Paropsisterna vittata

This beetle is scarce.
There was a fortunate emergence while I went to visit and I collected several specimens.
Dissection has confirmed this species to be the same as that on the mainland.

comments (11)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Congrats on the find. Between the two photos, is one male and the other female? What explains their difference in appearance? Posted 8 years ago
1. Martin Lagerwey
  
  Lion
  
  The mainland one happens to be female and the Tassie one is male but you cannot tell by looking. It happens to be a variable species over time and over its range. I have just loaded another variation onto JD for your interest. You need to see a few of them to know the range, and ultimately dissect genitalia, which I did for Tassie and mainland. Green vittae would likely be a young specimen which darken over weeks. The Tasmanian form had been called Paropsisterna simsoni which is probably a mislabelled teneral P. vittata. Posted 8 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Thank you Martin for the depth in explanation, and respect for making sense of a large set of species each having variable appearances, not easy. Posted 8 years ago

John Sullivan

Lion

What wonderful macro photos! Posted 8 years ago
1. Martin Lagerwey
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks John. I just bought a good lens and flash. The next trick is simply to delete all the bad shots. Posted 8 years ago
2. 1. John Sullivan
    
    Lion
    
    Ha! While I agree those steps are necessary, I do not believe that they are sufficient. Posted 8 years ago
  2. 1. Martin Lagerwey
      
      Lion
      
      Yes, I read about some photographers who check the weather, select a date, set an alarm, climb a mountain, erect a tripod check their settings and snap ONLY ONE SHOT! THAT is photography. Posted 8 years ago
    2. 1. John Sullivan
        
        Lion
        
        Those were the bad old days. Plus, they probably cheated in the darkroom. Posted 8 years ago
  3. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Please don't delete anything from here :) Posted 8 years ago

Mark Ridgway

Lion

Great find Martin. Were you on an overseas holiday? :) Posted 8 years ago

Martin Lagerwey

Lion

Oversea, technically. Yes, I took the children interstate in lieu of Christmas shenanigans. It's a bit of a tradition. We are running out of mainland states. We stayed with Dave de Little which was an absolute treat. 3Paropsis delittlei Posted 8 years ago