204 
M. Peterson 
Figure 1 Temognatha bruckii female charcoal-scraping (showing combined action of ovipositor and stemite 7) at 
1425hrs on fire-blackened tree stump, 18km east of Yellowdine, Western Australia. Photo: author. 
continuously scraped charcoal on this stump until 
1415 hrs, after which it flew to a second blackened 
stump (1.2 m high) 8 m south of the first. Adopting 
the same posture and methods it continued 
charcoal-scraping 0.5 m above ground for a further 
15 min., on north side of second stump (Figure 1). 
It ceased scraping at 1432 hrs and took flight to 
north-west. 
Two more females were observed, at 1443 hrs, 
flying in from south-east and landing on first 
stump used by previous female. One landed 0.9 m 
above ground, while the other landed 1.7 m above 
ground. Their choice to use the first scraping site 
of the previous female was obviously not based on 
making visual contact with already present 
individuals, since the first female had already left. 
They then simultaneously and continuously 
scraped charcoal into their ovipositors, from 1445- 
1515 hrs, mostly working parallel to the ground 
and using the same methods as the first individual. 
No further observations were made. 
Temognatha (Temognatha) chalcodera 
(Thomson, 1878) 
Figure 2 
Two female adults observed on 26 January 1990, 
at 1525-1535 hrs. Each was ovipositing 6-7 cms 
above ground on living trunks of mature 
diminutive non-flowering AUocasuarina acutivalvis 
(F. Muell.) L. Johnson subsp. acutivalvis 
(Casuarinaceae). 
First female observed, at 1525 hrs, to oviposit on 
trunk of an apparently healthy 1.6 m high A. 
acutivalvis plant. It laid a single subcircular egg (on 
south face of trunk) with maximum diameter of 4.0 
mm, 6.7 cm above ground on outside of trunk 
surface (trunk diameter 1.8 cm at this level), and 
then immediately (almost simultaneously) 
completely coated the egg with cemented yellow 
sand, thereby roughly forming a hemisphere 
(maximum diameter 8.5 mm, maximum height 3.8 
mm) glued to the trunk surface. The encased egg 
thus appeared as a small "cemented sand-dome" 
(composed of quartzitic sand grains with 
maximum size of 1.3 mm) attached to the bark. 
Oviposition lasted a total of 30 sec., whereupon 
this female walked down onto ground and was 
observed to scrape and pick up yellow sand into 
its extruded ovipositor using the combined action 
of its ovipositor and sternite 7 apex, as it slowly 
walked along. This female eventually disappeared 
into scrub. 
Second female (TL: 35.8 mm) observed, at 1531 
