Another glorious week but one I didn’t manage to make the most of, only getting out for one after work walk. I was hoping to nick out on Friday but not being one to leave things lying unattended to at least squirrelled away in my calendar, with the promise of getting to it by a certain date, it was too late for a wander by the time I shut my work computer and mind off. I guess it is a good job that we have a long weekend coming up so I can make up for the error of my ways. Back to Thursday when popped to my local and favourite spring time haunt:
I reckon word is spreading about this place, as I saw three or four cars come and go while I ambled through the rapidly drying bush. Last weekend there were some big pools of water and very boggy wetland sections, today it was nearly all gone. The white spider orchids were however not all gone, loads were left. Nothing particularly new from what I have already recorded, I did check each and every one to see if there were any variants about. A few but again nothing I could definitely pin down, or being sufficiently specky enough to include:
I of course had to include at least one image from all the white spiders. The one that won was of two Sandplain White Spider Orchid (Caladenia speciose). Almost artistically arranged with several petals and sepals being held together by the web of a tiny crab spider, which can also be seen if you look hard enough. With things warming up I was really hoping to see a scaly friend, with or without legs I really don’t mind. All I found however was a single Spotted Desert Cockroach (Zonioploca bicolor), or at least I am pretty sure that is what it is:
It certainly looks right and I’ve read this bush cockroach, one of nine known species of Zonioploca recorded in Australia, is found in the south-west of Western Australia. However, the Atlas of Laving Australia does not show any sighting in our neck of the woods. There are however lots of recorded observations of both the Flying Duck Orchid (Caleana nigrita) and Hort’s Duck Orchid (Caleana hortiorum) around here. With far more sightings of the former. The differences are subtle, mostly related to the labellum but also the basal leaf:
So fixated on the features of the labellum, I made a rookie mistake of not looking more closely at the basal leaf. The focus of my attention may indicate both species were present and accounted for with images provided being in order of the names given. That said I’m happy to be told otherwise. There was of course a heap of Chapman’s Spider Orchids (Caladenia chapmanii) in bloom, with quite a few more yet to flower. While I have included a few images of these in recent posts, this vibrantly coloured image is included for a reason:
The shorter length of the petals and sepals made it clear that I managed to find a Coastal Spider Orchid (Caladenia abbreviate). The species name of Abbreviata, a Latin word, directly referring to this aspect, meaning shortened. The overall height of the plant also aligned. A good find, and I only saw one, being classified Priority 3 in Western Australia meaning it is poorly known and only known in a few locations. I have also read it is a rare find, and while the site conditions are appropriate there have been no recorded sightings in this general area:
Sandbagged 