Winter Collection 



by 



J. C. Li Sim i r 



Although winter month* arc not 

 the generally accepted time of the 

 year for collecting in the tropical 

 ll0 rth of Australia, there arc always 

 specimens to be taken which arc 

 worth recording. With variations in 

 season:.! conditions from year to 



year, it would seem that at least the 

 insect fauna in a given locality U thc 

 same dale differs each year. One ot 

 the great attractions of field ento- 

 mology is thai one is never quite sure 

 what is going to (urn up. 



Frtlil Moths 



A new experience to me was the 

 taking of a number of species of 

 moths feeding on fruit near Cairns 

 ,h lime last. While waiting for in- 

 sects to bo attracted to the mercury 

 vapor light at The Intake, f noticed 

 a large moth Hying to a small guava 

 near the roadside. Closer investiga- 

 tion showed that it was feeding on 

 one of the ripe fruits on the tree. 

 Searching further with a torch, I was 

 surprised" to find a number of moths 

 feeding on ripe fruit in the scrub. 

 \ sidelight was that there were two 

 species of bats feeding on the moths 

 Hid n huge python probably preying 

 Bq the bats. 



The following is a list of the 

 moths taken, the nomenclature being 

 Hi. 1 1 of similar specimens in the 

 National Museum, Melbourne. 



Mccodinti tiemaphorq I owei 

 Mecodinn prciccipita Walkei. 

 Cmrtlimhrln meitliioplnus Tuincr 

 Ailtn.-a fUttOta Lmnaeus 

 hrhviti i>(>Tph\>i,> Turner 

 t zcfrnetu trfltwH < rampton 

 SoSfftOpkfk WWfl Hubner 

 Counophilu te/WWSW Walker 



January. 1971 



I'hyllotkx nwrtui Olilfe 



\\clipuu denli fascia Walkei. 



New locality for Tmpczitcs 

 nutcqneeni Kerr and Sands 



This recently described butterlly. 

 originally taken from the Mareeha 

 area of the Athcrton Tableland, was 

 recorded from Musgrave. It was 

 taken in open euealypt forest coun- 

 try with short grasses and occasionaJ 

 small (lowering plants. Noticing 

 Pimclia (akin to humilis) in flower 

 near the road I slopped to look lor 

 Trapezius skippers as one does in 

 Victoria, I was not disappointed with 

 the taking of this specimen feeding 

 00 a loot high blue flowering plant. 



The first specimen m [he Pafflflj 

 Hesperiidae. the Skippers, was taken 

 by Banks at Cooktown during his 

 sojourn there. It was of great interest 

 to take a specimen of this species. 

 Traprzirr\ \dtChUS (Fab.), at almost 

 the same date and probablv in the 

 same locality, two hundreds vears 

 later Ml the other species taken by 

 Banks at this time ate still to be 

 lonnd in the vicinity of Cookiown. 



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