QuestaSchools

30/07/2024

A plant can feel itself being eaten, when it does it increases production of bitter & toxic chemicals. If it works, a grasshopper moves to a different plant. Each plant species creates different chemicals so young grasshoppers learn quickly that trying different leaves stops the build up of one particular toxin.
They love trying new food.
- if only our children were grasshoppers.
Valanga irregularis, The Giant Grasshopper

14/05/2024

The horrors of a Mangrove Periwinkle.
Flies will lay eggs near these periwinkles that will hatch and the larva will wriggle into the shell. The snail freaks out and releases a defensive mucous but the larva is unaffected, drills into its foot, eats it, metamorphoses & then flies away.

28/11/2023

The BioQuest results are out!

Well done to all the winners from the October 2023 BioQuests. Didn't finish on the podium? You're still a winner in our eyes. Everyone involved is a part of a nature positive gaming rEvolution. Keep up the adventure!

In particular, congratulations to University of Peradeniya, as well as KatieS and Brushturkey for taking out the highest honours in the UniBioQuest.

In the Schools BioQuest, the top teams were Miallo State School and the FGSS Tall Trees, while we witnessed another dominant individual performance from The Owl Whisperer (indeed they just celebrated their win in the Pest Invaders BioQuest with a joy flight over the Great Barrier reef!)

View full results here:
https://buff.ly/44PkdNy
https://buff.ly/3uxnqol

19/11/2023

It is impressive enough that these caterpillars are carnivorous but the fact that they break into a Green’s Ant Nest (who are the lions of the Ant World) and eat their larvae is almost unbelievable. Even more incredible is that they metamorphose inside the Ants nest and then escape using grey powdery scales that detach & distract the Ants that try to stop their escape.

25/09/2023

Okay school QuestaGamers - it's almost that time of year again! Are you ready for round 2 of the 2023 School BioQuest? It runs all through October. We can't wait to see what you find on your quest into nature.

Please note that QuestaGame and our school's programs are a part of Guardians of Earth. So be sure to follow the Guardians of Earth page for all the latest adventures updates and results! Good luck all :)

October brings the next round of the global School BioQuest competition. Is your team geared up and ready to explore and win? 🏆🌲

Create and join teams here: https://buff.ly/3Zoczso

Remember, we are all Guardians of Earth. Together, we can make a real difference. Through the fun and engagement of the BioQuests and Nature Realms, we're empowering everyone to be an active part of the solution to the biodiversity crisis. Wishing you and your team the best of luck.

07/08/2023

📢Okay, Questers! Support our champion student 'Pest Invaders' winners and join the Queensland Agriculture 2023 Schools Plant Science Competition - Awards Day & Science Expo with Costa Georgiadis Official next week! 🏆 Well done, winners!

Want to join the fun at the Queensland Agriculture 2023 Schools Plant Science Competition - Awards Day & Science Expo?

If you care about school nature science engagement come for an exciting program including a talk and insect motel workshop from non other than Costa Georgiadis Official .

Huge congratulations to our QuestaGame 'Pest Invaders BioQuest' winners who will be receiving their awards. Well done to the top three competing schools - Dalby State School , Miallo State School , and Bentley Park College

Program highlights
• guest speakers -
• presentation of awards
• tour of Hermitage
• science show alley
• BBQ lunch
• native bee and insect motel building workshop with Costa
• Street Science

Date: Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Time: 8:30am arrival for 9am sharp start,
Ag Expo from 11am, finish at 2:30pm

Location: 604 Yangan Road, Warwick

RSVP by Thursday August 10, via:
- online form (https://buff.ly/3QslrdS ),
- phone 4542 6700 or
- email [email protected]

07/07/2023

This fly has a horn & much like Moose, Mountain Rams, Humpheaded Wrasse & Rhinocerus Beetles the males of these tiny flies use their horns to fight each other, to win the females. This fly is a reminder, or a lesson, that competition is deeply woven within the DNA of all life, it explains why we like to win, why we watch Sport and perhaps even why children fight in the School Grounds. I would even argue that it is competition that makes people exploit the resources of the Earth (to make the most money) and that one of Humanity's greatest challenges is to learn to control our instincts. Horned Fly, Wawu queenslandensis.

26/06/2023

Acrobat Ant
Crematogaster
These Ants have highly flexible abdominal joints: they can bend their butt up and around so well that they can eject out a frothing venom an entire 360 degrees. &amazing

21/06/2023

Blue Bottle
Chrysomya megacephala
You have heard about these flies in murder mysteries. They are commonly used for determining the minimum time since death, for it takes time for the eggs to hatch, develop & pupate.

19/06/2023

Banana Fruit Fly
Bactrocera musae
These fruit flies emit a pheromone from their re**al glands to attract females. Briefly Translated: When these guys fart, the smell is an irresistible perfume to women.

13/06/2023

What is love? The love bug is famous for staying attached to his mate for long periods. He loves her so much he wants to be sure that she doesn’t find anyone else to have children with. Some might say he is jealous & possessive but to Plecia amplipennis, this is Love? .