Science News

Some sad and exciting news from the Lab this week. 

Our spiny leaf insect, Little Mama, passed away last week. She had reached 18 months old, and as the students know, the female spiny leaf insects live up to 18 months. Big Mama is now 20 months old, which is incredible, but she is also quite elderly and fragile. 

In our insectarium we have also had new life, as last week the eggs donated by Holly Mappourides-Burchell, one of our Year 6 students, began to hatch. At last count, 8 new spiny leaf insect nymphs were running around the enclosure looking like little ants. 

The spiny leaf insects use camouflage to protect themselves for their entire lives, starting with their eggs smelling like food so ants take them down into their nests where they are safe. There they hatch, and looking like ants, walk out of the nest and climb into the treetops. They grow and shed, grow and shed, each time looking more and more like the leaves of the trees they inhabit. We only have females in our tank, but that hasn’t stopped them from laying eggs, as the spiny leaf insects can clone themselves if necessary. 

Our goliath stick insect nymphs are continuing to grow, we have had a steady stream of hatching babies since November last year, and the most accurate count I have managed so far is 28.

The students love looking at the creatures we care for in the Lab, and during our 6-28 lesson this week Artan asked about a small fish he found in our tank. Turns out that we have also had some babies in our fish tank too. So far two babies have been spotted in our aquatic jungle, but we are now definitely on the lookout for more! 

I would also like to thank Gina in Year 6 for donating her amazing diorama and model to the Lab. Gina has done an amazing job on her Portfolio Research task which is currently on display in ‘the Museum’ in the Science Room. 

Movie recommendation for this week is Changing Planet, a series from the BBC which can be watched on a Binge subscription in Australia. This documentary looks at natural habitats from across the world and how they have changed throughout the years.