Sunday, May 30, 2010

HitchHiking Through Life

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In Grapes of Wrath, author John Steinbeck describes hitchiking seeds as they seem to humans: "The concrete highway was edged with a mat of tangled, dry grass, and the grass heads were heavy with oat beards to catch on a dog's coat, and foxtails to tangle in a horse's fetlocks, and clover burrs to fasten in sheep's wool; sleeping life waiting to be spread and dispersed, every seed armed with an appliance ofdispersal, balls of tiny thorns, and all waiting for animals and for the wind, for a man's trouser cuff or the hem of a woman's skirt, all passive but armed..." I have had the pleasure of removing these skin piercing daggers from all parts of my anatomy, some after a long bout of agony trying to locate the almost invisible penetrator. Their design and structure have been the source of inspiration for such tools as Velcro and the modern screw.
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Native Grass Chrysopogon latifolius
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Native Grass Cymbopogon procerus
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Native Grass Elytrophorus spicatus
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Native Grass Eragrostis sp.
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Native Grass Pseudopogonatherum contortus
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Native Grass Sehima nervosum
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Native Grass Setaria apiculate
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Native Grass Themeda triandra
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Native Grass Whiteochloa capillipes
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Acacia mimula
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Glasswing Acraea andromacha andromacha
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Glasswing Acraea andromacha andromacha Caterpillar
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Glasswing Acraea andromacha andromacha Caterpillar
feeding on Larval Food
Hybanthus enneaspermus
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Glasswing Acraea andromacha andromacha Butterfly
feeding on
Turky Bush Calytrix exstipulate
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Asteromyrtus magnifica
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Australian Paper Wasp Polistes humilis
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Australian Paper Wasp Polistes humilis
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Blue Lily Nymphaea violacea
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Boronia lanceolata
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Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta
feeding on
Kurrajong Brachychiton paradoxum
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Mind PreSets

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Before any walk I try and preset my mind about what I am looking for. As I have identified more and more of my neighbours, questions about them always remain unanswered and are often the motivation to go into the same environment on numerous occasions. For example, if in the afternoon I see a plant with a closed flower it makes sense to go the next morning and surprise surprise there it is. Then I start to see some connections I probably never considered. For example, if the flower is associated with a caterpillar larval food I might see many more locations because the open flower is like a beacon. Where once I thought the larval food scarce, now it is plentiful. Now I can spot the butterfly crawling and depositing the eggs on its larval food rather than just roosting. Putting the pieces together takes lots of experience and lots of totally wrong presets, so its important to be able to adjust presets to better fit what I find, or abandon them altogether if they just waste time. A good preset can be a key to a new preset even if it didn’t fulfil the initial preset rationale. I am not sure if there are universal presets, but I meet many tourists out bush who seem to share the same ones.
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Bucchnera linearis
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Case Moth caterpillar Psychidae A
feeding on
Pityrodia jamesii
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Faggot Case Moth Clania ignobilis
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Faggot Case Moth Clania ignobilis
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Case Moth Grass Cabin
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Case Moth Lepidoscia arctiella
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Crested Tooth-grinder Ecephantus quaddrilobus Instar
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Giant Thread-waisted Wasp Sphex sp.
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Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis
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Gomphrena flaccida
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Goodenia armstrongiana
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Heliotropium indicum
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Hybanthus enneaspermus
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Itchy Tree
Barringtonia acutangular
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Jacksonia sp.
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KapoK Bush Cochlospermum fraseri
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Keraudrenia sp.
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Large Mud-nest Wasp Abispa ephippium
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Leaf Beetle Chrysomelidae
feeding on
Holly-leafed Pea-flower Bossiaca bossiaeoides
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Saturday, May 29, 2010

Gubara/Yegge | Cooler But Still Humid Season

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Just Another longish walk at Gubara. High humidity and threatening rainstorms kept me on the move. I was very glad the mozzies did their vampire act and disappeared with the rising sun. Many small plants were flowering but not the trees. I wonder when the burning off will start? The day’s walk failed to locate the Hawk Moth caterpillar I was looking for, but it’s not the first time I have wandered around the bush looking for something I thought should be there.
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Fields of Gomphrena flaccida
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Melaleuca cornucopiae
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Melaleuca cornucopiae
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Melaleuca cornucopiae
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Native Stingless Bee Trigona carbonaria
feeding on
Jacksonia sp.
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Brown Bean Bug Riptortis serripes
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Red-Collared Lorikeet Trichoglossau rubritorquis
feeding on
Xanthostemon paradoxus
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Red-winged Parrot Aprosinictus erythropterus male
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Stick Insect Eurycnema goliath
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Straight-snouted Weevil Myrmacicelus sp.
feeding on
Osbeckia australiana
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Stylidium pachyrhizum
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Sundew Drosera indica
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Swamp Tiger Danaus affinis
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Swamp Tiger Danaus affinis
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Swamp Wattle Acacia dimidiate
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True Weevil
Chrysolopus sp.
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Turky Bush Calytrix exstipulate
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Utricularia odorata
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Wild Passionfruit Passiflora foetida
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Yellow-eyed Grass Xyris complanata
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