Frasers Gully by day... and by night!

Frasers Gully is a jewel in the Kaikorai crown. It contains many rare and special species and holds a precious vesitige of native vegetation. AKV staff and volunteers have headed into Frasers Gully a couple of times lately to survey the various lifeforms found in the upper part of the gully, first by day, and then by night!

We're lucky to have ecology students as part of our fold. Their eyes and ears are primed for finding the weird and wonderful living treasures in the bush. For starters they found a lancewood tree so large, that it might be the largest lancewood in Dunedin (measurements still to be confirmed).  Then they found elderberry weed, which is a problem because it inhibits native regeneration. Being alerted to weeds is an important part of looking after our environment. But it was what was discovered at night that was the real treasure.

(Story continues below pictures).

Crawling down a steep bank into the gully at night might be something from the scene of a horror film, but going together as a group of 8 was much more tolerable! Suddenly the familiar trapline turned into a dense, dark forest, only to be lit up by head-torches. Spiders, wētā and stick insects crawled out of their hidey holes to begin their nocturnal activities. Cameras with macro lenses were at the ready, capturing the incredible invertebrates that live here with us in Kaikorai Valley.

After an hour and a half of viewing the night's critters, ecology student Chia Hunt set up a contraption to collect moths. The UV light attracts them in and they go down a valve into a bucket. Chia went back the next morning to photograph them and then released them all unharmed. About 50 moths went into the bucket, all of them native species to New Zealand.

All in all, we learned a lot about the flora and fauna of Frasers Gully. The next night mission will be from the bottom end and we'll be on the hunt for even rarer creatures!