Invertebrates - Insects and Arachnids

In 2020, at the height of COVID lockdown, three housemates decided to see how many animals lived in their house and backyard. What they found surprised them.

While spider webs could not trap an elephant, their ability to trap minuscule fragments of DNA could change how scientists learn about wildlife, according to new Australian research.

The species is only known to live atop a handful of mountain peaks in remote Far North Queensland, including Mount Finnigan about 50km south of Cooktown.

From smelly feet to blood type, Entomologist Dr Cameron Webb uncovers the common myths about what attracts mosquitoes.

Jack jumper ants are common throughout south-eastern Australia and like to live in open, dry spaces.

Robert Norris and his daughter were mud crabbing in Waverly Creek near St Lawrence Queensland when their boat was swarmed by worms coming from the mangroves.

You may want every fly to buzz off this summer, but according to a nature writer, some deserve an invitation because the overwhelming majority of more than 30,000 species in Australia are too busy doing good deeds to have an interest in your barbecue.

Warmer temperatures are often synonymous with the smell of sunscreen and longer evenings spent outdoors. But in southern parts of Australia, a sure-fire indicator that the weather is heating up is the appearance of those tiny little ants trailing through your kitchen. So how can you deal with them?

With fangs that could pierce a human fingernail, the largest male specimen of the world's most venomous arachnid has found a new home at the Australian Reptile Park.

Australia has been infiltrated by six-legged foreign agents, but instead of spying for the enemy, these beetles are working to defeat invasive weeds and protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Micro-CT scan of the new species of assassin bug taken at UWA's Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis.

A new species of assassin bug, which turns its prey into "milkshakes", is found in Western Australia's Goldfields.

The buzz call of the cicada is a familiar sound of the Australian summer and this season their chorus is the loudest it’s been for a while along parts of the NSW east coast. Professor Nigel Andrew, an entomologist, says breeding and growing conditions have been just right for cicadas, including these loud 'razor grinders' at Port Macquarie.

The cicada's distinctive courtship call is the soundtrack to an Australian summer and in parts of the country it's the most penetrating it's been in years. Just look out for "cicada rain".

In eastern Australia, the arrival of the summer holidays has traditionally been heralded by big iridescent beetles known as Christmas beetles. How many are there this year?

Aboriginal people have used honeypot ants to treat everything from cuts to colds for generations. Now modern science is catching up, finding the ants could hold the key to new medical treatments.

The famous Christmas beetle usually comes out in force at this time of year, but one scientist is noticing a surge in sightings of another not-so-welcome bug.

It's a fact often trotted out at summer barbecues when mosquitoes are buzzing around — only female mozzies drink blood. But new research suggests that may not have always been the case.

Native bee researchers are travelling overseas and interstate to find work despite there being a sizeable knowledge gap about Australia's vast array of species.

Yellow crazy ants are one of the world's worst invasive species, and authorities are fighting on the ground and in the air to stop them spreading in north Queensland where they're at risk of devastating communities and ecosystems.

A good spring and plenty of food have increased the number of bees looking to establish new colonies, but as the varroa mite moves through the region it could drastically reduce feral bee swarms.

Citizen scientist David Finlay has filmed a firefly population, south of Wollongong.

Now is the time to see fireflies in New South Wales, as the bioluminescent beetles take flight for their spectacular, but brief, mating dance with pulsing yellow lights.

For five months of the year, hens stationed along the Murray River in South Australia play an important role in protecting the state against diseases like Japanese encephalitis.

Soil ecologist Frank Ashwood starting taking macro photographs of the life in UK soil as a COVID project. He has since come to Australia to see what is here.