March 14 was International Save a Spider Day, and this year, we’ve taken a closer look at an iconic group of New Zealand spiders – the tunnelwebs. Not only were these spiders the inspiration for the design of Shelob in Peter Jackson’s Return of the King, but their family isRead more
Bug of the Year was created to celebrate the spectacular and often overlooked invertebrates of New Zealand. Backed by Te Papa, Collection Technician Invertebrates Shaun Thomson talks about one of this year’s nominees – a tiny fly with a jewel-like shimmer and a life cycle that borders on the unbelievable.Read more
Collections technician and PhD student Shaun Thompson has spent several years working with curators Julia Kasper and Phil Sirvid to study one of the most unusual and elusive groups of flies in Aotearoa New Zealand. He aims to create comprehensive species descriptions and distribution records of the Acroceridae, or “small-headedRead more
The insect collection at Te Papa holds a hidden wealth of vibrant foreign specimens. Due to a reorganisation process, Technicians had a chance to rehouse and examine the foreign specimens. Natural History Technician Shaun Thompson talks about what he learned about our foreign insect collection.Read more
Assistant researcher Shaun Thompson is working with Curator Julia Kasper studying the lives of fungus gnats, one of the biggest Diptera groups in New Zealand. They aim to provide updated species descriptions and distribution records which may help detect invasive exotic species present in New Zealand, prevent the loss of these gnat species and avert harm to our ecosystem.Read more
