January 2016 - Australia (1 Viewer)

Part II

Cirrhochrista caconalis (Pyraustinae) - Cirrhochrista is one of my favourite genus of Crambids and I have been hoping to catch caconalis since I first saw a photo of it; unfortunately this individual landed too far up the wall of the house to get any decent photos - standing on a ladder in torrential rain with lightening all over the place is not a good idea!
Crocidolomia pavonana (Evergestinae) - the first fresh male that I have seen
Glycythya leonina (Pyraustinae) - only the second time I have caught this very attractive Crambid
Hydriris ornatalis (Pyraustinae) - the more attractive of the two Hydriris species that i catch, the other being H.chalybitis
Imma loxoscia (Immidae) - not a common moth in my gardeb, have only seen this on a handful of occasions.

Part III

Four new species for me from this week plus one that I have not as yet been able to confirm to species level:

Acontia crocata (Acontinae) - I am still checking this ID as this is quite a variable genus but this matches this species on the readily available literature
Brevipecten captata (Catocalinae) - a very attractive little moth, body length on more than 20mm
Lasiolopha saturata (Chloephorinae) - the vast majority of Australian Nolids are grey / brown with intricate patterns, attractive in their own right but not easy to separate with available literature; there are though a few colourful species such as this one!
Rhynchodontodes chalcias (Hypeninae) - there are two similar species but this seems to match chalcias
Targalla (Euteliinae) - there are several very similar species of Targalla and as yet I have not found a good match for this one, but i am still checking on BOLD!

Part IV - the final up date for today, when I have finished processing photos I have several more interesting non-moth species that I will try and post before the end of the month if I have time.

Maurilia iconica (Chloephorinae) - to illustrate the comment I made in the previous post here is a less colourful Nolid, this is a worn example of this species.
Perixera spp (Sterrhinae) - this appears to be Perixera illepidaria BUT this would be a massive expansion from its known existing range (closest currently known population nearly 4000km away in Borneo). Unfortunately I had not realized the significance of this moth and it was not retained (nor ID'd in the field). I will keep the next one I see to try and get its ID confirmed.
Perixera spp (Sterrhinae) - a close up of the structure on the wing of the same moth. This is a male scent scale patch (androconial scales) for dispersion of pheromones, I have never seen such an obvious one before.
Green Tree Frog - these were new to the garden a month ago and now they seem to have pushed out the larger White-lipped Tree Frogs - I know only see the later at the tops of the trees in the garden
Taurella viridis - the fifth species of cicada that i have recorded in the garden this Wet.

January is drawing to a close and all in all its not been too bad a month. I am hoping for an improvement over the next couple of months as the positive effects of all the rain we have had works through the system.
A four part installment today....
Choreutis periploca (Choreutinae) - a new member of this family for me, not as bright as some of the others but a very nice moth none the less.
Elusa semipecten (Hadeninae) - have not seen an Elusa for several months so was nice to find this on the wall.
Sauris spp (Larentiinae) - The closest match I can find for this is Sauris malaca, but as this would be a long way out of its published range it will remain as Sauris spp as I did not retain the specimen and so cannot get it dissected.
Sympis rufibasis (Catocalinae) - I do not see this very often so was nice to get a brief visit from it this week, although unfortunately it had gone before I could get a proper photo!
Trigonodes cephise (Catocalinae) - my first for this calendar year

Part II

Catoria delectaria (Ennominae) - this is quite a large moth (wingspan 60-70mm) and being green I fell into the trap of assuming it was an Emerald (Geometrinae). Needless to say I could not find a match, it was only when I posted it on an Indo-Pacifc Moth Group as an as yet un-identified Aeolochroma species that I was corrected and told that it was not an Aeolochroma so I looked further...first impressions can be sooo wrong!
Cernia amyclaria (Oenochrominae) - this was new to me this month, have now caught it a couple of times
Dysgonia senex (Catocalinae) - must have been a fresh emergence of this species as I have been catching battered individuals recently but this is very fresh
Hypospila dichmotoma (Catocalinae) - my first of this species for several months
Ozola ANIC1 (Desmobathrinae) - a new "tribe / sub family" for me let alone a new genus. There are two currently described species in Aus but this does not match either, it is closest to species labelled ANIC1 on BOLD

Part III

Aetholix flavibasalis (Pyraustinae) - my first of this species for several months, a slightly washed out individual.
Cenoloba ANIC1 (Tineodidae) - these false plume moths are as confusing as plume moths.
Orphanostigma angustale (Pyraustinae) - a new species for me
Plectophila spp (Xyloryctinae) - have sent pictures of this to a friend of mine who is an expert in this group.
Rehimena phrynealis (Pyraustinae) - not a common species here, I have only seen this a couple of times and on each occasion it has been in a position that does not allow me to get any decent photos

Part IV
Final post for today...

Hulodes caranea (Catocalinae) - only the second time I have seen this moth; I was out looking for snakes in Yorkeys where I live and found this just sitting on a palm tree, unfortunately did not allow me to get any better photos and flew off as soon as I took this one
Phazaca ANIC1 (Epipleminae) - have seen this as yet undescribed species a couple of times since December

Rhytiphora spp - a very attractive longicorn beetle that I see occasionally at the moth trap

Burying Mantis - aside from the small green garden mantids this is the commonest species that I see (sometimes there are several at the light). One of the key features is the pinkish eye but as these two photos show it really does depend on the angle of any additional light as these are both the same individual taken within seconds of each other but in one it has distinctly green eyes!

A relatively quiet end to the month so just two parts today.

Cyclods spectans (Catocalinae) - one of my favourite moths so no apologies for posting another photo
Eudocima fullonia (Catocalinae) - my first Eudocima for several months, this is a nice fresh male, second picture shows the blue on the tips of his palps, a feature that occurs in several Eudocima species. This is a major pest on soft fruits!
Prionopterina tritosticha (Hypeninae) - a better specimen than I saw earlier in the month

Part II

Theretra oldenlandiae (Sphingidae) - a nice Sphingid to end the month with
Desudaba - a Lantern Bug Planthopper, I see this quite frequently but I am still looking for a definitive ID

Ornate Burrowing Frog - a recently emerged individual, one of two in the hoards of toadlets...

The forecast for February is for a monsoonal trough to move through se we could be in for some very wet and windy weather.....