Australian Museum Entomology and BushBlitz

Scientists from the Museum have visited a number of remote areas throughout Australia collecting insects as participants in the BushBlitz program. This field work has highlighted just how much more collecting and research is required to get a basic understanding of Australia's biodiverse insect fauna.

Bush Blitz is Australia’s largest nature discovery project - a three-year, multimillion dollar partnership between the Australian Government, BHP Billiton and Earthwatch Australia to document the plants and animals in hundreds of properties across Australia’s National Reserve System. To find out more about this program visit the website.

Australian Museum entomologists participated in trips to the Charles Darwin Reserve, Western Australia and new reserves associated with Paroo-Darling, Gundabooka and Dorrigo National Parks, New South Wales.

The results highlight the number of undescribed species present in Australian ecosystems, with as much as 50% of the moth fauna collected from the Charles Darwin Reserve being undescribed. The field work has also greatly enhanced the Australian Museum collections, with hundreds of thousands of specimens collected in Malaise traps and at light. Many of these areas have not previously been sampled by Museum workers, and these samples now represent a valuable legacy for future research.