DRBNats, Feb 2025
Fred and Jean Hort, renowned naturalists, came to DRB on 14th February to share their talk on World for Nature – More Amazing Discoveries.
After a catch-up on their achievements over the years, of which there are many, latest is a $1.50 stamp released on 1st January 2025 with their picture of Thelymitra apiculata or Cleopatras Needles (middle).
See if you can find the original below.
The talk covered many rare wildflowers, with a focus on invertebrates including bees and flies that can be found locally in Perth Hills and Wheatbelt area. The flower species shown can all be seen during the summer months.
Fred talked about a rare plant first collected in 1925 in Kalamunda and finally named in 2015 Babingtonia pelloeae.
– Image by Jean Hort
They showed Stylidium glabrifolium P2, a new priority Trigger Plant for Kalamunda NP.
Paractinopter sp., WA Native Fruit Fly concerned a few audience members until it was explained that it is a native “friend”. One DBCA request was to look for a plant Myriocephalus nudus that was described as back from the brink of extinction (Bushland News Autumn 2024). They found more than expected in different populations once they started looking. Not only is the attraction of finding species important to the Horts but so is the discovery of more populations. They are frequently only given a GPS coordinate and asked to survey possible sightings for the WA Museum and DBCA. As volunteers at the WA Herbarium, their work is very valuable to researchers in Australia and abroad.
In 2011, Dr Tirsten Dikow from the Chicago Museum flew to Perth to work with the Horts to look at Miltinus sp. essential for his research after seeing a photo online. Dr Xuanjun Li was interested in Diptera Bee Flies and ordered a few of these rare species from the Horts. They achieved the brief to display them for his research. Recently, Dr Kevin Thiele was interested in their work on new species of Hibbertia.
Everyone agreed it had been a fabulous presentation to start the year.
Written By Arlene Quinn from Material provided by the Holts 20/02/2025
See page 2 for list of photographs in order of presentation