Callipappus australis
Callipappus australis, commonly known as the bird of paradise fly,[1] is a species of scale insect in the family Callipappidae. It is native to Australia where it occurs in Queensland and New South Wales.[2]
Bird of paradise fly | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hemiptera |
Suborder: | Sternorrhyncha |
Family: | Callipappidae |
Genus: | Callipappus |
Species: | C. australis |
Binomial name | |
Callipappus australis (Maskell, 1890) | |
![](../I/Bird_of_Paradise_Fly.jpg.webp)
Description
The bird of paradise fly exhibits sexual dimorphism. The adult female is up to about 2 cm (0.8 in) in length and a dark bluish-black or purplish colour. It is an elongated oval in shape with a plump, domed appearance. It has three pairs of legs, but no wings. The adult male in contrast is much smaller and resembles a fly. It has a slender, violet-coloured body, three pairs of legs, a pair of translucent wings and a tuft of long glassy white waxen filaments protruding from the tip of the abdomen.[2]
Distribution
This species of scale insect is native to Australia where it occurs in Queensland and New South Wales.[2]
Biology
Adult males and females emerge from the ground in the autumn. The female climbs up a tree, post or any other vertical surface and this is where mating takes place. After mating, the female attaches herself to a surface and invaginates her abdomen, creating a "marsupium" in which she lays a batch of eggs. She dies soon thereafter, her cuticle making a leathery protective casing for the eggs. The first instar nymphs, known as crawlers, descend to the ground and attach themselves to the roots of plants by inserting their piercing mouthparts. A waxen cyst forms around them. Their plant hosts include Banksia and probably Xanthorrhoea and other mallee, woodland and heathland plants.[1] The feeding stages live entirely underground, sucking sap from roots, but their range of host plants has not been fully elucidated;[3] the type specimens were found on the trunk of Angophora, but it is quite likely that this is not a host plant, and merely provides an elevated position for breeding activities.[2]
References
- Gullian, P.J. & Brookes, H.M. (1998). "Giant females and bird‐of‐paradise flies: Notes on the biology of Callipappus Guérin‐Méneville (Hemiptera: Margarodidae)". Austral Entomology. 37 (1): 2–7. doi:10.1111/j.1440-6055.1998.tb01534.x.
- "Callipappus australis". ScaleNet. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- Miller, D.; Rung, A.; Parikh, G.; Venable, G.; Redford, A.J.; Evans, G.A. & Gill, R.J. (1 April 2014). "Callipappidae". Scale Insects. Retrieved 19 January 2020.