Kiwi Scientists And Volunteers Launch Mission To Identify Unnamed New Zealand Butterflies
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Loading... - tommy chloe
- 31 May 2022
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Scientific names are the key to understanding the environment, to identifying which species are most at risk of their habitats being destroyed.
To change this identification crisis, a small group of butterfly enthusiasts, school groups and some of New Zealand’s leading scientists have teamed up with the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust (MBNZT) to create The Butterfly Discovery Project.
The Butterfly Discovery Project will start by investigating New Zealand's largest group of butterflies, known as copper butterflies, which are part of the Lycaena family. Currently copper butterflies are grouped into only four scientifically-named species. There may actually be up to over 20 individual species. This creates major confusion for scientists and enthusiasts alike!
Why is this project so important?
As Sir David Attenborough explained in ‘Discovering Biodiversity – a decadal plan for taxonomy and biosystematics in Australia and New Zealand 2018-2027’,
“We cannot properly grasp or understand the natural world without this taxonomic system. …I depend on the work of these scientists.”
Taxonomy is the science of discovering, classifying and naming organisms so that we can better understand them and restore their habitats. Dutch-New Zealand naturalist Ruud Kleinpaste explains, “if we can’t identify them how can we save them from extinction?”
The first NZ butterfly - a copper - was identified from a painting! Read More…
