new book!

The rise in temperature along with wet weather has created ideal conditions for blow flies to be buzzing around your house and yard. The ABC's Dan and Jenny spoke to entomologist Dr Bryan Lessard, who explains what attracts blowflies, as well why they're so important to our ecosystem.

A buzzing fly in your house can be annoying. But did you know that flies can be beautiful... and they provide valuable services.

On this episode of Talking Australia, Dr Bryan Lessard aka Bry The Fly Guy  explains why flies and other insects are crucial to pollination and why insects in particular are becoming a billion dollar industry.

 DNA test confirms stick insect back from the dead (via Stephen Smiley) 

 An insect edition with special guests Dr Bryan Lessard from the CSIRO and Dr Rebecca Johnson from the Australian Museum! 

It's a crunchy, challenging Cake of Sunday as we talk about what normally splats on your windscreen. We'll find out what insects taste like in a high protein bar.

Popular culture meets science, as zoologist Dr George McGavin delves into the strange, and often bizarre, names given to insects. (Produced by Andrea Rangecroft)

 More than two-hundred new species have been named in the CSIRO collections during the past year. Included in this diverse array are seventy-three ants, thirty-eight beetles and twenty-one flies, and several extinct species perfectly preserved in 100 million year old Burmese amber.   Lish Fejer spoke to Entomologist Bry the Fly Guy.

Entomologist Bryan Lessard says the soldier flies look like ‘little gems buzzing around the forest floor’

Entomologist Bryan Lessard hopes to draw attention to the underappreciated insects and inspire young LGBTQ science-lovers.

Scientists are using new technology to speed up the discovery of species new to science before it's too late.

A new species of bee fly in Australia has been named after Game of Thrones villain the Night King.

Whether it be energy bars made from ground crickets or gourmet worms at high-end restaurants, demand for edible insects is on the rise in Australia, according to people in the industry.

Think your house is fairly clean? Think again.  Scientists, who are for the first time starting to look at the ecology of the great indoors, have found the average house could have about 100 species of insects, spiders and other bugs living inside.

Technology is taking the rising trend of citizen science to new heights with scores of science-savvy kids signing up to help document Australian species and they are bringing a range of skills that could be game-changing.

The second wettest winter on record, a cooler start to spring and higher than average temperatures forecast over summer have created the perfect conditions for a fly population boom. But while that can be highly annoying at the family barbecue, it's not all bad according to the experts.

Most of us would prefer to hear the crunch of a bug underfoot than in our mouths. Yet a growing number of small businesses are bringing creepy crawlies to our dinner plates.

 Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, has lit up its iconic Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in a rainbow of colours for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2019. 

It's easy to think that by now we've pretty well discovered all the animals there are to discover on Earth. So it might be surprising to hear that the CSIRO has identified more than 200 new species of animals and plants in the past year.

Lots of us get a bit freaked out when we spot critters scuttling across the kitchen floor and, instinctively, we reach for the insecticide spray to kill. But there are ways we can deal with bugs without resorting to chemicals, and the uncomfortable truth is there are some creepy crawlies we're better off keeping around.