Purely posts about bugs, their behaviour, biology and ecology. At various levels of expertise – some things I am well versed in, and others only superficially (but have enriched with the awesomeness of the internet, or written only briefly about).
There are no tree Weta in Dunedin - NZ weta
Funk Tallamy? Sounds like a band – behaviour, dance flies
Awesomeness of glowing in the dark – bioluminescence
Bite me - mosquitoes
An inordinate fondness for beetles – biodiversity and beetles
Lofty inspirations – flight
In the eye of the beeholder - bees, eyesight, optical flow
Design by bug - bugs as architects, termites and ants
Spinning ladies - spider thread, silk production etc..
Snow dreams – NZ alpine insects, tussocks, wintering habits
Welcome to the wetlands – a trip to the Catlins NZ, and resulting musings on water quality and insect indicators.
The way you look tonight – looks, camoflage, mimicry, signals.
Social activities – notes on eusociality. It’s development in Hymenoptera and Isoptera, and why its special.
A larval application – fly larvae, aka maggots – both pests and assistants, and a great component of the recycling process.
A taxonomy call to arms – an introduction to taxonomy and why it matters
Off with their heads - the praying mantis and the secrets behind it’s habits ‘in the bedroom’
Something about cicadas – The proud cicada, what, where why?
Seamonkeys – aka brine shrimp, the best pet ever?
Bug sex - an insight to the wild and wonderful sex lives of the creatures around us. Only a brief look at an enormous topic.
The Huhu beetle - some interesting links to do with beetles and the fiesty huhu.
Slugs - What do we have here in NZ, and which ones do we want in our garden?
Snails – garden snails? Apple snails? Native flesh eating snails! The wonderful creatures you might never know were there.
Nasty tasting bugs - it flies about dureing the day and isnt camoflaged, why isnt it eaten? Warning colours in out moths and butterflies.
Amazing ants - what can happen when colonies appear to behave like single organisms, a feature of hymenopterans with ‘caste structures’.
Predators - Meet the Odonata, super fast with amaxing eyesight and lightning reflexes.
When is a colour not a colour? - interesting ways the insect world uses colour.
Spiders fishing in your garden – easy to miss, there are stunning creatures hunting at your local stream – meet the fishing spider.
Grasshoppers - Orthopterans are a really charasmatic group, but easily forgotten. NZ is home to some really special grashoppers, particularly the alpine species.
Dragons of the sky – Summer dragonflies and their mating behavoiours at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary.
