Sawfly or Spitfire at Queanbeyan West, NSW
Identification history
| Perga sp. (genus) | 18 Sep 2016 | MichaelMulvaney | ||
| Unverified | 17 Sep 2016 | Speedsta |
Identify this sighting
Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.
User's notes
This was an interesting lot. They all seemed to move in unison, almost like a small heart beat.
2 comments
MichaelMulvaney
wrote:
18 Sep 2016
Yes there is safety in numbers individual spitfires are more readily eaten by birds, but a wriggling mass, oozing smelly eucalyptus sap is very uninviting to predators. They separate and feed at night. They collect the eucalyptus oil from the leaves they eat and it is stored in a special sac. The Gang Gang Cockatoo has learnt to extract and discard the sac and loves nothing better than to munch on a mass of wringers such as those photographed.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.198333-35.362500
- Altitude 680.0m
- Maps Queanbeyan Nature Reserve
- Places Queanbeyan West, NSW
Sighting information
- 4 - 15 Abundance
- 17 Sep 2016 02:43 PM Recorded on
- Speedsta Recorded by
-
Collections
Speedsta Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Perga sp. (genus) Sawflies (Hymenoptera, Symphyta) Insects
Species information
- Perga sp. (genus) Scientific name
- Sawfly or Spitfire Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1490.9m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information