Winter Insect Collecting in the Northern Territory 



by I C. Lfl SoeFT 



Following a nine week-. collecling 

 trip to ihe Northern Icinion in I$kfi9, 

 im w.il- and 1 decided io pay another 

 visit in June last, tktt OWlHj object 

 Ihis lime was lo check On the lilc 

 Instors ol Ihc new species o! butterfly. 



I ii.n 'hotii StniHs ./n/.'.\rm;.v. which was 

 added li> the Ausirahaii fauna on the 

 hrsl occasion. 



This lime we look the load to *\dc 



j&iric calling fits) on K««h HowteJ 



and Ins wife ftl Kiata. and spending 

 ihc first night at Bordcriown. Nexl 

 das uc uiveHed to Port \UJJVS1fl, 

 Uiking the road from Murra\ Bridge 

 through the beiuiiilul B&TOSSa Valley, 



bypassing Adelaide TTlC load was 

 good, the IralVic verv light, and the 

 scenery magnificent. 'After Port 

 Augusta, a night was spent ;.t each ot 

 Kingoonya. Coobei I'edy and kul- 

 gera whilst en route to Alice Springs 

 Heie WT changed from the relative 

 luxury ol motels Id Ihc more Satisfy- 

 ing life under canvas. After four days 



II Alice Springs we drove north to 

 Dunmara. west to Timber Creek and 

 on to Kununurra: returning via 

 Kaihetine to Duly Rivet Crossing. A 

 lew days were spent here before we 

 went on fa Darwin, coming south to 

 MatuJauka Homestead. Mice Springs. 

 Avers Koek and home again through 

 Melrose ,md Adelaide. 



It seemed a pity » have 10 hurry 

 through the very interesting country 

 north from Port Augusta but we 

 made a lunch stop at l ake Hart, not 

 far from Wooutcia. Here t humd the 

 pie-pupal larval shelrei of the skipper 

 butterfly, leltcoui ant ilia, an unex- 

 pected addition to the South Aus- 

 tralian fauna. 



350 



Dining the lew days break Horn 

 diivme a) Alice Splines, a number of 

 Qgym lirwit.u'iti (wisoiisi larvae and 

 pupae were taken Irom the emu, rjl 

 the bed ol the Todd River. It is ol 

 inieresl to record heie thai \fMi I'lttfc 

 covei on the trunks, the larvae had 

 pupated under ihe reniri.oa. .w Ijflfjt 

 on the Hunk at ground level. Then' 

 was hiile ol interest in the buiterfly 

 world here, although there were * 

 number of PfafittO IHVttHS pupae on 

 the cilnis trees in the Wiiiieisuii 

 Caravan I'atk. and seveial othei 

 species weie Hying m the Rieht Pichi 

 Museum. Because of the cold nights, 

 there were lew moths or otlu-i 

 insects about although several specie* 

 of grasshoppct were taken among iNc 

 rocks behind the town 



Ai the CSIRO laboiatoty there IfclS 

 i, fine carpei >nakc caught locally, 

 considerably lightci in colour than the 

 coastal ones. Several of the central 

 Australian ri.ee .it ihc pouched mouse. 



Stintithoinis prastlaautanu 



kept tor study by the nianuiialocisi. 



Dining out stay WWJ i ointabli tftd 

 Mrs. Taylor at limber Crock. WB 

 learnt much ol the history ol litis \- r ' 

 intcreslinv; district. I WW taken to [IN 

 site ol the old Depol on the Vien nil 

 Rivci where all fi eight was ti.it>- 

 polled by ship before the advent o 

 good roads. It was near here lh»t 1 

 bad the great satisfaction of accom- 

 plishing one of Ihe tasks 1 had Id 

 mind for ihe trip. I lonml a td Bl 

 very old donkey harness, part ol jiff 

 Police Station equipment, di*card«l 

 by a Constable Pascoe some ve.us WP 

 on a now disused rubbish dump. A 

 number of other Iragments of tusinn 

 weie found at the Depot. 



Vfcl. Mat Vol. 88 



