18 Oct 2013Repaying a Debt of HonourThe incredible story of 270 Australians who defied all odds to hold down 10,000 Japanese troops during a critical point of World War II will be exhibited at the Western Australian Museum – Kalgoorlie-Boulder from October 26. Debt of Honour: Australia’s First Commandos and East Timor recounts little known details of one of Australia’s most defining Second World War campaigns and the enduring relationship between the Australian troops and the people of East Timor who risked their lives to help them.Read more News Niki Comparti
14 Oct 2013Making Science POP!Eight of Western Australia’s brightest innovative minds have been captured in a series of eye-popping artworks to go on display at the WA Museum – Geraldton from October 25. The SCI-POP portraits by Perth artist Miles Noel depict past and present Western Australians responsible for great scientific innovation and discovery such as engineer C Y O'Connor, early settler and botanist Georgiana Molloy, and geologist Phillip Playford.Read more News Niki Comparti
9 Oct 2013Geraldton's new gecko revealed!Scientists from the Western Australian Museum have discovered a rare new species of gecko in the State’s Mid-West and will reveal it to the public for the first time at the WA Museum – Geraldton on Tuesday, October 22. WA Museum reptile curator Dr Paul Doughty said the Cloudy Stone Gecko (Diplodactylus nebulosus) is a new species of gecko lizard endemic to the Geraldton region. “The species only occurs from Mt Lesueur in the south, in the hills to the east of Geraldton and up to the Hutt River,” Dr Doughty said.Read more News Niki Comparti
8 Oct 2013Aurelio Costarella: A 30 Year RetrospectiveArguably Western Australia’s most successful designer, Aurelio Costarella has enjoyed a glittering career spanning 30 years. To celebrate his success and longevity, the Western Australian Museum is delighted to host Aurelio Costarella: A 30 Year Retrospective from 2 November 2013 - 2 February 2014 at the Western Australian Museum - Perth.Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum
8 Oct 2013Sandgropers The term 'sandgropers' has a long history as a colloquial name for Western Australians and also denotes some very strange, wholly subterranean insects known to entomologists as cylindrachetids. Though common in Western Australia, sandgropers are not restricted to the State but occur widely across the Australian continent wherever there are extensive areas of sandy or sandy loam soils (they are absent from the south-eastern portion of the continent and Tasmania). Read more Article Daisy Vogels
4 Oct 2013AWESOME October!AWESOME October - school holidays at the WA Museum - Perth!Read more Photo Galleries Niki Comparti
1 Oct 2013Native Bees Australia is inhabited by an estimated 2000 species of native bees, many of which have yet to be scientifically named and described. Discoveries of new species are not uncommon, so the total number of species may be much higher. Approximately 800 species occur in Western Australia and many of them are endemic. Bees are actually specialised wasps closely allied to predatory wasps known as ‘sphecoids’. They have given up their ancestors’ predatory habits and, instead of storing paralysed insect or spider prey as food for their larvae, they collect and store pollen and nectar.Read more Article Daisy Vogels
1 Oct 2013Dawson's Burrowing Bee (Amegilla dawsoni) Female of Amegilla dawsoni (scale line = 1 cm)Read more Article Daisy Vogels
25 Sep 2013Celebrating 30 years of Australia II – see the famous America’s Cup-winning yachtRelive the day the Royal Perth Yacht Club sailed to victory in the America's Cup with gold coin entry to the country’s most complete Australia II collection this Thursday 26 September to Saturday 28 September at the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle.Read more News Niki Comparti
25 Sep 2013Wildlife of the Houtman AbrolhosIn February 2012 the WA Museum Terrestrial Zoology department conducted fieldwork on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, off the coast of Geraldton, WA. This was the last in a series of surveys beginning in 1977 to catalogue and study the biodiversity of vertebrate fauna on the islands. On this final fieldtrip important genetic samples were obtained to further investigate the phylogeographic relationships between vertebrate populations on different islands.Read more Photo Galleries Lintette Umbrello
20 Sep 2013Aquatic Zoology Kimberley fieldtrips 2009-2012Western Australian Museum Aquatic Zoology scientists and colleagues from partner agencies (Queensland Museum, Museum Victoria, Herbarium of Western Australia and Curtin University) are setting off on another exciting fieldtrip to the Kimberley and possibly as far north as Ashmore Reef, dependent on the weather. The project has been running since 2008 and this is the second last year of fieldwork. The scientists are documenting the marine biodiversity of the Kimberley, one of the most understudied marine regions of Western Australia.Read more Photo Galleries Lintette Umbrello
20 Sep 2013Museum fundraiser to support Thai hill tribeThe Western Australian Museum - Albany will host a public fundraiser for Northern Thailand’s little-known Lahu hill tribe on Friday 27 September from 5.30pm. WA Museum regional manager Rachael Wilsher-Saa said the ‘Insight Lahu’ event aims to raise the profile of the Lahu and other hill tribe people and the contemporary issues faced by their people and traditional culture. “Originating from Tibet, the Lahu people moved to the hill regions of Thailand as refugees many years ago,” Ms Wilsher-Saa said. Read more News Niki Comparti
19 Sep 2013Cuckoo WaspsAmong the most exquisite wasps to be found in Australia are the cuckoo wasps (or emerald wasps) which are almost wholly bright iridescent green, blue or purple. The body surface is deeply and densely pitted, imparting a glittery appearance. Some northern hemisphere species have gold or reddish tints and are termed ‘gold wasps’ and ‘ruby wasps’, respectively.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
13 Sep 2013The Papyrus of ReriIntroduction by Dr Moya Smith, Head of Anthropology & Archaeology at WA Museum Translation of spells by John Taylor, Curator Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, The British Museum Secrets of the Afterlife has two sheets of a fragmented papyrus of a priest named Reri who lived during the Ptolemaic period between 305-30 BCE. Reri was a priest from Thebes, whose titles included ‘Second god’s servant of Amun’, and ‘Illuminator of the Wedjat’. Read more Article Western Australian Museum
11 Sep 2013Shaggy Spined BeeLeioproctus (Lamprocolletes) unnamed species Male of the ‘Shaggy Spined Bee’. Image copyright WA Museum Read more Article Western Australian Museum
10 Sep 2013Mole Crickets An adult mole cricket, Gryllotalpa sp.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
10 Sep 2013Hornets and Large WaspsIn Australia, the term ‘hornet’ is often applied to any large wasp, particularly if it should be black and orange. However, this use of the term is incorrect as true hornets do not occur in Australia. Most often, the insects referred to as hornets in Australia are large mudnest wasps of the genus Abispa (pictured below). Mudnest wasps are very different in habits from true hornets.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
6 Sep 2013Flightless Carcass BeetlesCarcass beetles or ‘trogids’ are usually associated with carrion and are also known as ‘hide beetles’. They are part of a large suite of insects which assist in breaking down and recycling materials from dead animals. Usually they are attracted to dry carcasses where both adults and larvae feed on dried skin and muscle, fur, or feathers. Australia is home to 53 known species in a single genus, Omorgus (formerly included in the genus Trox). Not all of these species, though, exhibit the usual behaviours.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
6 Sep 2013Earth-borer BeetlesEarth-borer beetles are members of the scarabgroup and have become of special interest in recent years because of their association with underground fungi, particularly those that form symbiotic associations with plant roots. Such fungi (termed ‘mycorrhizal’) assist plants to obtain essential minerals from the soil and many (if not most) of our native plants are dependent on the fungi for their health. The beetles feed on the underground fruiting bodies of the fungi and help spread their spores.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
6 Sep 2013Discovery of the ‘megamouth bee’ Leioproctus sp.This remarkable solitary native bee was discovered in December 2010 when the Museum’s Curator of Insects, Dr Terry Houston, and Museum volunteer, Mr Otto Mueller, went looking for a gazetted rare and endangered bee species in bushland at Forrestdale, only about 20 kilometres from Perth CBD. While scouring the bushland for that species (unsuccessfully as it turned out) a chance observation by Mr Mueller of an insect entering a hole in the ground led to discovery of the new species.Read more Article Western Australian Museum