Alum Cliffs,  Dec 2009
 We walked along the Alum Cliffs Track from Taronga Rd to the mouth of Browns River at Kingston, where we wound-up the club's activities for the year with a barbeque.
 

 

One of our first sightings was this huge 40cm Blue-tongue lizard.

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A tiny Mountain Dragon.

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Stenoderus suturalis (Cerambycidae), a longicorn beetle.

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Fly.

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We came upon a wasp and Huntsman spider fighting. The wasp (Auplopus sp.) quickly won, and proceeded to neatly lop off all the spider's legs, before dragging away the body.

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Pseudolycus rufipennis beetle (Oedemeridae), which mimics the toxic Lycid beetle Porrostoma rhipidius, to reduce its likelihood of being eaten.

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Carrion beetle larva Ptomaphila lacrymosa (Silphidae) which feeds on maggots.

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Golden stag beetle Lamprima aurata (Lucanidae).        GF

Most adult stag beetles only feed on liquids and live off the fat stored when they were a larva feeding
 in rotting logs. Lamprima species, however, eat eucalypt leaves and can sometimes defoliate trees.

 

Photos by Abbey Throssell, Geoff Fenton