21/04/2026
Whipstick critters 😍
On display at Bendigo Community Health Services Eaglehawk site.
It takes some serious patience to find the Whipstick’s twig-mimicking Katydid. For obvious reasons. But there’s not much about the forest on Eaglehawk’s fringe that evades Michael Barkla.
The BCHS client of almost 50 years – and local field naturalist – has spent decades documenting this rarest of environments, and its beasts big and miniscule.
A selection of Michael’s photographs of Whipstick invertebrates and flora are currently on show in the BCHS Eaglehawk site, delighting clients and staff.
“There’s such a range of insects that exist there, and I feel a need for people to know about them,” Michael says of sharing his work.
He says knowledge leads to care, and in his case, a life-long passion to protect the forest.
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