Bug hunting, stories and art

“Oh, they’ll find heaps of bugs around here,” said insect expert Tristan Skerratt, after scouting the location for the Trevallyn Bug Hunt and Art Lab. And he was right. While a dry summer had left Trevallyn Reserve in Launceston parched by late February, the bush was still teeming with insect life, which attendees of this event were quick to spot.

The Trevallyn Bug Hunt and Art Lab was a collaboration between Landcare Tasmania and Nature Explorers Trevallyn, an activity-based Landcare group for eight to 12 year-olds, who learn about nature in their local reserve.

But even these seasoned Trevallynites needed to learn from Tristan the art of hunting bugs. He provided them with useful tips on which insects to look for and where, how best to use butterfly nets and specimen jars when trapping, and which species to definitely not get stung by, with the velvet ant leading the way on that list.

Then the day’s mini bug survey began. The kids scoured tree trunks, rocks and fallen logs for creepy crawlies, tapped tree branches for species they could dislodge, and chased butterflies in full flight. Since grasshoppers leapt about everywhere in the dry grass, hopping after them with a ready specimen jar was popular as well.

No surprises then, that grasshoppers turned up in the greatest number among the insects presented to Tristan for identification. There were also numerous examples of dragonflies, butterflies, bee flies and spiders, as well as a scorpion, cuckoo wasp, mason wasp and lots of ants. One bug-catcher even managed to stump Tristan by bringing him a caterpillar-like grub he couldn’t name, and its identify is still TBC.

Participants both young and old said they found Tristan’s stories about the insects they’d caught a highlight of the event.  He described the deadly battles, and the cannibalistic, parasitic and cuckolding events in their lives, revealing just some of the insect-centric dramas that are going on around us all the time.

But the day wasn’t all about insects - after participants had caught a bug they wanted to document, they did as naturalists do, and put pen to paper to represent what they had found. We saw a wide range of insects colourfully portrayed in their art, and all real-life insects were released when their portraits were done.

Thanks to Nature Explorers Trevallyn and bug guru Tristan Skerratt for making this event not only possible, but such a great success.

This event is part of Landcare Tasmania’s Citizen Science Program, proudly supported by the JM Roberts Trust.