christopherstephens's Favorites

Assisting @Carey-Knox-Southern-Scales on moth surveys. 20ha Matai dominated rich forest remnant surrounded by pasture/tussock/sparse shrublands. Various light/sheet combinations set up on forest edge.

Following the discovery of a Streblus Fruit Moth on the previous night we explored the forest more thoroughly the following day and discovered several groves of Streblus. We set a number of lights/sheets specifically targeting these trees and this moth. With success, probably 7 individuals came to light. 4 further individuals of this very variable moth are recorded.

I have posted observations of this 'family' of B tuberculatum on two previous occasions (most recently on 7 March 2024: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/201559736) and have been returning, hoping to see it flowering.
On this occasion I observed 3 flower stems among one cluster, but only budding at this stage. There were no other signs of buds or flowers on any of the other 20 plus clusters of pseudobulbs.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to visit the site again until 8 June '24, by which time I expect any flowering to be over.

Bird landed on boat and stayed until Seaview Marina, then hopped off and flew away over Wellington Harbour waters. Photo and sighting posted here on behalf of the observer, Jonathan Delich of Cook Strait Charters.

Avatar Moth that featured on Forest & Birds 100 year anniversary Stamps last year: Hamish and I discovered it here high on Denniston Plateau during a BioBlitz and Robert and I described subsequently: saw about ten flying low of cushion wetlands here on sunny day

Large reddish brown terrestrial leech. Found in peat in a penguin rookery on Snares main island. 7-9cm long extended, 2-3cm wide (possibly just fed). Round sucker on under surface. Papillae, red-brown with yellow colouration. Coolest thing I have ever seen.

Managed to see 2/3 snipe so pretty pleased (and Snares Snipe would be a bit of an unreasonable hope). In the case of the Campbell Island Snipe I got two chances, and here's the first one.

As you might expect I have an absurd number of photos from this trip. Complicated by taking all the photos in lossless NEF but Nikon's own software crashes when batch editing or exporting, lol

Managed to see 2/3 snipe so pretty pleased (and Snares Snipe would be a bit of an unreasonable hope). In the case of the Campbell Island Snipe I got two chances, and here's the second one.

As you might expect I have an absurd number of photos from this trip. Complicated by taking all the photos in lossless NEF but Nikon's own software crashes when batch editing or exporting, lol

Managed to see 2/3 snipe so pretty pleased (and Snares Snipe would be a bit of an unreasonable hope).

As you might expect I have an absurd number of photos from this trip. Complicated by taking all the photos in lossless NEF but Nikon's own software crashes when batch editing or exporting, lol

Myosotis cheesemanii, tight cushion with flowers growing on loose gravelly debris on the upper edge of a snowbank. Petries original collection of this species was from "Mt Pisa Range(6000 ft) on steep faces of shingle above snowdrifts" which pretty much describes the site where these photos were taken.

I couldn't resist posting this one today before I head off again for a bit. My first encounter with Streaked Alpine Owlet (Nivetica nervosa). A stunning noctuid moth endemic to Te Waipounamu / South Island, Aotearoa. Found in wetland habitats in the subalpine and alpine zone of the South Island. This one (and two others) recorded early on the evening of the 29th November in the Southern Hawkdun Range, Oteake Conservation Park at about 800 metres a.s.l. Cloudy, mild, low wind. Great conditions

In terms of moth uploads, I am currently 16 days (and A LOT of moths!) behind real-time. Only my 3rd day at home this December. So... we are still on my way up to Kahurangi National Park. Here is an interesting batch from a night at Lake Rotoroa (Nelson Lakes) in the beech forest and adjoining shrubland.

Comparative showing Caladenia 'red stem, Caladenia 'Bacon Creek, Caladenia lyallii small form and large aff alpina form.

Given interest in comparative shots are of popular interest I have appended a further shot which hopefully may help those studying the Caladenia spp.

Aotearoa's most recently described skink. Mataura skink (Oligosoma aureocola). Species name means 'dweller in gold' refering to the species strong use of Golden Spaniard or spear grass (Aciphylla aurea). Can someone chonk out the Wikipedia /iNat page? Knox, C.D., Patterson, G.B., Chapple, D.G. (2023): Oligosoma aureocola sp. nov. (Reptilia: Scincidae) from the northern Southland high country of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Zootaxa. 22 pp.

Well, well, I have never seen a three headed monster like this one before, two yes but three...really...Not 100% sure about what this specimen actually is as far as species but the suggestion seems to fit best...=0

The highlight of my night at Trotter's Gorge!!! Was delighted. A rare species I was hoping would turn up after I noted a prior record from Brian Patrick and I also found the host plant mountain carrot (Gingidia montana) growing in the area. Two of them actually came to light and were captured but I only got one photo of the underside of the second individual (last image) before accidentally setting it free prior to its photo session! Never mind, delighted with the first one!

X marks the spot! The highlight of the night was seeing this beautiful moth arrive 2.5 hours after the lights were turned on (lights on at 6 pm, moth arrived at about 8:30 pm). I didn't know they would be at this site and wasn't expecting them to be out at this time of year either. There must be some Streblus heterophyllus in the bush. Several photos of the moth and a few of my setup and the view at the end. Great spot! Yay!!! That is Meterana species number 22 for me (incl. the undescribed 'Urtica' one).

absolutely stunning flower, x10 better than last year - it's pink! Since when were they pink?

About 10cm from last years observations: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/93238742), but only one flower found (plus one stem without a flower), whereas there were several in a 30cm² area last year.

The purple pictures are an (unplanned) attempt at using a UV light Tim Park happened to have. Perhaps I'll try UV again next time with better equipment.

I understand that this was the first confirmed sighting of a short-tailed bat at this site and it was one of the first photographs confirming that this bat species visited and pollinated Dactylanthus flowers. See Ecroyd, C.E. 1996. The ecology of Dactylanthus taylorii and threats to its survival. N. Z. J. of Ecology, 20(1):81-100. (Available online).

Went to Dansey's Pass to look for this moth and was delighted to find one resting on a snow tussock at night near some areas of Sphagnum moss. Discovered by Brian Patrick near Dansey's Pass in 1979. @butterfly4

Caught in c.1 m of tannin-stained water using a minnow trap baited with cheddar cheese. Trap caught 10 individuals in c.30 minutes. Staff working for the Taiko Trust have reported these fish as 'common' in this lake.

Today was a great lesson on how to stay composed as a tour guide in front of 37 paying passengers, but it wasn't hard for them to share my excitement either... 13th record for NZ by my count, including the Chatham bird in a burrow a few years back that wasn't submitted. Interesting too is the single white feather on the upperwing.