#inaturalistnz — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #inaturalistnz, aggregated by home.social.
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I found a tūī in Victoria Park this afternoon!
These birds are still rare around Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, so finding one is always a treat.
It put on a grand concert for me too. Have a listen.
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I found a tūī in Victoria Park this afternoon!
These birds are still rare around Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, so finding one is always a treat.
It put on a grand concert for me too. Have a listen.
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I found a tūī in Victoria Park this afternoon!
These birds are still rare around Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, so finding one is always a treat.
It put on a grand concert for me too. Have a listen.
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I found a tūī in Victoria Park this afternoon!
These birds are still rare around Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, so finding one is always a treat.
It put on a grand concert for me too. Have a listen.
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I found a tūī in Victoria Park this afternoon!
These birds are still rare around Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, so finding one is always a treat.
It put on a grand concert for me too. Have a listen.
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And, in breaking news, here's the first migratory locust ever seen in Lincoln, NZ, seen today by William Harland at 2:30 pm.
This is a widespread cosmopolitan species considered native to NZ, and with the Māori name Kapakapa. In the right conditions elsewhere in the world it reaches pest-level densities.
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And, in breaking news, here's the first migratory locust ever seen in Lincoln, NZ, seen today by William Harland at 2:30 pm.
This is a widespread cosmopolitan species considered native to NZ, and with the Māori name Kapakapa. In the right conditions elsewhere in the world it reaches pest-level densities.
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And, in breaking news, here's the first migratory locust ever seen in Lincoln, NZ, seen today by William Harland at 2:30 pm.
This is a widespread cosmopolitan species considered native to NZ, and with the Māori name Kapakapa. In the right conditions elsewhere in the world it reaches pest-level densities.
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And, in breaking news, here's the first migratory locust ever seen in Lincoln, NZ, seen today by William Harland at 2:30 pm.
This is a widespread cosmopolitan species considered native to NZ, and with the Māori name Kapakapa. In the right conditions elsewhere in the world it reaches pest-level densities.
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And, in breaking news, here's the first migratory locust ever seen in Lincoln, NZ, seen today by William Harland at 2:30 pm.
This is a widespread cosmopolitan species considered native to NZ, and with the Māori name Kapakapa. In the right conditions elsewhere in the world it reaches pest-level densities.
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Note that Nathan Odgers photographed a kererū (NZ wood pigeon) at Lincoln this morning. We hardly ever get kererū visiting Lincoln so if you're in the area keep an eye out for it.
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Note that Nathan Odgers photographed a kererū (NZ wood pigeon) at Lincoln this morning. We hardly ever get kererū visiting Lincoln so if you're in the area keep an eye out for it.
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Note that Nathan Odgers photographed a kererū (NZ wood pigeon) at Lincoln this morning. We hardly ever get kererū visiting Lincoln so if you're in the area keep an eye out for it.
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Note that Nathan Odgers photographed a kererū (NZ wood pigeon) at Lincoln this morning. We hardly ever get kererū visiting Lincoln so if you're in the area keep an eye out for it.
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Note that Nathan Odgers photographed a kererū (NZ wood pigeon) at Lincoln this morning. We hardly ever get kererū visiting Lincoln so if you're in the area keep an eye out for it.
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Here's my favourite observation of my finds on day one of the City Nature Challenge. It's a tailed forest spider, a NZ endemic species. It's an elegant teardrop-shaped small spider.
This is the first time I've found one in our garden, making it the 820th species for our garden. It's also a first for our neighbourhood on iNaturalist.
Welcome.
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The City Nature Challenge is still in full swing. We're seven days away from the deadline of 10 May, for uploading and identifing all the photos and audio recordings made on 24–27 April.
I've just finished uploading my photos from 24 April, which was a bike into work and back, a bioblitz on the university campus with students, then a moth light on my deck at home. (That’s 1,498 observations of 359 species from me.) Now I move onto my Saturday, where I surveyed my garden then went for a run around the neighbourhood, then another moth light. The, I’ll be onto Sunday's epic guided walk from the hills to the centre of the city.
If you're watching the results unfold, Te Upoko o te Ika (Wellington) is a just an whisker ahead of Ōtautahi-Christchurch at the moment for the NZ city with the most observations. The NZ total so far is 4,627 species and 58,506 observations, made by 1,738 people. It’s pretty epic.
With still a week of identifying and uploading to go, those numbers are going to continue to climb (they went up by over 200 observations while I was typing this).
If you took photos of nature in your city on 24–27 April, uploading them to #iNaturalist will contribute to the challenge. It's a great way to contribute to this global snapshot of nature in our cities.
https://www.inaturalist.nz/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-aotearoa-new-zealand
https://www.inaturalist.nz/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026
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The #CityNatureChallenge is still in full swing. While the four days of observing have passed, everyone's now uploading photos and identifying the species in all the observations, The closing date is 10 May.
Globally the CNC has already topped 2.6 million observations. Here in Aotearoa-NZ 1,715 people have so far uploaded 54,265 observations of 4,494 species, with Wellington currently our leading city.
If you took any nature photos between Friday and Monday, 24–27 April, there's still time to upload them to #iNaturalist and have them count towards the challenge.
Me, I've just finished geotagging all my photos in #darktable using my GPS tracks and need to do some photo cropping before I start uploading batches of photos to the iNaturalist website.
The event is a long way from over. 🙂
https://www.inaturalist.nz/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-aotearoa-new-zealand
https://www.inaturalist.nz/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026
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On Sunday 26 April, I'll be leading another nature walk in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, this time from the Sign of the Takahe to the Botanic Gardens. That's part of the four-day City Nature Challenge.
It's a terrific walk designed to take us through many of the city's nature filled nooks and crannies.
Again, all welcome. We leave from the Sign of the Takahe (by the bus stop for the No 1 Cashmere bus) at 9:45 am.
If you don't have the time to commit to the full walk, you can join us for the first part walking to the South Library, or from the South Library to the Art Gallery, or for the final stint from the Art Gallery to the Botanic Gardens.
Below are some photos from the previous two years we've done this walk.
https://ccc.govt.nz/news-and-events/whats-on/event/takahe-to-taone-hikoi-2
#CityNatureChallenge #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #NZ #NatureWalk #iNaturalistNZ
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If you're in Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ, next Sunday, and are keen for a nature walk, well, you're in luck!
As part of the city's annual Walking Festival, Noah Fenwick and I will be leading a walk/explore around Waikākāriki Horseshoe Lake. We're two local iNaturalist fanatics and ecologists and are keen to see what we can find around this restored city wetland.
The walk starts at 10 am and will go for about three hours.
All welcome!
https://ccc.govt.nz/news-and-events/whats-on/event/nature-walk-through-waikakariki-horseshoe-lake
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations?place_id=109378&subview=map
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There's a new fly in town.
While out for a run yesterday, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, I noticed this unusual orange-headed black fly. I uploaded my photos to #iNaturalist when I got home and learned that it's the Australian Soldier Fly, *Inopus rubriceps*. This looks to be the first record of it anywhere in the South Island south of Nelson.
The species is a minor pasture pest and is well-established in NZ's North Island, where it was first seen in 1944.
As the world warms, NZ continues to fill with Australian insects. They first establish in the North Island then spread southwards. The pattern is repeating over and over. In this case, the two Australian parasitoid wasps (Neurogalesus spp.) that feed on *Inopus rubriceps* have also already established in the North Island.
*Inopus rubriceps* is a distinctive fly, especially the female which has the orange head (the male is all black). Keep an eye out and you might find some more of them.
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347771177
#Diptera #entomology #iNaturalistNZ #invasionBiology #insects #nz #Christchurch #fly
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There's a new fly in town.
While out for a run yesterday, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, I noticed this unusual orange-headed black fly. I uploaded my photos to #iNaturalist when I got home and learned that it's the Australian Soldier Fly, *Inopus rubriceps*. This looks to be the first record of it anywhere in the South Island south of Nelson.
The species is a minor pasture pest and is well-established in NZ's North Island, where it was first seen in 1944.
As the world warms, NZ continues to fill with Australian insects. They first establish in the North Island then spread southwards. The pattern is repeating over and over. In this case, the two Australian parasitoid wasps (Neurogalesus spp.) that feed on *Inopus rubriceps* have also already established in the North Island.
*Inopus rubriceps* is a distinctive fly, especially the female which has the orange head (the male is all black). Keep an eye out and you might find some more of them.
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347771177
#Diptera #entomology #iNaturalistNZ #invasionBiology #insects #nz #Christchurch #fly
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There's a new fly in town.
While out for a run yesterday, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, I noticed this unusual orange-headed black fly. I uploaded my photos to #iNaturalist when I got home and learned that it's the Australian Soldier Fly, *Inopus rubriceps*. This looks to be the first record of it anywhere in the South Island south of Nelson.
The species is a minor pasture pest and is well-established in NZ's North Island, where it was first seen in 1944.
As the world warms, NZ continues to fill with Australian insects. They first establish in the North Island then spread southwards. The pattern is repeating over and over. In this case, the two Australian parasitoid wasps (Neurogalesus spp.) that feed on *Inopus rubriceps* have also already established in the North Island.
*Inopus rubriceps* is a distinctive fly, especially the female which has the orange head (the male is all black). Keep an eye out and you might find some more of them.
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347771177
#Diptera #entomology #iNaturalistNZ #invasionBiology #insects #nz #Christchurch #fly
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There's a new fly in town.
While out for a run yesterday, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, I noticed this unusual orange-headed black fly. I uploaded my photos to #iNaturalist when I got home and learned that it's the Australian Soldier Fly, *Inopus rubriceps*. This looks to be the first record of it anywhere in the South Island south of Nelson.
The species is a minor pasture pest and is well-established in NZ's North Island, where it was first seen in 1944.
As the world warms, NZ continues to fill with Australian insects. They first establish in the North Island then spread southwards. The pattern is repeating over and over. In this case, the two Australian parasitoid wasps (Neurogalesus spp.) that feed on *Inopus rubriceps* have also already established in the North Island.
*Inopus rubriceps* is a distinctive fly, especially the female which has the orange head (the male is all black). Keep an eye out and you might find some more of them.
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347771177
#Diptera #entomology #iNaturalistNZ #invasionBiology #insects #nz #Christchurch #fly
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There's a new fly in town.
While out for a run yesterday, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, I noticed this unusual orange-headed black fly. I uploaded my photos to #iNaturalist when I got home and learned that it's the Australian Soldier Fly, *Inopus rubriceps*. This looks to be the first record of it anywhere in the South Island south of Nelson.
The species is a minor pasture pest and is well-established in NZ's North Island, where it was first seen in 1944.
As the world warms, NZ continues to fill with Australian insects. They first establish in the North Island then spread southwards. The pattern is repeating over and over. In this case, the two Australian parasitoid wasps (Neurogalesus spp.) that feed on *Inopus rubriceps* have also already established in the North Island.
*Inopus rubriceps* is a distinctive fly, especially the female which has the orange head (the male is all black). Keep an eye out and you might find some more of them.
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347771177
#Diptera #entomology #iNaturalistNZ #invasionBiology #insects #nz #Christchurch #fly
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It's that time again in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, when the fruit on the te kouka cabbage trees are at peak ripeness. That brings in the kererū to parts of the city.
Here are some of my photos of kererū eating te kouka fruit in the city from this long weekend. It includes what I think is the first time I've seen a kererū on Rose Street (that's on one of my fortnightly survey routes, which I've run since 2008).
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347375376
#kererū #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #nz #birds #iNaturalistNZ #frugivory #UrbanEcology #nature
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It's that time again in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, when the fruit on the te kouka cabbage trees are at peak ripeness. That brings in the kererū to parts of the city.
Here are some of my photos of kererū eating te kouka fruit in the city from this long weekend. It includes what I think is the first time I've seen a kererū on Rose Street (that's on one of my fortnightly survey routes, which I've run since 2008).
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347375376
#kererū #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #nz #birds #iNaturalistNZ #frugivory #UrbanEcology #nature
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It's that time again in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, when the fruit on the te kouka cabbage trees are at peak ripeness. That brings in the kererū to parts of the city.
Here are some of my photos of kererū eating te kouka fruit in the city from this long weekend. It includes what I think is the first time I've seen a kererū on Rose Street (that's on one of my fortnightly survey routes, which I've run since 2008).
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347375376
#kererū #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #nz #birds #iNaturalistNZ #frugivory #UrbanEcology #nature
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It's that time again in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, when the fruit on the te kouka cabbage trees are at peak ripeness. That brings in the kererū to parts of the city.
Here are some of my photos of kererū eating te kouka fruit in the city from this long weekend. It includes what I think is the first time I've seen a kererū on Rose Street (that's on one of my fortnightly survey routes, which I've run since 2008).
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347375376
#kererū #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #nz #birds #iNaturalistNZ #frugivory #UrbanEcology #nature
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It's that time again in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, when the fruit on the te kouka cabbage trees are at peak ripeness. That brings in the kererū to parts of the city.
Here are some of my photos of kererū eating te kouka fruit in the city from this long weekend. It includes what I think is the first time I've seen a kererū on Rose Street (that's on one of my fortnightly survey routes, which I've run since 2008).
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/347375376
#kererū #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #nz #birds #iNaturalistNZ #frugivory #UrbanEcology #nature
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While helping out Heidi Allan with her field work earlier in the week, crossing NZ's South Island, I also (of course) counted nature along the way and took photos of notable species I found. I've uploaded some of them to #iNaturalist.
When it comes to little things like insects and smaller plants, Aotearoa-New Zealand is still in the early stages of exploration. It's almost trivially easy to make important observations. There's so much still to document.
Here are five of the most notable things I found on our three day trip.
The first record of a showy mistletoe species between Hanmer Springs and Kaikoura (Yellow Mistletoe at Mount Terako): https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/343867527
The first observation of the pretty little fly *Maorina gourlayi* from North Canterbury (the 5th observation from anywhere on iNaturalist and 15th on GBIF): https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/343609762
The 1st record of the rare native earthworm-eating snail *Wainuia edwardi* from Mount Terako, and 37th observation on iNat: https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/343863343
The 1st record of a Bobilla cricket from Westport: https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/343677893
The 1st record of steelblue ladybirds in Westport and the 2nd anywhere on the West Coast: https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/343677847
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"x" marks the moth!
Usually moths have sweeping curves and circles in their markings. Not so *Eudonia asterisca*, an aptly named NZ-endemic moth. It has a distinctive "x" mark on each forewing.
I photographed this moth at a moth light in the North Canterbury mountains. There are 211 observations of this moth on iNaturalist so far, mostly in the mountains, from throughout the country.
I don't know what its caterpillars eat. (I'm not sure if anyone knows, as it's not listed in NZ's Plant-SyNZ database and all iNat observations are of adults.)
https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/342713940
#mothodon #moths #Lepidoptera #entomology #nz #iNaturalistNZ
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Here's another NZ moth wing for you.
This one is from a particularly elegant colour morph of a NZ Green Carpet Owlet (*Ichneutica plena*). Usually they're greener than this.
(I'm continuing to have fun uploading my big backlog of moth photos to #iNaturalist. Caution: there will be more moth photos.)
Whole moth on #iNaturalistNZ: https://www.inaturalist.nz/observations/342710304
Full-size on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/55144902646/#mothodon #moths #Lepidoptera #insects #entomology #photography #nz
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On Friday I saw my first Buddleja weevils in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. This is a biocontrol agent purposefully introduced into NZ to control butterfly bush, *Buddleja davidii*, which had been spreading out-of-control through much of the country.
Until recently it's been a bit too cold in Christchurch for Buddleja weevils to thrive. No longer, apparently.
The first Christchurch observation of Buddleja weevils on iNaturalist was in March last year. Mine is now the 6th observaton from the city.
The larvae are distinctive yellow jelly slugs, and the adult weevils are brown.
Keep an eye out for them on a butterfly bush near you.
As the climate warms, weeds are pushing southwards. At least it's good to know that their biocontrol agents are doing the same.
#weeds #WeedBiocontrol #biocontrol #nz #weevils #beetles #entomology #iNaturalist #iNaturalistNZ
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One of the highlights of my day was when William Harland, a talented ecology undergrad here at #LincolnUniversityNZ, stopped by my office to show me his photos of temnocephalid flatworms. These distinctive squat tentacled flatworms live in colonies on NZ's freshwater crayfish, koura, and eat scraps left over when the koura feed. They apparently cause no bother to the koura.
William found these at Poolburn Reservoir in central Otago.
Amazing!
The photo is CC-BY William Harland: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/341041723
Here are more photos of these crazy flatworms on #iNaturalistNZ: https://inaturalist.nz/observations?verifiable=true&taxon_id=868829&place_id=6803&preferred_place_id=6803#invertebrates #flatworms #NaturalHistory #NZ #Freshwater #crayfish #crustaceans #nature #crayfish
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One of the highlights of my day was when William Harland, a talented ecology undergrad here at #LincolnUniversityNZ, stopped by my office to show me his photos of temnocephalid flatworms. These distinctive squat tentacled flatworms live in colonies on NZ's freshwater crayfish, koura, and eat scraps left over when the koura feed. They apparently cause no bother to the koura.
William found these at Poolburn Reservoir in central Otago.
Amazing!
The photo is CC-BY William Harland: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/341041723
Here are more photos of these crazy flatworms on #iNaturalistNZ: https://inaturalist.nz/observations?verifiable=true&taxon_id=868829&place_id=6803&preferred_place_id=6803#invertebrates #flatworms #NaturalHistory #NZ #Freshwater #crayfish #crustaceans #nature #crayfish
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One of the highlights of my day was when William Harland, a talented ecology undergrad here at #LincolnUniversityNZ, stopped by my office to show me his photos of temnocephalid flatworms. These distinctive squat tentacled flatworms live in colonies on NZ's freshwater crayfish, koura, and eat scraps left over when the koura feed. They apparently cause no bother to the koura.
William found these at Poolburn Reservoir in central Otago.
Amazing!
The photo is CC-BY William Harland: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/341041723
Here are more photos of these crazy flatworms on #iNaturalistNZ: https://inaturalist.nz/observations?verifiable=true&taxon_id=868829&place_id=6803&preferred_place_id=6803#invertebrates #flatworms #NaturalHistory #NZ #Freshwater #crayfish #crustaceans #nature #crayfish
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One of the highlights of my day was when William Harland, a talented ecology undergrad here at #LincolnUniversityNZ, stopped by my office to show me his photos of temnocephalid flatworms. These distinctive squat tentacled flatworms live in colonies on NZ's freshwater crayfish, koura, and eat scraps left over when the koura feed. They apparently cause no bother to the koura.
William found these at Poolburn Reservoir in central Otago.
Amazing!
The photo is CC-BY William Harland: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/341041723
Here are more photos of these crazy flatworms on #iNaturalistNZ: https://inaturalist.nz/observations?verifiable=true&taxon_id=868829&place_id=6803&preferred_place_id=6803#invertebrates #flatworms #NaturalHistory #NZ #Freshwater #crayfish #crustaceans #nature #crayfish
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Here's an excellent moth from my backlog that I just uploaded to #iNaturalist
It's the Purerehua, or South Island Lichen Moth, *Ipana egregia*. It's a large NZ endemic moth restricted to the South Island that blends in well with lichens on rocks.
This is the moth also seen on the NZ hundred dollar note.
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Check out this outrageous NZ harvestman photographed by Sebastian Doak earlier this month near Charleston on the west coast of the South Island.
It's called Algidia viridata ssp. bicolor (yes, another incredible endemic NZ invertebrate still lacking a catchy common name). I've never seen one, but I want to!
The photos on the observation are CC-BY Sebastian Doak.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337191626
#entomology #nz #Opiliones #harvestman #green #iNaturalistNZ #iNaturalist
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Here are four of the species I found today in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ.
Here's a caterpillar of mōkarakara, the NZ magpie moth, eating leaves of the European groundsel, Senecio vulgaris. https://inaturalist.nz/observations/339402946
Here's a Puapua-a-Autahi, NZ's Anemone Stinkhorn Fungus, the first I've seen this season. They're really strange looking fungi. https://inaturalist.nz/observations/339402950
Here's a red fly agaric mushroom, from the Northern Hemisphere, which was at the base of a patch of pine trees. It's odd to see a lot of these about now. I expect they're responding to our unusually wet summer. https://inaturalist.nz/observations/339402947
chatter-chatter-chatter
And, here's one of the many, many Kihikihi Wawā, NZ chorus cicadas, about the city. They're an elegant insect up close, and a *loud* insect at just about any distance.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/339402945 -
@stojg I've just added your lyre moth observation to our "In my house (NZ)" project, where iNat NZ people are putting photos of the species they find inside their houses.
We're up to 514 species now!
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Moths? Moths! Here are four NZ moths to brighten up your day.
All are NZ endemic species that I photohgraphed at a moth light at the Boyle Village in the Canterbury Southern Alps.
The yellow moth is the Aristotelia Looper *Epiphryne xanthaspis*: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/339094321
The dark purple moth with lime green streaks is the Pate Owlet *Meterana merope*: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/339094323
The tan-yellow moth with the chocolate brown underwings is the Dark Underwing Wainscot *Ichneutica sulcana*: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/339094312
The steel-blue moth is *Physetica caerulea* (I don't think that has a common name yet): https://inaturalist.nz/observations/339094297
(These are part of my large backlog of moth photos that I'm gradually uploading to iNaturalist.)
#Lepidoptera #mothodon #moths #entomology #NZ #iNaturalistNZ
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It rained, a lot, today in Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ. The ducks and black swans didn't seem to mind though. They were some of the species I counted on my wet bike commute.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/339008698
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For the third in my hat-trick of exciting NZ Lepidoptera news stories, here is an observation over Christmas of a Mokarakare · Rauparaha's Copper (Lycaena rauparaha). It's likely the first seen anywhere in or between Lincoln and Christchurch in over a century.
Rauparaha's Copper butterfly was described as a species back in 1877 by Christchurch lawyer and lepidopterist R. W. Fereday (there's a career combination you don't often see these days). He collected specimens in Kaiapoi and Fendalton, Christchurch city, in 1866 and 1867.
The butterfly still can be common in coastal areas further north in NZ, but it's been very rarely seen anywhere in mid-Canterbury over the past 100 years.
There was great excitement in 2014 when Chris Morse uploaded to iNaturalist some photos he'd taken in 2004 of Rauparaha's Coppers along a muehlenbeckia-lined farm hedge in Irwell, Canterbury. Since then, there have been several sightings of the butterfly around Irwell, but never to the north.
That is, until Christmas Eve 2025, when Will Frost photographed this one in his garden between Lincoln and Prebbleton.
Hopefully it's the beginning of a gradual expansion back into its home territory.
Photo CC-BY-NC Will Frost.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/333646061
#butterflies #Lepidoptera #nz #CitizenScience #iNaturalist #iNaturalistNZ #entomology
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*Bascantis sirenica* is back!!
Last week Wellington-based naturalist Christopher Stephens found and photographed this small, dark purple moth with two pale spots. Christopher found it in the Tararua Ranges.
The species has not been seen since 1944! NZ's professional moth taxonomist Robert Hoare had feared it might be extinct. This is only the 7th time, ever, that this pretty little day-flying moth has been recorded.
*Bascantis sirenica* is a NZ endemic species and the only species in a NZ endemic genus. Welcome back!
There's still so much to learn about NZ moths.
The photo is CC-BY-SA by Christopher Stephens.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337727454
#mothodon #moths #lepidoptera #entomology #nz #discovery #iNaturalist #inaturalistNZ #CitizenScience
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Introducing *Austramathes coelacantha*!
I uploaded this moth to iNaturalist from my moth lighting last month in the NZ mountains. It's now the first iNat record of this NZ endemic moth, which was first described as a species in 2017.
This adds to the five records of the species on GBIF from the NZ Arthropod Collection (four specimens from 1975 and one from 2023).
It's known (so far) from shrublands and beech forests of central and eastern South Island. Its caterpillars have not been confirmed yet, although they're expected to be on *Melicytus* (mahoe and relatives).
Big thanks go to NZ moth expert Neville Hudson for identifying this. Neville has so far made 171,359(!) species identifications on iNaturalist, almost all moths, and all done for free. It's an extraordinary contribution to our knowledge of NZ moths.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/338636198
#mothodon #moths #Lepidoptera #nz #iNaturalist #iNaturalistNZ #GBIF #entomology #CitizenScience
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I'm up to 12 new moth species for our garden this year, thanks to the NZ moth identifiers on iNaturalist and the handy Compare tool on iNat. The Compare tool shows me what species are different between this year and my past years' mothing in my garden. It's handy.
Here are photos of four more of my newbies. These are more greys and browns. All are NZ endemic species.
#iNaturalistNZ #iNaturalist #moths #Mothodon #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #nz
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Here's another of the six new moth species to my garden this year, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. This one had me puzzled until NZ moth expert Neville Hduson from Auckland identified it this morning on #iNaturalist.
It's the Australian Wattle Gall Miner, *Polysoma eumetalla*, and this is the third record of it on #GBIF from the South Island.
It's a pretty wee thing but easily overlooked because it's tiny (see the second photo of it next to a green garden looper moth).
Remarkably, its caterpillars make their living mining inside galls on some Australian wattle trees, which in NZ are formed by the Australian rust fungus *Uromycladium tepperianum*.
#mothodon #moths #Lepidoptera #nz #entomology #insects #iNaturalistNZ
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@rnzbot_nz “A close inspection revealed a spider she had never seen before. She took photos and, with the permission of the landowners, uploaded them to nature identification app iNaturalistNZ.” “Te Papa PhD student Shaun Thompson contacted her, identifying the spider as a potential new species.”
#iNaturalist #iNaturalistNZ #spiders #discovery #NewSpecies #CitizenScience