Lacewings and Antlions
Lacewings belong to an ancient order of insects, Neuroptera. Members of this order are diverse in behaviour and appearance, with wingless larvae that are very different from their delicately-winged adult forms. Adult lacewings can be recognised ... [... more]
Australian Museum |
Spider Wasps
Spider Wasps (family Pompilidae) are solitary wasps which prey on spiders to feed their larvae, or parasitise other spider wasps. The females can sting with their ovipositors, but they do not form colonies to defend nests and are not aggressive. ... [... more]
Australian Museum |
Tapeworms and hydatid disease
The term 'tapeworm' describes a group of parasitic worms that live in the gut of animals, including humans. These infestations are found worldwide. They can be caused when humans consume raw or undercooked animal products that contain worm larvae ... [... more]
Better Health |
Australian Cicada Killer Wasp
Cicada Killer Wasps are medium to large wasps that share many behavioural and physical characteristics with Spider Wasps. Medium to large orange and dark brown wasps. Nest singly in holes in ground. The adult wasps feed on nectar, but the larvae ... [... more]
Australian Museum |
Comb-footed Platform Spider
The spider is 5-8 mm long and has a striking patchwork colour pattern, but is best recognised by its moderately large, distinctive web with a leaf detritus retreat. These complex webs harbour a range of other animals, from small moth larvae that ... [... more]
Australian Museum |
Wood Borers
Don looked at a gum tree with marks all over the trunk, probably caused by the larvae of wood boring insects like longicorn or jewel beetles. They're often found feeding in the phloem region just under the bark, and in severe cases they can ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Scribbly Gum Moth
The eggs of this moth are laid between the old and new season's bark of gum-barked eucalypt trees. As the larva burrows between the bark layers it leaves a tunnel which is revealed when the old bark falls away. Like all insect larvae, that of ... [... more]
Australian National Botanic Gardens |
Heartworm Control Breakthrough
Heartworm disease occurs when infected mosquitoes inject larvae into a dog's bloodstream. After four to six months the larvae develop into adult worms which grow up to 26cm (10") long, and live inside the dog's heart and pulmonary arteries. The ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Giant Wood Moths
Recently on 'Burke's Backyard' Don and Dr Geoff Monteith, Senior Curator of Insects at the Queensland Museum, went on the hunt for the Giant Wood Moth, which is a fascinating part of garden ecology. The larvae are better known as witchetty grubs. ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Cordyceps gunnii (Berk.) Berkeley
Description and distribution map for Cordyceps gunnii in Australia. Derivation: Literally 'Heart shaped head' named after the Tasmanian botanist R.C. Gunn. This is one of the 'vegetable capillars' produced by fungi parasitic on moth larvae, often ... [... more]
Fungimap |
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