Titirangi, Auckland.
Zigzag Track, in Atkinson Park.
Under a piece of wood resting on garden soil. Male
Native earthworm. Was being attacked by a flatworm and was slowly engulfed but there was a struggle. I have more photos if anyone wants them.
Native broadleaf podocarp forest. Under decomposing log.
Scrub forest. Under rock.
The totally psychedelic version! I understand these used to be considered a seperate species A. praerupta: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/379981-Austrocidaria-praerupta. However, a closer look found them to be merely a wacky colour form of Austrocidaria callichlora (John Dugdale made quite a few dissections of these and regarded praerupta as a definite synonym of callichlora, though the synonymy remains unpublished). Interesting how both colour forms live together at this site and how the "psychedelic" colour form is so much rarer across the species range. Only the second spot I've found them (first was Sinbad Gully https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/109529042). They certainly don't make callichlora like this on the Maniototo!
in wētā roost beside this tree. Thanks to Helen Peek and Chris Mercer for spotting.
A lot of Pseudocoremia were coming to light last night. Productata in the centre, then clockwise from the top, rudisata, leucelaea, lactiflua, indistincta and lupinata.
Parasitized weta under a rock at about 1000m asl in boulder field.
Dead under rocky overhang, where live individuals previously ID'd.
On Aciphylla in tall snowgrass
Zealandia Trip #1
Zealandia Trip #1
Fungi on a Scolopterous weevil, on a coprosma plant.
Weevil obs:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/34442651
Found dead under a rock overhang. Several other dead specimens were also found, including one infected with a white, foam-like fungus (maybe Cordyceps). Didn't find any live specimens but it was in winter.
dead
Possibly a fungi emerging from the shoulder?
large white larva inside flax root which was underneath dead section of flax
Largest tree weta I have ever seen! At first I thought they might be giant weta...
I initially thought this maybe a Copper butterfly. Until looking more closely and concluding its a day flying moth. I tried to find the species on the Landcare database but failed to be happy with a definite. If anyone could help that would be fantastic. Obviously the second specimen was either dead or paralysed as it was under attack from ants. The favoured plant species seemed to be Pimelea prostrata. The specimen I followed to take these photo's was very flitty if that is any help. Cheers...
'Southern North Island Forest Gecko'
Quite the rare occasion to spot this animal in daylight. I saw the faint movement of something hugging a vertical branch, and spin around it trying to evade me, a walker though the bush.
5 Willerton Ave. Front garden. On cultivated Hebe.