THE ANCIENT GREENLING Hemiphlebia mirabilis (ODONATA: HEMIPHLEBIIDAE) IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Bryan Haywood ¹ and Reiner Richter ² ¹ Conservation Planner, ForestrySA, PO Box 162, Mt Gambier, SA, 5290 ² PO Box 37, Monbulk VIC 3793 ABSTRACT On the 13 December 2009 the first observation of the Ancient Greenling Hemiphlebia mirabilis occurred for South Australia from the Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park in the far lower south-east of the state. This tiny damselfly was flying in a Twig-rush Baumea arthrophylla swamp fringed with tea-tree (Melaleuca squarrosa and Leptospermum continentale) and was quite abundant. Subsequent observations have occurred in 2010 to 2013 at sites up to 60 km further north-west along the coast and as far-inland as the Mount Burr Range expanding our previous knowledge on distribution. Information is provided about habitat preference, fire history and flight period for South Australia. INTRODUCTION Theischinger and Hawking (2006) produced a comprehensive field guide of the Australian dragonfly fauna for each of the sixteen geographic regions; H. mirabilis was not listed for this region. Richter (2009) discovered a population close to the SA/Vic border in Long Swamp (Discovery Bay Coastal Park) and considered the possibility of its occurrence in South Australia. Hemiphlebia mirabilis is a well-documented species with numerous papers and reports detailing its biology and conservation. In brief, H. mirabilis is a tiny damselfly species of feeble flight and dispersal capabilities. It is usually dark metallic green above and white below (on the head and thorax) and a white appendage at the base of the tail can be observed at rest (Figs 1, 2 & 3). A characteristic of this species is to curl/flick its tail up and down while perched, a behaviour not observed in other damselflies in South Australia. Currently H. mirabilis is not protected by legislation (National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1972) within South Australia but is listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, 1988 in Victoria (Richter, 2009).
Fig. 1: Damsel Fly Hemiphlebia mirabilis ♂. Fig. 2: Damsel Fly Hemiphlebia mirabilis ♀. RESULTS: Since the discovery in the Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park in 2009 (by R. Richter), both authors have visited various parts of south-east South Australia and south-west Victoria and found new colonies. Each site visit ranged from less than 30 minutes to several hours. A map showing the approximate location of all sites can be
42 The South Australian Naturalist Vol. 87, No. 1 seen in Fig. 4. Table 1 summarises all of the sites where H. mirabilis has been found in South Australia, with habitat descriptions for each site.
Fig. 3: Ancient Greenlings H. mirabilis coupling. Photo: Reiner Richter
Fig. 4: Map showing the approximate location of all sites where H. mirabilis has been located in South Australia and south-west Victoria since 2008.
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Table 1: Records of H. mirabilis in South Australia. B. and Gahnia
B. B. M. squamea M. squamea E. ovata E. , , Recent Recent plantation (historically plantation over moist grasses. grasses. over moist over moist grasses. grasses. over moist J. procerus +/- VillarsiaJ. procerus +/- sedgeland fringed with with sedgeland fringed L. continentale L. L. continentale L. M. squarrosa. M. sedgeland fringed with tea-tree. with tea-tree. fringed sedgeland Pinus radiata Melaleuca halmaturorum, serve not threatening larger colony. larger colony. serve threatening not sedgeland surrounded by Eucalyptus ovata Eucalyptus Eucalyptus ovata Eucalyptus
, fringed with with fringed , , fringed with with fringed , Habitat/ CommentsHabitat/ . Drainage works which occurred at this site this site Drainage works which occurred at . fringed by fringed B. juncea B. articulata B. juncea adjacent to to adjacent adjacent to to adjacent woodland). woodland). B. juncea/J. procerus juncea/J. B. B. juncea/Juncus procerus juncea/Juncus B. +/- Eleocharis +/- +/- sphacelata fringe of incl. sedgeland +/-
+/- +/- +/- +/- Juncus krausii sedgeland surrounded by and tea-tree. and tea-tree. and M. squarrosa M. M. squarrosa M. and prescribed fires in eastern re end of prescribed fires by reserve which are dominated the Various swamps within arthrophylla reniformis camaldulensis E. arthrophyllaB. arthrophyllaB. M. squarrosa/L. continentale. squarrosa/L. M. arthrophyllaB. articulata arthrophyllaB. and by reserve which are dominated the Various swamps within arthrophylla trifida site. the at hydrology changed the 1800’s have back late arthrophyllaB. B. arthrophylla/B. juncea arthrophylla/B. B. BH BH BH BH BH RR RR & BH RR & BH Observer/s Observer/s Fire history history Fire Long un-burnt Long un-burnt 1974 Small section in remaining 1983, since 1949 not then 1944, 1983. 1983 Long un-burnt. Small section in remaining 1983, since 1949 not 1974
2 4 2 2 4 <100 <100 100’s 100’s 100’s H. mirabilis Abundance 15 ha <3 ha <2 ha <1 ha >1 ha <2 ha >300 ha >300 ha >300 ha Area of Area wetland/s ) ) ) ) ) Fig. 10 Fig. ) ) ) Fig. 11 Fig. Figs 7 & 8 Figs 12 Fig. Figs 5 & 6 Figs 12 Fig. 7 & 8 Figs 9 Fig. Piccaninnie Ponds CP ( The Marshes NFR ( Lyon NFR Mt ( Brooksby Lane Brooksby Lane Swamp ( Location Location Lake Frome CP ( Lyon NFR Mt ( The Marshes NFR ( Whennen NFR ( Date 27 Dec. 2009 4 Jan. 2010 23 Nov. 2010 22 Dec. 2010 22 Dec. 2010 12 Dec. 2010 13 Dec. 2010 18 Jan. 2013
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Figs 5 & 6: Habitat in the Lake Frome Conservation Park.
Figs 7 & 8: Habitat in The Marshes, Native Forest Reserve.
Fig. 9: Habitat in Whennen NFR. Fig. 10: Brooksby Lane Swamp partly surrounded by plantation.
Fig. 11: Piccaninnie Ponds CP. Fig. 12: Mount Lyon NFR habitat. January–June 2013 45
The flight period for H. mirabilis in South Australia has been observed to be as shown in Table 2. In Victoria it is known to fly from late November through to late February (New, 2007). Table 2: Flight period for H. mirabilis in South Australia. November December January
Two specimens of H. mirabilis were caught in The Marshes NFR (in 2010) and provided to the South Australian Museum (SAMA 07-001305 and SAMA 07- 001306). DISCUSSION It is clear that breeding populations of H. mirabilis do exist within South Australia with sizable populations found in Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park and The Marshes Native Forest Reserve (see Table 1). The SA populations represent the extreme limit of the southern Australian population and, as such should be the focus of a conservation assessment with legislative protection and management. Further surveys are warranted to increase the number of records and to further delineate the species’ range, and habitats (including vegetation structure and composition). With improvements to invertebrate field identification guides, land managers should be encouraged to instigate wetland surveys to evaluate species diversity (New, 2007) to ascertain the distribution of this species and others that may be of conservation significance. In SA, populations are clearly fragmented (and in most cases small and isolated) so although H. mirabilis appears to be a resilient species, it may not be to large scale disturbance i.e. habitat loss, wildfire and/or structural changes due to its feeble flight/dispersal capabilities (New, 2007). The small numbers observed in the Mount Burr Range (Whennen NFR, Brooksby Lane and Mount Lyon NFR) may be attributed to the small wetland size and/or a slow recovery since the drought conditions experienced from 2006 to 2008. Monitoring would be important to establish where minor populations occur to ascertain longevity at these sites and to understand whether habitat change is contributing to declines especially during drought conditions and/or post-wildfires. In the meantime, individual site/colony management will be imperative to the long term survival of H. mirabilis in SA and south-west Victoria. Management could involve prevention of major change in habitat structure and/or intrusion of noxious weeds and wildfire prevention. Hydrological improvements although not imperative in every case should be investigated where possible as a reduction in the hydrological condition of a wetland could be contributing to the encroachment of woody vegetation (including Blackberry, Tea-tree, Sallow and Coastal Wattle) within and surrounding Baumea sedgelands, potentially making the habitat less suitable. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Ian Endersby and Wendy Goodchild for help in sourcing information. Darren Herpich and Glenn Jackway from DEWNR, South East for fire history information for Piccaninnie Ponds and Lake Frome sites. Peter Hudson, Senior Collection Manager, Entomology, South Australian Museum for accepting the specimens and providing the specimen numbers.
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REFERENCES New, T.R. (2007). The Hemiphlebia damselfly Hemiphlebia mirabilis Selys (Odonata: Zygoptera) as a flagship species for aquatic insect conservation in south-eastern Australia. The Victorian Naturalist 124(4): 269–272. Richter, R. (2009). Discovery of New Population of Hemiphlebia mirabilis (Ancient Greenling). Victorian Entomologist, 39(2): 27–29. Theischinger, G. and Hawking, J.H. (2006). The complete field guide to Dragonflies of Australia. CSIRO, Melbourne.
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