Australian Museum Entomology Collection
Entomology is the study of insects. Insects include animals such as flies, cicadas, moths, earwigs, fleas, bugs, cockroaches, bees, dragonflies, and termites.
Insects are animals that have:
- a pair of antennae
- six walking legs
- a body divided into three parts
- a skeleton outside the body
- mouthparts which are adapted for particular diets
About the collection
The Australian Museum entomology collection contains mostly Australian species but there is a strong non-Australian representation of beetles, psocids (booklice), flies, butterflies and moths. The collection also has many undescribed species and species found in no other collections. The Australian Museum has the world's largest collections of bark lice and Australian acalyptrate flies and major collections of antlions, alderflies and beetles.
It is estimated that Australia has over 300,000 insect species, but only 160,000 have been named or described. Australian Museum entomologists spend much of their research time studying, describing and naming the many undescribed species contained in the vast collection.
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10 comments
kate.skinner2
8.03 PM, 17 March 2010
last one :)
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kate.skinner2
8.03 PM, 17 March 2010
heres another pic
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kate.skinner2
8.03 PM, 17 March 2010
Hi, Can anyone please tell me what these are??? They have been at our place for years and finally I got a semi decent photo of them to allow me to ask for your help. Thanks, kate : )
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Dave Britton
9.12 AM, 01 December 2009
Dear Tamar and other interested people - I have added a page which details the life history of an owlfly (Ascalaphidae).
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Life-history-of-an-Owlfly/
tamar
3.11 PM, 25 November 2009
thanks dave,im pretty sure what i saw resembled lacewing on wire picture.though its antennae was was the same legnth as its body and i olny saw it in flight. this is a great sight for people who are curious but dont know too much. id never even heard of a lacewing just assumed it was some sort of dragonfly.very beautiful insect could be out of a magical childrens book!! the owlfly....love it!!!! anyway i hope i get to see one again. thanks so much dave.i know where to come if i have any other questions.ive asked two questions and both have been replyed to with speed.awsome!!! tamar
Dave Britton
10.11 AM, 25 November 2009
Dear Tamar,
The insect you saw is almost certainly an owlfly, which is actually a type of lacewing in the family Ascalphidae in the Order Neuroptera. Stay tuned for an Australian Museum web page that provides details on this group of insects. Here is our current page on the Neuroptera:
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Lacewings-and-Antlions-Order-Neuroptera/
tamar
1.11 AM, 24 November 2009
saw a dragonfly last night it had thin long antennae with little round ends,ive never seen one before,my sister hadnt either. it was hovering near the light out front but by the time id gotten the camera it had gone.does anyone know what sort this is?.i dont know much about insects but i know when i see something different from the usual.thanks guys.
Ondine Evans
11.07 AM, 01 July 2009
Xyris, we would love it if you could repost your question on the Bull Ants page: http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/Bull-ants/ This way, we can start a thread of discussion about identifying bull ants and other topics directly related to that particular page. Great photo by the way!
xyris
3.06 PM, 27 June 2009
Hello, Is this the place to ask for confirmation that this is Myrmecia piliventris
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