Praying Mantis nymphs

Praying Mantis nymphs under observation by junior field naturalists at Mt Lyndhurst. These day old nymphs look like adult mantids but have no wings or reproductive organs. The egg sac, or ootheca, is 3cm long and the nymphs are approximately 1cm. If the nymphs are not separated soon, they may start cannibalising each other in their second instar.

Butterfly breeding at the Leigh Creek Library

The Leigh Creek School Community Library in the Northern Flinders Ranges is hosting a live display of locally cultivated Milkweed plants that are home to a dynamic microcosmic world of Milkweed Aphids, Ladybugs, Australian Lesser Wanderer Butterfly caterpillars and more. The insect lifecycles have captured the imagination of many people in the community, young and old.

The installation has tied in with STEM and English studies at the school, and has already expanded into host and nectar plant cultivation in the school nursery, and an outdoor butterfly enclosure. The project has also grown to include the emergence of various Hawk-moths and other insects found in the local area.

The star of the show, however, has been the stunning Australian Lesser Wanderer Butterflies, which after pupating in surprising places around the library are emerging day by day in the Library.

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