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Category: News

Pesticides: End of term report from Mother Nature

Do you have problems with insects? We regard them alternately with hatred and fear, enthralment, and disgust. We are woefully ignorant about them and most often end up killing the ones we actually really need while failing to control the bug causing us trouble. The results are in and although it’s not a complete fail […]

Henry from Insect House

Welcome to Insect House

Hello! Thanks for stopping by Insect House! At Insect House we know invertebrates need our help. They’re under threat from all angles – pesticides, habitat reduction, invasive and non-native species, climate change… It’s a bug’s life! But there is something you can do to help and it’s simple, quick, effective and above all fun. Chuck […]

Insect hotel

Insect Houses

Henry and Catherine went to the Royal Berkshire Show at Newbury.  Henry found this big insect house only he said it was so big it was really an insect hotel. or an insect Buckingham Palace.  There must be room for loads of bugs and insects to live in there with lots of hidey holes and […]

Horsehair worm huntsman spider

Horsehair Worm vs Huntsman Spider

Spider’s Scary Surprise!   Spiders are all very spooky and scary at Halloween, but this is just downright gruesome… You don’t see this kind of thing very often, and that’s probably a relief.  These may be the first photos of a Horsehair or Gordian worm erupting from inside a Huntsman spider. The photos were taken […]

Insect Armageddon

Insect Armageddon

Cicadamania! Insect Armageddon 2013 may be the Year of the Snake in China, but it is going to be the Year of the Cicada in America: the 17-year Periodical Cicada Magicicada septendecim to be precise. These fascinating creatures have evolved one of the most extreme survival strategies of any insect – and one of the […]

winged spirder cartoon

Scientists discover winged spider

“Scientists discover winged spider!”  What a headline!  And what a picture! Everyone’s been talking about a discovery of a spider with wings on the internet over Christmas but, in case it’s passed you by, here’s the image in question http://redgage-photos.s3.amazonaws.com/definitely/qydfv8aube6g2xhf0qxloa2.jpg . Scary or what? Well, in case it’s not entirely apparent to you that it’s been thoroughly photoshopped, here’s the […]

eu bees pesticides ban

EU Loves Bees

EU ♥ Bees An arcane rule of EU bureaucracy may have come to the rescue of the common European honeybee apis mellifera.  The 27 member states of the European Union have been unable to agree whether neonicotinoid pesticides should be banned.  After 2 inconclusive votes, the decision now passes (under EU administrative rules) to the […]

christmas beetles not The Beetles

Happy Christmas Beetles

If you’re a Sydneysider of a certain age, the very idea of Christmas beetles will be enough to induce in you a nostalgia of such misty-eyed-ness that you might even forget to mention the cricket score for a while (Catherine says: does that include Pops? He’s quite old. And he really like Beetles.  Henry says: […]

cuddly snail stocking filler

Insect House’s Top 10 Stocking Fillers

Henry and Catherine would just love to get any one of these from the jolly fellow in red. 1. Barbie Mariposa Doll “Mariposa” is, of course, Spanish for butterfly.  It’s also Portuguese for moth, which is probably less glamorous in some people’s eyes, but not ours! This incarnation (imago?) of Barbie sees her in a […]

Exotic immigrants

Many more moths! The Guardian reports that the UK’s recent spell of mild autumnal weather has resulted in a host of exotic migrant moth species wafting north on gentle breezes to feed and breed. You can read the article here: www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/09/exotic-migrant-moths-invade-britain – it’s a riot of beautiful photographs and picturesque names. Catherine’s favourite is the […]