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Swarming mayflies, a black-naped monarch and beached whales are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

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In Cairns, north Queensland, coral bleaching isn’t the real worry – it’s the fear that tourists won’t come because they think the reef is already dead

Anyone in the Cairns tourism industry who might be feeling a sense of panic about the largest destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef since divers first strapped on snorkels is not letting it show.

The north-eastern Australian city – a global holiday destination where the natural wonder’s name festoons everything from the signs greeting airport arrivals to the local casino – is celebrating a storming tourist trade over the last 12 months.

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Footage shows the descent of UK astronaut Tim Peake and two other crew members as they touched down in Kazakhstan.

UK astronaut Tim Peake is safely back on Earth after a historic mission to the International Space Station.

Knightwood Inclosure, New Forest This clearance was done so long ago that many of the stumps dotting the area are punctured with holes made by wood-boring larvae

We crossed the ditch together into the clear-felled area of this inclosure. At once, she dropped at my feet and disappeared into the heather. She didn’t budge as I gently pulled the stems apart to find her, and no doubt would have been more active on a warmer and less overcast day.

The common heath moth Ematurga atomaria atomaria comes in a variety of colours. This female is the dark form; her wings, barely two centimetres in span, are crossed by ragged black lines set against a weave of tawny scales. No doubt her pheromones are already wafting on the breeze, inviting suitors to come and mate.

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British astronaut Tim Peake has boarded the spacecraft that will return him to Earth following an historic six-month mission to the space station.

MEGAFAUNA EXTINCTION: Sabre-toothed cats, one-tonne bears and sloths the size of elephants all happily coexisted with humans for up to 3000 years, but were extinct within 300 years after the climate of South America rapidly warmed.

On the shorelines of the Yellow Sea, eight million shorebirds are probing the sediment for food, but their bellies are empty. Could their epic migration end here on this barren mudflat?

Rhino poachers in Mozambique target anti-poaching guards.

Research has found that despite having excellent quality water, 40 per cent of Sydneysiders don't drink water straight from the tap.

Ocean experts call for international action to generate the kinds of maps of global seabeds that space missions have already returned for the Moon and Mars.

A horde of giant spider crabs has amassed in waters near Melbourne. Australian aquatic scientist Sheree Marris filmed this incredible footage.

From soaring temperatures in Alaska and India to Arctic sea ice melting and CO2 concentrations rising, this year is smashing records around the world

1) Arctic sea ice is melting at a rate that by September could see it beat the record low set in 2012. The maximum extent of sea ice in winter was at a record low, and the extent in May was the lowest for that month ever, by more than 500,000 sq km.

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Unprecedented temperature levels mean more heatwaves, flooding, wildfires and hurricanes as experts say global warming is here and affecting us now

May was the 13th month in a row to break temperature records according to figures published this week that are the latest in 2016’s string of incredible climate records which scientists have described as a bombshell and an emergency.

Related: Seven climate records set so far in 2016

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The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

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Arctic sea-ice may have hit a record low in May but that does not mean September will set a new minimum mark, say polar experts at Reading University, UK.

A crater on Mars is named Langtang, in tribute to one of the worst-hit villages during the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

Newly sequenced genomes of soil bacteria have led to questions about how differing land management affects the organisms' behaviour, on agriculture and emissions.

Its 170,000 pieces of aluminium are a hive-like structure of latticework, controlled by the vibrations of honeybees in a hive at Kew that is connected to the sculpture

“My approach to a sculpture seeks to frame nature so one can experience it more intimately,” says British artist Wolfgang Buttress, whose 17-metre high Hive installation opens at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, in London on Saturday. “I want visitors to feel enveloped, wrapped-up and involved in the experience, rather than adopting the position of an external observer.”

Related: How much do you know about bees? - quiz

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Wildfires caused by high summer temperatures rage in Arizona, California and New Mexico. Communities have been evacuated with more on standby should the fires spread. Firefighting aircraft are leading the battle against the flames, dropping water over burning forest areas

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