Pied Lacewing

Pied Lacewing - Porismus strigatus

Noticed a few of these beautiful lacewings in the local bit of bushland yesterday evening so I returned to photograph them this morning. They have a very weak-looking, fluttery flight. Actually found an ID on these guys - Pied Lacewing - Porismus strigatus

Big sucker (part II)

Toxorhynchites speciosus

Had to look way back into the archives to find this photo from 2004, taken on my first DSLR. It's the adult of the species in the previous photo - Toxorhynchites speciosus, the world's largest mosquito. The feathery antennae indicate that this is a male of the species.

Big suckers

It's been a long time since I played with anything like this... These are the rather beautiful larvae of the largest mosquito in the world, a resident of Sydney, Toxorhynchites speciosus. The mozzie itself is large and impressive (I'm sure I have an old photo somewhere...) and harmless to humans. These larvae are dangerous only to the larvae of other mosquito species, which they prey upon. I'd estimate these are getting up around 15 mm.