Epacris impressa (Common Heath) put on an impressive flowering display from early May but this has now waned.

Epacris impressa comes in a range of colours - all the same species though.

Epacris impressa provided a welcome source of nectar for Eastern Spinebills over the winter.

Styphelia ericoides (Pink Beard-heath) belongs to the same family as Epacris impressa. The first flowers opened in mid July, but most plants looked like this at that time - with their pink closed buds.

By mid August most Styphelia ericoides flowers had opened, displaying their bearded corolla tips. They are an absolute bee magnet.

Leucopogon affinis (Lance Beard-heath) began to open a week or two after Styphelia ericoides. It has similar shaped flowers which are also visited by a host of insects.

Caladenia catenata (White Fingers) - our second orchid for the season appeared a week ago.

Viola hederacea (Ivy-leaf Violet) covers large patches of the forest floor.

Bossiaea cordifolia (Showy Bossiaea) has been flowering since early August - the first of a suite of forest plants in the family Fabaceae (peas/legumes) to bloom.

Pultenaea linophylla, a similar looking yellow and red pea to Bossiaea, began flowering just a couple of days ago.

Daviesia ulicifolia (Gorse Bitter Pea), like many peas with yellow and red/brown flowers, is often called an “egg and bacon” plant. It grows as a spiky, low bush. Handle with care!

Hardenbergia violacea (Purple Coral-pea) has been flowering for a couple of weeks. It is a climber, twining around the stems of other plants - including the trunks of fire-killed wattles and casuarinas.

Hovea heterophylla (Common Hovea) began to bloom a week ago. It generally grows as a low, straggling shrub.

Glycine clandestine (Twining Glycine) is another climbing pea, seen here twining around a Banksia leaf. Its flower is much smaller than our other Fabaceae.

The white flowers of Rhytidosporum procumbens (White Marianth), a low growing herb, have appeared in many spots in the forest over the past week.

Drosera auriculata (Tall Sundew) is beginning to flower. A rapidly growing population of small insects provides nutrition for these carnivorous plants.

By far the most dominant plant in the forest undergrowth is Pimelea linifolia linifolia. Its common name Queen of the Bush is very appropriate! This species began flowering in early autumn and is still going strong.

Tetratheca pilosa latifolia (Pink-Bells) is found in open areas of the forest and has just begun to bloom.

A new plant for our home list! We first sighted Logania albiflora (Narrow-leaf Logania) just a few days ago, growing in a rocky area just above the banks of the river. While widespread, it is apparently uncommon.

Zieria smithii (Sandfly Zieria) is another low bush growing on the banks of the river.

Hibbertia calycina (Lesser Guinea Flower), one of several Hibbertia species found in our forest, is clearly a fire responder. We have seen many more plants this year than before the Jan 2020 Border Fire. It began flowering 3 weeks ago.

Hibbertia aspera aspera (Rough Guinea Flower) is a widespread low shrub in the forest.

Hibbertia dentata (Twining Guinea Flower) grows as a vine along the forest floor or up the stems of other plants. It began flowering about 3 weeks ago.

Stypandra glauca (Nodding Blue Lily) grows profusely on the banks of the river and has been flowering for at least a week. It is another fire responder, as just a few plants were present before the Jan 2020 fire.

Stackhousia monogyna (Creamy Candles) is a widespread forb in open areas of the forest. Its flowers have just begun to open.

The perfect segue! A Red-tipped Crab Spider (Sidymella rubrosignata) nicely camouflaged at the top of a Stackhousia flower. The flower attracts the insects, the spider eats them.

Some of the flowers of Coronidium elatum (Tall Everlasting) plants have now opened fully.

March flies (family Tabanidae) like this Scaptia sp. enjoy a feed of nectar.

Scaptia also enjoys a feed of human blood. This one is attempting to gain access to Kerri’s toes.

The Pimelea flowers attract other flies such as this Tangle-veined Fly (family Nemestrinidae). I reckon this one is Trichophthalma laetilinea.

While they superficially resemble March flies, Tangle-veined flies don’t share their blood-sucking habits. They just feed on nectar.

Our first butterfly for the Spring! Sighted just 2 days ago, this Bright Copper (Paralucia aurifer) is another fan of Pimelea flowers.

Our second butterfly for the spring - a Varied Dusky-Blue (Erina hyacinthina). This one is taking nectar from Bossiaea cordifolia.

Hover Flies, like this Common Halfband (Melangyna viridiceps) are a common visitor to the spring flowers. They are important pollinators.

This wasp (family Braconidae) was not feeding at this Pimelea flower. It lacks the long proboscis needed to extract the nectar. It was probably just resting here.

We usually see braconid wasps flying around looking for a caterpillar or other insect larva to parasitise. They inject eggs into the host using an ovipositor, which is seen projecting from the end of the abdomen.

Flower Wasps (subfamily Thynninae) definitely do take nectar from flowers - or at least the male does. A male is seen here carrying a flightless female. Confused? Kerri has given the FULL story about these wasps in a blog post. Click HERE to read it.

Another view of a male Flower Wasp with his coupled mate. Everyday we see more and more of these wasps.

A wasp from a different family - Ichneumonidae

Stuff is happening down at ground level as well. This insect Paratettix argillaceus belongs to the family Tetrigidae. While it looks like a grasshopper, it is only distantly related to them. I’ve seen only one species in our forest but it comes in a range of colours and patterns. Click HERE to see them.

This is a true grasshopper, family Acrididae - perhaps Rhitzala modesta. It is a young nymph, which may have hatched from the egg quite recently.

Beetles are reappearing. This one Lemodes coccinea belongs to the family Anthicidae, Ant-like Flower Beetles.

We’ve seen moths fluttering around the forest floor for some days. We found this one, Anthela acuta on a window sill. It belongs to the family Anthelidae.

I found this cossid moth Culama suffusca on the house wall on the same night (August 29th) we ran a lightsheet. I scored 21 different moth species on that night. So they’re back!

This wolf spider Venatrix mckayi was seen scrambling around on the forest floor.