Museum Manager Jack Ashby writes: ‘As this week is Bear Awareness week it’s a good chance to share a story from the history of science involving Charles Darwin’s interpretations of what some bears’ behaviour might mean for the evolution of future bear species. ‘He had become aware of observations of a black bear catching insects in the water by swimming for hours with its mouth … Continue reading Darwin and the bears ‘as monstrous as whales’
Animals have to eat. Unlike plants, we can’t make our own food. We can see that animals have lots of features geared up to making sure they don’t go hungry, from the senses that help them find food to the mouthparts that eat it and digestive system needed to break it down. In this Nature Classroom we will be exploring some of thefeeding adapations found … Continue reading Jaws! Feeding Adaptations in Mammals
It’s been a treat every Friday to share with you some of the wonderful close-up photographs of insects from Prof Bill Amos of the Department of Zoology. Scroll down for the latest batch from his insect photo diary. These beasties have some pretty amazing stories to tell! Why not have a go yourself? We would love to see your photos of wildlife where you are. … Continue reading An Insect A Day continues
The Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) is one of the most recognisable springtime butterflies. Over the last few weeks, many of you will have seen the males, with their distinctive orange wingtips, and the cloudy white females in your gardens. Now is a good time to see the start of the next generation of the butterflies, by searching for the butterfly’s beautiful amphora-shaped orange eggs on Garlic … Continue reading Butterfly Eggs
Academic in the Department of Zoology, and one of our visitor engagement volunteers in the Museum, Dr Tony Fulford writes: ‘Swallows don’t quite do it for me. Don’t get me wrong, they are wonderful birds, skimming the ponds and twittering in the sky, but it isn’t they who bring in spring. They are up there if you look but they don’t fill the air with … Continue reading The Ten Locally Breeding Warblers
For International Women’s Day 2020, Dr Kate Sainsbiry of the Department of Zoology gave a fascinating talk about her research into the conservation of British carnivores. Populations of these charismatic animals have gone up and down over the years. Here you can discover why, and what has been and is being done to protect them. Here are some things to think about from watching this … Continue reading Conserving Britain’s Carnivores
Join us every Tuesday as we make an alphabet from the animals in the Museum of Zoology. Today is the letter F: F is for flamingo, fox, frog, falcon, fish, fur and feathers. Can you think of any others? Join us next week for animals in the Museum beginning with the letter G, with something very very tall… Continue reading Animal Alphabet: F is for Flamingo
To celebrate Hedgehog Awareness Week, here’s a specially written Puggle Club story inspired by the hedgehog on display in the Museum. Hungry Hedgehog Words and illustrations by Rosalyn Wade The moon was full and the stars were bright As Hedgehog went snuffling round for a bite ‘A morsel of snail and a mouthful of slug, ‘A nice wriggly worm and a fine, crunchy bug, ‘What … Continue reading A Prickly Tale
Prof Bill Amos of the Department of Zoology has been keeping a photo diary of the lockdown, taking a picture of an insect every day. We shared the first set of photos with you last week. Scroll down and see how amazing our insects look close to with his latest batch of photos and captions. And why not try photographing an insect a day? Share … Continue reading An Insect A Day
You can fnd nature everywhere in your garden, and a wildlife hotspot you may not have explored is your compost heap. Join our Curator of Insects, Dr Ed Turner, as he goes in search of the amazing minibeasts living in his compost heap. Found something exciting in your garden? We would love to hear about it! You can comment below, post it on Twitter with … Continue reading Compost Creatures
Have you been woken early in the morning by birds calling outside? At this time of year, early risers are treated to one of nature’s wonders – the symphony of bird song we call the Dawn Chorus. It was International Dawn Chorus Day on Sunday (May 3rd), and to celebrate some of our team woke up early to capture these sounds of spring for you. … Continue reading Birds: The Dawn Chorus
Join us every Tuesday as we make an alphabet from the animals in the Museum of Zoology. Today is the letter E: E is for elephant, elephant seal, eagle, echidna and egg. Can you think of any others? Join us next week for animals in the Museum beginning with the letter F. Spot the big pink bird, and something that jumps… Continue reading Animal Alphabet: E is for Elephant
Task: Have a look out of your window. What animals can you see? Can you see a robin with a red breast? The robin shows this off when defending its territory. What about a peacock butterfly with ‘eyes’ on its wings? These are used to confuse animals that might want to eat it. And have you seen a brown bird – perhaps a sparrow, dunnock … Continue reading Exploring Evolution through Colour
This week in Puggle Club we are looking for spiders. Count with us as we see which of these animals has eight legs and is a spider. Spiders are amazing animals. Can you spot any around your garden or on your daily walk? They can make silk and weave webs of many different types. These help spiders to catch their food. Webs can be sticky … Continue reading Spiders!
There is some amazing wildlife on your doorstep if you know where to look. Professor Bill Amos of the Department of Zoology writes about looking closely at insects: ‘In these times of lockdown, a little bit of nature goes a long way. We have a small garden in central Cambridge and I thought I would challenge myself to photograph a new insect every day. Of … Continue reading Insect-eye view
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