A new species of beetle has become the 150,000th specimen registered on the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's (DPIRD's) Insect Collection Database - making it the second biggest invertebrate collection in Western Australia.
A new species of beetle has become the 150,000th specimen registered on the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's (DPIRD's) Insect Collection Database - making it the second biggest invertebrate collection in Western Australia.
DPIRD Diagnostic and Laboratory Services (DDLS) entomologists registered the new species of beetle in the genus Exillis, a fungus weevil, which was discovered on a London plane tree in the Perth metropolitan area.
DDLS principal laboratory scientist Melinda Moir said the insect database was developed by department entomologists 30 years ago and was one of the first collections in Australia to be digitised.
"The insect collection itself began 100 years earlier in 1894 - with the founding of the Bureau of Agriculture - so we do have some very delicate pinned insects that are more than a century old," Dr Moir said.
"We rely on the database to efficiently find species within the collection, which is essential when we have a potential biosecurity threat and are identifying a suspected exotic insect sample.
"The Exillis is a very fitting 150,000th specimen, due to the sheer diversity that weevils represent, as well as being an example of the predominantly undescribed insect fauna within WA.
"This is the first time that the extremely long-antennaed Exillis has been recorded in WA and it highlights how important it is to have representatives of the native weevil fauna to differentiate them from invading weevils."
Dr Moir said beetles comprised about one quarter of the world's fauna species and of these about 25 per cent were weevils, which are a type of beetle.
"This means that about an eighth of all animal species are weevils so it is essential we employ specialist taxonomists and diagnosticians who can discern between the different species," she said.
The new undescribed WA Exillis species was captured during forest surveillance, which used an exotic tree in the city as a sentinel host to attract pest insects.
"This type of surveillance in the Perth metropolitan area is producing many new and interesting invertebrates that are being incorporated into the DDLS Entomology collection at DPIRD," Dr Moir said.
"We haven't finished registering material yet as the team still has an estimated 50,000 specimens to go."
DPIRD's Insect Collection Database contains a variety of invertebrates, including insects, some spiders, snails and mites.
