MEDIA RELEASE

Friday 4 September 2009

Watch Out!  There’s Bugs About at Butterfly Creek!

With Conservation Week fast-approaching, Butterfly Creek is excited to announce the launch of its new Greenfingers Bugs About exhibit and wetapunga breeding programme. 

Associate Minister for Conservation, the Hon Kate Wilkinson will launch the exhibit and programme on Wednesday 9 September at Butterfly Creek.

Greenfingers Bugs About features the only display of the mighty wetapunga, an endangered giant weta species found only on Little Barrier Island. 

In addition, Butterfly Creek has been granted the unique captive rear and release programme for the wetapunga from the Department of Conservation. The wetapunga is the largest weta in the world and one of the heaviest insects.

Sponsor of the exhibit and breeding programme is Greenfingers, one of New Zealand’s leading garden waste recycling companies. 

Greenfingers Managing Director Mike Jones says “Greenfingers is committed to improving the environment.  Through this sponsorship, we’re encouraging New Zealanders to think about their natural heritage and we’re also helping to save a native treasure. 
As well as the wetapunga, Greenfingers Bugs About has New Zealand’s largest collection of tarantula, giant centepede, mantids, native and introduced cockroach species, a live beehive and a host of other creepy crawlies. 

Children visiting Butterfly Creek during Conservation Week or the coming school holidays will receive a special Greenfingers Bugs About activity sheet and will get the chance to win some fabulous prizes!
Butterfly Creek offers a range of all-weather experiences for children and adults alike. 

Other attractions include “Scar” and “Goldie”, two giant saltwater crocodiles, baby alligators, the Tropical Butterfly House, New Zealand’s largest fresh water and tropical marine aquaria and a great farm animal petting zoo – not forgetting of course the Red Admiral Express Train, café and playground.

So get along to Butterfly Creek these school holidays, get involved and be in to win!

Background

Butterfly Creek

Butterfly Creek is a popular zoological attraction located near the airport in South Auckland and built over and around a working wetland.  Open daily, it’s an all-weather facility visited by a large number of school groups providing real-life experiences for the science strand of the curriculum - Making Sense of the Living World.  Butterfly Creek features a tropical butterfly house with over 700 free-flying exotic butterflies along with turtles, fish and birds.  Also at Butterfly Creek are two giant salt-water crocodiles, baby alligators, New Zealand’s largest fresh water and tropical marine aquarium, tarantula, cockroaches, bees, centipede and now the wetapunga (or giant weta).

Paul Barrett, Butterfly Creek’s entomologist and weta expert, has worked with the Department of Conservation for the past five years on survey trips to Little Barrier Island to collect wetapunga specimens for a captive breeding programme.  This programme is part of a translocation proposal to gather information on the wetapunga life history and create a self-sustaining population source for future releases to re-establish this threatened species on pest-monitored islands such as Tiritiri Matangi or Motuora.

The breeding programme has purpose-built facilities at Butterfly Creek into which 16 weta have been relocated, commenced mating and egg-laying. 

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