Friday, March 25, 2011

Reply from the Museum

Last weekend I sent a message to the museum asking about my unidentified grasshopper.

Today I received a reply:


"Thank you for contacting the Discovery Centre at Melbourne Museum with your enquiry.

We have contacted the Entomologist with your enquiry, and she has provided the following information for you:

                I agree it is spur-throated locust Austracris guttulosa.  
A Guide to Grasshoppers and Locusts (Rentz, Lewis, Su and Upton 2003) notes that this locust will venture south into localities where it cannot successfully breed during outbreak years. It is found in Northern Vic according to the distribution map in the book.

I hope the above information interests you, and if we can provide any further assistance please don’t hesitate to contact us again."


So how about that?  We were right.


Meanwhile in the garden, one of my callistemons is flowering again, keeping the bees happy.


3 comments:

Dee said...

So, you were right! It's nice to know I can contact them for identification purposes. Thanks for letting us know.

kaiteM said...

beautiful pic of the callistemon, which one is it, do you know?

Vireya said...

Sorry, Kaite, I don't know which callistemon this one is. I know it is not King's Park Special, if that helps at all!

Dee, to ask an identification question at the museum, this is the page:
http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/ask-us-a-question/identifications/