Our second Introduction To Entomology (Certificate Course) will begin on January 17th 2024 at 7:30 pm and will be delivered via Zoom Conferencing Software. This particular course is becoming very popular with students from a wide range of ages and student positions usually fill very quickly once the course date is announced.

Enrolements for this fundamental course are now open. See here for more details and to enrole: Introduction to Entomology Course Details.

(Image Slug: Pictured left to right: Dr Bert Candusio, C.V.R.I.C Curator, Dr Jenny Shield; La Trobe University and Dr Robert Raven)

The Central Victoria Regional Insect Collection (C.V.R.I.C) was recently paid a visit by two leading research scientists in order to view and evaluate the C.V.R.I.C collections and to support its ongoing progress and development. The first research papers describing new species from the C.V.R.I.C will be published in the near future.

Dr Robert Raven is one of Australia's foremost arachnologist or spider expert. Having started by researching the behaviour and ecology of spiders in the Brisbane region, he moved on to the taxonomy of spiders. He has described over 450 new species in more than 40 genera from Australia, South East Asia, the Pacific islands, and Central and South America. Having joined the staff of the Queensland Museum in 1974 he became Head of Terrestrial Biodiversity and Principal Curator.

Dr Raven has been Spider Bite Consultant for the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane for many years. He serves as Chairman of the World Spider Catalog Committee for the International Society of Arachnology and was founder of the Australasian Arachnological Society. In 2018 he was awarded the Queensland Museum Medal.

Dr Jenny Sheild from La Trobe University has also studied the spider and insect fauna of Central Victoria over many years and works with Dr Raven in describing new spider species collected from the region.

Both Dr Raven and Dr Shield called in to the C.V.R.I.C to discuss the importance of the collection and to help ensure that the collection is protected for future generations. The collections curator Bert Candusio is keen to locate the collection locally where it can be made publicly available for biological research, education and environmental assessment applications.

Now that the 2023 National Insect Expo has wound up for the year, C.V.R.I.C is getting ready to begin its On-Line Courses once again. The first course will be the Introduction To Entomology Course and will begin on November 1st at 7:30 pm and will be delivered via Zoom Conferencing Software. Enrolements for this fundamental course are now open. See here for more details and to enrole: Introduction to Entomology Course Details.