Four creepy crawlies Australians will see more of this wet summer—and one iconic beetle they'll probably miss
For Australians, memories of childhood Christmas often include gifts, prawns and shooing uninvited buzzing guests away from the pavlova.
But have you ever wondered why the air is full of bugs some years and almost empty in others? Insect populations boom and bust frequently.
This year is our third successive La Niña, and a wet summer is forecast yet again for Australia's east.
Wet, warm weather is ideal for many of the insects, spiders and slugs that share our homes and gardens. That means we're likely to have a very buggy Christmas.
Aren't all the insects dying?
As we heat up the planet and take over natural areas, invertebrate species are responding in unpredictable ways. Many species are in trouble: researchers have warned of an insect apocalypse facing flying bugs like wasps, butterflies, and beetles in densely populated Europe.
Subsequent research has drawn less drastic conclusions, and some American researchers claim that population sizes haven't significantly changed overall, with some species booming and others dying off.