Insects Archives - Page 3 of 9

Environment

Five reasons flies are awesome (despite being really annoying)

We know they’re frustrating when you’re trying to enjoy your time in the sun. But next time you go to pull out the fly swatter, spare a thought for the many awesome things flies bring to the ecosystem.

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A spectrum of our insect collection takes flight for Questacon’s ‘Colour’ exhibit

Questacon's latest exhibit 'Colour: See the world in a new light' is now open and features a dazzling array of insects from our collections, their colours, how they use them, and how they evolved.

Environment

Rare spider orchid tangos with pollinator

The Canberra spider orchid has an interesting ploy to attract the attention of local wasps for pollination, and now ecologists are employing it to restock the orchids numbers.

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Unexpected venomous animals | Venom: The secrets of nature’s deadliest weapon

Venom has evolved from spit, maintenance proteins, bacteria neighbours, and is present in over 200,000 species: mammals, jellies, worms, you name it. To celebrate the release of 'Venom: The secrets of nature’s deadliest weapon', we've written up a blog to satisfy all of your venomous questions.

Environment

Horses for courses: Horse-y animals that don’t run races

They say it’s the race that stops a nation, but let’s face it: The Melbourne Cup isn’t for everyone. But if you aren’t a cup fan, there are still lots of nice horses that have nothing to do with horse racing.

Environment

DNA tests confirm Lord Howe Island stick insect lives

The Lord Howe Island stick insect was thought to be extinct but DNA have now confirmed that it really is the little insect that could.

Environment

You can science too, with Atlas of Living Australia

Help us to learn more about Australia's unique biodiversity by recording the animals and plants you see on our online database.

Environment

Digital bees help research fly

We're digitising our collection of Australian native bee specimens to make our bee biodiversity data available to the world.

Know your mozzie: the Asian Tiger Mosquito

What would happen if the Asian Tiger Mosquito made it to mainland Australia, and how can we prevent it?

Environment

Nurture in nature: Top 5 species used in medicine

For centuries, medicine has looked to nature for cures and treatments. Here are our top five picks for medicines derived from nature.

Environment

Only a mother could love ‘em: why cockroaches and termites are great parents

Until recently, maternal care in cockroaches was considered an evolutionary oddity. However, as our understanding of insect relationships has increased in recent years, maternal care in cockroaches is now seen not as a strange evolutionary dead end, but an important stepping stone in the development of the huge, complex and well-ordered societies formed by other insect species.

Environment

The birds and the bees in Kosciuszko National Park

We’re researching pollinator networks in Kosciuszko National Park, home of our ski fields, by mapping out a network of interactions between plants and their pollinators using new DNA technologies, including pollen DNA metabarcoding.

Insects