Observaciones de lenvanderwaag

The caterpillar of the Double-fringed or Guenée's Emerald moth (Chlorocoma dichloraria) entered pupal stage 17 March. Previously it lived on tips of long leafed eucalyptus. The main characteristic of this caterpillar is its habit of remaining rigidly upright on a eucalyptus stem during the day. Emerged from the pupal case 8 April.

This 13mm spider deserves recognition for having retained hold of her egg sac despite being caught up in her 'home' of dry mulch being forked into a wheelbarrow, then 'driven' to another location over rough ground, then being subjected to the mulch being forked out, and then clinging onto the wheelbarrow tray as the remnant material in the barrow is tipped out.

This 5mm beetle was found in our compost bin.

These beetles belong in the beetle family known as the family Hydrophilidae. Despite beetles in this family being commonly known as water scavenger beetles, the subject of this post is not aquatic.
This beetle belongs in a Hydrophilidae subfamily of terrestrial insects, the Sphaeridiinae, that live in decaying matter.

Information from https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/.../cabicompendium.18141
This genus more often occurs near human habitation in manure and silage and frequently among domestic waste stored in bins, which is where it was found at our place. Adult beetles primarily feed on or obtaining nourishment from decaying organic matter but may also be partly predatory. Their larvae predate small insects and their larvae. Information from https://www.ukbeetles.co.uk/dactylosternum-abdominale

This spider (body length 9mm) was found under a pile of dried grass after clearing a new revegetation patch. It was very fast moving and agile.
The genus contains only one species, Elassoctenus harpax, which is found in Western Australia. Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elassoctenus

There is a note on this 6mm long beetle at https://ellura.info/.../DSC00805E-Little-Sardinian-Beetle... "Mark (Hura) said "Introduced here (Australia) from Nthn Africa/Mediterranean. The first records of it in (Australia) are from West Australia in the 1920's and they have been recorded here in South Australia since the 1960's"
We (Brett & Marie Smith) also found a couple of records from Victoria in 1943. This implies it's been in SA longer than we thought. We'd expect them to travel thru SA from WA toward Victoria; unless it was a separate introduction. Interestingly these seem rare in their countries of origin."