Four #insects from the weekend at #Gluepot Reserve in the #mallee in #SouthAustralia

#Grasshopper (#Orthoptera) in the genus Pardillana - https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/528093-Pardillana

Merimna atrata, a Jewel #Beetle (#Buprestidae, #Coleoptera)

#Antlion (#Myrmelontidae, #Neuroptera, perhaps Bandidus)

#OwlFly (#Ascalaphidae, Neuroptera) in the genus Suhpalacsa (which spells Ascalaphus backwards)

#entomology #Australia

I just spent three nights camping at #BirdLife Australia's #Gluepot Reserve in the #mallee of #SouthAustralia.

Tenperatures were reaching 37/38 C, and it's very dry there. The reserve has a small dam, but no other open water. The #MurrayRiver is about 40 km to the south.

But the #insects that appeared at night were primarily #freshwater species - lots of #CaddisFlies (#Trichoptera), #Chironomidae and #BackSwimmers (#Notonectidae).

This video shows the insects attracted to a #LepiLED UV light. If these mostly originated down at the river, the insect #biomass streaming up across this region (wind-blown?) is absolutely staggering.

There were also LOTS of #microbats everywhere, and the stars were incredible.

#entomology #biodiversity #Australia