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Leaf Beetle

Paropsisterna lignea

Photo by CharliePrice
Published on Project Noah
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-41.4814, 147.143

Field Notes

Description:

1cm - light tan brown

Habitat:

forest reserve- eucalypt,dogwood,pine tree's

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (10)
MartinL
These are the same http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1119796014
MartinL
Charlie, Check this similar one, found in alpine conditions. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1119796014
CharliePrice
Yes ..a learning curve i will take on board for future spottings :)
MartinL
It's great to see a name for this - not one that I know but I'm sure it's correct. I was clearly not happy with my own suggestions. Notice in Tony's website that he attempts three photos for each species, side, top and face.
CharliePrice
**UPDATE ** Hi Martin ...recieved email back from Tony :) Hi Charlie, Lovely head details in this photo. I agree with Martin on genus. I'm not fully certain on species, but from what I can see it's likely P. lignea. In this species the elytral punctures in series and the random 'interstitial' punctures are equally coarse (here the latter punctures are not darkened but they can be) - though if you have any more pics where the elytra is more in focus you can check that this is correct. Having the interstitial puncturation of similar size to those in series does not occur with any other Tasmanian species - all others have them much finer. This is a highly variable species in terms of colouring and markings, ranging from largely pale with the elytral puncture rows being dark, or more dark with marks on the pronotum and thick longitudinal dark lines on the elytra. The legs and undersurface can be testaceous or black. Females are usually paler and males darker. Cheers, Tony
CharliePrice
Thankyou Martin ..will send it off to Tony and see what he thinks :) Yes your very informative and i enjoy the learning ,,will post when i hear back from him :)
MartinL
I have some suggestions to consider, all of which I have some reservations about. First is Ps. subcostata which has similar lined elytra and unmarked pronotum. It seems to always have a lighter shading at the distal edge which bothers me. Secondly is Ps. variabilis which might be the best fit but not sure if it extends to your island state. http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Paropsisterna+variabilis http://www.invasive.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5490158 It does remind me of Ps. intacta (in the Ps interlita group) which would have black ocelli on the pronotum. Ps. agricola http://www.bowerbird.org.au/observations/3074 always has two black markings on the pronotum too, so we can rule both of these out. Aurea should be golden rather than brown and has a black elytral suture which is missing on yours. The lines are rows of pitting rather than black lines. Yours might be a very old specimen. Tony would like a look at yours and you can contact him on that website or post it onto Bowerbird.org and he will surely see it there. I hope my musings are useful. Some times the journey is half the fun.
CharliePrice
Thanks Martin ....i used the Insects of Tasmania as a reference ..i am still learning ..perhaps ..Paropsisterna aurea
MartinL
Nice beetle. Paropsisterna is correct. Not sure about agricola. I will give you an ID suggestion a bit later on.
Photographed
PublishedSeptember 5, 2014

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