AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY

Published Quarterly by the Australian Museum, College Street, Sydney

Editor: F. H. TALBOT, Ph.D., F.L.S. Annual sub cription, $2.20 posted

Assistant Editor: P. F. COLLIS Single copy, 50c (55c posted)

VOL. 16, 0. 10 J U E 15, 1970

CONTENTS

PAGE

THE FUTURE OF WILDLIFE I AUSTRALIA-Dona/d F. McMichae/ 32 1

PO D LIFE IN AUSTRALIA-John Child 326

THE 8USJJFLY-R. D. Hughes 33 1

YEASTS-D. W. Kinsey 335

THE DEVO lA'< ''GREAT BARRIER R�:u'' OF WESTI:.RN AUSTRALIA-Pfli//ip £. P/a.lford . . 339

PREJJJSTORJC PAPUA E 'GRAVJ G-J. P. WIIite, H. J. de S. Disney, J. C. >'aldii')'II 344

MOTII EGGS!-Noe/ McFar/and 346

BOOK REVIEWS . . 325, 330

MEET OuR CoNTRIBUTORs 352

e PRO T COVER: An Australian Hair Seal or ea-lion, eophoca cinerea, supports itself vertically in the water while watching the photographer from a safe distance. These sea-lions, which occur only on islands off the coasts of South and Western Australia, arc being studied in Spencer Gulf, outh Australia, by a research team from the Australian Museum. [Photo: Howard Hughcs]. BACK COVER: A house pot from Aibom, Middle Sepik River, north ew Guinea. This lively, painted, pottery figure (Registration J o. E. 62362 in the Australian Museum's collection) is on exhibition in the Museum's Gallery of Melanesian Art. lt was purchased in 1964 by a Museum expedition which collected in the Sepik area. Such figures, alway sitting on an ill\•ertcd pot, are manufactured only at Aibom. The women, as is usual in Melane ia, make the pot itself, but only the men are allowed to make the anc('stor figure. The pot arc placed on top of the nooden pillars supporting the roof of the house tambaran, or men's cult house. [Photo: C. V. Turner.) Kinchega ational Park, about 75 miles southeast of Broken Hill, surrounds the Menindee Lake and borders the Darling River. After only 2 years of management by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. during which time stock have been excluded from the park, there is marked regeneration of the native vegetation. The park contains increasing numbers of Red Kangaroos and small populations of Euros and Grey Kangaroos. [Photo: Author.]

THE FUTURE OF WILDLIFE IN AUSTRALIA

By DONALD F. McMICHAEL Director. National Parks and Wildlife Service of N.S.W.

ECE T years have witnessed a number number of university investigator� have R of events which give heart to those turned their attention to fundamental who believe that the survival of our wildlife. questions affecting the distribution and and its continued presence in close proximity abundance of animals and plants in nature. to our centres of population. are important This body of knowledge continues to for one reason or another. Perhaps the accumulate and, for the first time, Australians most significant have been the growth of are now in a position to take positive steps the CSI RO's Division of Wildlife Research fo r the preservation of at least some wildlife and its steady expansion of investigations species with a fa ir degree of certainty that into the biology of native species other than those steps will be effective. pests. The various State agencies concerned Another ignificant development of recent with fauna have also expanded their research years has been the proliferation and growth effort in recent years. and an increasing of organized groups and societies interested

Australian Natural Hisrory Page 321 in the future of Australian wildlife. There appropriate areas in their natural state as have been seemingly spontaneous awakenings sanctuaries for wildlife and to manage those of concern in towns and districts all over areas so that their habitat value would not Australia, reflected in such bodies as the be lost, but preferably improved. At the many fauna and flora conservation societie , same time, field officers of the Panel began a the societies for growing Australian plants, programme of public education in the value field naturalists' clubs, and others with of wildlife, and of field surveys to determine special interests, such as the creation of the status of plant and animal communitie fauna and flora reserves or the preservation throughout the State as a forerunner to of particular species or environments. improved management.

National Parks and Wildlife Act Recent progress Governments respond to public opinion, in 1967, the National Parks and Wildlife and the clearly expressed interest of these Act was passed, which set up the National Australians has been reflected during the Parks and Wildlife Service and transferred past few years in a renewed activity among to the Director of National Parks and the various State and Territorial Governments Wildlife the powers and duties of the Chief in the legislative and administrative fields. Guardian and the Fauna Protection Panel. Almost all the States have made considerable The decision to amalgamate the National progress during recent years in the permanent Parks and Wildlife administration, which reservation of parks and reserves which will previously had rested in different Government help to preserve wildlife habitat. More Departments, was made in recognition of professionally trained staffare being recruited the fa ct that areas permanently reserved as to lay down guidelines for wildlife manage­ National Parks were essentially similar to ment and to elect those areas of habitat Nature Reserves, in that they preserved large which should be given reserve status. areas of natural environment and thus maintained significant wildlife populations. In New South Wale , wildlife management The staff of the Fauna Protection Panel commenced in a serious way during the were absorbed into the ational Parks and 1940's with the establishment of the Fauna Wildlife Service, and action for the con­ Protection Panel and the appointment of a servation of wildlife was strengthened by Chief Guardian of Fauna. The latter post the addition of specialists in new area was held with distinction for years by Alien selection and management planning. A. Strom, who was able to recruit a small Additional biologists and field officers have but dedicated staff of field assistants to also been recruited to strengthen the basic implement a forward-looking programme of fact-finding effort and new management conservation of the wildlife resource. techniques are being introduced. Mr Strom Recognizing that the future abundance of subsequently returned to the Department of our native plants and animals was not going Education to promote the important work of to be assured by protective legislation alone. conservation education in the schools, and but would only be guaranteed by habitat Mr W. S. Steel, O.B.E., formerly Director of preservation, the Panel set about the Fisheries and Game for the African State of establishment of a system of Fauna Reserves Zambia, joined the Service as Assistant (subsequently retitled, more appropriately, Director responsible for wildlife matter . Nature Reserves). The Fauna Protection Act allowed the permanent reservation of Crown lands for this purpose, and, once The kangaroo controversy established, such reserved land could only Perhaps the most controversial aspect or be alienated by act of Parliament. Again wildlife in Australia today is that of the recognizing that wildlife habitat in sufficient kangaroo populations of the inland areas, quantity could not be secured only by the and the various developments outlined above Nature Reserve system, which was virtually are epitomized by the story of kangaroo limited to available Crown land, the Panel management in New South Wales. Apart pursued the setting up of an extensive from the dingo, possibly no other group of Wildlife Refuge system, under which owners animals is so urrounded by a mass of fact of freehold land voluntarily agreed to retain and fantasy. emotion. and cold-blooded

Page 322 June, 1970 unconcern as are the kangaroo , yet no other division of ew South Wales a to warrant animals are under uch inten ive management the declaration of short "open season " in in thi State or are more likely to urvive a which they could be killed freely, and the a part of our rural environment. annual reduction in their number kept the Kangaroo are the largest marsupial populations overall at reasonable level . and range widely over the continent. However, the animals which were killed Ignoring the maller wallabie and paddy­ were not utilized for the most part, but melon , the kangaroos include four main simply left to rot where they had fa llen. A pecie -the Ea tern Grey or Forre ter, an few professional hunter were licen ed to inhabitant of the coastal forests of south­ take limited number of kangaroo for the ea tern Australia ; the Western Grey, which skin and fur trade. ranges widely from Western Australia to South Australia; the Euro or Wallaroo, Licences replace open seasons an inhabitant of fo rested hills and mountain About 1959 the Fauna Protection Panel country throughout Australia, and the Red decided that more preci e control over the Kangaroo, which lives on the inland plain animals' numbers wa desirable, and throughout the continent. In New South abandoned the open-season ystem in favour Wales, the Euro is reasonably abundant, and of the issuing of licences to specific propertie it habitat i unlikely to be seriously whose owners or manager could show that diminished because of its general unsuitability the numbers of kangaroo were so great as for other purpo es. The Euro is not a to be causing damage to pasture , crop . ignificant pest pecies on rural properties or other as ets. uch a fences. The e in N.S.W., and is not hunted commercially. licences, known as Section 25A licence . The two species which predominate in public were issued, theoretically, only when the thinking are the Red and the Eastern Grey­ Panel wa convinced that numbers were too the most prolific species, mo t commonly great and damage was being done, but lack een, and mo t frequently giving ri e to of sufficient staff meant that a preci e grievance on the part of the rural community as es ment could seldom be made. AI o, and. con equently, the basis of the kangaroo a ignificant build-up of kangaroo number hunting industry. began to take place at that time as a re ult Like almost all native mammals in New of good sea ons, the proliferation of surface South Wales. kangaroo are protected by water in the fo rm of farm dams, and the law. In the year up to 1952. the Red removal of altbush habitat and its replace­ Kangaroo and the Eastern Grey were ment with grasses and ucculent ephemeral . �ufficiently common throughout the western Con equently. numerou Section 25A licence.

A Red Kangaroo (Megaleia rufa) lies dead on the plain, shot as an agricultural pest. The authorities re ponsible for wildlife management hold the view that kangaroos shot as pests should be used for man's benefit, as a true conservation mea�ure. [Photo: Author.)

l/1.\tralian ,V(IIural Hisrory Page 323 for large number:. of kangaroo were �oon being issued, and almost overnight a new industry prang up to utilize the kangaroo resource which wa now legally available. This indu try wa primarily ba ed on the ale of kangaroo meat for use a pet food or for human con umption out ide Au tralia. The hunting was undertaken by Iicen ed kangaroo shooters, who sold the meat and other products to the operator of mobile freezing units, known as "chiller ·· or ''boxe ", from where the meat was di patched to processing plants. Within a few year , the number of operator had increa ed to uch level a could only be maintained by a large and flouri hing population of kangaroo . Then came the drought. With the combined impact of inten ive hunting and drought. kangaroo numbers fe ll away rapidly. and the difference in population ize throughout much of ew South Wale was obvious. even to the casual ob erver. Whereas a few year previously kangaroo had been een in number over vast area of the State, they had now quite suddenly become rare. Public reaction was wift and laid the blame quarely at the feet In ide a modern kangaroo boaing-oul plant. of the kangaroo meat indu try and the Here the frozen carcasses of kangaroo are proce ed for the recovery of meat, skins, and Fauna Protection Panel. However, as usual. other by-products. [Photo: A. M. Fox.] the emotional reaction of tho e who feared for the kangaroo· urvival wa ba ed on a lack of knowledge of the fa ct about the under licence when hown to be too numerou:. biology of kangaroos. the attitude of the and eau ing economic Ios . The appoint­ Panel. the economic of the meat industry. ment of more field taff in wildlife manage­ and the impact of the drought. ment, including the stationing of five officer!> in the we tern divi ion of the State. will What in fa ct happened wa that the Fauna ensure that licences are i ued only when the Protection Panel began to limit the i suing population numbers warrant it. Ouriog. of licences in New South Wales, the industry recent months whole section of the State began to move into ueen land. where Q have been closed to kangaroo hooting to greater tock were available, and the allow reduced population to build up again kangaroo population continued to decline after the drought : thi . in fact, i happening. becau e of their physiological re pon e to In the econd place. the State ha been drought condition . Eventually a rational­ divided into zone for management purpose� ization of the industry in New South Wales and only one operator i licen ed for each wa agreed upon, in order to tabilize it as zone. with a limited number of hooter:. a u eful tool of wildlife management. and to con istent with the numbers of kangaroo� ensure that economic pres ure would not which arc licensed to be taken. When the predominate over the interest. of conserving numbers of kangaroo increase, the industr) kangaroo tocks. can expand by the employment of additional hooter and chiller boxe : if nece ary. it Present situation can retract again a conditions change.

The pre ent ituation is. it i believed. a A royalty of 10 cent per carcas , paid b) happy one for both kangaroo and the meat the kangaroo dealer!>. ha now been increa ed. industry. In the first place. kangaroo are The money o raised is med by the Service to till protected animals, and may only be shot employ research and management staff to

Page 324 June 1970 better understand and control the population rural property owner as an asset, and not size. A higher royalty also gives the operator as a pest, then the future of the kangaroo an incentive to utilize the product more will be just as sure as that of the sheep and efficiently. At present, an average-sized the cow. kangaroo, if wholly utilized, is worth about Apart from the direct management $12. By diversifying the usefulness of the programme outlined above, the Service i carcass by-products, greater stability is progressing with the establishment of ensured to the industry and, again. thi lead significant areas of kangaroo habitat as to more efficient management. parks and reserves. At present Kinchega New avenues in the management National Park ( 160,000 acre ), near programme which are currently being Menindee, and ome smaller Nature Reserve explored by the ational Parks and Wildlife on the western slopes and plain are securely Service are ways of passing on some of the preserved, but investigations of several return on kangaroos shot to the grazier or significantly large areas in western New farmer on whose property they grew; South Wales, currently nearing completion. interstate co-operation to ensure that illegal should soon lead to an adequate system of hooting doe not take place in border areas: and the establishment of techniques of sanctuaries where our most famous native handling which will allow kangaroo meat to animals can live undisturbed as a guarantee be used for human con umption. lt is against any unfor een factors in the manage­ certain that once kangaroos are regarded by ment programme elsewhere in the State.

BOO/( REVIEW

THE CAMEL IN AUSTRALIA, by T. L. Thi book is extremely well written and makes McKnight; Melbourne Univer ity Press, 1969; fascinating reading. The first two ections deal price $4.50; 154 pages. with the systematics of the Camelidae and with aspects of the biology of camels. The remaining During the past few years, relatively few chapters concern the history of introduction of monographs have been published, in book form, camels into Australia, their use, and their ubsequent which deal with the biology of indigenous Australian decline in importance. mammals. The e have been devoted mainly to Although primarily concerned with the historical the monotremes and marsupials, while the placental aspects of camels in Australia, the book contains a mammals have received scant aLLention. Intro­ wealth of general information on all aspects of duced mammals in Australia have suffered even camel biology, extending from discussions on the further neglect. and it is in consequence very physiological adaptations of these animals to arid pleasant to find a book devoted specifically to the conditions to aspects of camel husbandry. It is, in biology of an important member of the mammal consequence, a most valuable publication which fauna which has been introduced here. concentrates much of the scattered literature on The Arabian camel or dromedary, Came/us camel biology into one volume. dromedarius, has not existed as a wild animal for The book is pleasantly presented and reasonably about 2,000 years and is known only in a state of priced. It contains several interesting photographs domestication over a large pan of its geographical illustrating the past history of camel use in Australia. range. In contrast, the Bactrian or two-humped The only criticism which can be levelled against it camel, C. bactrianus, may still exist in its natural is the presentation of references in the form of state in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. although notes pertinent to each chapter and the division of large numbers are also domesticated. the bibliography into various sections headed During the early days of European settlement in Articles, Books, Newspaper , etc. This cumber- Australia, dromedaries, which had been introduced ome method of citing references often makes the with Afghan drivers from India, played a very tracing of a particular reference a matter of some important role in the development of the country. difficulty. Their adaptation to life and work in arid environ­ ln general, The Camel in Australia is a mo t ments made them eminently suitable for use as interesting and stimulating book which is strongly transport animals in the outback. As they became recommended to anyone who wishes to know replaced by mechanical means of transport, they more about the biology of camels and who is were either turned loose or escaped and became interested in the impact that this introduced animal feral and have since built up their numbers in has had on the development of the Australian suitable desert areas of Australia. 011tback.-B. J. Marlow. Australian Museum.

4ustralian Natural Hislory Page 325 Three insects fo und •n ponds. From left : Water Measurer, Water Boat­ man, Round Water Bug.

POND LIFE IN AUSTRALIA

By JOHN CHILD Economics Research Fellow, niversity of Otago, New Zealand

THINK of a pond a a more or less their inhabitants, are a fascinating tudy, but I permanent body of fresh water, entirely cannot be dealt with here. enclo ed by land and not more than about The permanent pond is wonderfully rich 100 yard in diameter. ln very dry easons in the variety of life it support , and make the water may dry up, but the pond will be a very atisfying field for natural history renewed at the next rain. Large ponds study. This, l think, i partly becau e it eventually become small lakes; the distinction ha a definite area and fa irly clear boundaries. i not very important. A pond ha some enabling the student to feel (rather creatures which will not u ually be fo und in incorrectly) that he can come to know all of fre hwater streams. and the latter will its inhabitants. Unlike the ea hore, the contain pecie not found in true pond . ocean, a river, or a de ert, the pond i However, there i con iderable overlap, and manageable, and one i not tormented by the pool , backwater , and billabong of the nagging thought that around the next Au tralian treams will have many of the headland, or over the next ridge, there may form of life mentioned here. Furthermore. be new wonders. But even taking ample of mo t lake . e pecially if they have gently plant and animals from the middle or the loping horeline , will harbour around their bottom of a quite mall pond will require margin many of the ame creature a a ome ingenuity in manufacturing collecting 'mall pond. gear, unless the pond i shallow enough to Because of the relatively low and allow you to wade all over it. intermittent rainfall in many parts of In this article l give a very brief urvey of Au tralia, pond in some reg1ons are ome of the plants and animal of a typical inevitably hort-lived; the e have a life of Australian pond, and point out some of the their own, of plants and animals which grow problems they face in this habitat. quickly to maturity, produce eggs, larvae or eed to carry on the specie . and then develop ome protective coating to enable Pond zone them to urvive in a resting tate while the Until now I have poken of the pond a a water has evaporated. Such intermittent ingle entity, as if it were a uniform habitat, pond . and the adataptions for urvival of and for ome animal thi i true. The

Page 326 June. 1970 Green and Gold Dell Frog (Hyla aurea), for the water i warmer, the oxygen concentration example, probably cover most of the area higher, and the microscopic plant life of its pond and of the surroundings in the probably very abundant. course of its hunting and mating activities. A third zone is the mud or silt at the bottom But careful inspection will quickly show that of the pond, a favoured habitat of a number "the pond" really consists of a number of of animals. diffe ring habitats, and that certain specie are very selective. Thi i most readily seen Finally, depending omewhat on the ize in the case of plants. If the pond is in a and depth of the pond, there is the central fairly regular depression, there will be clearly free-water zone, where the water is too deep defined concentric rings of plants around it. for rooted plants to reach the surface. J n a This is obviously not accidental; in the small, shallow pond thi zone will not be struggle for survival each species can important. dominate over others only in the limited range where overall conditions suit it better Plants and oxygen supply than its rivals. Encircling the pond are In the water itself plant life is vitally zone of decreasing soil water content, and important becau e it provides the oxygen thi is probably the main reason for the necessary for all other living things (except different zones of plant life. As plants fo rm some bacteria). Green plants alone have the ba is, ultimately, of all fo rms of animal the remarkable capacity to take two common life, and as they provide shelter and simple chemicals, water and carbon dioxide, camouflage, if not food, for some animals, and combine them, using the energy of such as spiders, frogs, and snakes, it is sunlight, into starch and sugar, which form important to look clo ely at the plants the basis of all animal fo od. During thi growing around the edges, in the water itself, and on the urface. For example, many pider inhabit the sedges and rushes at the edge of pond , u ing the stiff stems a anchorage for their web , or the flower heads a places to lie in ambu h for insects; their body colours and forms are marvellously adapted to blend in with the vegetation. In the water itself everal more distinct zone are apparent, again often most clearly recognized by the plant life. First there i the urface, which may be partly covered with a layer of floating plants, such as the tiny green Duckweed, a true flowering plant (family Lemnaceae), or the reddish Water Fern (Azolla). (As a simple test of the adaptation of these plants to their special habitat, try to float one on the surface up ide down.) Floating on the surface may be the leaves of rooted plants, such as Pond Weed (Potamogeton), with rounded leave and upright flower spikes, or the fe rn Nardoo (Marsilea), with round leaves in four � segments, or the long green ribbon of I Eelweed or Ribbon Weed (Trig/ochin). The urface zone has its distinct population of animal life, also. Secondly, there is the hallow-water, or margin zone, where the water is only a few inches deep. This teems with a unique population of fa irly mall active animals, Larva of the Diving Beetle. These larvae are mo t of which are crustacean In this zone predatory, and are known a Water Tigers.

Australian Natural History Page 327 proce . known a photo ynthe i . oxygen i� relea ed. On a unny day you can often ee tiny ilvery bubble of oxygen coating green plant in a pond. Some of this oxygen di olve into the water. and is available for water-dwelling animal . lf you want to keep pond animal alive at home, in an aquarium. it is e sential to ·uppl) growing green plant . or el e use a more .. elaborate mechanical oxygenator ("'bubbler . or "aerator . ). A rooted plants arc lightly more difficult to manage, free-floating ub­ mergecl plant are preferable. Specie of Dragonfly larva (left) and damsel fly larva. Water Milfoil (Myriophyllum), with finely ote the three leaf-like gills at the end of the divided leave , Hornwort (Ceratophyllum), damsel fly larva·s abdomen. The dragonfl) which has a rather hard feel, or the leafy larva·s gills are internal. Anacharis or £/odea. are hardy, well te ted aquarium plants. Obviously tho e which drawing water into the rectum and expelling merely float on the urface, with their leaves it. In an emergency they can u e the violent in the air. will not help upply oxygen. expul ion of the water to propel the bod) forward. in a eries of rapid jerk : they have Here I can mention only a few of the .. general problem facing animal which live ·'invented jet propul ion! in pond . and how how they have olved A econd general problem fo r pond animal!> them. Let u take the problem of obtaining i control of the correct balance of chemical!> a continuous upply of oxygen. Air­ in the body fluids. Strong olution . breathing. or land, animals. obtain their !>eparated by only a thin membrane from oxygen from the atmosphere. Many water­ weaker ones. tend to lose their trength b) dwelling animals do the same. Some in ect . the process of osmosis. Somehow, animab for example the Backswimmer (family which live in fresh water have to be able to otonectidae) and Diving Beetles (family control thi process, o that the animal does Dyti cidae), come regularly to the surface not lose valuable chemical . Probably ome and collect a bubble of air, which they trap of the gill-like structures help in thi� under abdominal hair . or wing cover . regulation. Similarly, ome water spiders. when they hunt beneath the surface. carry down a The variety of pond life layer of air caught in the body hair . I have already mentioned :.ome of the Mo quito larvae and pupae have tube which group of animal which live in pond , and they poke through the surface film of the I can only mention briefly a few more of the water. Some insects obtain their oxygen main group . The book mentioned at the from air in the stems of submerged water end of the article will help you to identify plant . many of them. But coming to the urface fo r air every so often ha it disadvantages : it u es up Molluscs energy, and exposes the in ect to urface Many ·pecies of gastropod ( nail-like) predator . M any have therefore adapted mollu c live in ponds. usually fe eding on the themselves more fu lly to living under water. water plants. and sometimes crawling upside­ and have evolved some form of gill to ab orb down under the surface film. The Pouched the oxygen dissolved in the water. Gill Pond Snails (family Bullinidae) are intere ting often have a leaf-like or feathery fo rm, which because they have the spiral reversed. give a large surface area expo ed to the Mo t snails, if held with the pire upright. water. have the aperture on the right, but the Dam el fly larvae have three leaf-like gills bullinids have it on the left. The Wheel at the end of the abdomen: the larvae of the Snail (family Planorbidae) are very mall. clo ely related dragonflies have internal gill . with the piral flattened into a wheel hape. in the rectum. and the animals are con tantly Bivalve molluscs. uch a Fre hwater Mu els.

Page 328 June. 1970 largely under water, but have to urface for air. The Whirligig Beetle (Gyrinidae) ingly or in group , flash about on the urface in a pattern of crazy twists, avoiding colli ion at the la t minute, like Sydney taxi driver , by kilful teering. Diving Beetle (Dyti cidae) have beautifully stream­ lined bodies and can wim rapidly; they and their larvae (the Water Tigers) are predator . The more sluggish insects are most easily Snail-like mollu c that live in ponds. From left : Bul/inus, Notopala, and a Wheel Snail fo und by pulling out a handful of submerged (Planorbis). The Wheel Snail's spiral is Aat water plant , and allowing it to expand in a and wheel- haped, a shown in the lower ba in or pie dish of water. This will usually drawing at right. yield larvae of damseltlies, caddisflies and mosquitoes, and perhap some water bug . are not found in true pond , but are present like the fear omely named Toe Biter (Nepa). in mud at the bottom of pools or billabong . More active adults, uch as Backswimmer , Water Boatmen (family Corixidae), Diving Crustaceans Beetle and Round Water Bug (Sphaero­ Larger cru taceans (yabbies and hrimps) derma). mu t be collected by netting or by are u ually found in lake or streams, but a using a kitchen strainer on a long handle. ho t of maller fo rm are common in ponds. lt is well worth while to scoop ome of the e pecially in the margin zone. These are so mud and debris from the bottom of the pond. mall and delicate that they have been called at varying depth , and allow it to clear in a Fairy Shrimp or Water Fleas. The one basin or jam jar. This may yield blood-red that re emble animated eed moving fa irly larvae of the Midges (family Chironomidae). smoothly and rapidly are enclo ed in two lateral " hells"'. and belong to the group which are intere ting because their blood Concho traca. Tho e with bodies flattened contains the same oxygen-carrying pigment, haemoglobin, as our blood. (Most insect ideway , and moving more or less vertically and other invertebrates have colourle s in the water by twitching their long antennae. blood.) are Water Fleas (family Daphnidae). Small bean-shaped animals scratching busily at the debris on the bottom are Ostracods. The Collecting techniques Cyclop group. about one-tenth of an inch There i so much to see and tudy and long. have their bodie rather flattened from collect at a pond that time is always too short. top to bottom. and one large. red. central eye. But by taking a variety of glas container . Clo ely related to them are the Calanoida. preferably with crew top and wide mouth . In both of the e group fe males commonly and a election of nets and scoops, it i nol carry one or two egg-ma e . As the body difficult to take a good ample of the pond· wall i tran parent. many of these are fa cinating to tudy alive. with the aid of a micro cope or a trong hand lens. a the internal organ are plainly vi ible. Insects The edge!> of the pond, and the water surface. are the haunt of True Bugs (Hemiptera) of several families. Water Measurers (Hydrometridae) are slender, long­ legged creatures which stalk about rat her slowly : in contrast, the Water Striders or The 0 tracod, a crustacean often to be Pond Skaters (Gerridae) skim across the found among the debris on the bottom urface very rapidly. of a pond. Only its long antennae, u ed for scraping food debris into its Many fa milie of beetles have larvae which mouth, protrude from the bean-shaped are aquatic. and ome adult , too. live hell.

Australian 'arura/ History Page 329 population back home or to school for more life ...." These are fallacious statements, cliches from nineteenth-century natural history. Any leisurely study. The important rules are: flora or fauna is unique in the sense that it is not first, avoid having too many animals in any duplicated elsewhere and it is futile to justify one container; second, always provide some conservation on the basis of uniqueness. Referring green plants to en ure an oxygen supply. to Australia as "an ark" or "a living museum" carries the implication that the flora and fauna of [The illustrations in this article are by the Australia are relicts, remnants of a flora and author.] fauna which at one time had a much wider distri­ bution. There is very little evidence to support FURTHER READI 'G such a view and it would have been more in line with current biological theory, and less trite, to J. Child: Australian Pond and Stream Life, Peri­ discuss the flora and fauna of Australia as a study winkle Series, 1968. in island biogeography. On page 6 Mr Serventy W. D. Williams : Australian Freshwater Life, Sun claims that "mangroves and marine marshes" .. . Books, 1968. "are the richest plant growing places on this earth".

D. Clyne : Australian Frogs, Periwinkle Serie , 1969. This is a rather unique way of expressing productivity and perhaps it should be conserved, J. G. Pendergast and D. R. Cowley: Freshwater but it also happens to be incorrect. Mangrove 1966. Insects in New Zealand, and marsh communities are not the most productive communities in the world. True, they are very productive, but some rainforests, coral reefs, and agricultural lands are more productive (e.g., Golley et. al., 1962. Ecology 43 (1): 9-19). There are BOOK REVIEW other examples which could be taken from the text, but two definitions in the glossary are particularly disturbing and must be pointed out. First, AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE CONSERVATIO ', evolution is defined as "a theory developed by by Vincent Serventy. Angus and Robertson, 1968. Charles Darwin .. This is incorrect. Charles 76 pages. 7Sc. :·. Darwin developed a theory of evolution. Scientists Education is a prime need of conservation and, and philosophers had been discussing and theorizing in particular, a con ervation programme is required on evolution for a long time before Darwin presented in the schools. However, teaching conservation his theory in 1859. One could even look upon the within the school system is hindered by a number Book of Genesis as a theory of evolution. Second, of factor -failure of education authorities and it is misleading to define monotremes as "the most teachers to recognize the need, a lack of properly primitive group of mammals which lay eggs". trained personnel, and, e pecially, an absence of Terms such as ·'primitive'' and "advanced'' have suitable teaching aids and texts. Vincent Serventy little or no meaning, and in this instance the appears to be well aware of these needs, and his definition carries the implication that there are pamphlet Australian Wildlife Conservation is aimed other mammals "more advanced'' than monotreme at providing teaching ideas and a text for a school which also lay eggs. This, of course, is incorrect. programme in conservation. Unfortunately, 1t would have been impler to state that monotremes Australian Wildlife Conservation cannot be recom­ are the only group of mammals which lay eggs and mended for school use. Though Mr Serventy is make no value judgments as to how "primitive'' or to be commended for his astuteness in recogn izing "advanced" monotremes are. the need, I personally do not feel that the approach he has taken to conservation is a very desirable one. The misuse of resources and the rapacity of the It is the classic emotional and alarmist appeal for white Australian have been ably documented by wildlife conservation-an oohing and ahhing over several authors, but a useful book of wildlife animals-which has pervaded the conservation conservation in Australia has yet to be written. movement among amateurs for too long. Far When it is, it will be based on a broad foundation more serious, the text is often misleading and many of economics, sociology, ecology, and animal of the ideas presented are based upon antiquated behaviour. It will, in the words of the late Aldo biological concepts. Leopold, aim to create a "land ethic", but it will The following examples are typical and illustrate ucceed only if it presents its case in the context the need for careful editing if conservation and of an industrialized, technological, and over­ natural history topic are to be made meaningful populated world. lt should also deal with conser­ to, and suitable for, children. On page I of vation on a global scale and be especially concerned Australian Wildlife Conservarion we find a statement with problems of human over- population. Such about marsupials that "These are mainly found in a text is needed, and perhaps it is most important Australia, but there are still some marsupials in that it be suitable for school use. Jt is paradoxical South and Central America:· Mr Serventy should that p::ople, and especially young people, have never know that a marsupial also occurs in North America been more sophisticated and aware of the world (the Virginia Opposum, Didelphis marsupia/is), but than they are today, but are simultaneously farther actually his statement doesn't exclude North removed and more ignorant of the "land" and their America as a place to find marsupials any more than dependency upon the world as an ecosystem. An it excludes the Antarctic or Africa. In other effective text on conservation would recognize the words, it is misleading. On page 3 we find sophistication of young people and attempt to "Australia is a land that time forgot, an Ark ....", resolve the paradox; Australian Wildlife Conser­ " .. . a living museum ... ", " ... our unique wild- vation does not. -H. F. Recher, Australian Museum.

Page 330 June, 197 Bushfiies on a tourist's back. [Photo: John Green.)

The Bushfly

By R. D. HUGHES Division of Entomology, CSIRO, Canberra, A.C.T.

HIS article is concerned only with the whole outheast corner of Australia-from Tbushfly (Musca vetustissima), which is a Port Pirie, South Australia, to ewcastle. fa miliar nuisance to those enjoying open-air ew South Wales. activities on a warm day in most parts of Australia, as is shown in the photo on this Where do bushflies come from? page. Bushflies are present for most of the year Over the past two years the four members in some warmer parts of Australia, but in of the CSI RO"s bushfly research section have the southeast they are apparently absent been asked many fascinating questions during the colder months. K. R. orris. about bushflies (apart from "How can we working earlier in the Canberra region, could get rid of them?"'). A large number of the find no trace of them during the winter, biological points raised can be reduced into but they reappear with unfailing regularity four general questions, and in this article I each spring. One of the most exciting will piece together the many observations parts of our studies to date has been the each of us have made, to try to answer them. gradual accumulation of observations Most of our studies have been made on the showing that southern bushflies die out each bushflies of the Canberra area, but I think winter and then large numbers of bushflies the answers given will apply to at least the emigrate from Queensland each spring to

Australia11 Natural History Page 331 repopulate area of outheast Au tralia the dry inland and their pre ence in area hundreds of mile away. which have experienced long drought , We knew the flies were pre ent around there has always been some mystery sur­ r< unding their breeding place . But if the C�nnamulla (Queensland) all through the ;> wmter, so by regularly visiting, from July fl1es can travel hundreds of miles in a few onwards, place between there and Canberra weeks with only the help of warm winds, the we were able to collect example of the first fact that the species i known to breed in the flies appearing at each locality. We got fresh droppings of a variety of large animal probably represents the whole story. While clues ab�ut their origins by dissecting them and makmg an a sessment of their age from it ha proved possible to rear maggots in a the stage of development of their repro­ variety of media we have never been able to ductive_ system. All the first flie collected induce flies to lay eggs normally on anything outh of the Queensland border turned out other than faeces. The fresh faeces of man, to be quite old adults-which howed they dogs. cattle, sheep, horses, and emu are had not emerged from the ground nearby known to have been utilized naturally by the bushfly. ln our experiments the larger, after having spent the winter as maggots or _ "pupae··. Furthermore, our examination mo1ster droppings of sheep and the moist howed that the fir t flies in more southern dung pads of cattle have both been found to localitie were older than the first flies further be ideal breeding ites. Female bu hflie north. From many fragments of evidence are readily attracted to a freshly-dropped dung pad as a food source, but if they li�e this we have formulated the theory that . fhes bred dunng_ the late autumn and winter contam mature eggs their behaviour change in the north emerge in spring and, with the soon after making contact with it. They help of the warm north to northwest wind search over the surface exploring crevices weep down into New South Wales. W� and und�r the edges of the pad, where the can show that some of the original Queen - du�g w1ll remain moist for the longest land flie get as fa r as Canberra and the p�nod. Then after a preliminary ensing Riverina over a period of 7 week but as with the extended ovipositor, the female becomes absorbed in the proce s of laying they have laid egg en route it i probably the1r progeny, emerging during late Sep­ egg . The pre ence of one egg-laying fe male tember in the central we t, that later actually seem to �timulate other to oviposit nearby, repopulate more outhern areas. and the nch dung pads which occur on the spring pas�ures around Canberra may at t1me b nnged by bu hflie , upside down Where do bushflies breed? � and fa�mg outwards as they ovipo it. a Becau e of the prevalence of bu hflie ·in hown 111 an accompanying drawing.

Communal egg-laying by bushAies under the edge of a cow dung-pad. . [Drawmg by Gwenneth Pal mer. I

Page 332 June, 1970 oral groove

heod

The lapping mouthpam of a bushfly. [Drawing folded lobello flops � by Marina Tyndale- seudo trocheol Biscoe.]

flu1d enters open sl11 1n tube ond runs up to orol groove

The eggs are usually laid in very moist Why do bushfties come to annoy us? places, and we have found that the air We have made some studies of the needs around them must be nearly saturated with of bushflies. Without water older flies can water vapour if they are to hatch. Often survive only 15 hours at 80° F-about as the eggs are immersed, but an examination long as a summer's day. Without sugar or of their outer skin shows tiny raised areas, some other energy food most flies die within with a spongy air-filled structure, which 2 days. Without protein food female flies probably allows air to be absorbed into the cannot develop their eggs to complete the egg from the surrounding liquid. life-cycle. So flies may come to us for water, The time taken for the eggs to hatch "sweets", or "meat". varies with the prevailing temperature. The Further information was obtained by a shortest incubation time was about 6 hours close examination of the bushflies which at I 07° F. At lower temperatures it may approached and settled on us. Usually the take a day or more for the eggs to hatch, but flies were mostly female. The few males below 56° F they would not do so. Hatching around were obviously less interested in us, maggots enter the mass of dung directly, sitting mostly on the car nearby. This and commence feeding near to the surface or observation suggested that the need of fe males to an internalai r-space. Such spaces develop for protein was the prime reason for their either under the crust which fo rms on the approach. However, when flies settling on dung pad or through the activities of other us were caught, killed, and dissected, it tunnelling insects. The larvae obtain air was fo und that females in all stages of egg­ through tiny tubes opening at spiracles on development were involved. Young flies their tail-ends, so larvae feeding head-down with no sign of egg-development were in moist dung repeatedly appear tail-first at particularly well represented, it is true, but the nearest air surface. those which had clearly eaten a protein meal were also present. Furthermore, at The maggots feed and grow quickly. cooler times of the year, even fliescontaining shedding their skins twice to allow for eggs ready to lay came to us. There was expansion. At 80° F they become fully obviously more than one reason for the flies' developed in 3 or 4 days. It takes much visits. longer at lower temperatures, and growth and development cease below 50° F. The Flies can obtain water by sucking at any fully-fed maggots usually leave the old dung free water surface with their proboscis (see pad to pupate in loose soil nearby. lf the illustration on this page). Drops of rain­ soil is unfavourable the maggots may travel water or dew, and nectar, could readily some distance to pupate, often entering the provide all their needs, but spilt liquids and soil near the base of some nearby vegetation. our tears, sweat, and saliva may be useful alternative sources. Because of the The pupal stage lasts a little longer than proboscis, food can only be taken in .liquid the larval feeding period. then the adult form. Nectar and other plant exudates are fliesemerge from the soil. probably the fly's natural sugar sources,

Australia11 Natural History Page 333 while the dissections revealed that a large a pioneer species in freshly dropped dung and, proportion of the flies had recently fed on although it does not normally consume a animal faeces, which can be a good source of major share, the tunnelling action of the protein. Our sweat, tears, and saliva are maggots contributes to the drying out of the probably too dilute to be useful food sources, mass and may render it more favourable to but blood and serum from wounds, cars, later decomposer specie . However, we a.nd sores could supplement the fly's protein know that bushflies are absent from most diet. While bushflies do not actually bite, areas of Australia at some eason of the year, they have tough presto mal "teeth·· on the o this role in decompo ition is unlikely to proboscis with which they can rasp away at be crucial. oft tissues and around old wounds-some­ Other pioneer "decomposers·· of dung do times reopening them. occur in Australia and may be expected to While at lea t a proportion of the flie be favoured by the ab ence of the bushfly. visiting us have come for water or food, the Those known to occur freq uently with the re t must have ome other reason. It eems bushfly do not seem to be potential pest likely that they have behavioural mechanism species. Fortunately. that serious pe t the just to keep them in the company of large buffalo fly i apparently confined to the animals (that includes u ). Such animals wetter parts of the tropics, where the bu hfly could be future sources of food and water, occurs only marginally and then usually at a but, perhaps more importantly. they could different ea on. be potential ource of the droppings that are Organism utilizing the bushfly as a major both an adult food and the breeding place food item seem to be mainly generalized for the species. So the well-fed bushfly just predator , taking wide varieties of insect5 hangs around u , or any other animal, finding among which the bushfly is merely the mo t a pot in the sun, out of the wind, and where numerous. Some small and-wasps (com­ movements of the kin or clothe are least monly misnamed policeman flies) often catch disturbing. It may be coincidence that bushflies to stock the "larders" of their weat often accumulates in such spots, but developing young in hole in the sand, but the dilute food materials it contains could they will happily use any similar-sized in ect. well be a "cocktail" reinforcing a habit that The most commonly een parasite of the is to the long-term advantage of the bush fly. bushfly is a nematode worm which, after release as larvae on a dung pad, enters and Would getting rid of bushfUes upset the kill many maggots. Some infected adult balance of nature? fliessurvive, but in the fe males their egg are We don't think there would be any harmful replaced by more "packets·· of infective repercussions if it were possible to devise larvae to be laid on fresh dung pads. As with and apply some method of getting rid of the other known natural enemies of the bushflies. To come to thi conclu ion the bushfly, this worm is not highly specific and fo llowing que tion had to be answered : occurs in other common, dung-breeding flie . Knowing the major activitie of the bu hfly. Although it is a memorable fe ature of the what would happen if tho e activities were Australian cene, apart from its cientific not carried out ? Would organi ms doing interest, the bushfly seems to have no the same thing (the bushfly' competitor ) intrinsically good qualitie that would be be likel�r to increase in its absence and eau e missed. lt has an incidental role a a a nuisance? Are there any u eful organism minor vector of eye infections of stock and which depend ub tantially upon the bushfly man. For this reason its elimination, if it for most of their food ? Among the inci­ proved po sible. would be an additional dental activitie of the bushfly are there any benefit. that would be m is ed ? The bushfly i one of the group of organ­ F RTHER READING i ms involved in the decomposition of animal Dethier. V. G.: To Know a Fh•. Holden-Da' : San Francisco, 1962. · faeces. Such "decomposer ·• each utilize · part of the food content remaining, and so orris, K. R.: ·· otes on the Ecology of the Bu hA� Musca l'etustissima Walk. (Diptera :Muscidae) in assist in the sequential degradation of these the Canberra District."" Australian Journal of waste products into the soil. The bushfty is Zoology, Vol. 14, pages 1139-56, 1966.

Page 334 June, 1970 Cells of a normal bakers· yeast strain. (x 500).

YEA STS

By D. W. KINSEY cnior Research Biochemist with M.B.T. Research Laboratories, Sydney

VER since man has existed he has Yeasts fir t entered the limelight when it E suffered from diseases caused by was discovered, in the mid-nineteenth century. microbe but he has also, and just as that the fermentation of wines and beer was significantly, benefited from the advantageous not a spontaneous chemical process but the effect of many other microbes. Only as result of the activity of countless small oval recently a the seventeenth century did he organi m which were thriving on the ugar have the lightc t u picion of the existence in the brews and producing alcohol and of the invisible world of countless living carbon dioxide ga a their end products. organism which surrounds and outnumbers The fa ct that micro-organism have been him so enormously. For instance, one u ed to uch advantage by man is in fact normal healthy per on can have as many primarily a function of their small size. A micro-organism in his mouth a there are typical yeast cell is about three ten­ people in the entire world. tl-:oJsandth of an inch long, and there are One economically very significant part of five million million of them to the pound. this invi ible world i the group of living This mall size mean that, in relation to their organisms which ea ·Jses those processes weight, they have very great surface area . , referred to as "fermentations. This word expo ed to their environment and hence can covers uch thing as the production of ab orb food and reproduce at almost unbelievable speeds. Similarly, they can fe rmented beverages, vinegar, large numbers produce the desired end product at an of organic chemicals, antibiotics, tea, tobacco, equivalent speed. Thus I pound of yeast cheese, bread, and many others. Some of cells, with a combined surface area of cell these fermentations are caused by moulds wall equal to 7,000 square feet, could, under and some by bacteria, but perhaps the most commercially attainable conditions, increase significant group of industrial organisms is to 3 tons in 24 hours provided sufficient food the yeasts. and pace were made available.

Australian atural Hi.ftory Page 335 In most of the commercially valuable yea b thi occur by a process called budding in which the parent cell form a mall bulge called a bud with which it cell content are !>hared by internal reorganization. The bud increases in size. become eparated from the parent by a complete cell wall. and eventually detaches to live a a new individual. Budding is a unique proces , as virtually all other living organisms form new cells by a division into two equal halves which both then grow to mature size. The other process by which yea t can multiply is a fo rm of sexual reprod uction in which the genetic material of the cell i� exten ively rearranged. In common with other organisms this proce give ri e to new individuals which are not nece aril) identical to the parent. All yeast chosen for commercial application mu t have ormal vegetative reproduction in a commercial negligible tendency to undergo pontaneou� yeast strain. The new cell is being produced from the parent by the unique process of budding. exual reproduction. a the cho en charac­ The conspicuous pale areas within the cells arc teri tic could be lost. the vacuolcs. (x 1,800). As the cells arc free Yeast occur naturally in almo t all type::. to drift around in their liquid cvironmcnt it is unlikely that the two cells at the top have of environment. but they are found typicall) separated from each other by budding. Their in places where ugars are freely available. proximity to each other is probably onl) They occur as films over the skins of most coincidental. fruit , in the nectar of flower , and in ugar) exudates from tree and maller plants.

The true nature of yeasts In addition to sugars, yea ts need for their growth the usual trace element required by Yeast are microscopic fungi. In common all living thing , a number of vitamin , and with the more con picuou fungi, uch a simple compounds of nitrogen and mould , mildew , mu brooms and toadstool . pho phorus. Most yeast will grow equall) they lack the green photosynthetic pigment� well in the presence or ab ence of oxygen. as ociated with other members of the plant kingdom and therefore are dependent on organic food and not carbon dioxide for their nutrition. Jn common with all other living things except the viruse . yea t are compo ed of cells-small discrete ac containing an internal chemical organization which i remarkably complex. A with the even smaller bacteria, yeasts exist typically, though not alway , as single cells. However, this is about as fa r as the similarity to bacteria goe . Bacteria have cells described as procaryotic and are relatively simple in their internal organization. Yeasts. in common with all the higher organisms, have complex eucaryotic cells which are e entially a internally complex as those of man himself. Yeast can multiply by two method . The initial stage in sexual reproduction in a The more usual i a simple vegetative typical yeast. The parent cell ha divided division into two essentially identical cell . internally to fo rm four spores. (x 1 ,800).

Page 336 June, 1970 but their proper commercial utilization i� is frequently produced by the fe rmentation frequently entirely dependent on the extent of molasses. to which oxygen i limited or made available. When yeast is used to leaven bread dough it ferments the naturally occurring trace of Industrial uses of yeasts ugar in the flour, or ome of the added ugar in the case of sweet products. Any alcohol lt hould be tre ed that yeasts are a produced is unimportant as it is lost in the broad and highly diverse group with greatly baking. o that the important aspect of the diffe ring properties and requirements. For fe rmentation i the production of a large any particular type of fermentation involving volume of carbon dioxide ga which rai e the a yea tit is necessary to choose a strain which dough. will carry out the required conversion with the greate t efficiency. There is another group of industrie:. interested not in what changes small quantitie� The two most significant industrial u e of yeast may cause in other material , but fo r yea t have been the manufacture of rather in the production of large quantitie� fermented drinks and the manufacture of of the yeast cell themselves. The large t bread from leavened dough. of these is the indu try which supplies the The production of beer. wine . and other bakers with their yea t. The others produce �imilar products involves. primarily, the yeast for high-grade animal fodder. food conver ion of sugar to alcohol. While it i flavourings from proce sed yeast. and, more evident that yeast can carry out this recently, basic yeast protein a an economical conversion, two most significant fa cts must dietary supplement for human consumption. be considered for thi conversion to be In all these indu trie the basic underlying commercially sound. Fir tly, more alcohol concept is the production of a minimum of will be produced if oxygen i not made alcohol and a maximum quantity of yea t available to the yea t, a oxygen facilitate cell from the ugar ources used. B) the complete conver ion of ugar to carbon contrast with those in the alcohol-producing dioxide and yeast cells. Secondly, more indu trie , these fermentations are violent!) alcohol will be produced if actual yeast aerated and contain adequate additional growth can be kept to a fa irly low level, as nutrients to enable maximum conversion of the less sugar that is converted to yea t cell the ugar to yeast. A the flavour of the matter the more sugar the yeast may be raw materials in this type of process i� encouraged to convert to alcohol. Alcohol­ unimportant, a large variety of sugar ource� producing fe rmentation proce es, therefore. is available. The mo t usual are mola e . in olve the addition of mall amount of wa te liquor from paper mills, and suitably yea t to olutions of ugary materials which treated starchy wa hes from factorie� are not aerated and which are kept in clo ed processing cereal and potatoes. Thu the e ve el . The availability of yeast nutrient proce e are not only producing valuable other than the sugar i restricted. The products but in many cases are u ing carbon dioxide produced in these fe rmenta­ undesirable industrial wastes which would tions may be wasted, or ome may be otherwise have caused a considerable di posal deliberately retained in the product a i the problem. ea e with beer and parkling wines. In earlier time yeasts found their own way into Ycasts as undesirables the fe rmentations from the raw material While the fe rmentation of ugar i a and the air. but in modern practice the process which i commercially valuable when correct quantity of a elected yeast strain is intentional it can be a serious problem when added deliberately. The raw material for unintentional. Much spoilage of acid and thi type of fe rmentation are fruit juice for sugary food and drink is caused by the wine and cider, etc. ; malted grain and sugar development of yeasts which have remained for beer: and various malted and unmaltcd viable due to inadequate processing, or to a grain , and other farinaceou materials, for lack of adequate pre ervative levels. Some a variety of other beverages. Where starchy yea ts can grow at very high sugar level raw material are used the starch i's usually uch as are fo und in honey and jams, and. converted to ugar by the enzymes normally as mentioned previously, most can grow found in uch material lndu trial alcohol freely in the total ab ence of oxygen.

Australian Natural History Page 337 ote: The diffuse pale areas surrounding the cells in the photos are an optical effect associated with the microscope. [The illustrations in this article are repro­ duced 11·ith the permission of Mauri Brothers and Th omson. Limited.]

FURTHER READING

Cook, A. H. (editor), 1958: The Chemisrry and Biology of Yeasrs (Academic Press), 763 pages.

Readings from Sciemific American: The Living Cell (W. H. Freeman and Company), 296 pages.

Tannenbaum, S. R., and Mateles, R. 1., 1963: ··single Cell Protein··. Science Joumal, vol. 4, no. 5 (special issue-Feeding the World). pp. 87-92.

Some yeasts may form branched chains of cells. (x 500).

There are also yeasts which will attack fatty foods and some which are so specialized that they can grow on petroleum fractions in the presence of traces of water. These latter can cause corrosion problems in the petroleum industry, though recently it has actually been found economic to put these problem organisms to use by growing them as fodder yeast on some of the less valuable petroleum fractions. Another group of yeasts and yeast-like organisms cause diseases in plants and animals, including man. While there are ome uncommon but serious infections, most of these diseases are mild. They are typically infections of the mucous membranes and skin. The common mouth infection in infants known as "thrush" is a yeast infection, and, similarly, yeasts frequently occur as econdary invaders in sore throat conditions.

This extremely large starfish was taken off The future Noumea, New Caledonia, by two skindivers, Mr George Bargibant, an employee of the Far from the likelihood of the useful Aquarium of Noumea, and his friend Mr B. activities of these small organisms becoming Conseil. It lived successfully in the Aquarium replaced in this modern technological age it for more than 4 months, and was killed, preserved seems highly probable that we will find more and sent to the Australian Museum after being severely attacked by a fish newly introduced into and more ways of utilizing their frequently the tank. The starfish was about 25 inches wide unique abilities. We may well become in life, but has shrunk since preservation. It is dependent on them as a means of converting pink, with brown tips to the arms, and is as yet low-grade non-nutritious substances into nameless. lt has been placed in the Museum's research collections.-Eiizaberh C. Pope, first-class protein to help alleviate the serious Ausrralian Muse11111. [Phoro by courresy of food shortage which threatens the world. '·The Sydney Morning Herald".]

Page 338 June, 1970 An aerial view looking norlh along the Laidlaw Range, a Devonian atoll. The circular patch of limestone on the left (middle distance) is Lloyd Hill; it represents a smaller atoll. Note the small patch reef below the "tail" of the Laidlaw Range atoll. These remarkably well-preserved fossil reefs are 350 million years old.

The Devonian ''Great Barrier Reef'' of Western Australia

By PHILLIP E. PLAYFORD Supervising Geologist, Geological Survey of Western Australia

ESTER Au tralia· "Great Barrier reefs ideal for detailed tudy. There is a W Reef " fo rms a belt of rugged lime­ ound economic reason for such research. ·tone ranges in the West Kimberley district. as buried reefs of similar type have produced extending for 180 miles along the northern large quantities of oil in various pans of the margin of the Canning Ba in. ea t of Derby. world. During the pa t 7 year the These ranges consist of algal, stromatoporoid. Geological Survey of Western Australia has and coral reefs that developed during the carried out an extensive programme of Devonian Period, some 350 million years research in thi area, concentrating on the ago. when sea covered the Canning Basin. origin and inter-relationships of the variou� They are regarded by geologists as being reefal deposits, and on the animals and plants among the best-preserved fossil reefs in the that have contributed to their development. world. The limestone reefs making up the barrier­ The excellence of exposures and the reef complex wind across the countryside comparatively small amount of deformation some ISO to 350 feet above the adjoining and alteration of the limestone make these plain. so that the present-day topography

Australian Natural History Page 339 D Land in Oevonion Times TIMOR SEA D Sea in Devonion Times � Oevonian Sorrier Reef Complex � (now exposed at the surface ) - Devonion Sorrier Reef Complex (now buried or eroded away)

SCALE OF MILES SQ___ 0 �0 I00

:-: PLATEAU

CANNING BASIN

This map shows the occurrence of the Devonian '·Great Barrier Reef"' fringing the Kimberley Plateau. The reef complex is well exposed east of Derby along the northern margin of the Canning Ba in.

approximately reproduces that of the notably in Windjana. Geikie. and Brooking Devonian ea floor. the reefs ri ing from the Gorge . Apart from their great geological plain in much the same way a they rose above intere t the e gorge provide ome of the the ancient ocean basin. From the air it mo t attractive scenery in the State, and one <,eem almo t a though they are modern of them. Geikie Gorge, was recently declared reef that have only recently emerged from a ational Park. Thi gorge ha been cut the ea. The reason for the clear topographic by the Fitzroy River through the Geikie expre ion of uch ancient reefs is that the Range. lt is 8 miles long and is acce iblc :,hales and other oft sediments that were by boat throughout its length. The lime tone laid down in the ocean ba in and in channel walls are polished clean by flood to a height between the reef are readily eroded away to of ome 30 to 40 fe et above the normal river­ fo rm valleys, whereas the reefs and their level. Such expo ure are ideal fo r detailed a ociated limestones are resi tant to ero ion examination of limestones. The poli heel and consequently land out a range . surfaces how algae. stromatoporoid , and other organi ms making up the reef complex pectacular gorges beautifully preserved in their original growth The be t exposure of the reefs and their position . The modern fauna of the water a ociated deposits occur in a number of in thi gorge is also very interesting, a it �pectacular gorge cut through the range . include sharks. sawfish, and tingray .

Page 340 June, 1970 These fish, which normally live in the sea, order. Modern reefs have been constructed have apparently adapted completely to the mainly by corals and calcareous algae, but freshwater environment of the gorge. Their in the e Devonian reefs corals were less ancestors must have moved up the Fitzroy important than stromatoporoids, a group of River from the sea, progressing from one colonial organisms, now extinct, which permanent pool to another, until they reached resemble corals in their growth forms. but Geikie Gorge, which is about 200 miles from differ in their skeletal structure. the sea via the river. The wave-resistant reefs formed a relatively Windjana Gorge must rank among the small part of the total volume of the barrier­ world's classic geological localities. reef complex. The reefs were commonly owhere else are the relationships between only I 00 to I ,000 feet wide, each forming a the various deposits of an ancient reef narrow rim around a broad lagoon in which complex so well displayed as they are here. back-reef organic limestones were deposited. The gorge has been cut by the Lennard River In front of the reef extensive talus deposits through the Napier Range; it is 2-t miles were laid down, largely derived by wave long and has near-vertical walls from 200 to erosion of the growing reef. It is similarly 250 feet high. The gorge has an awe­ true of modern reef complexes that the reef inspiring grandeur which cannot fa il to rim normally fo rms only a small part of the impress any visitor. Until very recently it reefa I deposits as a whole, although of course was well off the beaten track, but it is now the reef is the controlling fe ature of each visited by increasing numbers of tourists, complex. Jn the Canning Basin, the reefs and its reservation as a National Park should and their associated lagoonal deposits be delayed no longer. The gorge contains together formed limestone platforms that permanent pools which are stocked with rose to 600 feet or more above the surrounding freshwater crocodiles and fish, including sea floor. They ranged from small atolls a small sharks. Limestone caves in the area few acres in extent to extensive bodies were used by the Unggumi and Bunaba covering hundreds of square miles. Small Aborigines to store the skeletons of their patch reefs lacking central lagoons also departed tribesmen, and some caves are developed in some areas. The reefs decorated with remarkable paintings of men commonly grew upward and outward. and animals. especially Wandjina figures. advancing over their own fore-reef talus deposits, although in some cases the reef retreated over the back-reef lagoonal deposits. Well-preserved fo ssils During the Devonian the area was slowly It is possible to obtain a clear picture of the subsiding, and the reef-building organisms environments in which these Devonian reefs were able to keep up with this subsidence, developed by studying the rock outcrops in thus building up very thick deposits of detail. The limestones are rich in well­ limestone. The maximum thickness of these preserved fossils which testify to the types reefal deposits in the Canning Basin is of animal and plant life that lived in and believed to exceed 5,000 fe et. .. around the reefs 350 million years ago. Thus The Canning Basin "Great Barrier Reef we find that the organisms of the reefs them- fringed a Devonian landmass that is occupied elves are quite different from those of the today by the Kimberley Plateau. In lagoons behind the reefs or those of the deep Devonian times this land area had a oceanic waters in front. The types of lime­ mountainous topography that re ulted from stone and other rocks that developed in the a period of block fa ulting shortly before reef different environments are also very growth began. Torrential conglomerates distinctive, and can be mapped as separate were shed from the active fault scarps, and units, to give a clear picture of the shape and some of these interfinger with the reefs. tructure of the reef complex. especially in the Sparke. Burramundi, and The reefs were built up by various lime­ Van Emmerick Ranges. The barrier-reef secreting algae and animals that had the complex is believed to have extended right ability to build wave-resistant reef frameworks around the Kimberley landmass beneath the close to sea-level. The main contributors present continental shelf, to join up with were calcareous algae (especially blue-green closely similar reef limestones that are now fo rms), stromatoporoids, and corals, in that exposed in the Bonaparte Gulf Basin.

Australian Natural History Page 34 1 Above: An aerial view looking nonhwe t along the apier Range at Windjana Gorge. The gorge ha been cut by the Lennard River, exposing a classic ection through the barrier-reef complex (which can be seen winding off into the distance). Belo w: The southwestern wall of Windjana Gorge, three-quaners of a mile from the gorge's eastern entrance. This wall is the one at the bend in the left foreground of the photo above. The massive limestone in the centre of the photo below is the reef; it is flanked on the left by steeply dipping fore-reef talu deposits (the dip of which is depositional) and on the right by flat-lying limestones laid down in the lagoon behind the reef.

Page 342 June, 1970 Lagoonal environment and lime tone concretions. They include The back-reef lagoons protected by the little or no debris from the reefs, and were reef rim were generally rather shallow, and laid down nearly horizontally. The fo il in some area they included mud flats that fauna is dominated by pelagic organism emerged at low tide. However, certain (i.e., free-swimming or floating open-ocean lagoons were up to 200feet deep. The types fo rms), and is commonly beautifully of limestone laid down in the lagoonal pre erved. The fo ssil ammonoids, environment are quite distinctive. They are conodonts, fish, and crustaceans from these well bedded, and were generally laid down depo its are world famous. They show nearly horizontally. Limestones that were close similarities to forms that occur in the bound or precipitated by algal mats are Devonian strata of Europe. The ammonoids common, as are those composed of and conodonts, which evolved rapidly, have Amphipora, a distinctive spaghetti-like been used to determine the relative ages of tromatoporoid. Patch reefs grew in some the strata very preci ely. lagoons, but they seldom make up a major Part of the Devonian barrier-reef complex part of the lagoonal deposits. The lagoonal is buried beneath younger sedimentary rock fauna is dominated by a few species, and in the northwestern area of the Canning generally lacks fo rms that are typical of Basin, and it is regarded as a prime objective normal open-ocean conditions. The water for oil exploration. Devonian reefs are also of the lagoons probably had salinities pos ible objectives in the offshore areas significantly greater than that of normal sea­ around the Kimberleys. The Canning Basin water, owing to the restriction of circulation reefs show ome clear similarities to tho e of caused by the reef rim and to the high rate western Canada, which have produced the of evaporation in the shallow water. bulk of that country's oil, and consequently Talus slopes descended steeply from the there are strong hopes that the We tern front of the reefs to meet the ocean floor at Australian examples will one day prove to be depths that probably exceeded 600 feet in similarly productive. some area . These slopes were mantled with debris broken from the growing reefs by [The photos and map in this article are by wave action. From time to time large the author.] landslide occurred down these steep slopes, and enormous blocks were broken away FURTHER READING from the reer . The fo re-reef deposits thus Guppy, D. J.; Lindner. A. W. ; Rattigan, J. 1-1•• how steep depositional slopes (commonly a and Casey, J. .. 1958: ··The geology of the high as 35 degrees) marking successive talus Fitzroy Basin, We tern Australia", Bureau of lope , and they include a great deal of reef Mineral Resources, Bull. 36, 116 pages, 10 plates. debris, ranging from mall fragments to huge Playford, P. E .. and Lowry, D. C., 1966: ··Devonian reef complexe of the Canning Basin, Western block the ize of multi- torey buildings. .. Variou organi m lived on the fore-reef Australia , Geological Survey of Western Australia, Bull. 118, 149 pages, 7 plates (in lope , brachiopod being especially abundant separate atla ). in some areas. Algae, sponges, corals. and stromatoporoids commonly grew on the Playford, P. E .• in collaboration with Marathon Oil Co. 1969: ··Devonian carbonate complexes upper part of the slopes, close to the reefs. of Alberta and Western Australia, a comparative Depo itional dip of up to 55 degrees occur Study'', Geological Sun·ey of Western Australia, in some areas where the fore-reef deposit Report I, 43 pages. were bound together by algae. Teichert, Curt, 1949: "Stratigraphy and palaeonto­ logy of Devonian portion of Kimberley Division, .. Western Australia , Bureau of Mineral Resources, Ocean-floor deposits Report 2, 54 pages. The deposits of the ocean floor and of Vecvers. J. J., and Wells, A. T., 1961 : ''The geology deep channels between reefs consist largely of the Canning Basin, Western Australia .., of sands, silts, and clays carried in from the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Bull. 55, 323 page , land areas. together with beds of limestone 4 plates.

Australian atural History Page 343 PREHISTORIC PAPUAN ENGRA VING

HE engraved hell above was dug up at body of the bird the arti t originally inci ed T Rainu, Collingwood Bay, outhea tern a line too far up the hell. Thi mi take. Papua, in 1904. o other imilar objects are and the later correction which flattened the known from Melane ia from either prehi - bird· back lightly, can be clearly een in toric or modern times, and it i therefore one the illustration. of the mysteries in the prehistory of Papua- The design on the shell is similar to ew Guinea. "Massim" art, which wa made in European The de ign is made up of a bird with a times in thi area of outhern Papua. How­ vertical row of three tight anti-clockwi e ever, it i clearly not a recent form of this piral on each side. It was first engraved art, in which scroll-work, circle , and highly and then the background around it wa tyli ed bird motifs, u ually aid by eth­ reduced, leaving the figures in low relief. nographer to be the frigate bird (Fregata The reduction may have been done by pecie ), predominate. It is important to pecking and grinding. Jn working on the remember that the artist wa almo t certainly

Page 344 June, t970 not attempting to produce a photographic and sides. presumably prior to the engraving likene sofa particular bird, but was working of the design. within his own cultural tradition, so it may Firm identification of the bird rortrayed in be difficult for us to interpret the end result. the engraving is not possible. However. the The engraving ( o. E.l5597 in the fo llowing points are considered important Australian Museum' collection) was found in any attempted identification : the straight. in an old village mound by the Rev. P. J. short bill without any indication of a hooked Money, an Anglican missionary who was an tip; the rounded, high head outline with a honorary collector fo r the Australian serie of short line incised at right angles to Museum. Jn the mound he fo und at least the crown and back of the head (crest ?): ten other engraved hell with inci ed the simple curve of the neck, not sinuous as or relief decoration. Two of the shells in a heron ; the engraved groove down the bear a human fa ce motif, but the most line of the neck (wattle ?); the weakly curved common design are spirals and ellipses like dorsal outline of the back, not hunched a in that forming the bird's body. a heron or a jabiru; the engraved longi­ In the ame mound he also fo und many tudinal lines of the body (artistic tradition or potsherds, decorated with concentric circles , wing fe athers?), and the dorsally placed spirals, and grooved arcs, unlike pottery spiral at the tail end, reminiscent of the up­ made in the area in 1904. l n addition, stone curled tail feathers of a mallard. The lack axe-adzes, conus shell arm rings. a well as of legs does not necessarily indicate that the pig and human bones, were fo und. Of special bird is floating or sitting. interest were fragments of a stone mortar and The attitude and general appearance of a tone club-head: although club-heads were the bird suggest a stork, but none are known in use until very recently, stone mortars have from this area of New Guinea. The Jabiru never before or since been found in asso­ or Black-necked Stork (Xenorhynchus asiati­ ciation with pottery. cus) occurs in the southern lowlands of the We cannot now date this shell. The island, but is apparently not known ea t of evidence was destroyed when it was dug up Port Moresby; bill length and body features under uncontrolled conditions, and no carbon also appear to exclude it from further or other organic remains definitely a sociated consideration. Other bird uggested by the with it were retained. The shell itself could engraving include cassowaries (the Double­ be dated by the radio-carbon method, but it wattled Ca so wary and the Dwarf Cassowary i too small to give a good date and it would both occur in the area), cranes (only the be destroyed in the process. We know that brolga, Crus rubicunda, occurs in ew it is prehistoric and, because of its stylistic Guinea, but it is not recorded east of thf' affinities and associated finds, expect it Sepik and Fly Rivers). ducks, shags or to be less than 1.000 years old. cormorants, and grebe (all with species The shell itself i a three-quarter section known from the area). of the outer whorl of a large, heavy cone. Whatever it date and cultural context, which appears to be Conus /eopardus (some­ however, the superb craftsmanship of the times called Conus mi//epunctatus or confused Rainu specimen appears to be unique to thi with Conus lineratus). This cone shell is area-and to prehistoric time there.-]. P. known from the area and occurs widely in White and H. J. de S. Disney, A ustra/ian the Indo-Pacific. The engraved section is Museum, and J. C. Yaldwyn, Dominion 10·5 cm high and 8·5 cm wide at the ba e. Museum. Wellington. Netr Zealand. (Photo it appear to have been awn off at top, base, by C. V. Turner.]

Ausrralia11 Natural History Page �45 MO TH EGGS !

By OEL McFARLANO Assistant Curator of lnsects, South Australian Museum, Adelaide

SECT eggs, so frequently overlooked moth); ovipositor (a tubular structure. I (even by entomologists), show an incredible in the tip of the adult fe male moth's variation in shape, surface texture, and abdomen, by means of which the eggs colours. A few of the countless interesting are deposited); food plant (the specific forms and adaptations to be encountered in plant, or plants, upon which the larvae of a Australia are illustrated here by greatly moth feed). The use of the term "glue", to enlarged photographs of the eggs of nineteen describe the adhesive with which eggs are species of moths. attached to the plant, is a term of con­ (There lf some butterfly eggs had been included a venience, quite clear in its meaning. considerably diffe rent series of shapes would is no need to disguise the meaning with a be seen, even though butterflies and moths longer word !). are very close relatives within the same major The glue is usually a colourless fluid, which insect group-the order Lepidoptera. Jf hardens upon contact with the air as the eggs representative eggs of certain other insect are being deposited. It is more-or-less orders were also included (such as Hemiptera, waterproof once set. This is imperative in Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, or the case of species whose larvae feed upon Diptera) the variety of egg forms would be trees, tall shrubs, or high-climbing vines: increased still further. That, of course, otherwise, the eggs could be washed from would be far beyond the scope of a short their points of attachment on the foodplant article. Therefore, 1 decided to limit this leaves or stems during rainstorms, and the article to eggs selected from twelve fam ilies, minute, newly-hatched larvae (caterpillars) using only moths as examples. To put this would then have little chance of ret urning small effort into the correct perspective, it is to the correct leaves during the short important to realize that there are over 100 period, after hatching, when they are fa milies of moths in the world, and that 75 able to exist without fo od. Exceptions of these families are represented in Australia. are fo und among some of the moths Some of these families contain thousands of whose larvae are "general feeders" species. Perhaps these photographs ll'ill alert upon many kinds of plants, or upon weeds. Australian entomologists and naturalists to an grasses, or other low plants that densely intriguing area of study that has hardly been cover the ground, or upon the roots of touched in this country. plants. These moths often deposit their eggs Moths, butterflies, and some other insects free (unattached-no glue), or the glue, when can often be readily identified as to genus, present, may be quite weak and the eggs and sometimes as to species, by diffe rences in readily become dislodged, which does not their eggs. Some species are, in fact, more matter under these conditions. Such eggs easily separated from their close relatives by frequently approach a spherical shape. their eggs than by the adult insects them­ Young larvae of these species rarely have any selves. The egg should never be overlooked trouble finding their food near at hand by taxonomists, or by others interested in when they hatch. accurate identification of species. There are, The time required for moth eggs to hatch however, many closely related species whose varies greatly, depending on the season and eggs are hard to separate without careful temperatures, the species, its life-cycle, the study of all details, including the micropylar growth-cycle of its foodplant, and the part region, using high magnification. The micro­ of the plant eaten. A large number of pyle is a minute opening through which species will hatch within an average period spermatozoa enter during fertilization. of 5 to 15 days. But many others, especially (See fig. 10). Other entomological terms autumn or winter moths of cool or tem­ used here are: ovipositing or oviposition perate regions, are known to spend from 3 (the act of depositing eggs by the fe male weeks to several months in the egg stage.

Page 346 June, 1970 Some pas the winter in the egg stage : others regular or irregular; (2) naked as against may pass the dry season of deserts or semi­ covered with hairs, scales, or some other arid regions as eggs. Eggs of such species ubstance (e.g., dried frothy covering, soil are often protectively coated in some way. particles, etc.); (3) basic shape or outline of or deposited in crevices, or the shell is hard the egg, and its various profiles as viewed and tough. from diffe rent positions; (4) type and extent Methods for inducing moths to oviposit of surface sculpturing (ribs, granulations. in captivity and techniques of egg photo­ pits, etc.); (5) general hardness or softness graphy cannot be covered in this article, of the shells; (6) transparent as against but these topics are partially covered by opaque or partly-opaque shells, and degree ome of the publications listed at the end. of surface-shine; (7) all colour changes that are observed during incubation ; (8) measure­ ments of all dimensions in a sequence of Comments on the illustrations diminishing maximums; (9) mode of exit by Most of the eggs illustrated in this article hatching larva, and from which part of egg were deposited by moths in captivity. (side or end): is shell devoured (entirely. Many of the moths were attracted to ultra­ partially, or not at all)? violet lights in my garden at Blackwood, Many moths can be fo und flying only South Australia. (The ultraviolet lights during certain months of the year. (Dates were G.E. FI5T8.BL (a "black light"); given are the months during which adults substitutes are not recommended if the best may be collected at the locality indicated.) results are desired.] All the eggs illustrated Some of the spring and summer species have (except fig. 9) can be found in the State of more than one generation during a year, but South Australia, and some of them eastward many others do not. The majority of to New South Wales; of the remaining autumn and winter species are single­ eighteen species, fifteen can be found in the brooded. As a matter of interest to readers Blackwood-Belair region of the Mount in the Northern Hemisphere, it should be Lofty Range, south of Adelaide, South mentioned that in southern Australia the four Australia. When no locality is given below seasons are as follows: September- the name the eggs were deposited by moths ovember = Spring (moist grading to dry): captured at Blackwood. December-February = Summer (mostly dry

The figures in this article were selected and warm to hot); March-May = Autumn from available egg photographs of over 100 (dry grading to wet); June-August = Winter species, primarily to illustrate some of the (mostly wet and cool to cold). October in amazing differences that exist between the coastal South Australia corresponds roughly eggs of moths in various fam ilies, and some­ to April in coastal southern California. times even within one fa mily. (Eggs of Annual average rainfall is 28 inches at birds seem quite uniform by comparison !) Blackwood, S.A.: most of this falls between Basic similarities between species of diffe rent May and September. Occasional heavy genera, within the same family, are illustrated summer rains can also occur. by figs 10 and 11, while figs 7 and 8 show the Because the magnifications used in many easily-distinguished eggs of two closely related series of photographs are not necessarily pecies of anthelid moths, fa r less readily indicative of the relative sizes of the variou separated in the adult stage. All photo­ eggs, the actual measurements should always graphs are by the author, and all show living, be recorded for each species to an accuracy unhatched eggs. of at least 0·05 millimetres. (This can be In the study of insect eggs, some important easily done with metric dial calipers). differences to look for (and record) are: (I) Anything more exact than 0·05 millimetre The manner in which eggs are deposited by is not necessary or meaningful with larger the moth-dropped on the ground and in moths, because the eggs of many species can no way attached to anything, or attached or vary by as much as 0·10 millimetres (in glued to a certain part of the fo od plant (note length and/or width) within a batch obtained which part); strength of the adhesive (heavily from one fe male. Great variation in egg or lightly glued); attached singly, in twos or size is sometimes the case within certain threes, in rows, flat or heaped masses, in species of the fa mily Geometridae, for tacks, or in other formations, which may be example.

Australian Nawral His1ory Page 347 The eggs illustrated here (along with Superfamily Pyraloidea

numerous others), usually accompanied by Family Pyralidae (Pyralids), Subfamily Epipa · the associated larvae, pupae, and adult chiinae moths, are preserved under pecific code­ Fig. 5: Epipaschia pyrastis ( ovember-April). numbers for each species. These preserved These are very much flattened, soft-shelled, and ··scale-like'", with a finely-pitted surface which specimens (as well as corresponding field results in a sparkling surface shine. They are notes and photographs, etc.) will become deposited in distinctive flattened masses, like available to qualified specialists for future shingles on a roof, each one partly overlapping study. those in front of it. The photograph shows only a part of one mass. as attached to the foodplant leaf. THE ILLUSTRATIONS Superfamily Bombycoidea Superfamily Hepialoidea Family Lasiocampidae (Lappets) Family Hepialidae (Ghost Moths) Fig. 6: Digg(esia rufescens ( December- February : Fig. I: Aenetus bfackbumi (late March to early May-July). Typical of most bombycoid eggs, the April). These eggs are dropped free by the fe male shells are tough and firm. The eggs are securely moth (in no way attached to any surface). This is glued to the surface-in this ea ea piece of stiffened the typical mode of oviposition among the Hepiali­ muslin, which is ideal for causing many moths to dae. Some hepialid eggs are more or less perfect oviposit in captivity. The white areas of the shell spheres, and the shell is usually rather soft and are opaque. When the eggs hatch, the dark areas easily dented. Some collapse of the shell takes will show as transparent on the empty shell, and place during development. When freshly deposited the opaque white markings will remain (on the the eggs of thi species arc pure white, but they empty shells) exactly as seen in the photograph. soon become opaque black. The general appearance of these eggs is typical of many other lasiocampid eggs. Superfamily Zygaenoidea Family Anthelidae (Anthelids) Family Zygaenidae (Foresters, Burnet Moths) Fig. 7: Plerofocera species (Aprii-May). Ten Fig. 2: Hes1iochora rufi••emris (late November to miles west of Vivonne Bay, Kangaroo Is., South December), 43 miles west of Eucla, Western Aus­ Australia. These are very tightly glued to each tralia. As in many (perhaps all) other zygaenoids. other, wherever they contact along the sides. The the eggs are notably soft-shelled. They are attached shells are opaque. See the dry rings of colourless in long series up and down the leaves and stems of adhesive (glue) on the two eggs that have been the foodplant, closely end-to-end, but rarely in broken off the main mass (upper right). This actual contact. Colour, pale yellowish. species occurs in scrub areas away from the immediate coast around Adelaide, and on Kangaroo Family Limacodidae (Slug Moths, Cup Moths) I land. A related species in southwestern Western Fig. 3: Doralife ra oxfeyi (mid-March to mid­ Australia has strikingly different eggs, although April). The shells are very soft and easily broken ; similar to these in shape. it is almost impossible to separate these eggs without Fig. 8: P1erofocera species (April). Hallett� damaging them. They are extruded by the resting Cove, South Australia. The egg in the upper right fe male in long and sinuous chains, rather like tooth­ corner shows the end view. The shells are opaque. paste being squeezed slowly from a tube. Colour, The adult fe male moths of this genus are wingless. translucent yellowish ; surface shiny. The adult males of this and the preceding specie� Fig. 4: Pseudanapaea trigona (October to mid­ look quite similar at first glance, but clear-cut May). The photograph shows two eggs, close to differences in the eggs of these two species are hatching, as seen from the underside. (They were immediately obvious (both in shape and markings). deposited on a thin sheet of clear plastic.) The This species occurs along the coast in certain area� small larvae are clearly visible through the colourless near Adelaide, and on Kangaroo Island. and transparent shells. The shells are exceedingly thin, pliable, and easily ruptured. In nature, they Family Carthaeidae are attached singly to the food plant leaves, appearing Fig. 9: Carthaea sa/urnioides (late September to (at first) like tiny, clear, flattened droplets or water, early December). Stirling Range, near Toolbrunup barely visible when viewed from above ; later, they Peak, Western Australia. For details on the could be mistaken for flat, shiny scale insects larval, pupal, and adult stages of this superb moth. adhering to the leaves. When being deposited by see Common (as in '"Further Reading" list at the the moth, they are so soft and flexible that indi­ end of this article). The eggs are at first a uniform vidual eggs often have entirely different shapes, light yellowish with a bright surface shine. The) depending upon the angle of contact of the moth's are normally glued in irregular small groups (two� abdomen with the leaf surface (and the pressure or threes, etc.) on the new leave of the foodplant. exerted) at the moment of oviposition. Thus, only ··average" measurements of egg length and width Superfamily otodontoidea can be made for this species. Of off species I have seen /o date, this one woufd seem the ideal subject Family otodontidae (Prominents) for anyone wishing 10 Sludy farvaf developmem as Fig. 10: Danima banksiae ( March-October). it takes pface inside an insect egg. Ten miles west of Vivonne Bay, Kangaroo Is ..

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June. 1970 South Australia. These large, intensely chalk-white her eggs all over the surface of the cocoon, then eggs are so conspicuous on the dark green linear falls to the ground and dies. A shrivelled moth leaves of certain species of Hakea that they are (about to die), having laid all her eggs, is seen quite easily seen with the naked eye from distances clinging to the right end of the cocoon; the thin, of 10 feet and more! They are usually deposited shiny and nearly colourless empty pupal shell, from singly. Field-collected eggs of this species (from which she emerged a day or two earlier (with a huge Kangaroo Is.) were found to be commonly para­ abdomen full of eggs), can be vaguely seen inside itized by a minute black wasp. The small dark the cocoon. The egg shape could almost be spot, on top of the egg, covers the micropylar area. described as a blunt pyramid. The inset shows a partially-eaten shell from which the larva has recently emerged. Note that the shell Fig. 17: Scoliacma bicofora (October-November; is uniformly opaque, not a common fe ature among January to mid-April). Aldgate, Mt Lofty Range, moth eggs except in the Bombycoidea and a few South Australia ; collected by Andrew Smith. A other groups. With opaque eggs it is not possible to unique feature of these small eggs, which are glued see colour changes as the larvae develop inside. in groups close together but not touching (much like those in fig. 18), is their almost water-clear Fig. 11: Hyleora species (March to early May). translucence when freshly deposited. The upper­ These eggs illustrate the commonest notodontid most egg is turned over, showing the more flattened egg profile-quite flat on the bottom and evenly underside, which has been slightly dented. The dome-shaped above, without ridges or other major second egg from the left, in the lower row, is surface sculpturing. (Similar eggs are seen in standing on its edge, to show the lateral profile (its many Northern Hemisphere notodontids). The bottom faces to the right). The newly-hatched shell is very tough in this species, but not opaque; larvae eat their egg shells entirely before dispersing. the colour changes are spectacular. Subfamily Nyctemerif'lae Family Thaumetopoeidae (Processionary Cater­ Fig. J 8: Nyctemera amica (December-June). pillars and relatives) These rounded, smooth, shiny eggs arl!, in general Fig. 12: £picoma melanosricra (November­ appearance. tyrical of many arctiid eggs the world May). These eggs are evenly-curving over the top, over. They are slightly flattened on the bottom with flat bottoms, but the lower rim is not sharp. (where attached), and so are not perfectly round, During oviposition they are covered and interwoven although they seem to be when viewed from above. with pale golden-tan ··hairs" from the tip of the It is interesting to note that this species does not female's abdomen, which bind them together into a deposit its eggs in actual contact with each other; somewhat flexible cluster. In the photograph the even though they are very close together in a mass egg mass is shown lighted from beneath. formation, the precise spacing is always maintained. Part of a mass is here shown as attached to the Fig. 13: Discophlebia carocalina (mid-November surface of the foodplant leaf. to early February). These are securely glued upright, in short irregular rows and smaller groups Family Noctuidae (Owlet Moths, Cutworms, etc.) (sides usually stuck together), never with any Fig. Cosmodes elegans (October-June). attached scales or hairs. They are prominently 19: Here is a:1 egg shape typical of many noctuids. ribbed and shiny, with a peculiar two-tone (internal) Also, note the ribs. When first deposited the eggs colour pattern. The lower one-third or one­ are pure white. After a day or two, an irregular quarter of the egg is milky-whitish, while the dark-hrown band-pattern car. be seen developing remaining upper area is dark sooty-brown. The through the shell as changes take place inside. two uppermost eggs, and one in the middle, are The eggs are deposited weakly glued and un­ seen lying on their sides; the other three are attached. ·tanding upright as they are deposited.

Figs 14, 15: Oenosanda boisduvalii (mid-March to Family Agaristidae (Day Moths) mid-May). The two eggs in fig. 15 were removed Fig. 20: Apina cal/isro (mid-April to mid-May). from the densely-covered egg mass shown in fig. 14. Walkerville, Adelaide, South Australia ; very . .. Some of the dark . hairs (from the tip of the localized distribution in open grassy-weedy fe male's abdomen) are still adhering, and the eggs areas, but usually abundant where it is present. remain standing end-up, as they were attached to This species is amazing for the habit of the fe male one of the strands of muslin upon which this mass moth during oviposition : she deposits her eggs on of twenty-five eggs was deposited. The elongate­ the ground, attached to bits of litter or soil particles, cylindrical egg shape, with weak longitudinal ribs, or even to dry pieces of horse manure! (At this is unusual in the Notodontoidea. time the foodplant is not present on the dry ground). Just prior to oviposition the fe male crawls along, Superfamily Noctuoidea ''dabbling'' the tip of her abdomen in dusty-dry Family Arctiidae (Tiger Moths and relatives), soil, picking up fine particles. A few eggs are then deposited. and the first of these will be heavily Subfamily Lithosiinae (Lichen Moths) coated with soil (sec one in lower left corner). Fig. 16: Xantlwdule ombrophanes ( October­ The soil-dabbling is then repeated during a short ovember; February-June). This photograph is a walk by the moth, and a few more eggs are deposited. rather poor copy from a colour slide, but was Most of those in the photo have been brushed included because it shows a most unusual form of partially clean, to show the distinctive sculpturing oviposition among the Arctiidae. The flightless on the upper surface of the shell, but the one at the female moth waits on her cocoon until the winged lower left represents the natural condition of a first male locates her; after mating she rapidly deposits egg deposited after soil-dabbling. The one at the

-lusrralian Narural Hisrory Page 351 far right shows the smooth and hiny underside. Doring, E. (1955): Zur Morphologie der Scltmeuer­ rubbed clean of oil particle . lingseier. Berlin. (Contain hundreds of detailed illustrati0ns of the egg� of European [I am indebted to Mr I. F. B. Common. CSI RO. moths and butterflies.) Canberra, for identification of the adult moths of nine of the c specie : to Mr R. Ruehle, S.A. Karp, T. (1966): ""Super Close-ups with your SL R"". vtuscum, Adelaide. for de,eloping and printing all Modem Photography, February, 1966. the photographs: to Mrs B. K. Head. S.A. Museum. Macka). M. R. (1968): ''About Lepidopterou' for help in preparation of the plate .] Immature ··. Canadian Entomologist, .lOO (4): 337-34 1. F RTHER READI 'G vtcFarland. . I 1964. 1965): ·· otc, on Collecting. Rearing. and Preserving Lanae of 1acrolepidop­ Common, I. F. B. ( 1966): ''A ew Famih of tcra··. Joumal of the Lepidopterists' Society. Bombycoidca (Lcpid.) Based on Cartiwea I (4): 201-2 1 0. and (4): 233-236 . .wmmtioides Walker from Western Australia··. 19 Joumal o( the £1/lomo/ogical Societ) of Queem­ Pctcrson, A. (1960): ""Photographing Eggs of land, 5: 29 36. Insects··. Florida £11 1omolof(i.1·t, 43 (1): 1-7.

MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS • • •

JOH CH I LD. Economics Research Fellow at community metabolism in coral reef areas, and ha, the Univcr ity of Otago. ew Zealand, was born worked on the reefs at Heron Island and One Tree m Dunedin, cw Zealand. After the Second World Island 111 the Capricorn Group. Great Barrier Reef. War he took a degree in Economics and taught in country high school . then \\Cnt to Oxford and A THO Y OEL McFARLA D, As istant obtained hi Ph. D. On hi return to cw Zealand Curator of Insects. South Au tralian Mu eum. he taught cicnce and biology. He was on the Adelaide. wa born in Hollywood, Calif.. U.S.A .. in ,taff of the School of Economics. University of 1938. He studied at three American universities­ ew South Wales. from 1956 to 1967. Dr Child the University of ew Mexico, the University of has written ten books on natural history in the Kansas, and Oregon State Univer ity- and gained Periwinkle Series, and is now writing a book on the degree of B.A. and M.Se. Mr McFarland i' New Zealand mo ses. particularly interested in the early stages of the Lepidoptera. family Geometridae. R. D. HUGHES wa born in Cardiff. Wales, and "ent to chool at Kingston-upon-Thame and then DO ALD F. Me 11CHAEL, Director of the on to the Department of Entomology at the Imperial College. London. When the CSIRO ational Parks and Wildlife Service of ew South Wale , wa formerly Director of the Australian Di' ision of Entomology established at Canberra 3 �ears ago a ection pecifically devoted to bushfl� Conservation Foundation. Deputy Director of the research Or Hughe left the Australian ational Australian Museum. and Curator of Mollu cs at University to lead the new section. He brought in the Museum. He graduated B.Sc. (with Fir t-ela s an Australian ational University student. P. M. Honours in Zoology) at the Univcr ity of Sydne) Greenham, to work on the breeding habits of the and M.A. and Ph.D. in Biology at Harvard fly. They were joined by Marina Tyndale-Biscoe. University. U.S.A. Dr McMichacl is the author of from the University of Adelaide. South Au tralia, se,cral books and numerous scientific paper on who studied the reproduction and bt>haviour of the zoological and conservation topics, dealing e peciall) fly. To complete the team. Josephine Walker rejoin­ with marine invertebrate and the consenation of ed the Division. from the Australian ational marine cm ironments. Uni,ersity,to rear flies for experimental purposes and to study \ariou aspects of their life-cycle in the PHILLIP E. PLAYFORD wa born 111 Perth laborator). and graduated with Honour in Geolog) at the University of Western Australia in 1952. He DONALD W. KINSEY is Senior Research attended Stanford University, U.S.A., a a Fulbright Biochemist for M. B.T. Research Laboratorie . Scholar (1959 to 1961) and was awarded a Ph.D. Sydney. This purely research company is a division in Geology. He is now Supervising Geologist with of the large manufacturing and merchandising the Geological Survey of Western Australia, and i;, organization of Mauri Brother and Thomson President of the Royal Society of that State and an Limited. He has been employed by this company Honorary Associate of the We tern Au tralian �ince graduating from the University of Sydney in Museum. Dr Playford has publi hed widely on 1955. and i responsible for microbiological investi­ geology. pecializing in reefs, tratigraphy. and gations and fe rmentation technology. For man) petroleum geology. He has also published paper, �ear he has also been interested in variou aspects of on histor) and anthropolog).

Page 352 June, 1970 PRESIDENT OF TRUSTEES: W. H. MAZI-. M.Sc.

l:ROWN 'ffiUSTEE: EMERITUS PROFESSOR A. P. ELKIN. C.M.G .. M.A .. Ph.D.

OFFICIAL TR STEES:

THE HON. THE CHIEF JUSTICE. THE liON. Ti lE PRESIDENT OF THE LEGISLATIVE COU CIL,

THE HON. THE CHIEF SECRETA RY, THE HON. THE AlTORNEY-GENERAL, TilE HO . THE

TREASURER. THE HON. THE MINISTER FOR PUBLIC WORKS. THE HO '. THE Ml ISTER FOR EDUCATION. THE AUDITOR-GE 'ERAL. THE PRESIDENT OF THE 'EW SOUTH WALES MEDICAL BOARD, THE SURVEYOR-GE ERAL A D CHIEF SURVEYOR. THE CROW SOLICITOR.

ELECTIVE TR STEt:.'>:

SIR FRA K McDOWELL; R. J. OBLI::. C.B.I::.. M.Sc .. Ph.D.; G. A. JOHNS01 . M.B.E.: S. HAVILAND. C.B.E.: PROFESSOR L. C. BIRCH. D.Sc .. F.A.A.; PROFESSOR D. P. MELLOR. D.Sc .. F.R.A.C.I.;

R. C. RICHARD; PROFESSOR 1-1. N. BARBER. F.R.S.. F.A.A.; K. L. SUTHERLAND. D.Sc., F.A.A.; PROFESSOR A. H. VOISEY. D.k: PROFESSOR G. 11. SATCHELL. Ph.D.

DIRECTOR: OEI'UTY DIRECTOR:

F. 11. TALBOT. Ph.D.. F.L.S. C. N. SMITHERS. M.Sc., Ph.D.

SCIE!\TIFIC !.TAFF: R. 0. CHALMER�. A.�.T.C .. Curator of Mineral, and Rock,. S. S. CLARK. M.Sc .. A.... �i�tant Curator. Department of Environ:ncntal Studie�. H. G. COGGER. M.�c., Ph.D .. Curator of Reptile; and Amphibians.

H. J. DL • DISNEY. M.A .. Curator of Bird>. M. R. GRAY. M.Sc., A<,;i>tant Curator (Arachnology). D. J. G. GRIFF! . M.Sc.. l'h.D .. Curator of ( ru,t:occan' and Coelenterate,. D. K. McALPINE, M.Sc., Ph.D .. D.I.C.. F.R.E.S.. Assistant Curator of lnsec" and Arachnid�. B. J. MARLOW. B.Sc .. Curator of Mammal,. D. R. MOORE. M.A.. Dip.Anthrop.. Curator of AnthropolO!!Y. J. R. PAXTON. M.Sc .. Ph. D .. Curator of 1-.,hc,. W. F. PONDER. M.�:., Ph.D .. Curator of Mollu>e,. ELIZABETH C. POPE, M.Sc., Curator of \\ orm� and Echinoderms. H. F. RECH ER. Ph.D .. Curator. Department of Environmental Studic'. A. RITCHIE. Ph.D .. Curator of Fossil,. C. N. SMITHERS. M.Sc.. Ph.D .. Curator of ln>ccts and Arachnids. J. P. WHITE, M.A .. l'h.D., A"i\lant Curator of Anthropology, Vacant: As:-.iMam Curator:,hip of Cru')tacean., and Coelenterate�. Vacant: A�sistant Curator�hip of Fishc�.

EDUCATION OFFICER:

PATRICIA M. McDONALD, B.Sc.. M.Ed.

V. C. N. BLIGHT, GOVERNMENT PRINTER. SYD"'EY, N.S.W.