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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Ballarat Insects and Arachnids



The ever-evolving Myth-entomology project began in 2007. During that time I’ve steadily amassed a mountain of reference material on insects and arachnids, principally in books and journals, including the excellent Australian Geographic.  I’ve also photographed a great many examples (both living and preserved) from the extensive collections held in the Melbourne Museum, the Natural History Museums of London, New York, Berlin (see detail left) and other institutions.

Since we’ve been spending more time at Ballarat, however, I’ve been granted direct access to some wonderful free-range specimens. Better yet, I haven’t had to look very much further than my own backyard. 

The following photographs were taken in Ballarat over the last twelve months.








Images from top:

Common Rose Swallowtail Winged Woman, 2012, pencil (work in progress)
Installation view, Natural History Museum of Berlin, November 2011
Cricket
Grasshopper
Junonia villida butterfly
Nectarine blossoms with bees
Huge, exquisitely coloured specimen, possibly from the blowfly family
Orb Weaver, AKA Wheel Weaver spider
An example of the Orb Weaver's breathtaking spinning, weaving and engineering skills