“The Philippines is jam-packed with diverse and threatened species—it’s one of the most astounding regions of biodiversity on Earth.”

This is a simple yet meaningful statement from Dr. Terry Gosliner of the California Academy of Sciences who led the expedition on the Verde Island Passage, delivered at the 2015 celebration of the World Ocean’s Day. What he said about the country’s biodiversity is something that Filipinos can be proud of, beyond his words, Filipinos should really be concerned.

Read on to find out why.

Forensic dipterology (the study and use of two-winged insects or true flies in scientific methods or investigations to solve crime) as a science and its prospects in the Philippines was the subject of the UPLB Museum of Natural History’s latest Biodiversity Seminar held 17 June 2015 at the UPLB MNH Conference Room.

Presenting to nearly 60 people during the seminar, guest speaker Socrates D. Letana from the Institute of Biology, UP Diliman also talked on natural history collections of flies and their importance in forensics.

Thirty-five college students from Adamson University, Divine Word College- Legazpi and Southern Luzon State University joined and completed this year's edition of the "Summer Short Course on Biodiversity for Beginners: Methods and Analysis for Biodiversity Field Surveys" held 16-22 May 2015 at the UPLB Museum of Natural History.

According to James DV. Alvarez, one of the course coordinators, the participants were trained to understand, through lectures and fieldworks, the concepts and principles underlying and related to biological diversity.

The Museum of Natural History paid tribute to the Father of Philippine Wildlife Conservation, Dr. Discoro Siarot Rabor, by holding its first Rabor Day last May 18. The celebration was timed with the 104th birth anniversary of the famed wildlife biologist and in observance of May as the National Heritage month.

In an interview, MNH Director Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez said that "the Museum prepared a month-long exhibit on Dr. Rabor with a display of some of his priceless collections at the Museum lobby."

"Visitors will have the extraordinary experience of seeing in person some of Dr. Rabor's collections which are not usually seen by the public," Gonzalez said.

UPLB faculty, staff, students and alumni can visit the UPLB Museum of Natural History for free this coming May 18 (Monday), 2015. All they need is to present a valid UPLB or UPLB Alumni Association ID at the entrance.

May 18 marks a new special day for the Museum as it has been designated by management as Rabor Day, in honor of Dr. Dioscoro S. Rabor (1911-1996), considered as the Father of Philippine Wildlife Conservation. Rabor's birthdate is May 18, and this Monday will be his 104th birth anniversary.

Myrmecologists David Emmanuel M. General and Perry Archival C. Buenavente of the UPLB Museum of Natural History and Philipine National Museum, respectively, recently announced the formal description of a new ant species discovered in the forests of Palawan Island.

In an article published in India-based journal HALTERES (Vol 6, 2015, pp. 56-62), the two ant specialists described Romblonella coryae sp. n. from the primary lowland rainforest of one of Palawan's highest peaks, Cleopatra's Needle. 

The researchers named the new ant R. coryae sp. n. in honor of the late former Philipine President, Corazon "Cory" C. Aquino. "It is only but fitting that a genus named after a Philippine island has a species named after a modern Filipino hero," the researchers wrote.