March socials
This is a round-up of our social media posts from March. This collection is for those who don’t spend much time on Facebook or Instagram, and apologies to those who have already seen these. (Please do click on the gallery photos to see them in their full glory!):
Buffel Grass alert! A tired Australian Wanderer; Rain and the tadpoles; Bathurst Burr versus welding gloves; A first for southern Australia on the moth sheet; A flight through a semi-arid grassland
Buffel Grass alert!! This weed is a huge threat to the Victorian Mallee. Please keep looking out for this nasty pasty. Report any sightings on iNaturalist or Send Snap Solve or to me. I'll follow up with the land manager and ensure they bust the Buffel.
I found this patch on Dalmura Avenue, Merbein. It is right on the edge of the road and the seed will be transported easily on vehicles.
More here: https://www.malleeconservation.com.au/blog/buffel-grass
When your party dress is all worn out ... (Australian Wanderer Butterfly Danaus petilia).
Technically, this is the Lesser Wanderer and the true Wanderer butterfly is the introduced butterfly Danaus plexippus, also called the Monarch (right). But I think that’s insulting so I’ve changed the name …
This is an excellent story about how the Monarch Butterfly colonised Australia
More summer thunderstorms! Just in time to top up the ponds to keep the tadpoles alive. The insects are also loving the warm, wet summer in the Mallee.
Tadpole - possibly Spotted Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis)
Wandering Percher (Diplocodes bipunctata)
Jewel Beetle (Neospades chrysopygia)
Why welding gloves?
There are a few plants of Bathurst Burr popping up in our freshwater meadow. The spines on these weeds are vicious, even when the plants are young. Welding gloves are good for the weeds and the dog loves to play tug of war with them too!
Surprisingly low tech really ... A visitor set up his moth sheet on Raakajlim. It was very popular with the locals!
The big news from the entomologists on iNat ... The Hawk Moth is a new species for Victoria and a significant southern range expansion (Coenotes eremophilae). The spotty one is the White Spotted Owl Moth (Donuca spectabilis).
Thanks, Roger Standen for sharing your tips, tricks and knowledge of moths. Even the tiny ones ...
A flight through a semi-arid grassland: https://youtu.be/QrdXQTJtD_k
Enjoy the colors and textures, but for the plant nerds, try spotting these grass species (all threatened plants in Victoria):
• Tall Kerosene Grass (Aristida holathera ssp. holatherra)
• Silky Umbrella Grass (Digitaria ammophila)
• Purple Love-grass (Eragrostis lacunaria)
• Small Burr-grass (Tragus australianus)
• Purple Plume Grass (Triraphis mollis)
• Finger-grass (Dactyloctenium radulans)
This grassland is intensively managed - low grazing pressure, manual weeding and different patterns of slashing each year to manage biomass. (Oh, and we haven't really mastered the drone thing yet).