There is a mystery to be solved with NZ’s copper butterfly species and The Butterfly Discovery Project has been established to find and fund a PhD student to solve it, with the help of a Givealittle page.

Long story short: The mystery goes back to Cook’s Endeavour voyage when historical mistakes were made and specimens misplaced. It appears the butterflies that had been collected from NZ were sold to a specimen trader on arrival back in London. Only a painting by William Jones in 1775 – known as an ‘iconotype’ – was used to identify the butterfly. No original specimen has ever been located.

The end result is that most of our copper butterflies have been grouped together as just ‘common coppers’ when there may be many more.

Why does this matter?

According to project manager Angela Moon-Jones, “In order to save a species from extinction, like the copper butterflies, they first need to be named using scientific methods such as DNA.”

“Sadly, the scientific funding model in NZ does not support this type of work so we must raise money through crowd funding, just to be able to identify and name our important fauna. Only then can they be included in our national conservation programmes with the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai.”

Angela has pulled together a formidable team to support the project including NZ’s ‘Bug Man’ Ruud Kleinpaste and leading scientists.

“Some of our coppers are extinct already, or on the edge of extinction,” says Dr Robert Hoare of Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, who will be one of the student’s supervisors.

How can New Zealanders help?

We have exciting news! The Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) has just announced that it will match all donations, to a level of $5,000.

“By donating now, people can make a real difference with a donation of even $5, which will be matched to make it $10,” explains Angela. “These funds are being raised through the stunning MBNZT calendar for 2023, which is on sale now. This will be a great boost to our funding.”

Dr George Gibbs has already pledged $50,000 as seed money in memory of his grandfather, renowned entomologist GV Hudson. Added to the almost $5,000 funds raised on the Givealittle page the project is well on its way to getting the $130,000 needed.

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