As we head into the festive season, one sure sign that Christmas is on its way is the emergence of the infamous Christmas Beetle. The familiar whirring and clicking of the beetle as it haphazardly makes its way through the air, often crashing into a screen door or gathering around lights, stirs up a sense of melancholy of childhood Christmases for many. Although many bemoan … Continue reading It’s Christmas Beetle time

By Katie Hiller, Information Officer, Queensland Museum Southbank Have you been wondering what the giant cockroaches and stick insects have been doing while the museum was closed? The insects from the Discovery Centre moved to a holiday home where they were kept warm and in isolation, from human visitors  but not each other, and they have been thriving in their new habitat. However, they are … Continue reading Where have all the museum insects gone?

By Dr Chris Burwell, Senior Curator of Insects, Queensland Museum Blue-banded bees, a name used for several species of Amegilla, are common visitors to Queensland gardens and are one of our most beautiful Australian native bees. Their boldly banded backsides (abdomens in entomological lingo) make these stocky bees stand out. The paler bands on the abdomen are made up of thousands of tiny, tightly-packed hairs. … Continue reading Our native Blue-banded Bees

Queensland Museum Collection Imager, Geoff Thompson was picking some grass for guinea pigs when he found a beautiful caterpillar with two prominent horns on its head. He took some phone photos and took it inside, feeding it grass to keep it alive. It was a caterpillar of the Evening Brown Butterfly. The next day he found a second caterpillar on the floor near the guinea … Continue reading Evening Brown Butterfly

by Geoff Thompson, Queensland Museum Collection Imager  What does a museum micro-photographer do when locked down? He builds a modification for his flash diffuser and heads out into the garden to photograph small creatures, with his own camera and macro lens. After editing and adjusting, only a few images are worth sharing. Queensland Museum entomologists have identified these as far as is possible. Often it … Continue reading Garden Insect Photography with Collection Imager Geoff Thompson

By Dr Chris Burwell, Senior Curator of Insects at Queensland Museum Queensland Museum entomologist Dr Chris Burwell delves into the nocturnal raiders that are infiltrating gardens in south-east Queensland right now – fruit piercing moths. My fellow curator Patrick Couper recently photographed some nocturnal raiders feeding on his carambola fruit. They weren’t the usual fruit bats or possums. They were moths, fruit piercing moths. Most … Continue reading Are these nocturnal raiders infiltrating your garden?

By Dr Chris Burwell, Senior Curator of Insects at Queensland Museum Small yellow ones that raid your kitchen, bigger black ones that crawl over your plants, even bigger metallic green ones that sting when you go barefoot in the garden. Three species, five species, ten species? The answer will probably be more than you think, depending on where you call home. If you live in … Continue reading How many different species of ants do you think live in your backyard?