Overview
The one Australian genus,
Notoligotoma
, is most closely related to
Ptilocerembia
of south-eastern Asia.
N. hardyi
and a complex of related species or races occur in south-western Australia, usually on the undersurfaces of exfoliated rock slabs on granitic outcrops of arid regions. In Perth,
N. hardyi
is common in crevices of old board fences in residential areas. The large, pale, winged males fly to light during the first rains of the cold season in May. Species or races related to
N. hardyi
are also common in dry bark or on rock surfaces in the drier zones of northern Qld. Lichens are the preferred food of
Notoligotoma
, and the species never use soil as a habitat.
N. nitens
occurs as a complex of races from Vic. northward into Qld, inhabiting lichens of ledges, bark flakes and old fence posts. Unlike pale
N. hardyi
,
N. nitens
adults are glossy jet-black; the males are either apterous or alate.
Description
Left cercus with terminal segment partially or entirely combined with basal segment, the composite segment with one or more echinulate inner areas or lobes; hind basitarsus usually with 2 ventral papillae. Usually winged; if apterous, basal segment of right cercus elongate and similar to the terminal segment; S9 of abdomen (hypandrium) continuously produced caudally as a subgenital lobe (HP).