Insects

Insects

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A guide to Australian insect families (from CSIRO) can be found at:
http://anic.ento.csiro.au/insectfamilies/

Daley, A. & Ellingsen, K., 2012. Insects of Tasmania: An online field guide

A useful introduction to Insects, visit:
http://australianmuseum.net.au/uploads/documents/9362/invertebrate_guide.pdf

A diagram of Insect morphology illustrating terminology with legend of body parts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_morphology#/media/File:Insect_anatomy_diagram.svg

A diagram of an insect illustrating terminology based on a worker ant, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaster_(insect_anatomy)#/media/File:Scheme_ant_worker_anatomy-en.svg

Photographing insects

There are two main ways to photograph insects with a camera: using a macro close-up lens or a zoom lens. If the insect tolerates your getting very close, then you can use the macro lens. For example, some moths will remain quite still when approached, believing they are camouflaged and invisible. However, many insects, especially those that can fly, will move away when you approach. This is especially true for insects like butterflies and dragonflies. So a good zoom lens is very useful for photographing many insects. If you are using a smartphone, then use a macro lens or a macro attachment. E.g. OlloClip for iPhone. If you want to have an insect identified to species then clear photographs are usually needed because minute parts of the anatomy may need to be checked. It is valuable to take several photos from various angles so that these anatomical details can be seen. Many insects are have particular plants that they feed on, and they can be identified more easily when the associated plant is known. So if the insect is resting or feeding on a plant, take note of what the plant is or ensure that a photo shows the plant clearly.

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Insects

Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
Bees (Hymenoptera, Apiformes)
Beetles (Coleoptera)
Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera)
Cicadas (Hemiptera, Cicadoidea)
Cockroaches (Blattodea, several families)
Dragonflies & Damselflies (Odonata)
Grasshoppers, Crickets & Katydids (Orthoptera)
Leafhoppers & planthoppers (Hemiptera, several families)
Moths (Lepidoptera)
Praying mantises (Mantodea)
Primitive insects
Psyllids, lerps, aphids & whiteflies (Hemiptera, several families)
Sawflies (Hymenoptera, Symphyta)
Scale insects & mealybugs (Hemiptera, Coccoidea)
Stick insects (Phasmatodea)
True bugs (Hemiptera, Heteroptera)
True flies (Diptera)
Wasps (Hymenoptera, Apocrita)
Other insects
Lacewings (Neuroptera)
Unidentified Insect Galls
Unidentified Insect Leaf Miners

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Discussion

MichaelBedingfield wrote:
13 min ago
These are female wasps, laying eggs for new young to add to the growth of the colony.
Unverified Social or paper-nest wasp (Vespidae, Polistinae or Vespinae)
KimberiRP wrote:
Yesterday
A male Flower Wasp of family Thynnidae, probably genus Thynnus.
Thynnus sp. (genus)
DAdeGroot wrote:
Yesterday
Indeed, I noticed there's only a few sightings in SE Qld on iNaturalist (more around Melb and Syd).
Mordella notatipennis
MichaelMulvaney wrote:
Yesterday
a good photo for identification thanks - there appears to be very records of this beetle - so not that many photos either
Mordella notatipennis
JonLewis wrote:
Yesterday
A male.
Formicidae (family)

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