go

Little Discoveries in the Garden

Danielle Corrie

"There's a beetle!" a little voice said excitedly from beside me.

"There is too. I haven't seen that type of beetle before," I reply looking down at a plant in front of us.

The only brightly coloured beetle I have previously seen is a Christmas beetle. However, this beetle isn't one of those. Christmas beetles have disappeared in recent times, unlike when I was a little girl where they'd fly in the front door on a hot summer's night.

I kneel down to get a closer look at this little beetle, fluorescent green and black striped with a distinct pattern on its back, and quickly take a photo and video of it. At the same time I notice the beetle's determination in trying to balance and stay upright on the stem. This beetle is not giving up. It flaps its wings frantically before retaining its balance once more, then takes one step forward, then another, evading ants at the same time.

This beetle isn't just any beetle. What I have in my garden is an Eupoecila australasiae, native to Eastern Australia and more commonly known as a Fiddler's beetle, due to the pattern on its back resembling a violin.