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You are here: Home / Workshops / Saturday 6th September 2025 – Identifying Insects – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Saturday 6th September 2025 – Identifying Insects – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

30/07/2025 By

Identifying Insects – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Saturday 6th September

9-11am

with Michelle Gleeson

This workshop will introduce you to the different groups or Orders of insects we commonly find around our homes or gardens.  We explore the appearance, behaviour, reproduction, lifecycles and ecology of these different insect groups and sort out the good guys from the not so good.

 

Participants will use a specially designed dichotomous key to then classify provided insect specimens into these various Orders, giving them the opportunity to work with some unique Australian insects. Combined with cases of preserved insects and arachnids from around the world and live local insects to see up close, this is a fun, hands-on workshop to help you identify insects in your homes and gardens.

 

Michelle completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Entomology at the University of Queensland with first class Honours.

She always wanted to share her love of insects with people, especially children. In January 2003, together with good friends Anthony & Katie Hiller (Mount Glorious Biological Centre), we developed a range of hands-on insect workshops and thus founded Bugs Ed.

In my career so far, I have had the opportunity to work with some amazing people, but none more so than the amazing Sir David Attenborough. In December 2009, I got to work side by side with the wildlife guru during his trip down under to film his latest series. We spent the day at Australia Zoo, wrangling rhinoceros beetles alongside D.J., a 2 tonne African Rhinoceros. Best. Day. Ever.

In addition to running Bugs Ed. I recently published my first book Miniature Lives – identifying insects in your home and garden, a comprehensive, easy-to-read identification guide to Australian insects. Published by CSIRO Publishing, it has received lots of praise, including a nomination for the prestigious Royal Zoological Society of NSW Whitley Awards.

I do some crazy field work as an entomological consultant too, which involves many hours spent up trees, in the bush and traipsing through cow paddocks!

Michelle will have her fantastic identification book available for sale on the day. Check it out here: https://bugsed.com

COST for Michelle‘s workshop as part of YCG’s short Workshop Promotion project

$5.00 financial members of YCG

$10.00 non-members

WORKSHOPS CAPPED AT 25 ATTENDEES.

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Filed Under: Workshops

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41 Farrell street, Yandina, see map
Open to Public Tuesdays and Saturdays 8.30am-12pm. Closed public holidays. (Updated 19 February 2026)

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Acknowledgement of country

Yandina Community Gardens acknowledges and pays respect to the Traditional Owners of the land, the Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi) people, past and present and emerging. We recognise and wish to learn from their spiritual and cultural connection to the land.

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