Home is where the heart is! And for social wasps, such as Vespula, home is everything. Social wasps work together well in a group. Each wasp has a role, and together they act almost like a single l…

Aotearoa’s nature is defined by its iconic species like kauri and pōhutukawa, kiwi and kea, and even insects like wētā. These species are undeniably important, but it’s now time for some credit to …

I think most of us at some point in our lives experience loneliness. Even we as a species are alone, having separated from our closest relatives, chimps, several million years ago. We are also alon…

Imagine a typical stream or river running through farmland. It looks clear enough at first glance, but you start to notice something is not right. Algae begins appearing over time. The water qualit…

We are currently living in the sixth mass extinction event. Human activities are driving a global reduction of species and a rapid loss of natural biodiversity. One of the significant contributors …

The story of the understorey New Zealand is home to thousands of native plant species, of which a whopping 80% of these trees, flowering plants and, ferns are endemic – found only in Aotearoa…

Beginning the journey Just before Christmas in 1999, Dr. Eric Scott collected an unusual ground beetle from the Wangapeka Track, in Kahurangi National Park. His wife also suffered a broken arm afte…

You stride through lush grasslands. The scenery seems perfect. But lurking just below your feet is a battlefield. It’s not an obvious one, of course. There are no bombs going off or explosions or y…

Bellbirds love to sing; they sing for everything that they do. Communicating, courtship, foraging, defending their homes, it’s almost like they’re living in a musical. I’ve always…

Soil is life I’m not sure if you’re aware, as I was not aware of this before coming to Lincoln University, but soil is very much alive. There are millions of organisms in a single handf…

Uncategorized, behaviour, conservation, entomology, student blog, wildlife management If you had asked me four years ago where I would be today, I would not have said ‘planning to study wasps…

It’s a fair question. If an animal looks soft, furry, and, let’s be honest, kind of adorable… why wouldn’t we treat it like a friend? Picture a common brush-tailed possum, fluffy and wide-eyed, or …

Not just for ducks For myself, a plastic decoy is first, and foremost, synonymous with hunting. Perhaps to some this hobby seems counterintuitive coming from an ecologist, but rest assured, we prid…

Like most people, I hate going to the dentist. Every time I have a check-up, they poke and prod around my mouth, trying to find something wrong. Most of the time, they end up telling me the same th…

Do I need to apologise for the overly alliterative title? The excessive use of P’s aside, this title is still ridiculous, who has seen a polka dot pasture? Or a pinstripey paddock? They sound…

Dating is hard and confusing for most… but especially for these guys. A recent study on two native semi aquatic spiders, Dolomedes aquaticus and Dolomedes minor, revealed that spider dating i…

Worms growing inside of you, morphing your body and forcing you towards water. It’s the unfortunate fate of some endemic spiders around Canterbury.

Time has very much been on my mind lately. To be exact, it is probably the comprehension of time that has been at the forefront. I just went to the 40th anniversary of the movie ‘Labyrinth&#8…

‘Coming soon in 3D!’ Periodically throughout my life movie-makers have dabbled with making films that we can watch in three dimensions. You would get your special glasses before the mov…

A new radio show and podcast brought to you by the Canterbury Branch of the RSNZ in partnership with Plains Media

Science Podcast · Updated Monthly · Kia Pākiki Canterbury is a monthly podcast presented by the Canterbury branch of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. “Kia pākiki” means “be curious” and each month we’ll...

Feral cats (Felis catus) are among the most proficient and effective hunters in the world. In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), their skills are lethal to native species that have evolved without mammalia…

I’ll admit, before taking the 16 hour flight from Arizona to Christchurch, I didn’t know much about New Zealand besides ‘What We Do in the Shadows’, Karl Urban, and affordable yarn. I was especiall…

Who are we to blame for enshittification? That is, who is at fault for the pandemic of platform decay, in which the platforms we depend on, where we congregate, trade, perform, sell, buy, connect, …

My time at Lincoln University has taught me that when it comes to bird monitoring, the most common practice is the 5 minute bird count (5MBC). This method is a simple and effective way of counting …

Despite what you are being fed, de-extinction is a con, full of gloss, bullshit and ghoulish greed.

I had always wanted a parrot as a kid. My obsession was inspired by Meena, a Bangladeshi animated TV series created by UNICEF, where the protagonist, Meena, had a clever parrot named Mithu who coul…

Hey plant lovers! Let me share something incredible with you about the plant world. Some clever plants have discovered a super cool way to multiply without needing seeds or pollen from other plants…

We often think of braided rivers as physical matter and hydraulic force, with gravel-filled channels shifting their way downstream and across the braidplain, occasionally bursting their banks and wash...

A comparison of horizontal versus vertical camera placement to detect feral cats and mustelids.

Microplastic residue left in the environment from plastic chewcards in three pest mammal monitoring operations was estimated at an average of 15% of the starting weight. This finding highlight the ...

A common scanning method used to create ‘virtual copies’ of precious fossils could be erasing some of the crucial information held within.