Tag Archives: Australia

Plague Soldier Beetle

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Plague Soldier Beetle

Harmless plague soldier beetles can recolour your garden!

  • Plague soldier beetles are flying beetles native to Australia, particularly the south eastern and south western parts of the country.
  • Plague soldier beetles have a mostly orange yellow body, that is covered with metallic forewings of a dark olive green colour, that almost look black, and the rest of the beetle is mostly black.
  • Plague soldier beetles have the scientific name ‘Chauliognathus lugubris, although they are sometimes known as ‘Chauliognathus pulchellus’.
  • Plague soldier beetles are named after their characteristic of plaguing during mating season, that occurs generally in summer.
  • ‘Plague soldier beetles’ are also known as ‘green soldier beetles’ and they are from the family Cantharidae, the family of soldier beetles.

Plague Soldier Beetles, Line, Washing, Orange, Black, Yellow, Ten Random Facts, Bug, Adult, Many

Plague Soldier Beetles
Image Courtesy of B Being Cool
  • Plague soldier beetle larvae live underground, eating insects, and transform into adults during spring.
  • Plague soldier beetles have colours that warn other creatures that they are poisonous, in that they excrete toxins, which is also used to prevent their eggs being contaminated.
  • At mating time, plague soldier beetles can be found swarming in their thousands, often totally covering plants and other areas, although they are said to leave little damage to the plants.
  • Plague soldier beetle adults are believed to have a diet of mainly nectar and pollen, although they also eat small insects and their eggs, and sometimes other parts of plants.
  • Plague soldier beetles live in habitats with significant numbers of trees like forests, and are often found in urban environments especially during the mating season.
Bibliography:
Plague Soldier Beetles, 2012, Museum Victoria, http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-blog/?tag=chauliognathus%20lugubris
Plague Soldier Beetle, n.d, AustralianMuseum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/Plague-Soldier-Beetle
Pullen K, Insect of the week: The Plague Soldier Beetle isn’t nearly as bad as it sound, 2012, CSIRO, http://csironewsblog.com/2012/11/08/insect-of-the-week-the-plague-soldier-beetle-isnt-nearly-as-bad-as-it-sounds/

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Macadamia Nut

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Macadamia Nut

Don’t be ‘a hard nut’.  Add these macadamia nut facts to your collection.

  • ‘Macadamia nuts’ are also known as ‘macadamias,’ Queensland nuts’, ‘bush nuts’, ‘queen of nuts’, ‘maroochi nuts’, and ‘bauple nuts’.
  • Macadamia nuts are seeds that are from one of four species of macadamia tree, that are all native to Australia, in the eastern parts of northern New South Wales and southern and central Queensland.
  • There are two species of macadamia nut that are poisonous, but the toxin,  cyanogenic glycoside (cyanide), can be removed by parboiling the nut.
  • Macadamia nuts have a very hard, woody, brown shell which reveals a cream coloured nut when cracked open, that turns golden brown when roasted.
  • Macadamia nuts became known to the British by Alan Cunningham, a botanist from England, who discovered them in 1828 in Queensland.

Macadamia, Nut, Food, Culinary, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • Australia is currently the top producer of macadamia nuts in the world, and the first trees grown, primarily for commercial purposes, were planted in an orchard in the 1880s, near Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Macadamia nuts are cracked open when the nut is somewhat dehydrated, and to test for its readiness, the nut will usually rattle in the shell when it’s time, due to the nut growing smaller and detaching itself from the shell.
  • Macadamia nuts are very high in thiamine, manganese and fat, and also contain quantities of many other vitamins and minerals.
  • Some people are allergic to macadamia nuts, that can sometimes cause a fatal reaction, and they are also poisonous to dogs.
  • Macadamia nuts are traditionally eaten raw or roasted, as well as being grounded into butter, covered in chocolate and included in nut mixes and baked goods, and the oil from the nuts is sometimes used in skincare products.
Bibliography:
Macadamia, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macadamia
What are macadamia nuts?, n.d, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-macadamia-nuts.htm

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Sydney Opera House

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Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House – an iconic landmark.

  • The Sydney Opera House is an iconic building that is mainly dedicated to the performing arts.
  • The Sydney Opera House is located in one of Australia’s state capitals, Sydney, in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales.
  • The Sydney Opera House was designed by Jørn Utzon, an architect from Denmark, that was the winning design decided upon in an international design competition in 1957.
  • Every year, the Sydney Opera House holds approximately 1500 performances and sees 8.2 million visitors.
  • On 28 June, 2007, the Sydney Opera House was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and at the time, was the youngest building to be added to the list.

Sydney Opera House, White, Sail, Shell, Performing Arts, Music, Centre, Habour, Ten Random Facts, Australia

Sydney Opera House
Image courtesy of Australia Photos (Flickr)
  • The Sydney Opera House has a design type of modern expressionist, with the notable feature of over a million individual white to cream ceramic tiles across the ten ‘shells’ or ‘sails’.
  • The Sydney Opera House is 65 metres (213 feet) in height and 4.4 acres (1.8 hectares) in area, and is located on land that was previously used as a tram depot and even earlier, as Fort Macquarie.
  • Construction on the Sydney Opera House began in 1959 and cost $102 million to build, which was over 14 times the proposed budget.
  • The idea of having a ‘Sydney Opera House’ was proposed by Eugene Goossens in the 1940s, who was a composer and conductor, and at the time, the director of NSW State Conservatorium of Music.
  • The Sydney Opera House was officially opened on the 20 October, 1973, by Queen Elizabeth II, but the designer, Utzon, was not credited.
Bibliography:
A Danish architect, an Australian icon: the history of the Sydney Opera House, 2013, ABC News, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-21/anthony-burke-on-sydney-opera-house-history/5034028
Sydney Opera House, History and Heritage, 2014, Sydney Opera House, http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/the_building_history_heritage.aspx
Sydney Opera House, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House

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Play School (Australia)

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Play School (Australia)

“Open wide, … it’s Play School.”

  • Play School is an award winning television program, that has educational and entertainment content targeted at children in the preschool years, and is broadcasted at least once every weekday on multiple ABC, Australian Broadcasting Company channels.
  • The first Australian version of Play School was produced and broadcasted on 18 July, 1966, and was based on the same-named British program that began in 1964.
  • Play School generally features games, activities like craft and cooking, and songs, as well as telling the time, naming the day of the week, and looking through the window into ‘reality’.
  • In 2000, Play School commenced major changes to its set, such as making it more colourful and changing features such as the clock and the windows.
  • Play School won Logie’s Most Outstanding Children’s Program, in 1998, appeared in the Logie Hall Of Fame in 2006, and won Aria’s award for Best Children’s Album in 1997.

Play School, Graphic, Come and Play, Blocks, Logo, Little Ted, Jemimah, Cartoon, Ten Ranom Facts, ABC Australian TV Program

Logo
Image Courtesy of Play School
  • Play School have released 17 albums containing many popular songs, with many more featured on the program.
  • Play School is typically presented by two people, and has had more than 100 people featured as presenters on the program during its history.
  • Play School has a repertoire of over 4,500 episodes in over 45 years and 46 seasons, and is the second longest running children’s television show in the English-speaking world.
  • Play School features many different toys, with the main toys named Big Ted, Little Ted, Jemima and Humpty.
  • In a week, Play School, on estimate, is viewed by 4 out of 5 children under the age of six, at least once during that time.
Bibliography:
Play School (Australian TV Series), 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_School_(Australian_TV_series)
Taylor R, Play Schooling for 45 Years, 2011, Television.au, http://televisionau.com/2011/07/play-schooling-for-45-years.html

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             Playschool CDs

Queensland Bottle Tree

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Queensland Bottle Tree

Bulging Queensland bottle trees.

  • Queensland bottle trees are Australian native trees that have a trunk shaped like a bottle and have bell shaped, creamy-yellow coloured flowers that usually appear in spring and summer.
  • The scientific name of a Queensland bottle tree is Brachychiton rupestris, and they are from the family Malvaceae, the family of mallows that includes hibiscus plants, but were originally from the archived family Sterculiaceae.
  • Contrary to popular belief, Queensland bottle trees are not hollow, but have fibrous interiors, and are bottle-shaped due to the stored water in the trunk.
  • Queensland bottle trees are usually grown from seed, and are popularly used in recreation areas and gardens, often providing good shade.
  • Queensland bottle trees have been traditionally used as shelter, rope and food, particularly by indigenous Australians.

Queensland Bottle Tree, Swell, Adult, Australia, Ten Random Facts, Plant

  • Queensland bottle trees can range from 4 to 20 metres (13 to 65 feet) in height and do not produce a bottle shaped trunk until about five to eight years of age.
  • Queensland bottle trees grow best in full sun and in temperatures of the sub-tropics and the tropics.
  • Queensland bottle trees have boat-shaped seed pods full of many seeds that have hairs on them that can irritate the skin if touched.
  • ‘Queensland bottle trees’ are also known as ‘Queensland-flaschenbaums’, ‘Narrowleaf bottle trees’, ‘Kurrajong bottle trees’ and ‘Kurrajongs’.
  • Queensland bottle trees can survive up to three months out of soil, and they are therefore commonly transported to various countries, even as a mature tree.
Bibliography:
Brachychiton rupestris, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachychiton_rupestris
Campbell C, Fact Sheet: Bottle Trees, 2008, Gardening Australia, http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2183287.htm
Cheung P, Brachychiton rupestris, 2013, AustraliaNationalBotanic Gardens, http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2005/brachychiton-rupestris.html

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Dianthus

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Dianthus

Smell the sweet fragrance of dianthus.

  • ‘Dianthus’ are also known as ‘carnations’, ‘pinks’ or ‘sweet williams’, although these terms are more specific to certain species.
  • The dianthus genus, includes 300 species of perennial plants with beautiful flowers.
  • Dianthus comes from the family Caryophyllaceae, the pink or carnation family.
  • Dianthus are native to Europe or Asia, but a select quantity of species can be found in either North America or Africa.
  • Dianthus flowers are five-petalled, and they are generally frilled or serrated on the edge, hence the common name ‘pink’ (not a reference to the colour).

Dianthus, Pink, White, Single, Dead, Prim, Frilled, Ten Random Facts, Flower, Australia

  • Dianthus flowers are typically patterned in shades of pink but can also be white, purple, yellow, orange or red in colour.
  • Dianthus flower from spring through to autumn, and some species have a sweet smell of spice.
  • ‘Dianthus’ comes from the Greek words for ‘of Zeus’ (a god in Greek mythology) and ‘flower’, ‘dios’ and ‘anthos’ respectively.
  • Dianthus plants grow between 10 cm (4 inches) and 1.5 metres (5 feet) in height, and often have grey or blue-green foliage
  • Dianthus are often used for cut or decorative purposes, and more than 100 species have earned the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in the United Kingdom.
Bibliography:
Dianthus, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianthus
Mackey B, Dianthus, Carnations, Pinks, 2014, HowStuffWorks, http://home.howstuffworks.com/define-dianthus-carnation-pinks.htm

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