#Insects

Two million species and counting: completing the catalogue of life

By Owain Edwards and Raphael Didham. We have just returned from a month collecting insects in the National Heritage-listed Kimberley […]

Black fly with large green eyes

The flies of March are upon us

There are about 400 species of March fly in Australia. Some of these feed on flower nectar and pollen but the majority prefer a helping of blood.

A big black insect on a hand

The Lord Howe Island stick insect and the case of the ship-wrecked rats

On Balls Pyramid, a sheer rocky island off the coast of mainland New South Wales, the Lord Howe Island stick […]

Sketch of an insect

The answer, my insect friend, is blowing in the wind

By Kim Pullen – Australian National Insect Collection Insects hide their enormous diversity well. We may hear that several thousand […]

Scribbly gum scribble

Scribbly gum ‘scribbles’: an ancient dialect written in the trees

The secret life of the scribbly gum moth has been revealed, including how and where these moths develop and how they make their scribbles.

The Pink Underwing Moth fools predators with its colour

By Kim Pullen – Australian National Insect Collection To look at a Pink Underwing moth (Phyllodes imperialis) resting you would […]

The Plague Soldier Beetle isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds

It's still a mystery why the green and yellow Plague Soldier Beetle, found in temperate southeastern Australia, occasionally builds up to massive numbers.

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky…

They’re all together ooky, the insect* family. Who needs the living dead when we have some of the most terrifying, […]

Insect of the week: Thrips

By Kim Pullen – Australian National Insect Collection Inland Australia is a harsh place to live. With daytime temperatures cruel and […]

Explainer: what is biodiversity and why does it matter?

By Steve Morton, Honorary Fellow CSIRO,  Andy Sheppard, Theme Leader, Biodiversity CSIRO, and Mark Lonsdale, Chief of Ecosystem Sciences CSIRO […]

Insects are a helpful bunch

By Kim Pullen – Australian National Insect Collection The vast majority of insects may not affect us in ways we observe […]

Mozzie protein alert to invading viruses

CSIRO scientists have discovered how mosquitoes develop viral immunity, potentially leading to improved vaccines, and other control measures, for mosquito-borne […]