Category: Locations

Holey Plains State Park.

This park covers 10,638 hectares and is one of the richest and most diverse areas of native vegetation in the Victorian parks system, with well over five hundred species recorded. It is a valuable reserve of the eucalypt and banksia woodland that has been extensively cleared for other purposes, including pine plantations that abut the park in several locations. Of the nine eucalypt species in the park, E. willisii, the Shining Peppermint that can be seen growing growing on the South Boundary Track is an interesting occurrence.

Typical mixed eucalypt woodland.

Banksia serrata with a rich understory of Xanthorrhoea australis.

Soils are largely sandy, in low ridges, and there is a total of twenty six wetlands with no permanent streams, although Merriman’s Creek forms a boundary to the south. The standout plant is the rare and restricted Wellington Mint-bush, Prostanthera galbraithiae,  that often grows in company with Boronia anemonifolia.

Prostanthera galbraithiae.

Boronia anemonifolia.

Two broad oil and gas pipeline easements bisect the park, and there are firebreaks cleared to protect the pines, where heathland plants that have been largely choked out by rampant bracken growth in much of the park, maintain a foothold, eg. Tetratheca and Hibbertia species.

Tetratheca pilosa.

Hibbertia stricta.

As a consequence of the vegetation diversity, the moth fauna is also rich and diverse, and  many notable records have been made there during the last few years, including a new record for the state, Chloroclystis metallospora, collected in the south pipeline easement by Ken Harris in February 2012. Another good record made at the same location and time was Coequosa triangularis, the Triangle Hawk Moth, a species more likely to be encountered in the far east of the state. The larvae feed on the foliage of Banksias, including B. serrata, common in the park.

The Noctuid Thysanoplusia orichalcea, sub family Plusiinae,  was first recorded in Queensland in 1976, and has since been extending its range. This was one of the first few Victorian records, photographed in the park in April 2012, it is an agricultural pest.

Another Noctuid was also a good record, Paonidia anthracias, sub family Hypeninae, photographed in December 2012. At the time there was just one Victorian record on the barcoding site at the Australian National Insect Collection, tagged for the Otways, and this was the first record east of that location.

Holey Plains has been good for quite a number of uncommon Geometrids, including the following two that extended the known range.

Nisista galearia.

Nisista notodontaria.

Another Nisista, named sp. (4) in MOV 5 came to the light in September 2012, it was the first record from this part of the state.

There are few Victorian  records of (Tephrosia) exesaria, and the distribution is uncertain, it may be confined to the east of the state. Victorian flight records are in January, February, April and November. (MOV 7)
The male and female below were photographed in April 2012.

Male.

Female.

All the above Geometrids are from the sub family Ennominae, this beautiful Emerald, Eucyclodes buprestaria, the Bordered Emerald is from the sub family Geometrinae. It was photographed in the southern pipeline easement in March 2015. The larval food plants of this moth include the Dodders, Cassytha species.

And to conclude, something quite different, a False Plume Moth, Tineodes adactylalis, one of eleven Australian species in the family Tineodidae, and not often encountered. Photographed in the park in January 2012. Nothing is known of its biology.

The above are just a small fraction of the rich moth fauna of Holey Plains State Park, a place that deserves the utmost in care and conservation for all its flora and fauna.

Click images to enlarge.

References and further reading.
P Marriott,
M Hewish,
Moths of Victoria Volumes 4, 5, and 7,
A Guide to Australian Moths.

 

Glenmaggie.

The typical forest of the higher ground around Lake Glenmaggie is box/ironbark, ie. Eucalyptus polyanthemos and tricarpa, with E. macroryncha. There is a property by the lake with this forest type that has not been burnt for over fifty years, and consequently is very open. The understory includes the occasional Exocarpos cupressiformis, restricted patches of the ubiquitous Kunzea ericoides, with Acacia pycnantha, and lower to the ground, Stypandra glauca, Platysace lanceolata, and Hibbertia obtusifolia to name a few. The terrestrial orchid population is  quite rich with Caleana major, Paracaleana minor, Calochilus paludosus, Diuris sulphurea, Thelymitra ixioides, and Caladenias catenata, carnea and fuscata to name some of the more eye catching species. When this country is burnt it quickly becomes almost impenetrable, due to profuse regeneration of the Golden Wattle and Burgan, and much of the orchid flora is choked out.

Close to the lake this vegetation grades into the red gum country of the submerged Macalister River valley. The ground flora found there includes heathland plants like Grass Trigger Plant, Bulbine and Chocolate Lilies,  with Pterostylis species, and occurrences of Grevillea lanigera, and Cryptandra amara, both latter species unfortunately declining.

The moth fauna in the block has proved to be abundant and diverse, thanks largely to the fact that it has escaped bushfire for so long, and some worthwhile records have been made during several surveys. The last occasion was in early May when the magnificent autumn flying Batwing Moth, Chelepteryx collesi (Anthelidae) is on the wing, and they didn’t disappoint with a number of males coming in to the light during the session.

Also to the light in numbers was another autumn flying species, Fisera hypoleuca, (Nacophorini), females except for one male, identified by its pectinate antennae.

Female.

Male.

Continuing with autumn flying moths in the Nacophorini, male and female Smyriodes trigramma, the female is quite different to the male.

Male

Female

Plesanemma fucata is a lovely moth.

The next moth is another to which a name cannot be confidently applied, it is a Stibaroma species, and in MOV 5 it is designated (sp 1). Again a male moth, the larvae feed on eucalypt foliage as do the larvae of all the above moths.

And lastly in this group, Thalaina selenaea, the plain-winged form. Another form with a diagonal line on the wings is of more westerly distribution. The pose in this  photograph is not the norm, but is featured for its humorous aspect. The larvae of this moth feed on wattle foliage.

The next moth is another Geometrid, an Emerald, Chlorocoma assimilis, (Geometrinae) it can be identified by its plain wings, the red tinge on the shoulder and tip of the leading edge of the fore wing, and the yellow dorsal stripe.

The last moth in this autumn collection from the box/ironbark is a small Nolid that has the characteristics of Nola pleurosema, (Nolinae) but with colour differences.

All moths photographed during this session can be seen here.

References.
P Marriott
M Hewish
Moths of Victoria Volumes 2, 4, and 5.

Click images to enlarge.