What may be waxy scale seems to be infested with mealy bugs. Girraween, Qld.
Technomyrmex ants tend to a family of scale insects on a leaf. Oxley Creek, Qld.
And a few baby psyllids as well. Rocklea, Qld.
tiny mealybug nymph is on the move. The legs don't seem to grow in proportion when it comes to mealybugs - they need to move once they've found their place in the world. Oxley Creek, Qld.
Mobility is not your main concern when you've got legs like these. Oxley Creek, Qld.
This rather large mealybug (15-20mm long) forages on a gum tree. Windsor, QLD.
Large mealybug has a monobrow frown. Or a monofrown. Wilston, Qld.
Large orange mealybug underbelly. Wilston, Qld.
Large orange mealybug has lost it's fluffy white covering - possibly after a moult. Wilston, Qld.
A technomyrmex ant shelters at the base of a wax straw dripping with honeydew. The straw is produced by a scale insect buried under the bark. Oxley Creek, QLD.
The waxy straw extrusion of a scale insect drips with honeydew. Oxley Creek, QLD.
Orange Mealy Bug on the fuzzy white stem of an emu plant. Mt Coot-tha, QLD.
Orange Mealy Bug on the fuzzy white stem of an emu plant. Mt Coot-tha, QLD.
A colony of mealy bugs invade a capsicum plant. Toowong, QLD.
A peeled cross-section of bark reveals a scale insect and its waxy extrusion. The wax straw ants sip honeydew from can be seen bottom left. Oxley Creek, QLD.
A peeled section of bark reveals a scale insect and its waxy extrusion. Oxley Creek, QLD.
A peeled section of bark reveals a scale insect and its waxy extrusion. The blurred white line bottom right is the wax straw ants sip honeydew from. Oxley Creek, QLD.
A peeled section of bark reveals a scale insect and its waxy extrusion. Oxley Creek, QLD.
A peeled section of bark reveals a scale insect and its waxy extrusion. Oxley Creek, QLD.
Scale insect buried in the bark of a tree extrudes a wax straw to get honeydew out to ants. Many different species of ants benefit from the excretions of sap sucking bugs. Oxley Creek, QLD.
Rattle ant collects honeydew from the end of a straw-like wax extrusion produced by a bug hidden in the bark. Without the drinking straw the honeydew would simply soak into the bark. Oxley Creek, QLD.
Honeydew seeps from the end of the wax straw extruded by a scale insect buried in bark. Oxley Creek, QLD.
Rattle ant drinks honeydew from the wax straw of a scale insect from the Eriooccidae family. Oxley Creek, QLD.
Rattle ant drinks honeydew from the wax straw of a scale insect from the Eriooccidae family. Oxley Creek, QLD.
Iridomyrmex ant tends to an enormous brood of mealybugs. Kyogle, Qld.
Technomyrmex ant waits for scales to produce nectar. Oxley Creek, QLD.
Sap sucking scale insects are producing more nectar than the ants can collect. Oxley Creek, QLD.
Ants tend to waxy scale on a gum tree. Oxley Creek, QLD.
I don't like to be destructive to any insects I come across but curiosity won this time. I lifted this scale insect to see what was underneath. Not what I expected - a bunch of grubs. I thought there would be a little sap sucking insect! Maybe it has been parasitised?
Ant waits patiently for this armoured bug to excrete some delicious nectar wee. The ant's right antenna is touching the triangular shaped protrusion where the nectar is excreted. Let's call this the tail end. Oxley Creek, QLD.