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Insects and Minibeasts

Use these resources to identify invertebrates, study their characteristics and life cycles. This topic covers New Zealand’s many insects — including weta and also the biosecurity required to protect our country from insect pests. SCIS no. 1808303

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Admiral butterflies

Admiral butterflies

A painting of a New Zealand red and yellow Admiral butterfly.

Stick insect

A painting of a New Zealand stick insect.

Painting of New Zealand insects

Painting of New Zealand insects

A painting of a New Zealand cicada, two crickets and a moth.

Miraculous manuka

Plans are afoot to create a large-scale manuka plantation.

Butterflies and moths

Contains information about the lifecycle of butterflies and moths.

Insects-New Zealand

Insects-New Zealand

Video and images of insects in New Zealand

Forestry insect pests

Information about insect pests found in the forest.

Wasps wreak havoc on flora and fauna

Scientists are warning that wasps are wreaking havoc on native forests, birds and insects and more control measures and funding are needed to combat the pest.

Insects in the bush

The bush is home to many of New Zealand’s insects. They can be found tunnelling in wood, feeding on leaves, flowers or seeds, or in the fungi, litter or soil below. Pūriri moth The green pūriri mot...

Female Puriri moth

Female Puriri moth

Image of a female Puriri moth.

Katipō spider stamp

Katipō spider stamp

Katipō spider, the only New Zealand spider to feature on a postage stamp.

The Crafty spider

Newspaper article from 1889 about the ‘crafty’ spider.

Giant weta

Image of a giant weta.

White-tailed spider

White-tailed spider

Image of the white-tailed spider.

Bug hotel at Oaklands school

Bug hotel at Oaklands school

The bug hotel at Oaklands School gardens encourages biodiversity Date: 2014 GirlzShed built by Halswell MenzShed

Tāne battles the insects

Tāne battles the insects

In this artwork, Tāne is attacked by insects as he retrieves the three baskets of knowledge.

Article about the weta.

Sounds of summer

Sounds of summer

The sound of late summer in Taranaki New Zealand.

Black crawlers

Richard Killeen's cut-out paintings are scatterings of images, in this case insects.

Giraffe weevils

Giraffe weevils

University of Auckland biologists hope their research will raise the profile of these unusual beetles

Native snail shells

Native snail shells

A selection of shells from Saxon Hut that were presumably collected from the immediate surrounds

New Zealand’s glow-worms

Article about glow-worms.

Dunedin motorway project under threat from a rare worm

Dunedin motorway project under threat from a rare worm

In this image we see the drivers of cars horrified to see a road worker lying on the road with a huge hole through his stomach. This cartoon refers to the peritapus worm that kills its prey by cove...

Apiary at Turua

Apiary at Turua

Honey bees are not only great pollinators, they make delicious honey too! In this image we see a bee-keeper taking frames of honey from a modern hive. These modern beehives are made of special wood...

Cave weta

Cave weta are the ‘daddy-long-legs’ of weta. Their small bodies, extra-long legs and antennae make them excellent jumpers. Although they walk slowly and daintily, they are always ready to surprise ...

More Argentine ants arrive

More Argentine ants arrive

Argentine ants are native to Northern Argentina. Although the ants are only 3 cm long, they create large colonies which can contain up to one billion ants. They have been known to kill off other an...

Vanishing monarch butterflies

Vanishing monarch butterflies

Monarch butterflies are not just beautiful creatures, they are also very important to humans and the environment. Monarch butterflies are bioindicators, excellent pollinators and a wonderful food s...

Fruit fly

Under the heading 'A bug in the system' a customs officer tells a Queensland fruit-fly "Welcome to New Zealand, sir! We don't x-ray all bags so we rely on travellers to declare any bio-security ris...

Guide to New Zealand soil invertebrates

Everything you need to know about New Zealand soil invertebrates.

Insects, minibeasts and butterflies

A gallery of items related to insects and minibeasts.

Provides definitions of insects and minibeasts, plus a game to build your own super bug.

Insect themed art ideas

Ideas for insect based art works.

What is this bug?

Identify bugs and insects in your garden.

Mosaic of insects and butterflies by Christopher Marley.

It could be said that in terms of numbers of species, insects rule the world. If this were the case, beetles would rule the insects

Native New Zealand bush

Native New Zealand bush

Although insects and minibeast are small creatures, they are vital components of bush ecosystem. Whether they are pollinators (e.g. bees and butterflies), herbivores (e.g. stick insects), predators...

Insect soup: bug poems

Poems about a collection of unusual insects, by Barry Louis Polisar.

Video about Killer Bees and the drastic effects they have on the rainforest.

How to make an insect hotel

Learn how to make an insect hotel using this step by step video guide.

Will we all be eating insects in 50 years?

Each year, around 70 million people are added to the world’s population.

Minibeast resources

This website contains useful information and resources related to minibeasts.

Adaptations of insects and other arthropods

Teaching resources covering insects and other arthropods.

Song about the characteristics of insects.

A comprehensive list of insects, including images.

A gallery of videos and information covering 80 Insects.

The adult female of Katipo is a small spider with a pea-sized abdomen.

Māori man eating a huhu grub

Māori man eating a huhu grub

In this image we see a Māori man eating a huhu grub, a delicacy in the traditional Maori diet. The huhu beetle grub (Prionoplus reticularis) is found in damp, rotten logs. The beetle can grow up to...

Cicada life cycle

The first tourists to New Zealand (around the mid- 19th century) were wealthy travellers from Britain and the United States. New Zealand was called the ‘wonder country’ with its mountains, forests,...

Life cycle science ideas

Teaching Resources covering insect lifecycles.

The Department of Conservation

This website includes information on mini beasts and guidelines for creating a weta motel.

A gallery of items related to insects and minibeasts.

Website containing a range of activities related to minibeasts.

Most spiders in New Zealand are harmless, but the katipo, redback and white-tailed spiders can be harmful.

Insect-inspired artists

The Entomological Society of America says that of the 10 quintillion insects crawling our globe.

Beetles for kids

Video about beetles and their physical characteristics.

Animal-insect hybrid

Watercolour painting of an animal-insect hybrid.

Creepy-crawlies (New Zealand)

Creepy-crawlies (New Zealand)

Many Answers has reviewed links to websites and databases about New Zealand insects.

Insects and forest ecosystems

Our native forests – ngahere – have complex ecosystems. Within the wider ecosystems are smaller ecosystems, such as the one formed around honeydew.

Landcare Research’s insect collection

The buildings of Landcare Research (Manaaki Whenua) in Tāmaki, Auckland, house an enormous range of preserved and live specimens of insects and other invertebrates.