Bush Bites

Bites and stings

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This article and accompanying photos were kindly provided by Ed Frazer (August 2017), who has lived in the district for 45 years and is well known for his award-winning photos of birds on his Brookfield property.

Working in the bush has its hazards and biting creatures are one of the most painful and frequent! We have quite a few that you might encounter in the Moggill Creek Catchment.


Which is the worst? Well they have all had a go at me and this is my list rating from one to ten. What is your experience?


1. Midges:   Don’t really sting, but they certainly itch!
2. Bees:   Sting doesn’t last, but a problem if you are allergic
3. Hairy caterpillar:   Hurt and cause a rash that hangs around 
4. Scorpions:   The ones with the small pincers are the worst
5. Large paper wasp:   Sting is severe but doesn’t last long unless a lot get you
6. Jumping spider:   Bite is not the problem – the toxin rots the flesh from some bites
7. Small paper wasp:    Hurt more than the bigger ones and last longer too
8. Assassin bugs:   Really hurt and last a long time and the flesh around the sting rots
9. Bull ants:   One you’ll remember for a very long time …
10. Bullrout (in the creeks):  This one is a lifer – you’ll never forget it !!!

Hints and tips

Clothing

Wearing suitable clothing and using insect repellent helps avoid trouble.

Treatment

Ice, hot packs, vinegar, calamine lotion – nothing really works for me, but it can help distract you from the pain.

Anaphylactic reaction

Can be a serious problem for a small number of people. Get an ambulance – don’t muck around. 
Carry an Epipen if you know you may have a problem.

Ropalida romandi. I haven’t been stung by this little Yellow Paper Wasp and don’t care to!
 It swarms and chases intruders and stings multiple times with a very nasty sting.
Usually it is high in a tree, but can be attached to the walls of a house.
The entrance is at the bottom of the nest.

Dragonflies

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It’s winter as I write this and it won’t be long now before the Dragonflies and Damselflies start appearing.

They are a good indicator of the health of our creeks, dams and other waterways around the Moggill Creek Catchment.

There are a few species that breed in rather polluted water, but most species in the Catchment prefer water that is fertile enough that it supports the worms and insects that the larvae feed on, but clean enough that there is plenty of oxygen.

The adults will hatch out from early Spring to late Summer. It’s the adults that you will see flying around, often even quite a long way from the water. I see large numbers up our hill early in the morning, sitting on the tops of the grass stalks or on the Lantana, drying off the dew on their wings in the early morning sun.

As the day warms they then patrol the grasses and shrubs catching small moths, midges and, hopefully, any mozzies to fuel up before they return to Gold Creek to mate. Individual males patrol their own patch of creek and defend it with interesting aerial dogfights. Some pairs, especially of Damselflies, go about laying eggs in tandem flight.

The eggs of both Dragonflies and Damselflies hatch into voracious ugly nymphs that eat worms, aquatic insects, tadpoles and even small fish and may take from a few months to three years to emerge as the beautiful Dragonfly we see. Damselflies are reasonably similar in behaviour, but quite a bit smaller. 

Dragonfly larvae are a most important food source for creek life. They are eaten by everything from platypus and water rats to water dragons, eels, fish and wading birds. They are a hugely important natural food for Trout and fresh water Bass.

  Graphic Flutterer 
 Pale Hunter  
  Red and Blue Damselfly 
 Scarlet Percher  
  Yellow-Striped Flutterer 

All images supplied by Ed

Check out our Dragonfly Identification List to see even more of our stunning local dragonflies!

Stick insects

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We have several stick insect species in the Moggill Creek Catchment living on a variety of trees and shrubs.
Nearly every winter we get a few Pacific Bazas (Crested Hawks), that come down from the higher land West of the Great Divide to feast on the various stick insects.

The Baza is the only hawk that doesn’t cause the local birds to make the usual fuss when they see a bird of prey as they seem to know Bazas only eat the stick insects and never baby birds.

This photo is of a pair of Spiny Leaf Stick Insects mating. The male is much smaller one and has a short lifespan – about 8 months, while the female will live about 18 months – that’s if the Baza doesn’t find her!