Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are approximately 500 to 700 species worldwide. They can range in size from 1 to 12 mm. Key characteristics for adults are round oval shaped bodies covered in scales or setae. The usually clubbed antennae fit into deep grooves. The hind femora also fit into recesses of the coxa. Larvae are scarabaeiform and also have setae.
The Wongai ningaui, a common name of Ningaui ridei, is a tiny carnivorous marsupial native to the arid open grasslands of inland Australia. Their diet is mainly small insects, and occasionally larger prey such as spiders, grasshoppers and cockroaches, which they forage for at the ground and in clumps of spinifex. They have long and untidy fur, grey or gingery brown with longer black hairs, small ears, a narrow muzzle, and possess a partially prehensile tail and feet that allow them to climb. The population occurs sparsely across a wide area and common in favourable habitat, especially in years of good rainfall. Ningaui ridei was first described in 1975, one of two species of a new genus discovered amongst the poorly known mammals of the western regions of Australia.
Oecophylla smaragdina is a species of arboreal ant found in tropical Asia and Australia. These ants form colonies with multiple nests in trees, each nest being made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by the ant larvae: hence the name 'oecophylla' [Greek for 'leaf-house'].
Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences.
Lordithon lunulatus is a rove beetle. It is a common insect in Europe. The mature adult is about 5 millimetres long. It has distinctively patterned elytra - these are shiny black with pale patches at the outer front corners, and a pale margin at the rear. The thorax is broader at the rear, narrower at the front, shining and reddish brown. The head is long and shiny. The abdomen is largely reddish-brown, but the two rear segments are black. It is covered is pale hairs, and has black setae on its lateral margins. The legs are yellow, and the tarsi are elongated, with five segments on each. The antennae have eleven segments — the first to fourth, and the last are yellow; the others black.
Chrysolopus spectabilis is a species of weevil found in south-eastern Australia. It was discovered during James Cook's first voyage, and became one of the first insects to be described from Australia. The weevil measures up to 25 mm (1.0 in) long and includes distinctive metallic green and black scales. It is found only on 28 species of the plant genus Acacia.
Macrodactylus subspinosus is a North American beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. The members of this genus are known as "rose chafers", not to be confused with the European "rose chafer", Cetonia aurata. M. subspinosus occurs from Eastern Canada to Colorado and is considered a pest of many crops and flowers. It is given its common name of rose chafer because it eats the leaves of roses, although it also feeds on many other plants.
Mitopus morio is a species of harvestman belonging to the family Phalangiidae.
Home-stored product entomology is the study of insects which infest foodstuffs stored in the home. It deals with the prevention, detection and eradication of the pests. The five major categories of insects considered in this article are flour beetles, the drugstore beetle, the sawtoothed grain beetle, the Indianmeal moth and fruit flies.
Mezium americanum, the American spider beetle or black spider beetle, is a species of beetle in the subfamily Ptininae, the spider beetles. These are sometimes mistaken for spiders or mites because of their rounded abdomens and long legs. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, but it is an exotic species in Australia.
Novius cardinalis is a species of ladybird beetle native to Australia. It was formerly placed in the genus Rodolia, but that genus was synonymized under the genus Novius in 2020.
Clytra laeviuscula, the ant bag beetle, is a species of short-horned leaf beetles belonging to the family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Cryptocephalinae.
Carrhotus xanthogramma is a species of 'jumping spiders' belonging to the family Salticidae.
Portia fimbriata, sometimes called the fringed jumping spider, is a jumping spider found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Adult females have bodies 6.8 to 10.5 millimetres long, while those of adult males are 5.2 to 6.5 millimetres long. Both sexes have a generally dark brown carapace, reddish brown chelicerae ("fangs"), a brown underside, dark brown palps with white hairs, and dark brown abdomens with white spots on the upper side. Both sexes have fine, faint markings and soft fringes of hair, and the legs are spindly and fringed. However, specimens from New Guinea and Indonesia have orange-brown carapaces and yellowish abdomens. In all species of the genus Portia, the abdomen distends when the spider is well fed or producing eggs.
Lagria hirta is a species of beetles in the family Tenebrionidae.
Anthrenocerus australis is a species of beetle belonging to the Dermestidae family. It is commonly known as the Australian carpet beetle and is one of the most researched of the thirty-one species in the Anthrenocerus genus. This is generally attributed to its prevalence throughout Australia and New Zealand and the negative economic and agricultural impact it has as a pest. It is the larvae that causes damage to products, not the adult beetle. The total life cycle of this insect is around three years, most of which is spent as a larva. Once the beetle reaches maturity, it only lives for between two and six weeks.
Apoderus coryli, common name hazel-leaf roller weevil, is a species of leaf-rolling beetles belonging to the family Attelabidae subfamily Attelabinae. Because of the trunk-like elongated head, it is often mistakenly attributed to the weevils.
Atrax yorkmainorum is a venomous species of Australian funnel-web spider belonging to the Atracidae family and is found in forests in the vicinity of Canberra and south-eastern New South Wales. The genus Atrax was first documented in 1877 and the Atrax yorkmainorum species was first described in 2010.
The black-headed sugar ant, also known as the brown sugar ant, is a species of Formicinae ant endemic to Australia. Found throughout most states, the species is a member of the genus Camponotus, a cosmopolitan genus of ants commonly known as carpenter ants. It was formally described and named by British entomologist Frederick Smith in 1858. These ants are characterised by their black head, reddish-brown mesosoma and black gaster, which can change in colour.
Plexippus petersi is a species of jumping spider native to Asia and has been introduced to Africa and Pacific islands. The male is between 6 and 10 mm in length, and the female is around 10 millimetres (0.4 in). This spider is commonly known as the tropical flycatcher or small zebra jumper.
