Minds & Hearts & Bugs Jessa Thurman

Minds & Hearts &Bugs

Fulbright Scholar Jessa Thurman (Homo sapiens) is an entomologist from a small part of Arkansas who came to Australia in order to pursue her passion for studying insects.

She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Queensland, investigating how we can decrease our usage of pesticides to save farmers' personal health and economic wellbeing, alongside decreasing the negative impact we have on the environment.

Jessa's other passion is photography, and for this issue, she wanted to share three symbiotic stories featuring insects and their host plants.

THE WOOLY RAMBUTAN (Alectryon tomentosus)

is an Australian rainforest tree that is commonly used by revegetation groups. And thankfully so for Stilida indecora, a large bug that feeds on this plant.

This bug can carry out its entire life cycle on the Wooly Rambutan, mating, laying large clutches of eggs, guarding over the eggs and young nymphs, then letting the nymphs disperse.

Several predators feed on the numerous nymphs produced by Stilida indecora, but some of these cute bugs make it to adulthood in the end.

can feed on a variety of Citrus Trees. With tastes which resemble our own, we often consider these large native bugs to be pests.

The most reliable way to find several of them is to have a Citrus Tree which is stressed. The plant volatiles emitted by the tree can attract the bugs to come feed on it, and alert you to a plant in need.

It's thought that the Sundew Bug helps the plant, as it feeds on items that the plant cannot fully consume.

While most Mirids are known as pests that feed on and cause damage to plants, the Sundew Bug is unique, with many species currently undescribed.

THE SUNDEW BUG

(Setocoris sp.; Miridae)

is named after its home on the FORKED SUNDEW, Drosera binata.

These sundews can grow in nutrient-poor soils since they are carnivorous plants. They catch insects with their attractive and sticky stalked glands, and once an insect is captured, the sundew digests its prey. The Sundew Bug takes advantage of this relationship, navigating around the plant's traps and feeding on the captured prey.

THE CARNIVAL BUG

(Peltocopta crassiventris)

is a hidden wonder in Australian rainforests. These bugs can be found on the underside of their soft-leaved host tree, Mallotus discolor.

The female Carnival Bug is pale in color, helping her camouflage on the underside of the leaves, while the male is brightly colored. The cause and role of this sexual dimorphism is not well understood in these bugs, but it can only be observed in the summer months when the bugs are adults. This species overwinters as nymphs, which are transparent, flat, and nearly invisible.

As for their common name, I made it up! This species is normally only known to entomologists, since it is rare and difficult to find.

THE MALLOTUS HARLEQUIN BUG

(Cantao parentum)

is another summer delight, but one that can be found around city suburbs on the RED KAMALA TREE (Mallotus philippensis).

The Red Kamala Tree has lovely red fruits that this bug feeds on and resembles. The tree is 13 commonly planted in cities and is thankfully a native host plant that supports some of our local bugs.