One of New Zealand’s most well known insects is the wētā, of the Orthoptera order, but there are thousands of other insects species, some of which we know very little about. Rights: Photo by Tom ...
Insects can be large – like the 130 mm wingspan of the kapokapowai/bush giant dragonfly – or tiny – like the 2 mm namu/West Coast blackfly. Insects can be beneficial like the honey bee or a pest ...
Pepeke is an animal grouping within te ao Māori. This group name equates to the insect world and calls to whakapapa in the concept of aitanga – living creatures descending from the primordial ...
Feeding relationships are often shown as simple food chains – in reality, these relationships are much more complex, and the term ‘food web’ more accurately shows the links between producers ...
Explore this interactive diagram to learn more about life in the sea. Click on the different labels to view short video clips or images about different parts of the marine ecosystem.
Adaptation is an evolutionary process whereby an organism becomes increasingly well suited to living in a particular habitat. It is not a quick process! Natural selection over many generations ...
Throughout human existence we have relied on the oceans – for food, as a waste dump, for recreation, for economic opportunities and so on. However, it’s not only our activities in the marine ...
Adaptation is an evolutionary process whereby an organism becomes increasingly well suited to living in a particular habitat. Natural selection results in helpful traits becoming more common in a ...
Observation is something we often do instinctively. Observation helps us decide whether it’s safe to cross the road and helps to determine if cupcakes are ready to come out of the oven ...
The ecology of the river refers to the relationships that living organisms have with each other and with their environment – the ecosystem. An ecosystem is the sum of interactions between plants ...
Charles Darwin is well known for his work on natural selection. He published widely on topics ranging from barnacles to geology to plants. He travelled the world and saw many unusual animals ...
Although earthworms are classified as animals, their bodies are quite different to animals that live above the ground. This video highlights some of the interesting physical characteristics ...
New Zealand has a very small number of poisonous and venomous animals. The grey side-gilled sea slug (Pleurobranchaea maculata) is an example of a poisonous animal. It is toxic when eaten ...
The life cycle of the monarch butterfly. Click on one of titles to find out more about each stage.
The earthworm’s body is well adapted for life in the soil. Click on the labels to see images and learn more.
When is a fish not really a fish? When it’s a starfish! Starfish – pātangatanga – are the common names for a group of animals called sea stars. Sea stars are actually part of the phylum ...
Sea stars have many weird and wonderful adaptations - including some unusual internal systems. Click on any of the labels in this interactive to view short video clips or images to learn more.
Estuaries connect land and sea. They are partly enclosed bodies of water situated at the edge of the land – a mixture of freshwater from streams and rivers and saltwater from the sea. Estuaries ...
New Zealand’s most identifiable butterfly is the monarch (Danaus plexippus). Although found in many places around the world, the monarch is considered a New Zealand native because it became ...
Sea stars have many weird and wonderful adaptations including both sexual and asexual reproduction. Click on any of the labels in this interactive to view short video clips or images to learn ...
Estuaries are extremely valuable. They: are nurseries – breeding grounds for fish and birds maintain the health of coastal fisheries and waters are a buffer between land and sea – protecting the ...
Imagine being able to smell your dinner from the other side of a sports field. Insects do this with the pair of antennae on their heads. But insects don’t only use their antennae to smell. They ...
In this video Dr Miles Lamare, from the University of Otago, discusses the classification of starfish and the role that they play in the marine ecosystem. Point of interest Starfish is the common ...
Classification is an important tool used by scientists to show how organisms are related to each other and to group them by their characteristics, but this can be difficult for some marine ...
