Balsam Beast
Scientific name: Anthophiloptera dryas
Click to enlarge image
Anthophiloptera dryas
a long antennae creepy crawly
These images where created for the team in search and discover to used as ID labels and for AM web fact sheets
Live specimen
Image: Stuart Humphreys
© Australian Museum
© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Anthophiloptera
- Species
- dryas
- Subfamily
- Zaprochilinae
- Family
- Tettagonidae
- Super Family
- Tettagonioidea
- Suborder
- Ensifera
- Order
- Orthoptera
- Class
- Insecta
- Subphylum
- Uniramia
- Phylum
- Arthopoda
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- 6 cm - 7.5 cm
Introduction
This large species is known as the Balsam Beast because it was first discovered on balsam flowers.
Habitat
The Balsam Beast lives in urban areas, forests and woodlands and heath. It lives in Angophora trees and is most common in Sydney in late winter or spring.
Distribution
The Balsam Beast is found in coastal eastern Australia from Cape York, Queensland to Batemans Bay, New South Wales.
Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia
Feeding and diet
The Balsam Beast feeds at night and, when Angophora flowers become scarce, it moves to garden plants and fruits, including kiwi fruit.
Other behaviours and adaptations
The Balsam Beast plays an important role in pollinating the plants it feeds on. As it feeds, pollen attaches to the small hairs covering their bodies and is transported from flower to flower.
