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Kezna Cameron let me know about something that happens in June — a Gossamer Event: where spiders coat our wet land in cobwebs This is when thousands of young spiderlings climb the stalks of plants to play out silk that is caught by the breeze. This allows a spider to take to the air and disperse to new areas and…
I was watering the garden in February 2020, when a grey ‘leaf’ on a flax stalk moved. On closer inspection I found a moth, about 5 cm long. An expert on the NZ Bug Identification Facebook group tells me this is a Convolvulus hawk moth: Agrius convolvuli or hīhue.
Today’s the day, at least at our house, when all the Monarch chrysalises are releasing butterflies.
Sometimes in summer a Bush giant dragonfly finds its way into the house and then gets ‘stuck’ in a corner. I can cup my hands around it to take it outside to freedom. The other day I managed to ‘catch’ one in flight above the lake (Puna o te Ora) at the corner of Strathnaver Drive and Reay Mackay Grove.
I found this roughly 3 cm long insect on the garage wall on 16 December 2021. The Faceboook Invertebrate ID group IDed it for me. Bush gadfly (Scaptia adrel): Scaptia adrel has large, iridescent, reflective eyes and a prominent proboscis. There are two distinctive patches of white hairs on each side of its thorax just behind the wings and one…
Every summer from 1 November to 30 April Horizons Regional Council monitors the water at the Waikawa Beach footbridge for E. Coli, and just offshore for Enterococci. They also keep an eye out for potentially toxic algae (cyanobacteria). While the water by the footbridge is suitable for swimming only 46% of the time (a historical average), we don't seem to…
I recently became aware of a new publication — Life in the Shallows The wetlands of Aotearoa New Zealand by Karen Denyer and Monica Peters: Featuring wetlands to visit all around the country, descriptions of the rich bird, insect and plant life that can be found there, and some of the innovative ways we can protect and restore them, Life…
Get in touch with Miraz Jordan
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