Archey's Frogs

I recently had an opportunity to help with an Archey's frog survey in the Coromandel. These beautiful frogs emerge at night and are small and silent. The search for them took all night included photography for identification. Other data collected included the exact location of each frog in relation to the grid site. This was added to the research of this vulnerable species. It was a real privilege to take part.

Rauparaha Copper at Tuff Crater

On a return visit to Tuff Crater in January I spent some time watching this butterfy feeding on Muehlenbeckia complexa on the edge of the tidal sea-water filled crater. Originally this butterfly was identified as a common copper but a professional lepidopterist at landcare has now identified it as Rauparaha’Copper, Lycaena rauparaha. This is another species to add to the Tuff Crater list.