Collecting Bugs Alive

Bugs Alive (the exhibition) will remain closed until Boxing Day due to works in the Science & Life Gallery. Meanwhile, three of the team have been collecting bugs in north Queensland to boost our existing bug populations and add some new talent to the collection.   Jessie, Natasha and Alan have brought back a good range of spiders, centipedes, katydids, millipedes, crickets, mantids, snails and other invertebrates to augment the display animals we maintain at Melbourne Museum.

Alan collects Rainforest Centipede in far north Queensland Photo: Jessie Sinclair Source: Museum Victoria

Of particular interest was a huge House Centipede over 70mm long.  A smaller one currently on display in Bugs Alive will soon be spelled while the big new one takes centre stage.

House Centipede Photo: Alan Henderson Source: Museum Victoria

This Yellow Raspy Cricket also caught the attention of the museum collectors.  Its wing buds suggest it is sub-adult probably one skin-shed away from full adult size.  it will join the breeding and display colony back at Melbourne Museum.

Yellow Raspy Cricket Photo: Alan Henderson Source: Minibeast Wildlife

Honeybees

Due to project works in the Science & Life Gallery, Honeybees will be off display until Boxing Day. The live display hive can be seen from 26^th December until 26^th January.

Forest Gallery

Finches and wrens have been breeding well this season, so much so that we may be looking at capture and relocation to other zoos of excess numbers in autumn. For visitors there’s plenty of activity. Blue wrens have been observed pulling hairs from the heads of visitors for nest material and the ball-shaped finch nests have appeared in many of the trees.

Young trees growing in forests compete with each other for water, nutrients and most of all for sunlight as they stretch for the sky. Another characteristic of fast-growing forest is the damage neighbouring trees cause each other by rubbing against each other. In the wild, this causes bark damage, possibly ringbarking or insect infestation at the point of damage. In the Forest Gallery, several small trees growing very close to two of the tall Manna Gums have caused such damage, requiring an arborist to do strategic pruning to eliminate the cause. Freed of the constant rubbing, one tree healed over the wound and is now as strong as ever. 

Tree rubbing wound- 2004 Photo: ArborCo Source: Museum Victoria

Same wound one year later Photo: ArborCo Source: Museum Victoria

Milarri Garden

Flowering at the moment in Milarri Garden is Burgan Kunzea ericoides, a fine leaved understorey plant common throughout The hard timber of Burgan may be used to make weapons such as clubs.

Kunzea ericoides Photo: Luke Simpkin Source: Museum Victoria

The Water Ribbon Tryglochin procera continues to flower in the upper creek area. The bases of the long leaves are edible.

Water ribbon in Milarri creek Photo: Luke Simpkin Source: Museum Victoria