lunchtime while some stayed on the island longer 
to explore further. 
On behalf of theTFNC I thank the Indigenous Land 
Corporation and Weetapoona Aboriginal 
Corporation for allowing us to stay on 
Murrayfield. I particularly thank our hosts Bruce 
and Lynne Michaels who welcomed us to the 
property and Rodney Dillon who came over on 
Saturday morning to provide a welcome to 
country. And a big thank you to Anna McEldowny 
for organising the supplies for the weekend. 
An unusual cricket 
Simon Fearn 
he large 40-45mm green cricket (or Katydid) 
Caedicia simplex is common in coastal 
Tasmania and thrives in urban areas feeding on a 
range of native and ornamental plants. The soft, 
single 'zzztt' call of the males can be heard at dusk 
in backyards throughout Tasmania. These crickets 
are normally entirely green to blend in with plant 
foliage where they secrete themselves during day 
light hours. Recently I noticed a number of 
A predominately pink Caedicia simplex nymph on a red 
flowering Leptospermum. Photo: Simon Fearn 
nymphs of this species feeding on a dwarf red 
flowering Leptospermum in my back yard at 
Riverside in Launceston. Presumably because this 
plant has purplish/red foliage and is covered in 
red flowers, the nymphs were reddish pink. But 
more unusually, when they had their final moult 
to adulthood, the wings were green but the body 
and legs retained the pink colouration. 
The same cricket four days later after its final moult 
with normal green wings but maintaining the pink body 
and leg colour. Photo: Simon Fearn. 
Scotts Peak-carnivorous plants 
Genevieve Gates 
S unday, November the 6 th was hot and humid 
— the sort of weather that tiger snakes of 
mythical proportions revel in among the scrubby, 
peaty vegetation that grows on the soils of the 
Precambrian quartzite bedrock of south west 
Tasmania. However, the fascinating talk on 
carnivorous plants of the Tepuis in South America 
at the Thursday night meeting by Darren Cullen 
enticed 19 members and friends (including a 
visitor from the UK) to explore our own native 
carnivorous flora. 
Ken, Geoff and Darren Cullen (front) with Kevin, David 
and Peter (visiting from UK). Photo: Genevieve Gates 
Tasmanian Field Naturalists Club BULLETIN 345 January 2012 p4 
