Harpobittacus australis

Hangingfly at Bruce, ACT

Request use of media

Identification history

	Harpobittacus australis	11 Oct 2021	MichaelBedingfield
	Harpobittacus australis	11 Oct 2021	Tapirlord

Identify this sighting

Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

User's notes

Just one, host plant is d.auriculata

2 comments

MichaelBedingfield wrote:

11 Oct 2021

The adult Hangingflies have two pairs of wings, long spindly legs, and claws for gripping. They have biting and chewing mouthparts at end of a beak-like structure on the head, and good vision with their compound eyes. Both larvae and adult live in moist environments, such as marshes and soaks. When hunting they use their forelegs to hang from low vegetation, and capture small passing insects with their hind-legs. Their flexible claws will snap tight to hold a small insect.

Tapirlord wrote:

11 Oct 2021

Very very interesting, thanks Michael. :)

Please Login or Register to comment.

Location information

Coordinates 149.097153 -35.269578
Altitude 700.3m
Maps Black Mountain
Places Bruce, ACT

Sighting information

1 Abundance
4 Oct 2021 04:13 PM Recorded on
Tapirlord Recorded by
Collections
Insects Other insects Scorpionflies and Hangingflies (Mecoptera) Tapirlord Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr

Additional information

50mm or larger Animal size

Species information

Harpobittacus australis Scientific name
Hangingfly Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 1652m Recorded at altitude
Machine learning
External link More information

Record quality

Images or audio
More than one media file
Verified by an expert moderator
Nearby sighting(s) of same species
GPS evidence of location
Description
Additional attributes

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Queensland

Northern Territory

Western Australia

South Australia

Victoria

Tasmania