Zoopedia: Lord Howe Island Stick Insect

On Lord Howe Island off the coast of Australia there was a large stick insect so big that it was nicknamed the ‘tree lobster’ until there was a catastrophic ecological disaster. In 1918 SS Makambo shipwrecked on the island unleashing stowaway rats onto the island who rapidly consumed the stick insects. A 1920 survey found

Zoopedia: Western Honey Bee

One of the most important insects in the world is the bee, and the most common species of bee is the western honey bee. Naturally found in three continents the western honey bee pollinates roughly a third of all crops worldwide. Taxonomy and Evolution The western honey bee, Apis mellifera, is one of the roughly

Zoopedia: Macrotermes termites

There are over 2,100 speceies of termites on the planet today and we’re looking at one genus of them today: Macrotermes. As expected from their name, these termites are generally larger than other species. They are so important to their environments that they are seen as ecosystem engineers by how drastically they shape the world

Zoopedia: Goliath beetles

Across the forests of central Africa there exists a genus of beetles that are truly giant. Named after the Biblical giant Goliath this genus has earned the name Goliathus, or goliath beetles, due to their size. While not the largest insects around, and are dwarfed by some prehistoric ones like Meganeura, they are certainly the

Zoopedia: Leafcutter ants

Some of the most amazing insects around are ants, and some of the amazing ants are leafcutter ants. Comprising of 47 species in two separate genre the leafcutter ants are builders, farmers, and weightlifters all in one. Taxonomy and Evolution As mentioned in the introduction, there are around 47 species of leafcutter ant – around

Zoopedia: Jungle nymph

This week’s Zoopedia will be about an animal that you might actually have as a pet. This is the jungle nymph – the heaviest of all stick insects. You may also see it referred to as the Malayan stick insect, wood nymph, or Malaysian jungle nymph. Not only this, the jungle nymph is also one

Zoopedia: Monarch Butterfly

People across North America will be familiar with the annual mass migration of the beautiful looking monarch butterflies. These brightly coloured butterflies can block out the sky as they migrate across North America. Today, we’ll be looking at these butterflies, and what their lives look like. Taxonomy and Evolution The scientific name for monarch butterflies