Favoritos de murray_dawson

Locality: NEW ZEALAND AK, suburb of Mount Wellington/Otahuhu, Mount Richmond Domain.

Habitat: Ficus rubiginosa. Common on underside of leaves.

Identification: Pleistodontes imperialis Saunders, 1882. Females.

Maybe - or the other self-establishing canopy changer that will be a weed disaster in native remnant forests… more commonly found on Phoenix palms in the central suburbs
Three closeups added feb 2022. Leaf blade 70 to 110 mm long (part shade) and petiole 30 to 40mm ;

In terms of moth uploads, I am currently 16 days (and A LOT of moths!) behind real-time. Only my 3rd day at home this December. So... we are still on my way up to Kahurangi National Park. Here is an interesting batch from a night at Lake Rotoroa (Nelson Lakes) in the beech forest and adjoining shrubland.

Severe infestation - one of the worst I have ever seen on this host species. Two planted tree's growing on margin of spring; these 5-6 tall. All young growth and especially floral primordia and maturing inflorescences covered in urediniospores.

Bees (Apis mellifera) noted harvesting spores - see https://inaturalist.nz/observations/68580488.

These tree's I have been watching monthly since September 2017. I last checked them on 1 January 2021 (not Austropuccinia was evident then). This infestation was reported to me by Wendy John who noted it on 23 January 2021 - see https://inaturalist.nz/observations/68482642