We were hanging out the washing and it was hanging out on the wall

We wondered what species this was and were able to find it owing to the disctinctive colour and marking on the wings.

What can I say, this is only one of millions of individuals hanging out on the island this summer

Walking down the garden path, spotted on a bucket in 2024. (No 2024 option in date part)

The Assassin Bug stabs its prey and injects it with an enzyme that dissolves the inner orgbans. The liquid matter left is sucked out, leaving only a shell!

Write about your encounter here

For years I have admired the curly light lines on the sandstone rocks on and around the island. I didn't know who made these beautiful drawings until I read that it was the work of the Red triangle slug which lives off a diet of moss, algae and mould. I wondered why the slugs I had seen all go up the Red cedar tree in our garden at night. Years later I read that that they go to the tops of trees to meet other slugs, a place to date and mate. Then, mission accomplished they return to lay their eggs around the tree's trunk. To add to this they are both male and female, haemaphorite, like the Leopard slug. Like the Leopard slugs the Red triangle slugs circle around each other before getting entwined and popping out their genitals to exchange sperm. Leopard slugs do this on the end on a long thick cord of slime that they make to suspend themselves from an overhanging rock or other vertical surface. A great way to ensure there's no interruptions. To protect themselves from predators like frogs, bats, birds or reptiles they secrete a strong super glue like slime that slows down the hunters and allows them to get away.

The way the net-casting spider catches its meals is amazing. It will spin a fuzzy web that expands when the net is cast from between its front legs. The spider waits till a cockroach, moth, ant or other insect comes close to its net. It can make special smells to attract the right sized insect meal to it and even places white target marks on its net to help its accuracy when casting its net like rings on a darts board. It is also a multi tasker as it can eat its catch while spinning the next web.

Enormous number of these small bettles are crawling over palnts nad grass and flying in the air. They've been living in the soil and have all just become airborne to mate.

I was coming home from a long day but couldn’t fail to notice this iridescent blue bug on the path. I dropped my bags, took a photo and then carried on with the carrying business.

I used the Australian Museum website to identify and name the species. Weevils have such a bad name but there are so many and some are quite pretty.