This particular tree which is a Hibiscus with yellow flowers, attracts a form of bug that Wayne calls 'Ladybirds'. In fact Brisbane ladybirds look pretty much like British ones and perform a similar function for the plant, namely feeding in one form or another on the bugs that eat the plant. One such ladybird is called the Mealybug ladybird, and it lays its eggs with the eggs of the Mealybug. The gestation period of the Ladybird is shorter, and it hatches with a fierce appetite for.....Mealybug larvae...Nice. As it turns out, these bugs that the girls were pulling off the tree are called Harlequin bugs, and they come in lots of varieties of two basic colour schemes. The males are blue with orange spots and the females are orange with blue spots. Canny that eh? But far from serving a similar function to the Ladybird, they actually suck the juice out of the plant. We saw the ants having a passing nip but not really moving them on.
Another couple of Brisbane bugs that we've not seen but are part of this family are the 'Metallic Shield' bug:
and the 'Green Jewel' bug:
I've tried to put some of the bugs we've found into a box so that i can pin them to a display at some point, and the Girls keep finding dead ones for my 'collection'. But as yet, every time i find an unusual one, and put into a container, I feel bad about it and let it go. Don't think I'm going to get much of a collection. I might try to get a butterfly net though if I see one. Crocodile Chris I'm not!
A temporary home for 'spot'...
The ants got this one....
Later on Saturday, we went to the circus. I don't remember having been to a circus, so if I have Mum, put me right. Anyway, I duty fully took my camera, thinking 'Blog' of course....and it ran out of battery very early on. So you've only got a few pics of this, instead of the choice ones that I'd imagined that you'd have of fantastic feats of daring. As it happens, it WAS a fantastic display, although some of the acts were a bit tired. The Lion tamer was so on top of his job that Andrew commented on his demeanor to Daile, saying; 'Looks like he's getting a lot of job satisfaction eh?'. On the other hand, the man that you see holding the balloons was the star of the show, performing with acrobat kids, juggling with fire and all the usual, plus an award winning troupe of dogs that he had. Anyway the kids all loved it, and that was great.
Tomorrow we're off to the airport (Daile and I), and we've got to get up at 3.45 as she's flying down to see here sister Leanne in Newcastle. The kids have got little 'I love you' bits of paper that they'll find over the 3 days that she's away. Nice when she does that sort of thing....such a nice Mum. They always love it when they come across one.
Better go, or I'll not wake up. :-)
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