Leucopogon affinis in full bloom yet to attract many insects. Many of these shrubs regrew from rootstock after the fire, but they didn’t flower last year at all.

Bossiaea cordifolia - one of our most widespread and numerous pea shrubs

Dillwynia rudis

Pultenaea linophylla - a low-growing, spreading species with flowers less than 10mm long

Daviesia ulicifolia

Hardenbergia violacea - regrows from roots after fire

Hovea heterophylla - another plant I’ll be watching for visiting bees

Indigofera australis - growing in healthy, dense stands since the fire

Thynnidae

Thynnidae - I use the yellow markings on the thorax to help me distinguish this particular species

Thynnidae

Thynnidae

Thynnidae

Ichneumonidae

Ichneumonidae

Braconidae - a very large family with many orange+black+white species!

Ichneumonidae (I assume) … perhaps Lissonota (?)
see iNaturalist record

Theronia maculosa (see iNaturalist record)

Ichneumonidae

Theronia maculosa (see iNaturalist record)

Ichneumonidae

Echthromorpha intricata (see iNaturalist record)

Ichneumonidae

Echthromorpha intricatoria

Ichneumonidae

a large species I’ve not seen before, thoroughly probing a dead, burnt eucalypt sapling (see iNaturalist record)

Ichneumonidae

Tetratheca pilosa …. although I need to take a close look. There are other candidate species.
family: Eleocarpaceae

Schelhammera undulata … always photogenic
family: Colchicaceae

Hibbertia calycina. We have several Hibbertia species, and some are common. But this species is a new one for our home list, and rarely recorded so close to the coast.
(see iNaturalist record)

Patersonia glabrata … each flower opens in sun and lasts just one day
family: Iridaceae

Solanum vescum (‘Kangaroo Apple’) grew strongly post-fire, and continues to do well this year.
The hover fly is the common species Melangyna viridiceps (see iNaturalist record)

Kennedia rubicunda (‘Dusky Coral Pea’)
family: Fabaceae

a Yellow-faced Honeyeater feeding on Kennedia

Before the fire, these were perhaps one of our most common Summer-visiting birds. But last year, post-fire, we saw very few. It’s nice to see them appearing this Spring in large (and noisy!) numbers.

Another Summer visitor, and also ready to nest. Kind of. Fairy-wrens and other small birds, beware!

The males called through late Winter, so I suspect they’re already nesting

Melangyna viridiceps (‘Common Halfband’) - both widespread and numerous, but photogenic nonetheless
family: Syrphidae
subfamily: Syphinae (‘typical hover flies’)

Cyphipelta rufocyanea - this hovering fly is indeed rather drone-like.
family: Syrphidae (‘hover flies’)
subfamily: Eristralinae (‘drone flies & kin’)

Most species in this family are internal parasites of bees and stinging wasps. This is a group I’m keen to learn more about.
family: Conopidae (see iNaturalist record)

Scaptia (probably) - probing a Pimelea flower with its very long proboscis, and getting covered in pollen in the process
family: Tabanidae (see iNaturalist record)

family Empididae (see iNaturalist record)

Burchardia umbellata - a species that came back strongly post-fire. The first flowers this year have just appeared … time will tell how many more we see.
family: Colchicaceae

Caladenia catenata … just a few flowers so far this year, in contrast to the mass flowering of 2020
family: Orchidaceae

Drosera auriculata … a species I studied (and photographed) extensively last August (see Rainbow Sundews post)
family: Caryophyllales

Drosera auriculata … a species I studied (and photographed) extensively last August (see Rainbow Sundews post)
family: Caryophyllales

Perga sp. - when smaller, these larvae are typically seen in large groups, feeding on leaves. This one was alone, perched atop a burnt and broken tree stem … and largely motionless. Soon to pupate, perhaps. Or even parasitised.
(see iNaturalist record)

Trichocolletes sp. These bees favour pea flowers, Hardenbergia in particular.
family: Colletidae (‘plasterer bees’)
(see iNaturalist record)

Trichocolletes sp. Unlike many of our native bee species, Trichocolletes can easily be mistaken for introduced honey bees. They’re a bit smaller, faster and noisier, however (and much more welcome here in the forest).
family: Colletidae

Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) … also feeding on Hardenbergia
family: Halictidae (‘sweat bees’)
(see iNaturalist record)

Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) … same bee, now cleaning up after her feed
family: Halictidae (‘sweat bees’)
(see iNaturalist record)

Paralucia aurifer … a male, and the first butterfly I’ve sighted this season, feeding on Pimelea (30th August)
family: Lycaenidae

Paralucia aurifer … this sighting made on 3rd September. Again a male, and perhaps the same individual.

Rhitzala modesta (‘Short-winged Heath Grasshopper’) … an alert denizen of small-leaved, woody shrubs. The wings never grow longer than this, so it probably can’t fly!
(see iNaturalist record)

Maratus scutulatus … this little jumping spider is one of the most commonly seen species.
family: Salticidae (see iNaturalist record)

Lampropholis guichenoti (I assume)

Eulamprus heatwolei (‘Yellow-bellied Water Skink) … now active on warm days, particularly after termite swarms!