Palmerston Pūrerehua (2 min read)

Critter of the Month: Native Butterflies of Aotearoa

Kia ora e hoa - hello my friend☀

The Big Butterfly Count starts today, so to celebrate I’m doing a recap of our beautiful native pūrerehua (butterflies). You can read all the details on the Moths & Butterflies NZ (MBNZT) website - there is a (free) app you will need to download to participate, created by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Download the app by tapping the app icon for your phone below:

As well as doing counts in my own backyard, I am planning to get together with my friend and her daughters to count butterflies in their garden. This year, you can do your counts any time between today (8 Feb) and next weekend (Feb 16) so I would also love to go to the reserves at Moeraki and Macraes to add to the diversity of data - I usually see pepe para riki (copper butterflies) at Moeraki, and Macraes have the rarer tussock butterfly.

You can read up on all of our pūrerehua on the MBNZT website, but today I will share a little about the ones that I get to see here in East Otago.

Yellow Admiral

Vanessa itea
Reasonably common in open country, wasteland and gardens wherever stinging nettle is found, up to about 1000 m above sea level.

New Zealand Red Admiral

Vanessa gonerilla gonerilla
Found throughout the country, but most frequently seen during summer. Only found in New Zealand.

Common Tussock

Argyrophenga antipodum
Grassland, east coast of the South Island, from sea level to 2000 m. Commonly seen at the Macraes wetland walk.

New Zealand Blue or Southern Blue

Zizina Oxleyi
Eastern side of South Island. Closely related to Common blue.

Common Copper

Lycaena salustius
Found throughout New Zealand; one of several copper butterfly species.

Monarch

Danaus plexippus
Found throughout New Zealand, overwinters in places including Dunedin and Ōamaru.

Happy butterfly counting,

Zenobia x

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