This collection provides information about the work of New Zealand’s world-class science and technology sectors in relation to Hidden Taonga. Included are profiles of organisations carrying out work in this area.
The arthropod (insect) collection at Landcare Research houses over 6 million different specimens that are used for reference and research. These specimens are important for conservation and biosecurity.
Fred the Thread is the world’s thinnest caterpillar. It was discovered in cane rushes in the Waikato. Native to New Zealand, the caterpillar grows into a tiny moth.
The vegetable caterpillar actually refers to a fungus, native to New Zealand, that invades the caterpillars of certain species of moths and turns them into mummified carcasses.
The insect that produces honeydew in the southern beech forests is a type of scale insect. These insects support a whole ecosystem by producing droplets of sweet honeydew.
The facilities at Landcare Research, Auckland, include three National Biological Collections that provide a foundation for our knowledge of New Zealand’s biodiversity and this country’s invertebrate pests and plant disease-causing organisms.
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