The Next Hike is cancelled for this week only.

The Texada Trekkers hike is cancelled this Saturday only. 

Last Saturday was Sandcastle parade day so only a very small group came on the hike.  We followed a circular route from the Community Hall that took us up into the forest behind Gillies Bay and high onto a grassy bluff with a view over the community and bay below. After lunch we followed my old trail marked with rock piles and flagging that heads south over some more attractive bluffs and through small patches of brush until it joins the well used Cap Sheaf Trail at the south end of a long narrow swamp. Following this almost to the Ball Park we turned right at the bottom of the long hill and returned to the Community Hall on the old logging roads behind Gillies Bay.  

 

My photo this week is a striking insect which goes by the name of Eyed Elater Beetle or Alaus oculatus.  It's quite large, up to two inches long, and has a couple of fake eyes on it's body that have evolved as a defense against predators. I did not realise until later that it's actually a very large click beetle so if it gets turned on it's back it can spring into the air with a sharp click and get right-side up again instantly. It's larval form feeds in rotting wood on the grubs of some insects that are pests of useful timber trees. 

JD.

Eyed Elater Beetle.  This is a very large species of click beetle.