richards & Spencer (2018) The most comprehensive knowledge of the trophic ecology of an adult Australian lucanid is for the golden stag beetle Lamprima aurata (Latreille, 1817), specifically Tasmanian populations. Male L. aurata use their mandibles to cut vegetation, primarily shoot tips, to stimulate sap flow. ...
December 2018
