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Embargoed until Wednesday 4 December, 9am

Great example of NZ butterfly habitat

The Moths and Butterflies New Zealand Trust is proud to announce that ‘Merriemont’ in Blockhouse Bay has been certified as being a great example of New Zealand butterfly habitat.

Concern for New Zealand’s endemic butterflies has led to gardeners looking for ways in which to make their gardens, or wild spaces, more attractive to butterflies. ‘Merriemont’ offers a welcome to butterflies and bees and many other examples of insect life.

The garden began three years ago as a tired space surrounding one of Blockhouse Bay's farmhouses and has been transformed by Jacqui Knight, secretary and founding trustee of the Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust. The garden includes a mix of natives and perennials, as well as a few vegetables grown in containers to supplement Jacqui's kitchen. This year a large patch of lawn has been converted using recycled pavers to create a giant butterfly in a spectrum of colours.

“I created the Big Bright Butterfly to inspire others to add more colour, more nectar flowers to their gardens,” said Jacqui, “and the butterflies and bees flying around add even more colour – flowers that fly,” said Jacqui.

“There are many organisations working to protect kiwi, kokako and even giant snails,” said Trust Chair Rebecca Bibby, “but NZ has very few species of butterflies and they are becoming less known each year.”

South Island lepidopterist Brian Patrick has identified a tiny purple copper butterfly which exists only in one coastal car-park.

“It’s teetering on the edge of survival,” he said. “The plight of our butterfly fauna is heavily dependent on human respect if they are to survive and thrive. Several butterflies are threatened with extinction even before they are described.”

NZ’s Red Admiral is another classic example.

“World-renowned lepidopterist Nigel Venters says that the NZ Red Admiral, Vanessa gonerilla, known as Kahukura to the Maori, is the most beautiful in the world,” Jacqui said. “But in many places now you don’t see it any more. Once it was common all over the country. Admirals breed on stinging nettle–and gardeners and developers think this is a ‘nasty weed’ which has to be eradicated.”

People are also keen to know how to help the native Monarch butterfly in their own garden, finding out more about its host plants and a range of plants to provide nectar to butterflies and bees. So great is the demand that the Moths and Butterflies New Zealand Trust is now running on-line courses in creating butterfly habitat.

“We have rolled our butterfly fauna back to the mountains and far-flung places,” added Patrick. “so that now many once familiar species are no longer found in cities, towns or surrounding countryside.”

“Sadly, young New Zealanders are no longer familiar with even our most common butterflies because of the elimination of them from our cities, towns and countryside. Good on the Monarch Trust for taking up this initiative.” ENDS = 477 words

More information on our website

www.nzbutterflies.org.nz or by email to trust@monarch.org.nz.

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