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Te Papa Tongarewa

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Spiders and insects

Insects, arachnids, myriapods, bugs, creepy-crawlies, moths, butterflies and their allies.

There’s a reason you either love or hate spiders

You likely fall into one of two categories: you either like spiders, or you moved because there was one in your last house. Resident spider expert Phil Sirvid (likes spiders) dives into why this is.

Save A Spider Day

March 14 is Save A Spider Day. As they are not always the most popular of animals, some readers may be wondering why on Earth anybody would want to save spiders at all! In this blog, our spider man and spider fan Dr Phil Sirvid looks at some of the reasons spiders deserve your love or at least your tolerance.

What spider is that?

This guide can help you identify some of our strange and wonderful spiders. It also explains a few of their intriguing habits.

New Zealand’s most popular spiders

Spider expert Phil Sirvid gives the low-down on the most popular spiders of the 2010s, as searched for on Collections Online.

The biting truth about white-tailed spiders

Whitetails are blamed for lots of nasty symptoms, and have developed something of a bad reputation, but is it deserved? Bug expert Phil Sirvid sorts fact from fiction.

The genius of bugs

You name it, bugs can do it. Over millions of years, they’ve adapted to make the most of every habitat on Earth. We’re only just beginning to discover their secrets.

New Zealand Mosquito Census

We need your help tracking New Zealand’s native and introduced mosquito species so we can get a better understanding of which species live where and how they’re spreading. Simply catch it, freeze it, and send it!

Fantastic water bears and how to photograph them

Jean-Claude explains why photographing a water bear is such a ‘bugbear’ and bug expert Phil Sirvid fills us in on exactly what a water bear is, and why they are one of the most indestructible creatures on the planet.

Your bug questions answered

Do spiders sleep? Why are cicadas so loud? Te Papa's bug expert Phil Sirvid answers some of your more unusual questions.

Benefits of insects to humans – Forensic entomology

Te Papa entomology curator and forensic entomologist Julia Kasper looks at some of her favourite ways insects help humanity. Together with Auckland-based MSc student Xenia Okeremi, she explains how flies can help solve crimes.