Last week we received a wonderful e-book from a QuestaGame player named Evie, who writes:
”Hi my name is Evie. I’m 8. I love nature and playing QuestaGame! My family is signing up for wildlife caring soon so I made this book about possums. I hope you like it.”
You can download the book here.
If you have some nature adventure stories to share, contact us at info@questagame.com.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year!
As we enter 2021, we’re delighted to report
Plus exciting new partnerships, upgrades and even some new products coming together in 2021.
Ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus)
Spotted by: cwpaine
Location: Queensland, Australia
Field notes:
IDers: Amphibiaphiles; floozy; Greg McCroary; Corinne; MaskedLapwing; David
“Thank you for sharing the beautiful ground parrot!” - Amphibiaphiles
“Amazing find” - David
Large Pink and Green Hawkmoth (Callambulyx rubricosa)
Spotted by: Pema Thinley
Location: Near Diothang, Bhutan
Field notes: green with red spot moth. Big, about 8-10cm wing span
IDers: cwpaine; Corinne; David
“Beautiful!” - cwpaine
Perth Pachysaga (Pachysaga australis)
Spotted by: Midge
Location: Near Perth, Australia
Field Notes: There appears to be limited photos and knowledge of this particular species. The diamond pattern on its back helped identify it.
IDers: DavidKnowles; wwlearn
“I am surprised I did not see P. australis in my Bullsbrook NR samples. Recently saw a number in the Wireless Hill Survey a few weeks ago. 5 stars.” - DavidKnowles
Green pit viper (Trimeresurus trigonocephalus)
Spotted by: KeshanPerera
Location: Near Kandy, Sri Lanka
IDers: cwpaine; SARANGAKONARA; Heshan
”Distinct green color with black markings.Large triangular head.Presence of a distinct pit between eye and the nostril.” - SARANGAKONARA
”This is a mildly venomous snake which is endemic to Sri Lanka. They are distributed in the wet zone of Sri Lanka. They have Solenoglyphous fangs.” - Heshan
Spotted Stingaree (Urolophus gigas)
Spotted by: Animal
Location: Near Bunbury, WA, Australia
Field notes: Found in 12m in a rocky reef, approx 1/2 to 3/4m long. Grey with pale grey/whiteish rings in a seemingly erratic pattern, tail with a barb.
IDers: Greg McCroary; Andrew
”Only 18 pervious sightings recorded on the ALA!” - Greg McCroary
”Wonderful to see!” - Andrew
Tuft-bearing Longhorn Beetle (Aristobia approximator)
Spotted by: Phouvieng
Location: Vientiane, Laos
Field notes: My friend (Anong) photographed this beetle at her garden in Vientiane.
IDers: octonaughts; wwlearn
”Fatastic spotting!” - wwlearn
Hollandaea porphyrocarpa
Spotted by: Batgrrrrl
Location: Daintree, Australia
Field notes: Bright pink Cauliflorous flower approx 15cm diameter. Protruded from the small tree about 15cm long.
IDers: Stuart Worboys; The Owl Whisperer
“Nice photos of an extremely rare plant.” - Stuart Worboys
Slug caterpillar moth (Limacodidae)
Spotted by: Govardhan ch
Location: Near Warangal, India
IDers: wwlearn; dravinder; suchand
Jumping Spider (Salticidae sp.)
Spotted by: nomadcam
Location: near Melbourne
Field notes: this small robust looking spider was approx 8mm in length. it was found sheltering in the stem of a Goodenia sp. bush.
IDers: Robert Whyte; Andrew
“It’s a Saitis/Servaea/Maratus relative but I haven’t seen it previously. It wins 5 stars each on all the scoring [photos, field notes, remarkability].” - Robert Whyte
Oceanic Comb Jelly (Ocyropsis sp.)
Spotted by: Helenergy_4
Location: Busselton, WA, Australia
Field notes: NEVER seen this species before!!! Saw three of them.
IDers: Richard Willan; wwlearn
“You have done exceptionally well to find and photograph this rare, oceanic comb jelly.” - Richard Willan
Here are the results of the 2020 Global BioQuests.
Certificates and announcements regarding the awards will be sent out very soon.
A few winners are yet to be declared because they are too close to call. We are reviewing the scores and will post the full results here.
Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone involved!
Champion Spotters Team
Winner: Great Southern Land
2nd place - Nature Finders
3rd place - Thiaki Creek
Champion Identifiers Team
Winner: Great Southern Land
2nd place - Nature Finders
3rd place - NRM Education
Champion Identifier
Winner: Greggo (Nature Finders)
2nd place - SuChanRuss (Nature Finders)
3rd place - cwpaine (Great Southern Land)
Novice Champion Identifier (New Players)
Winner: Legendary Apple (TheBestAdventurers)
1st place - Cladonia (Cubberla-Witton Catchments Network )
2nd place - Seniorsonny (TheBestAdventurers)
Champion Spotter
Winner: cwpaine (Great Southern Land)
2nd place - floozy (Great Southern Land)
3rd place - ChelonaJill (Nature Finders)
Novice Champion Spotter (New Players)
Winner: Luke Preece (Thiaki Creek)
2nd place - Kortcrew (Nature Namers)
3rd place - Thiaki Creek (Thiaki Creek)
Best Find:
Winner: JanR (Great Southern Land) for spotting Killer Whales
Most Valuable Player
Winner: Cladonia (Cubberla-Witton Catchments Network )
Total points earned for sightings and IDs divided by number of sightings. Min 4 sightings required.
Champion Spotters Team
Winner: Renmark North Primary School
2nd place - Thiaki Creek
3rd place - Presidio Knolls School
Champion Identifiers Team
Winner: Bundanoon Public School
2nd place - Renmark North Primary School
3rd place - Thiaki Creek
Champion Spotter
Winner: alissa (Renmark North Primary School)
2nd place - Luke Preece (Thiaki Creek)
3rd place - Thiaki Creek (Thiaki Creek)
Champion Identifier
Winner: Albaaadventurer (Broulee Public School)
2nd place - alissa (Renmark North Primary School)
3rd place - Olaoshi (Presidio Knolls School)
Most Valuable Player
Winner: QuestaQueen (West Moreton Anglican College)
Total points earned for sightings and IDs divided by number of sightings. Min 4 sightings required.
Best Find
Winner: BassoFam for a Cedar Waxwing (Camino Pablo Elementary)
Champion Spotters Team
Winner: University of Peradeniya
2nd place - University of Sydney - Team 1
3rd place - University of Queensland - Goddard Dungeons
Champion Identifiers Team
Winner: University of Peradeniya
2nd place - University of Sydney - Team 1
3rd place - The University of Queensland-BIOL3209-2020
Champion Identifier
Winner: Heshan (University of Peradeniya)
2nd place - Tharindu dilshan(bogzzi)
(University of Peradeniya)
3rd place - Supipi (University of Peradeniya)
Champion Spotter
Winner: Supipi (University of Peradeniya).
2nd place - Heshan (University of Peradeniya)
3rd place - Tharindu dilshan(bogzzi) (University of Peradeniya)
Best Find
Winner: Eutropis sp. spotted by Uvin Thavisha
Most Valuable Player
Winner: Stephanie (University of Sydney - Team 1)
Total points earned for sightings and IDs divided by number of sightings. Min 4 sightings required.
Champion Spotters Team
Winner: University of Peradeniya
2nd place - Great Southern Land
3rd place - Nature Finders
Champion Identifiers Team
Winner: Great Southern Land
2nd place - University of Peradeniya
3rd place - Nature Finders
Champion Identifier
Winner: octonaughts (University of Adelaide - Team 8)
2nd place - Greggo (Nature Finders)
3rd place - cwpaine (Great Southern Land)
Novice Champion Identifier (New Players)
Winner: Stephanie (University of Sydney - Team 1)
2nd place - RebeccaCross
(University of Sydney - Team 2)
3rd place - phow8485 (University of Sydney - Team 1)
Champion Spotter
Winner: cwpaine (Great Southern Land)
2nd place - Supipi (University of Peradeniya)
3rd place - Heshan (University of Peradeniya)
Novice Champion Spotter (New Players)
Winner: SARANGAKONARA (University of Peradeniya)
2nd place - Aaron (University of Sydney - Team 2)
3rd place - KushiniK (University of Peradeniya)
Best Find
Winner: Eutropis sp. spotted by Uvin Thavisha, University of Peradeniya (runner up to cwpaine who spotted an Emydura krefftii).
Most Valuable Player
Winner: Sog (University of Queensland - Goddard Dungeons)
Total points earned for sightings and IDs divided by number of sightings. Min 4 sightings required.
Some fantastic results from the Great Aussie BioQuest, with over 34000 sightings and iDs, 3801 species mapped, and over a hundred potential new species found during the country’s National Science Week.
Congratulations to everyone involved and to the winners, with a special acknowledgement to the event’s Ambassador, Costa Georgiadis, and to the event’s sponsors, Bush Heritage and Inspiring Australia.
A special acknowledgement to Google Cloud Services for providing maps support and to Digital Ocean (DigitalOcean.com) for providing server support during the period of such high activity (a new sighting or ID arriving every 15 seconds!).
The expert-verified biodiversity data goes to the Atlas of Living Australia, while donations for the expertise are distributed to numerous conservation partners. Well done Australia!
An amazing QuestaGame player has become a co-author of a scientific paper about a rare species of Australian pygmy grasshopper he found while playing QuestaGame.
He's 11 years old (and made the observation when he was 8).
David Haynes of Earth Guardians (QuestaGame) interviews him here. Congrats to all the scientists involved!
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“You don’t need to wait till you’re a scientist or have a PhD to contribute to biodiversity research or even biosecurity,” says the 11-year-old Griffin.
In this video Griffin shares highlights of his nature adventures. He also shares his top tips to try out at home - so that we can all get a little better at protecting life on Earth.
You can also join Griffin on several video adventures:
Things that sting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwtzhH7wNKQ&t
Beetles and Bugs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSO8lSmr4Vk&t
A duck pond adventure - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_ZNSSlxn_Y&t
Something ImportANT - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm_5O4e-Nus&t
Make a light sheet! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLB9hHEFEbI&t
All the photos and video used in the interview were supplied by Griffin.
Music: Energy from Bensound.com.
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We are all Earth Guardians. The time has come to unleash the power of humanity – every single one of us. Are you ready to help protect life on Earth?
Join the adventure. Play the world's first mobile game that takes you outdoors to discover, map and ultimately help protect life on our planet. Your sightings contribute to real research and conservation.
Play QuestaGame: https://questagame.com/
Share your biodiversity expertise. Help identify species and you can earn donations for an organisation of your choice. Test your knowledge at the Bio-Expertise Engine: https://bee.questagame.com/
Connect with Earth Guardians:
Website - https://www.earthguardians.life/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/EarthGuardians.Life
Many QuestaGame players are discovering spiders for the first time. Sure, they’ve seen spiders before. But many have not really seen spiders before. That is, they’ve never looked closely and noticed just how remarkable they are.
Arachnology magazine, which features QuestaGame in its latest issues, is a great way to discover and learn more about spiders. Once you have a read, trust us, you’ll never see spiders in the same way again.
Arachnids are also one of the most popular categories on QuestaGame.
“Spiders and moths are the categories people get most excited about,” says Mallika Robinson, co-founder and board member of QuestaGame. “They’re the categories where you’re most likely to discover a previously undescribed species.”
So keep your eyes peeled for these eight-legged miracles, whether you discover them outdoors (or indoors!), or in the pages of Arachnology magazine. Once you really see them, you may wonder why you didn’t pay more attention earlier.
Dr Penelope Mills
School of Biological Sciences
The University of Queensland
Although many of us find ourselves stuck at home or restricted in where we can go, there are still plenty of specimens to photograph for your QG sightings if you know where and how to look:
• Explore your backyard/garden. Even a small backyard will have a multitude of small invertebrates (insects, spiders etc) for you to photograph. Try to get multiple, close-up angles for each specimen to help the experts id your sightings. A clip-on macrolens for your phone works well for taking photos of smaller subjects.
• No backyard? No worries! Outside (and inside) lights will attract moths and other nocturnal invertebrates at night.
• Put out plastic plates (white or yellow work best) to attract invertebrates.
• Hang out a white sheet/white cloth to attract invertebrates. An old tea towel should also work. You could get inventive and turn it into a light sheet to attract more specimens at night.
• When out for your daily exercise around the block, photograph animals (and plants if not cultivated) that are out and about along the footpaths.
• Check the outside of buildings (no trespassing though!). I spot plenty of animals resting on vertical walls and other vertical structures as I walk past them.
Dr. Penelope Mills
Get close-ups!
By Greg McCroary
Teacher
Bundanoon Public School
OUR OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM BEFORE COVID19
Bundanoon Public School has been developing a practical and meaningful outdoor education program. Our public schools should provide outdoor education facilities promoting sustainable practices within the broader community including the utilisation of school grounds as a network of habitat stepping stones in a nationwide wildlife corridor enhancing Australia’s unique biodiversity.
Greg McCroary
In normal times, our students regularly undertake flora and fauna surveys to see what shares our space. Recorded observations guide future planning and improvements to our school grounds as a sustainability and outdoor education facility. With guidance from horticultural and bush regeneration experts, selective native plant species propagation will provide year round habitat for the different species known to frequent the school grounds and targeted threatened local species that remain absent in surveys. Monitoring will allow us to assess the effectiveness and suitability of our habitat for mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates for an increased biodiversity in school grounds.
BUT WHAT ABOUT DURING THE COVID19 PANDEMIC & STAY-AT-HOME ISOLATION?
Self-guided, outdoor education, citizen science activity during home learning?
QuestaGame.
Making a real contribution to scientific data?
QuestaGame.
Continuing our Outdoor Education Program?
QuestaGame.
Too easy!
If students experience nature they learn to appreciate it. If they appreciate it they want to conserve it. As teachers, we need to provide that experience to promote sustainably minded and environmentally aware citizens of tomorrow. The School Bioquest is a simple and engaging way to gain that experience. All while getting my students away from a desk and outdoors on a field trip in their own backyards.
INTEGRATING QUESTAGAME INTO THE HOME LEARNING PROGRAM
ART: Photography skills, perspective, framing, cropping and selection of quality images…
NUMERACY: Understanding 3D objects have different views, mapping, data collection, graphing, scale, measurement…
SCIENCE: Taxonomy and labelling, experiments (e.g. what visits a piece of fruit left in the garden? What if you change the fruit? Change the position? etc.), ecosystems, habitats, microclimates…
LITERACY: Information reports, field note writing, story prompt & stimulus, staying safe guidelines, public speaking, filming, reporting, scripts for nature documentaries…
GEOGRAPHY: develop knowledge and understanding of the features and characteristics of places and environments across a range of scales
Free, engaging and meaningful quality teaching at home. Why not?
DATA STILL SHARED FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION
Now the observations are coming from around the students’ homes. But the sightings data are still shared with national and global biodiversity databases (via CSIRO) for scientific research and conservation. All of our catalogued species sightings are available to researchers via the Atlas of Living Australia’s database providing a growing range and distribution map of Australian species.
