In the summer seasons following the restoration of Roto Kawau, Zealandia’s lower reservoir, visitors have noticed that the place is buzzing with dragonflies and damselflies. Now that the warmer months have reached their peak, it’s the perfect time to come and learn more about these incredible creatures.
Join us for a kōrero/talk led by dragonfly ambassadors Ruary Mackenzie Dodds and Kari de Koenigswarter to learn more about dragonflies and damselflies, what makes them particularly special, the species that you may find on your next nature walk and the research that Ruary and Kari have been conducting across Wellington region and within Zealandia itself.
Bush giant dragonfly
Uropetala carovei or kapokapowai (water snatcher) is New Zealand's largest dragonfly with a wingspan up to 130 mm, and it can be up to 86 mm long. It is relatively common and its favourite habitat is damp areas of native forests. Dragonfly larvae tunnel into soft earth by water to make their home in a chamber half-filled with water and emerge at night to seek prey near the entrance. They are long lived (estimated to be 5–6 years) and are very sensitive to disturbance so they are rarely observed. As adults, they are extremely effective aerial predators. They’re loud fliers, so you may hear one buzzing if you’re out near freshwater on a sunny day.
Image by Nick Goldwater, CC BY-NC 4.0. Sourced from iNaturalist NZ.
Venue: Pāteke Room, ZEALANDIA Eco-Sanctuary, Waiapu Road, Karori, Wellington
For more information: www.eventfinda.co.nz/2024/delving-deeper-into-dragonflies/wellington
Speaker biographies:
Ruary Mackenzie Dodds F.L.S.
Based out of Scotland, Ruary is a 'Dragonfly Ambassador' for the British Dragonfly Society with several published books and many public lectures and radio segments both in New Zealand and the UK under his belt. He has been carrying out research in and around the Pencarrow Lakes, south of Eastbourne, and alongside his wife Kari and Dr George Gibbs is currently working on a night filming project of the elusive Bush Giant dragonfly and its previously unrecorded nocturnal activities.
Ruary’s aim is to publicise the importance of dragonflies as bio-indicators to New Zealanders, how they can be used as a simple way to detect the health of freshwater spaces, and highlight their amazing life-cycle, extraordinary behaviour, and the threats they face.
For more details about Ruary, see www.ruarymackenziedodds.com
Kari de Koenigswarter
Kari is a full-time artist and a specialist in the study of dragonfly larvae. She has worked alongside and supported Ruary every step of his dragonfly journey. She has personally designed and run many Odonata Larval Identification courses in the UK, including for the UK Environment Agency.
Kari’s work in New Zealand has included identifying exuviae at Lakes Kohangapiripiri and Kohangatera in order to establish proof of breeding of species there. Quite apart from time spent staring down a microscope, this has involved standing knee-deep in lake water for up to an hour and a half at a time!
For more details about Kari, see www.karidekoenigswarter.com or @karidekartist on Instagram
Related content
Discover more about aquatic insect life in Aotearoa.
Learn about bringing insects into your classroom in our PLD webinar All about insects featuring entomologists Dr Chrissie Painting and Tom Saunders.
