10 Apr 2023 FILM DIARY

This morning I photographed a planthopper on the picket fence in Driscoll Lane. With wings spread, it was no bigger than my thumbnail. Peter Hendry emailed its identity later in the day. It is an Australian species, known as a Passionvine Hopper. It occurs from northern coastal and adjacent inland Queensland to western coastal South Australia and Tasmania. Today’s image is a much closer and clearer shot of the insect, than the one I took at the end of January, which it replaces in my Other Fauna album. I didn’t think I would see the insect again so soon – underlining the benefit of living where I film and photograph, allowing me to get another chance for a sighting and a better shot. Until I encountered this species, the wings of all the planthoppers I have filmed or photographed previously, were folded.