Dr Bryan Lessard ‘All the buzz on Australia’s secret gardeners’

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Thursday, 30 November 2017 - 12:30pm to 1:30pm

Bryan, an OCE Postdoctoral Fellow at CSIRO, will challenge many of the popular myths about Australian flies, and emphasise their status as essential pollinators of (and composters for) many iconic Australian plants.

Dr Bryan Lessard, an OCE Postdoctoral Fellow at CSIRO (a.k.a. Bry the Fly Guy) works at CSIRO’s Australian National Insect Collection where he researches the genetic relationships of flies and describes new species, including the bootylicious Beyoncé fly, Plinthina beyonceae. Dr Lessard shares his passion for flies and biodiversity with the world through the written word and social media (@BrytheFlyGuy). He was an invited speaker at TEDx Canberra in 2016 and now presents a semi-regular segment (Bry the Fly Guy’s Top 5) on ABC Evenings with Chris Bath highlighting the importance of biodiversity.

Flies are often thought of as disgusting even though they are essential pollinators of many iconic Australian plants. Their larvae help us recycle organic matter and are fantastic additions to our garden compost bins. There are over 9,000 species of flies that are native to Australia and many new species are being described every day in CSIRO’s Australian National Insect Collection. DNA is even allowing us to identify new species and build our understanding of the genetic relationships of flies. Come along and learn more about why we should appreciate the humble fly!