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The 40cm-long insect, named Acrophylla alta, weighs slightly less than a golf ball and may be the heaviest insect in Australia
A newly discovered stick insect which weighs slightly less than a golf ball may be the heaviest insect in Australia, scientists say.
The 40cm-long new species, named Acrophylla alta,was found in the high altitudes of the Atherton tablelands in north Queensland – and scientists said the habitat could be part of the reason for its large size.
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Ambitious bottle return scheme helps the Netherlands hit recycling targets and tackle littering
When Mariama Kamara enters the new Statiegeld return shop on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, she is on a mission. She has been tasked by her aunt, who runs a nearby restaurant, with depositing three giant blue trash bags of bottles and cans. In about seven minutes she feeds the deposit machine about 350 cans, bringing in more than €50 (£43) which will go back into her aunt’s business. “It’s a really cool idea, and so convenient,” she says.
In the Netherlands, whenever consumers buy goods in cans,glass or plastic bottles, they pay a slight fee (statiegeld) that ranges from 15 cents to 25 cents depending on the size and type. This money can be reclaimed, however, when you return the container to a “reverse vending machine”, while uncollected deposits go to enlarging the scheme.
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The groups have long been at odds over culling of badgers in England as a way to control TB in cattle
The first farmer-led programme to vaccinate badgers against tuberculosis is beginning in Cornwall with an aim to prevent transmission of the disease to cattle.
The programme is significant because farmers and scientists have long been at loggerheads over the culling of badgers as a way to control TB. The three-year trial will start with 70 farms and involve farmers trapping, testing and vaccinating badgers, with training provided by scientists. An earlier pilot study of the approach showed TB rates in badgers fell from 16% to zero in four years.
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Newly appointed expedition botanist Matthew Jeffery feels ‘daunted’ but inspired by his unique globetrotting role collecting wild species
It was described as “the best job in the natural world”: an expedition botanist for Cambridge University Botanic Garden who would follow in the footsteps of Charles Darwin and go on plant-collecting adventures around the world.
Within days of the job advertisement going viral, six people had sent it to Matthew Jeffery and suggested he apply.
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Study suggests the underwater valleys have a major impact on ice loss and ocean circulation
Scientists have mapped 332 Antarctic canyon networks to help assess the future course of climate breakdown.
The research, published in the journal Marine Geology, shows in high resolution submarine valleys that can reach down more than 4,000 metres, more than twice the depth of the Grand Canyon in the US.
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Exclusive: Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns say party could slide into irrelevance if it chooses new leader with ‘polarising’ approach
The Green party risks going into reverse if they elect Zack Polanski as leader, his two opponents have said, arguing that his promised brand of “eco-populism” would prove polarising, divisive and likely to put off more moderate voters.
Speaking to the Guardian before the opening of the month-long leadership vote, which begins on Friday, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns said the party in England and Wales was at “a crossroads”, and could miss the chance to hold the balance of power at the next election.
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Wrexham: These plants were giants, tall and abundant enough to change the atmosphere 300m years ago – and they’re somewhere fossilised in this rock
We are at the Stori Brymbo heritage site, which was an iron mine and smelting plant until 1990. Outside it is cool, stormy and wet, but we’re sheltered under a galvanised roof with the wind rattling and the rain tapping. Beneath us, a sandy, crumbling layer of rock formed 300m years ago from a great thickness of mud and silt that settled in a vast river delta system that once covered this part of Wales.
If I squint my eyes, I imagine the vast, stifling, steaming jungle; no grass or flowers, just tall trunks towering above and ferns below, insects flying all around. This was the Carboniferous era in the tropics, long before any dinosaurs or other land animals, and the first “trees” – club mosses, giant horsetails – grew by 10 to 30 metres in a few months, before dying and falling into the swamps to eventually form our coal.
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Some of us seem to be bitten much more than others – and in unlucky cases this can lead to an allergic reaction or chronic illness. Pharmacists explain how to avoid the worst insects have to offer
A downside to hot weather is all the bugs that can feast on or sting us. Is there anything you can do to avoid this? And what should you do if you are attacked? Here’s what pharmacists have to say about the best ways to prevent and treat stings and bites.
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We require several decent years in a row – 2025 is an improvement on last year but we need more vintage years
Is it a superlative summer for butterflies or simply a return to normal? Plenty of nature-lovers have delighted in the abundance of gatekeepers, red admirals and peacocks this year, particularly after the dire summer of 2024, the second worst for common butterflies since scientific records began in 1976.
We won’t know the answer until results from the Big Butterfly Count come in – add your 15-minute butterfly counts in your local green space using the free app or website until 10 August. Confirmation will come when UKBMS data is crunched early next year.
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Former energy officials raise alarm about tariffs, cuts and other policies creating uncertainty in geothermal industry
Geothermal is one of the most promising clean energy sources in the US, providing 24/7 renewable power that could meet rising energy demand from AI datacentres. But former Department of Energy officials are alarmed that Donald Trump is fumbling its potential.
Compared with other clean energy sources such as solar and wind, geothermal enjoys rare bipartisan support. The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, has praised the technology, calling it “an awesome resource that’s under our feet”. And Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserved tax credits for geothermal.
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