That's a funny place for a tardigrade to be!

For my lab today I wanted to add in some tardigrades, which I ended up finding living in moss and lichen on a tree. This is the same specimen, the second (in the comments) slightly more squashed as the water evaporated, where you can see the mouthparts and claws with a bit more clarity. #tardigrade

For my lab today I wanted to add in some tardigrades, which I ended up finding living in moss and lichen on a tree. This is the same specimen, the second (in the comments) slightly more squashed as the water evaporated, where you can see the mouthparts and claws with a bit more clarity. #tardigrade

So few make it through thanks to the wasps! Count yourself lucky!

A nice big rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus, whose massive spines suggest her mother was exposed to some predators (likely another rotifer, Asplanchna). Two different planes of focus.

A nice big rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus, whose massive spines suggest her mother was exposed to some predators (likely another rotifer, Asplanchna). Two different planes of focus.

Monarchs got to New Zealand by themselves, but couldn't survive here until swan plants/milkweed had been introduced, which was likely as seeds in the stuffing of pillows with arrivals from South Africa. The wasps have taken most of our monarchs the last few years, but this one has been a survivor.

📢 📢 2 Weeks Remain | Early Registration for ICAIS 2026 ends on March 31. Register now to take advantage of reduced fees. Learn more and register: bit.ly/3J0O3JX

In my samples today, Wolffia australiana, which is recognized as one of the world’s smallest flowering plants.

Plenary Speaker Announcement | We are pleased to announce that Ian Duggan will be presenting ‘Mitigation trumps remediation: Lesson from research on vectors for the movement of freshwater invertebrates in New Zealand’ at ICAIS 2026.

You are going to have a nice surprise to wake up to!

Neotrichozetes spinulosa, aka the Hellraiser Mite, a small big covered in urticating hairs that make it look like pinhead

in this picture of a hellraiser mite its blood red colour is more obvious

Voting for New Zealand Bug of the Year closes in a few short hours! You don't need to be local to vote. This year I'm team Hellraiser Mite, because every year I pick the freakiest l'il guy I can find and just look at him.

bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/vote-here-20...

You unfortunately missed it by a couple of weeks, @boondockallegorist.bsky.social!

I've never made it to Oamaru Botanic Gardens! Hopefully I will get there in the next couple of years....

Yes, a lot of work by a lot of people over a number of years, though it was also a little neglected in the last few years. It was great that Gemma could find some time to pull it all together, because it is a useful bit of work! I hope you are doing well Liz!

Diversity and Potential Endemism of New Zealand Freshwater Rotifers Revealed Using Mitochondrial DNA Barcodes Rotifers perform key functions in aquatic food webs and respond to environmental changes, thus providing sensitive indicators of water quality. However, rotifers are small, highly diverse, and diffic...

While my first 7 papers were on all rotifers, this is my first to focus exclusively on this group since 2002. It's especially great to publish with Gemma, who I first met while teaching a summer science experience for school kids back in 2007!

rsnz.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Really happy with this pub from Gemma (@antarctibug.bsky.social), based on sequences of many NZ rotifer taxa we collected over many years. Most NZ rotifer lineages appear to be unique to NZ based on current knowledge, with a few possible invaders in the mix. Useful sequences for eDNA going forward.

Pest cull at Auckland's Western Springs Lake using electrocurrents Hundreds of goldfish, turtles and other pests are being pulled from a popular park's lake to be euthanised.

My colleague Nick has been using Waikato University's electrofishing boat to remove huge numbers of non-native koi carp, goldfish, catfish and turtles from Auckland's Western Springs. For the turtles and goldfish, your unwanted pets can become monumental pests!

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

The Giant Penguin fossil at Waikato Museum - Kairuku waewaeroa - (= food-diver long-legs). It lived in the Oligocene, at a time when Zealandia was almost fully submerged, with small islands and shallow seas prefect for coastal marine life evolution.

At Waikato Museum, where we stumbled across a virtual microscope display of what's in the Waikato River, featuring a bdelloid rotifer! It's turned my day around!

Go for length, Ian.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again - vote quality not quantity!

Which bug is the mightiest of the year? You've probably all heard of Bird of the Year, but Bug of the Year might be new to you. Much like the name suggests, it is a competition pitting critters against each other. (Yes, we know the word "bu...

It's Bug of the Year time in NZ! Despite all being 'macroinvertebrates', there are some really good selections this year! Am I on team NZ Flatworm for being one of the invaders we have had go the other way? Or go aquatic Team Tadpole Shrimp or Intertidal Caddisfly...?

www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

'We were horrified': DoC shock as ducks filmed eating native chicks alive DoC has euthanised three mallards from Lake Alexandrina to stop copycat attacks.

This is so crazy! Invasive mallards in NZ have been observed preying on the chicks of our "bird of the century", pūteketeke. "This duck behaviour was unknown to DoC experts, and there was a concern that it would spread, as ducks learned from each other".

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/doc-fears...

Meet the dogs sniffing out a tiny clam threatening Waikato waterways Gold clams can form carpets of up to 10,000 clams per square metre.

Gold clam detecting dogs - Some work from my colleagues.

www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news...

It's been a few months since the last dragon fruit update, but they have now been planted in a bigger pot outside.

Pleated inkcaps growing on the lawn.

Lake Rotomanu closed to motorised boats after discovery of invasive clam Taranaki Regional Council said it was unknown how the clams got into the lake, but the focus now was making sure they did not spread to other Taranaki lakes or rivers.

Uh oh... Corbicula has spread byond the Waikato River to Lake Rotomanu in Taranaki.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...