That's the beauty of Pancake Day - you can have pancakes at any time!
> The Entomological Society of New Zealand is proud to launch the second ever Bug of the Year 2024 competition with 20 incredible nominees vying for the top spot. Learn more about the nominees before you vote! > > Who will steal the crown from the ngaro huruhuru native bee? > > Voting is open through 12 Feb 2024
Eight charming bugs who deserve your love - Article from the Spinoff that prompted this post
https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/tools-and-resources/identification/what-is-this-bug/monarch-caterpillar/
It's that time of year again, when the kids (and myself) get overly invested in the lifecycle of these grubs. Last year we managed maybe a 10% success rate (from egg to butterfly) hopefully we'll do better this time round.
I would guess around 3mm for that one. I've never seen them either but happened to look down and saw it crawling on me while gardening
I'm in Wellington, but they're apparently everywhere - just we tend not to notice them since they're pretty small and like live under leaves and stuff
http://soilbugs.massey.ac.nz/pseudoscorpions.php
Pictured here crawling along my shorts. Apparently they'll attach themselves to flys and other flying insects to grab a ride off to other places.
Had heard people talking about "bluebottles" spoiling beach trips further up the coast, and there were loads of these at Lyall bay yesterday (we weren't there to swim so nothing spoiled).
Where I'm from bluebottles are a large fly but reading on Wikipedia these are actually the same species as the famous Portuguese Man O'War (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_man_o'_war).
New Zealand Giant Stick Insect - Argosarchus horridus
Was visited by this not so wee one yesterday. Never seen a stick insect this big outside of the zoo - was probably close to 18cm long (judging size against weatherboards).
My daughter named it Dave.
Beginners luck on my part. They got absolutely flattened by the wind so I wasn't confident of getting much of anything, but real happy with how my forays into growing stuff is progressing
Harvested potatoes this morning and was pleasantly surprised by the haul from my tiny plot. Gotta figure out what to plant in the space next - maybe some pumpkin
Merry Christmas everyone!
Did my first ever BBQ today, vege sausages for me and pork for the rest of the family. There were a few hiccups on the way but daughter said they were the best sausages ever so I think that's $300 well spent.
Yeah I think we're going to take our 8 yo later in the holidays as I think she'll like it too.
Took my 4 year old to the Dinosaurs of Patagonia exhibition at The Papa this morning. It's fucking spectacular. I wasn't really expecting all that much from it, and it is fairly tame to begin with, but the final exhibits are pretty amazing. Kid loved it too.
Thanks, that's solid advice. I put it together last night and it seems robust enough, so like you say if I can keep it clean and avoid rust it should last
I'll probably just stick to the standard sausages and burgers to start with. I don't eat meat myself, but the kids do, so probably won't be doing anything too fancy.
I am intrigued with the idea of using it as a pizza oven though
I ended up getting a Charmate Corona as it was far cheaper than the equivalent Webber, and is probably all I need as a beginner
My son, after watching a YouTube video where the Paw Patrol had a barbecue competition, decided that we needed to also get a BBQ - I was inclined to agree. So this morning I've headed out and bought the family the finest mid-price kettle that mitre 10 has to offer.
Now I can spend the Christmas break subjecting my family to my sure to be mediocre attempts at BBQing.
> Rocket Lab launched its first flight of its Electron rocket since a failure on Sept. 19. The 42nd mission for the small-satellite launcher lifted off on Dec. 15 from New Zealand during at about 1705 NZDT (0405 UTC or 11:05 p.m. EST).
Launched today from the Mahia Peninsula (Hawke's Bay). Lift off is around the 35 minute mark of the linked video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLwTLqaCnQ8&t=3)
The party is asking iwi and supporters to take to the streets on Tuesday morning, as MPs arrive in Wellington.
Posting here, and not in politics, as a heads up for people who might need to adjust travel plans for tomorrow morning (if you want to discuss the politics around this then maybe a separate thread in the politics community would be best)
> Protest locations and times: > > Whangarei: Starting at New World, 7am. > > Tāmaki Makaurau: Starting at Albany Garden Centre, 7am. > > Tāmaki Makaurau: Starting at Hobsonville Rd, Brigham Rd intersection, 7am. > > Tāmaki Makaurau: Starting at BP Bombays, 7am. > > Waikato: Talbot St, Rangiriri, 6am. Rangiriri Pā, 7am. > > Waikato: Hamptom Downs, 7am. > > Waikato: Ohinewai Hall, 7am. > > Tauranga: Starting at Whareroa Reserve, 6:30am. > > Rotorua: Starting at the events centre, 7am. > > Hawera Town Sq, 7am. > > New Plymouth: Starting at Cob and Co car park, 7am. > > Tokoroa: Youth Park, 6am. > > Wairarapa: Queen St, Masterton, 9am. > > Porirua: Mall, 7am. > > Wellington: The Tce bridge, 7am. > > Ōtautahi: The Bridge of Rememberance, 5:30pm. > > Waihopai: Starting at 101 Esk St, 5pm. >
Made gyoza for the first time tonight, turned out far better than I thought it would. Took a bit of prep work, but was far cheaper and tastier than the frozen stuff from the supermarket. Even got two thumbs up from the four year old, and the seven year old went back for seconds.
Yeah can see the flight history here: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/nz7004#32fad10f
Looks like it flew over the beehive about 2:49 (I think, site says 1:49 AM UTC) at about 950 ft up.
Wasn't this by any chance? RNZAF farewell flight becomes most tracked in the world
Apparently it was flying low going over Parliament on its way down south.
I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention Zealandia when talking about the return of native birds to the capital. It's large sanctuary in the city suburbs that's completely surround by a 1.8 - 2.2m (6.2 - 7.2 ') predator exclusion fence. This area allows native birds a space to thrive without rat predation. It's been so successful that threatened birds are growing in numbers and returning to areas outside of the sanctuary - good example being the Kaka (not an owl but still superb) which seem to growing steadily in number in my area.
I'm lucky enough to have Ruru in my back garden. While I rarely, if ever, see them I do often hear them gently hooting throughout the night, and I love them for that.
I'm way under qualified to comment on the efficacy of the rat poison drops, but my impression is that they are generally seen as a necessary evil in the fight to protect native wildlife. There's definitely a fringe, but vocal, anti 1080 (the most prominent poison used) movement, but that's less rooted in environmental concern and more on conspiracy theories: 1080 activism: Going down the conspiracy 'wormhole'
It is worth noting that poison drops aren't the only tool employed. There's been some massive victories in the Wellington region using trapping to eliminate rats (and other pests such as stoats) from a large area of the capital: Rats, stoats and weasels eliminated from Miramar
There's a good Tom Scott video on the efforts going on to remove rats from the Wellington region: This is "impossible", but New Zealand is trying anyway
Stores of Wishbone, which has been in business for 23 years, are displaying signs saying "closed until further notice" and its website is also offline.
Pretty shit for the staff, but honestly not surprising if they're charging $10 for a basic egg sandwich.
More tickets have gone on sale this morning. I'm don't have a source for this information but I did manage to buy four tickets an hour ago (there were none last night).
(hopefully this is alright to post, meant more as a heads up than a promotional post)
A recent survey shows no native birds are seriously at risk in the capital anymore, and regionally bird numbers are soaring sky high.
A recent survey shows no native birds are seriously at risk in the capital anymore, and regionally bird numbers are soaring sky high.
Possibly a little known / under appreciated gem in our city.
Did an unofficial (you can pay for guided tours) glow worm walk this evening in Otari-Wilton Bush - organized via my kids Childspace. I've lived nearby for years, and walked those trails many times without realizing that they were there.
We walked a short walk from the Northern carpark and all along the trail there were hundreds of glow worms right on the trail banks. I've never seen so many, so close (aside from Waitomo). Would definitely recommend for those with kids or anyone really.
Sailing into Wellington harbour on the Interislander as the sun goes down
Wellington City Council staff have checked and there was “no obvious damage” to the bridge.
Just a heads up if you're thinking about driving in this morning (also assume this will mean busier trains as people seek alternatives).