batch 6
Paul Whitingtonbatch 6

Galls - a home you can eat

I explore the extraordinary world inside an extraordinary gall. Fat bodied females, tiny winged males, cute, crawling nymphs and a host of parasites.

Paul Whitingtonbatch 6
Galls - a home you can eat
Paul Whitingtonbatch 6

The forest's response to wildfire - a symposium presentation

This post is an extended version of a talk I gave on 17th September, 2024 in Batemans Bay at a Symposium of the Linnean Society of NSW.

Paul Whitingtonbatch 6
The forest's response to wildfire - a symposium presentation
Paul Whitingtonbatch 6

Baby food - rearing fairywren nestlings

A fortuitous nest location close to the house has provided an intimate look at the rearing of nestlings of the superb fairy-wren

Paul Whitingtonbatch 6
Baby food - rearing fairywren nestlings

Cerceris: an almost-social wasp

Like most Crabronids, Cerceris are solitary wasps. Intriguingly, however, a few species display behaviours reminiscent of social insects. Our local species, Cerceris antipodes, is one such. I delve into the research literature to learn more about their nesting habits.

Cerceris: an almost-social wasp

Time to leave home

Baby wolf spiders spend the early part of their lives on their mother’s back but at some stage they have to leave home. I get a great opportunity to observe this big occasion in a convenient location.

Time to leave home
Paul Whitingtonbatch 6

Delivering food for the future

Spider wasps stash a single spider in a nest as a food source for their developing larvae. I compare how two different species go about this task.

Paul Whitingtonbatch 6
Delivering food for the future

Pollination puzzles

In the natural garden of the forest floor this month, Tetratheca and Stackhousia are islands of calm amid a hectic sea of bees and peas. So I set out to discover more about the pollination strategies of these very different types of flowers.

Pollination puzzles