Tasmanian Thipsels

A research blog

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Lots of M18 at last

The image below shows 16 adult male and female M18 thipsels and a millimeter scale.

As noted in earlier posts, M18 lives on the western side of the Wilmot River in the Northwest and is annoyingly elusive. The 16 adults I collected today (above) were all in a very small area near Smiths Plains Road. This jackpot patch was only a few meters from the last place I found adult males, in October 2022. It looks like October might be M18 Month, when adults emerge from deep in the soil to disperse and mate. Some of the adults are pale, indicating they may have just recently moulted into their adult instar.

In a few days I'll be able to prepare a male for gonopod imaging and will post again when I have the pix!

2026-10-03