Ever written out 2500 labels?

Well if not, when they are stacked in 5's and lined up on card strips like this...




...you will be writing 5 times this amount!

So this is all part of my preperation for field work. All these labels should loop around the new leaves sprouting from the kawakawas. That way I can identify how quickly the leaves grow and how much they get munched by caterpillars over the season.

So those caterpillars do exist

I found the first caterpillar of the season yesterday. Yes. A cheeky critter that was just sitting on my bag once I battled my way out the bush. This is not a great photo but it gives you an idea of what this moth larvae looks like.

The trials and tribulations of fieldwork…

One of the first things I’ve learnt about field work is that plans never turn out how you expect. So, this week marks the official start of my field work. Although a little early in the season it seems wise to make sure all my sites are visited, plotted out and the equipment is all in place so I’m ready to go once caterpillars start emerging.

Already an eventful week; I have managed to strand myself on an island, slide off the side of a steep slope, get massively delayed behind a large herd of sheep blocking the road and generally get abused by the forest vegetation. Good times. On a more serious note, I now have enough sites on the Banks Peninsula to start taking records of tree size, the number of leaves and the amount of munching caterpillars have done over the years.

Next week: up to the Abel Tasman and Nelson region…

First video blog...

Prefer to watch than read? Have a quick look at the following clips that explain all about the website, my research and why I'm gallivanting round the New Zealand countryside...

About my research...

About me...