New Insect Species Discovered in South East Queensland

Posted on July 27, 2015

A previously unknown species of insect has been found by a University of Queensland (UQ) graduate in the south east Queensland. The insects are responsible for bush coconuts, which are not a fruit but galls, a growth on trees triggered by the feeding of the insect. The insect has been named Cystococcus campanidorsalis.

UQ School of Biological Sciences Honours graduate Thomas Semple, the discovery of the insect, says in a statement, "Bush coconuts, also known as bloodwood apples, are a type of bush tucker. Although their names sound like fruit, they are actually growths on plants - galls - triggered by the feeding of a very strange insect."

The insects displayed sexual dichronism with females giving birth first to males inside the gall and then to females once the males had nearly matured. They also engage in a behvaior called intersexual phoresy. The females are wingless and have to hitch a ride on their brothers to leave the gall for mating.

Semple says, "The wingless female nymphs cling to their winged adult brothers, hitching a ride out of the maternal bush coconut gall when the males fly to find mates. This bizarre behaviour is called intersexual phores."

The second portion of the insect's name, campanidorsalis, refers to the insect's bell-shaped back which is used to plug the entrance to the gall. A research paper on the new species was published in the journal, Invertebrate Systematics.

INSECTS