Cosmos
Cosmos is a quarterly science magazine. We aim to inspire curiosity in ‘The Science of Everything’ and make the world of science accessible to everyone.
By Cosmos
More than 60 per cent of Australia’s known insect fleet are unnamed and a mystery to science. Of an estimated 500,000 Australian species, roughly half are insects, but many aren’t categorised.
A group of sharp-eyed school students from Queensland are changing that. With the guidance of their dedicated teachers and enthusiastic experts, they’ve helped lift the lid on the secrets of two more insect species.
The Year 4 students from Yeronga State primary school expected to find various insects in their insect (Malaise) trap. A tiny fly, first identified in a Botanical Garden in Portugal and unrecorded in Australia, was not one of them.
Expert analysis found some of the fly’s DNA sequences were nearly identical to a Moth Fly species, Alepia viatrix. They sent specimens to Germany for testing, where scientists confirmed the fly’s Alepia viatrix identity. And it was far from home.
The students sketched and labelled the insect, and discussed their theories for how this fly came to be in their backyard. Popular theories included it swimming the distance, stowing away on a shipping container, or attempting world domination.
This excellent work became part of a scientific paper published in the Journal of Biodiversity Data. The authors suggest the fly likely made its 18,000km journey to Australia by hitchhiking in a bromeliad.
Fortunately, experts expect the fly to be harmless for Australia’s environment. And its discovery highlights the importance of community involvement and citizen science.
Taking the sting out of armyworm invasion
More recently, students from Yeronga and five other schools each collected a new wasp species in their Malaise traps. The discovered wasp is a natural enemy to the Fall Armyworm, a destructive cereal crop pest that entered Australian agriculture in 2020.
Because their wasp was unnamed and undescribed, students got to workshop potential names for the newly recognised species. Researchers credit the students and describe the shared naming process in a journal article published in Austral Entomology.
The students’ wasp discoveries and information will be useful to Queensland Government’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Knowing the wasps’ locations will assist scientists researching solutions to armyworm population control, aiding Australian agriculturalists and farmers.
The learning opportunities came from a partnership between teacher Clare Triggell from Yeronga State School and entomologist Dr Andy Howe from the University of the Sunshine Coast. Thanks to their collaboration, students got a unique chance to learn about insect taxonomy, biodiversity, conservation and biosecurity.
Triggell and Howe have been partners for more than 3years through the CSIRO’s STEM Professionals in Schools program. The initiative pairs Australian teachers with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) professionals, connecting curriculum and real-life industry and research.
Howehelped make learning activities more meaningful by basing some exercises on the citizen science projects of Insect Investigators. This school-based program teams up scientists with schools to discover, document and describe Australia’s biodiversity.
Through the program, Yeronga State School students have joined other emerging scientists around Australia. Together, they’ve named 17 new insect species and documented 5000 species using DNA.
Read more: insect evolution in NZ
The Australian Museum celebrated Insect Investigators’ efforts with a Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science in 2024. Howe says the enthusiasm of all the teachers and students involved drove the Eureka’s shared achievement.
“Working with Clare is wonderful, she eagerly facilitates hands-on learning and has taught me how it works best in schools,” he says.
“The partnership is to increase teacher capability, as well as the students, in a new STEM area, and I’ve seen that here. Last year, teachers ran their own insect trapping and monitoring exercise with minimal input from me.
“I can’t wait to learn what they discover next.”
This article first appeared in CSIRO News.
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