Andrew Allen Photography: Macro photography at Woodlands Historic Park

Woodlands Historic Park, located on the urban fringe of Melbourne near Tullamarine Airport, is a wonderful place to visit for any field naturalist. I usually spend my time there looking for birds, but at this time of year I tend to focus on much smaller subjects. Here's some of the macro photos I managed to take today.

Iridomyrmex sp. ant, worker caste

Iridomyrmex sp. ant, soldier caste

By far the most commonly seen insect at Woodlands are these Iridomyrmex sp.ants. They can often be found tending to Eurymeloides pulchra treehoppers, a lovely example of symbiosis.

Eurymeloides pulchra with Iridomyrmex sp.

Eurymeloides pulchra

Eurymeloides pulchra with Iridomyrmex sp.

Today I also found another type of treehopper being tended by ants. I think this they are Sextius virescens, but I haven't yet got an ID for the small ants.

Sextius virescens

Also present in the warmer months are a variety of beetles and weevils. I'm always quite thrilled when I see a weevil, as they are such amazing little creatures.

Calomela satelles

Darkling Beetle, Ecnolagria grandis

Longicorn Beetle, Ancita sp.

Long-nosed Lycid Beetle, Porrostoma rhipidium

Plague Soldier Beetle, Chauliognathus lugubris

Long-nosed Weevil, Rhinotia hemisticta

Rhinotia sp., possibly also Rhinotia hemisticta

There were also an array of butterflies and moths, although most of them were way too fast for my camera on this occasion.

Common Grass-blue Butterfly, Zizina labradus labradus

Four-spotted Cup Moth, Doratifera quadriguttata

Chlorocoma stereota

Unidentified moth

I also came across what I thought was a Plecia sp. fly, but someone on Bowerbird.org.au identified it as Cabasa pulchella, a type of robber fly.

Cabasa pulchella

Overall, I had a wonderful morning at Woodlands as I wandered around with the macro lens. Some of the gum trees had flower buds as well, which means that I'll need to get back when they are in flower to see what they have attracted.