November is about to get a whole lot buggier. Dani talks with Jess Ward-Jones, Citizen Science Coordinator at the Invasive Species Council of Australia, about Bugs in My Backyard Week, a national springtime snapshot of Australia's invertebrates running from 16 to 22 November.
All you need is a phone and the iNaturalist app to help spot invasive species before they spread and learn about the 300,000 native invertebrates around us, most of which are still undescribed. Jess shares why this spring's bogong boom is a hopeful sign, what a new fire ant incursion in Sydney means, how a citizen scientist recorded the rare Dinosaur Ant, and why snails fire love darts at each other.
She also explains the invasion curve, warns about invaders like the polyphagous shot-hole borer and giant African snail, and shares easy ways to make your garden better for native bugs.
Jess Photo Credit: Hayden Starr
More Information
https://bughunt.org.au/bugs-in-my-backyard-week/
https://www.facebook.com/invasivespeciescouncil
https://invertebratesaustralia.org/
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/bugs-in-my-backyard-yard-week-2026
https://www.facebook.com/Invertebrates.Australia
https://www.instagram.com/invasive_species_council/
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