#eucolaspis

[drhoz]

#1942 - Eucolaspis sp. - Bronze Beetle

A genus of Eupolmine leaf beetle, native of New Zealand and Fiji. Serious pests of fruit trees, although this one was on a Bentham's Cornel (Cornus capitata). Adult beetles feed on leaves, flowers and fruit, and the larvae and feed on small roots. Annual loss to organic apple orchards in New Zealand is estimated to reach 10–15 million NZD.

There’s a certain amount of ambiguity in the number of known species, but the eternal conflict between Lumpers and Splitters is hardly going to reach a truce even for a small genus like Eucolaspis.

By the early 20th Century, there were fifteen species described from New Zealand by Fabricius (1781), White (1846) and Broun (1880, 1893, 1909), but in 1957, Stanley Shaw revised that down to three and  two newly described species of his own. This work was largely ignored, although two more species were described from Fiji in the same year.

However, in 2015, morphological and genetic evidence indicated just three lineages (or putative species) on the mainland of New Zealand. Four years later   Spanish entomologist Jesús Gómez-Zurita generally agreed with the 1957 paper, identifying at least five species in New Zealand, and adding a sixth - Eucolaspis kotatou, from Te Paki, near Cape Reinga.

[excitingentomology-blog]

Hi Gonta, thank you for sharing all these great bug facts! Now, I must hear your expert opinion. Which bugs do you think are the cutest?

This is a very tough question, but Gonta will try his best to answer it with a list of cutest insects under the cut!

Periplaneta americanaPolistes chinensisPolistes chinensisStenolemus fraterculusCebysa leucotelusCebysa leucotelusDelena canceridesAnisops wakefieldiArtona martiniAntichloris viridisAntichloris viridisHexathele hochstetteriCimex lectulariusPlatyzosteria novaeseelandiaePorrhothele antipodianaTrite planicepsParisopalpus nigronotatusHypolimnas bolina nerinaLiposcelis divinatoriusEucolaspis brunneaEucolaspis brunneaCantareus aspersusHofmannophila pseudospretellaThysanoplusia orichalceaArhopalus tristisEpiphryne verriculataEpiphryne verriculataEpiphryne verriculataPieris rapaeAnthrenus verbasciArtona martiniTyria jacobaeaeDeclana atroniveaHaemaphysalis longicornisGymnoplectron acanthocerumAmphipsalta zelandicaTyria jacobaeaeConoderus exsulCydia pomonellaLiothula omnivoraLiothula omnivoraZizina otis labradusLycaena salustiusTeleogryllus commodusPholcus phalangioidesSuborder ZygopteraCryptamorpha desjardinsiArgyrodes antipodianaEphestia cautellaStegobium paniceumAnisolabis littoreaPhoracantha semipunctataForficula auriculariaSteatoda capensisOrthoclydon praefactataTmetolophota steropastisExaireta spinigeraBlatella germanicaVespula germanicaUropetala caroveiMegarhyssa nortoni nortoniLasiorhynchus barbicornisDrymaplaneta semivittaCostelytra zealandicaOrocrambus flexuosellusChrysodeixis eriosomaSiphanta acutaCosmodes elegansNezara viridulaNezara viridulaCoscinoptycha improbanaOpodiphthera eucalyptiUraba lugensPediculus capitisAethina concolorDermestes maculatusApis melliferaLeucauge dromedariaAnobium punctatumMusca domesticaPrionoplus reticularisPlodia interpunctellaCaedicia simplexCleora scriptariaUresiphita polygonalis maorialisAgrius convolvuliCryptolaemus montrouzieriPericoptus truncatusPieris brassicaeEpiphyas postvittanaOemona hirtaXanthocryptus novozealandicusFannia canicularisDanaus chrysippus petiliaDanaus chrysippus petiliaEpiphyas postvittanaLocusta migratoriaNyctemera annulataPison spinolaePison spinolaeCryptolaemus montrouzieriMotuweta isolataThyreocephalus orthodoxusTrimescaptor aoteaDanaus plexippusPhaulacridium marginaleOrthodera novaezealandiaeDeclana atroniveaNetelia ephippiataDasypodia cymatodesTeia anartoidesCynthia carduiScolypopa australisConoderus exsulPeripatoides indigoArtona martiniAenetus virescensVanessa gonerilla gonerillaSitophilus oryzaeChrysodeixis eriosomaLepisma saccharinaPorcellio scaberAustrosciapus proximusAncistrocerus gazellaMiomantis caffraThysanoplusia orichalceaParisopalpus nigronotatusClitarchus hookeriThelyphassa lineataArocatus rusticusPolistes humilis humilisHelophilus seelandicusHelicoverpa armigera confertaParopsis charybdisHemideina thoracicaSpodoptera lituraSpodoptera lituraCoptomma variegatumDrosophila melanogasterVespula germanicaSigara arguataPieris rapae rapaeOrgyia thyellinaEchthromorpha intracatoriaSirex noctilioAnthidium manicatumNyctemera annulataVanessa itea

Gonta’s fingers are starting to get very tired and he still has a paper to finish, so he hopes that this very incomplete list is enough to fulfill your request. Sorry…

[drhoz]

The Great ACT-NSW-NZ Trip, 2023-2024 - Pohokura

After we left the Volcanic Plateau we headed west, to spend a few days at Pohokura. The road we took was the Forgotten World Highway, which the GPS said was a 100kph road.

It was not.

In fact, most of it was unsealed, and was so convoluted, through terrain so precipitous, that we didn't dare drive faster than 30kph. Where boulders had fallen off the cliffs they'd been marked with witches hats - presumably someone would get around to actually moving them off the road, at some point.

We did see a few animals, though - feral deer (New Zealand has had a variety introduced), feral goats (serious problem in many areas), escaped sheep, squashed hedgehogs, and a feral kitten in the middle of a bridge.

At Pohokura we stayed at a house built by one of the original European settlers in the area. It had a resident cat who disliked the family move to a new house so much that it walked back to the old one.

A fair number of the species I saw were ones I'd already seen on the trip, or from @purrdence's previous trip, or from Australia, but there's plenty that were new. I'll cover the Whangamōmona Saddle, Whangamōmona Township, and the McCluggage Tunnel, seperately.

And a few I haven't got satisfactory IDs on yet.

[drhoz]

The Great ACT-NSW-NZ Trip, 2023-2024 - Raetihi

Since we had a few hours before we headed up to Mt Ruapehu, we went to a charming little museum in Raetihi. Dinosaur House, well worth the visit.

And saw a few invertebrates in the garden and on the front of the building - here's the ones i've seen before.

[drhoz]

#2304 - Eucolaspis sp. - Bronze Beetle

@purrdence photographed one of these on her previous trip, and I discussed the debate about exactly how many species there are in New Zealand then. At least this is a better photo, and it's quite possibly one of the other species.

Horopito, North Island Volcanic Plateau, New Zealand