In the wake of Melbourne’s spectacular cricket swarm, we asked the author of Australia’s Guide to Crickets why insects gather in such large numbers and how to keep them out of our homes.
Puddles can be valuable wildlife havens.
Maksim Safaniuk/Shutterstock
New research exposing the surprising scale and diversity of Australia’s invertebrate pet trade online highlights the need for better regulation to protect our wildlife and manage biosecurity threats.
The predatory beetle Eurylychnus blagravei.
Nick Porch
Our research looked at data from the government’s annual baking competition. Upon close analysis, we find a dangerous lack of diversity and biases towards cute, cuddly mammals.
There would be no life on Earth without invertebrates, but they are understudied and underappreciated. The Bug of the Year competition aims to change that, so have your say and vote!
Wet weather is great for some species of bugs. But Christmas beetle swarms look to be a thing of the past
Researchers discovered five new species of black corals, including this Hexapathes bikofskii growing out of a nautilus shell more than 2,500 feet (760 meters) below the surface.
Jeremy Horowitz
Black corals provide critical habitat for many creatures that live in the dark, often barren, deep sea, and researchers are learning more about these rare corals with every dive.
New research shows rewilding with invertebrates – insects, worms, spiders and the like – can go a long way in bringing our degraded landscapes back to life.
Invertebrates are “the little things that run the world”. So researchers decided to count all the ants on Earth, to help monitor how they’re coping with environmental challenges.
Fungi underpin life on Earth, but are far less well catalogued and understood than animals and plants. Three scientists call for including fungi in conservation strategies and environmental laws.
Don’t call them tentacles: An octopus has eight arms.
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