Coat of many colours

I'm back in Sydney! I have lots of photos from the top end that I'll probably throw up from time to time, though I'm rather busy for the moment with uni work.

Almost immediately after getting back I went for a trip up to the mid-north coast. On the way, picnicing at Karuah, I spotted this lovely moth.

A quick look on Don Herbison-Evans' site revealed what it was - Agarista agricola, 'Joseph's coat moth' (Noctuidae).

This one is a male - and it was very flighty though always returned to this creeper (I assume a food plant). It finally stayed put and I snuck up with guerilla stealth. A fraction of a second after I took this shot it was suddenly off again - this time because a female had turned up and he was in pursuit!

The pair fluttered around for a while though the female seemed to show no interest in her suitor. She did however lead me to another food plant in the area.

This vine was almost entirely defoliated, and I spotted the caterpillar below as well as a few of the same species that had only hatched recently.

Not great photos, happy-snaps only, though I was very impressed with the colouration on both the adult and the larval forms.

Night Tiger

This snake is a real beauty - it's the brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis. You might recall it's the species that has caused ecological havoc on Guam where it's introduced. In Australia however, it's native, and up here in the top end we have the so-called 'night tiger' form.

Big, scary arthropods

Saw these two impressive creatures on the road last night.

Possibly this one could be called a bird-eating spider?


Scutigeromorph centipede:

Busy Buildup

The rains have only been tantalising so far - puddles form then dry up in the baking sun of the following day. Frogs breed only to have their progeny fossilised in mud as it dries. Lightning fills the horizon as a storm approaches, but it is reduced to nothing but a breeze by the time it gets here.

There are plenty of animals out and about but I haven't been too active with the camera so far. The sight of these blue-triangle butterflies today inspired me to grab a photo.

Back in the Top End

As of about a week ago I've been back up in the Northern Territory. I'm up here to conduct my honours field work and will be returning south in mid-february.

It's nice to be re-acquainted with the heat, the storms, frogs, reptiles, plants and birds that I became used to during my last stay up here, though there are lots of other exciting things that I'm experiencing now that I didn't encounter then. The landscape has definitely changed in my absence and it's fascinating to see the biological changes that are driven by the seasons.

Below are a few photos from the last couple of days. Hopefully I'll keep the blog updated intermittently while I'm up here though I expect that as time goes on (and runs out) that I'll have few spare minutes to do so.

Litoria meiriana, the Rockhole Frog, from Litchfield National Park.

Spiny-tailed Gecko, Strophrurus ciliaris.

Frill-Necked Lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii.