There’s a reason you either love or hate spiders
You likely fall into one of two categories: you either like spiders, or you moved because there was one in your last house. Resident spider expert Phil Sirvid (likes spiders) dives into why this is.
Spiders and insects
Insects, arachnids, myriapods, creepy-crawlies, moths, butterflies and their allies. Insects, spiders, and other bugs make up well over half of Aotearoa New Zealand’s animal diversity and that most of them are found nowhere else on planet Earth.
New Zealand spiders and arachnids
Are there any deadly or dangerous spiders in New Zealand? What should I do if I get bitten by a white-tailed spider? What is that massive spider next to the pot plant? Find answers to those questions and be introduced to our eight-legged friends.
Save A Spider Day
March 14 is Save A Spider Day. As they are not always the most popular of animals, some readers may be wondering why on Earth anybody would want to save spiders at all! In this blog, our spider man and spider fan Dr Phil Sirvid looks at some of the reasons spiders deserve your love or at least your tolerance.
What spider is that?
This guide can help you identify some of our strange and wonderful spiders. It also explains a few of their intriguing habits.
New Zealand’s most popular spiders
Spider expert Phil Sirvid gives the low-down on the most popular spiders of the 2010s, as searched for on Collections Online.
The biting truth about white-tailed spiders
Whitetails are blamed for lots of nasty symptoms, and have developed something of a bad reputation, but is it deserved? Bug expert Phil Sirvid sorts fact from fiction.
Find out more about spiders in our blog
Whether you like our spidery friends, or you moved because there was one in your last house, you’ll find almost all the information you’ll ever need about Aotearoa New Zealand pūngāwerewere or spiders on our blog.
Insects, myriapods, and other bugs
Why are cicadas so loud? Why are sandfly bites so itchy? Why do some bugs have hard bodies, and some have soft? What is the connection of the pūriri moth to whakairo?
The genius of bugs
You name it, bugs can do it. Over millions of years, they’ve adapted to make the most of every habitat on Earth. We’re only just beginning to discover their secrets.
Benefits of insects to humans – Forensic entomology
Te Papa entomology curator and forensic entomologist Julia Kasper looks at some of her favourite ways insects help humanity. Together with Auckland-based MSc student Xenia Okeremi, she explains how flies can help solve crimes.
Kihikihi cicadas and their sounds
Aotearoa New Zealand has 34 species of cicadas. Five of these species are then further divided into several subspecies, to give 42 unique species and subspecies of New Zealand cicada.
Your bug questions answered
Do spiders sleep? Why are cicadas so loud? Te Papa's bug expert Phil Sirvid answers some of your more unusual questions.
New Zealand Mosquito Census
We need your help tracking New Zealand’s native and introduced mosquito species so we can get a better understanding of which species live where and how they’re spreading. Simply catch it, freeze it, and send it!
Watch: Carver Sam Hauwaho creating Whaka-Iro
Commissioned for He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Maori Carving, kaiwhakairo (carver) Sam Hauwaho’s carved wooden artwork Whaka-iro reflects upon and references the meaning of the word whakairo or whaka-iro-iro – to make like a wood-boring grub.