After a heated contest, New Zealand’s Bird of the Century was named in November 2023 – the puking and pompadoured pūteketeke. The victory isn’t just for...

Poetry with Fred the Thread – upper primary is a ready-to-use cross-curricular teaching resource. It uses a humorous poem read by author and scientist Dr Robert...

If you enjoy Dr Seuss, you will enjoy Dr Hoare! Poetry with Fred the Thread – middle primary is a ready-to-use cross-curricular teaching resource. It uses...

Dr Robert Hoare reads a poem he wrote about the native moth (Houdinia flexilissima), whose larva is known as Fred the Thread. The poem is from...

Communication in science takes many forms. When Dr Corrine Watts discovered unusual pinkish-orange larvae living inside wetland plants, she turned to Dr Robert Hoare for help...

Ahi Pepe MothNet is a citizen science project that explores New Zealand’s native moths, their distributions and whether vegetation restoration impacts moth diversity. One aspect of...

Moths are members of the order Lepidoptera, but these mostly nocturnal creatures are often in the shadow of the brighter, day-flying butterflies. New Zealand has fewer...

Names are important. They identify who we are and where we come from. But sometimes, names don’t tell the whole story. For example, the Oxford Dictionary...

Adventure is engaging in an unusual or daring experience. Discovery is the act of finding or learning something for the first time. Adventure and discovery are...

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) follow the same life cycle stages – egg, larva, pupa and adult – but aspects differ from species to species. By rearing...

The Ahi Pepe MothNet team have given Māori names to some of the moths they’ve observed. Watch as Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ōtepoti students name...

Dr Robert Hoare from Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research explains why it’s challenging to identify moths. He also notes that observation leads to appreciation and, hopefully,...

Moths are euthanised in order to create reference collections. Dr Barbara Anderson from Ahi Pepe MothNet, and Dr Robert Hoare from Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research...

Find out why and how the Ahi Pepe MothNet project created the Puka Whakamārama o Te Pepe Nui – Beginners’ Guide to Macro Moths. Dr Barbara...

Dr Robert Hoare, of Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, talks about why he loves moths – a fascinating story of how an entomologist grew to love...

In this activity, students use information from a video of Dr Robert Hoare rearing moths from eggs and caterpillars in the laboratory to write a ‘how...

In this activity, students watch a video of Dr Robert Hoare collecting moths in an Auckland park and then plan their own expedition. By the end...

Fred the Thread is the caterpillar of a native moth (Houdinia flexilissima) and is quite possibly the world’s thinnest caterpillar. Fred was found following studies conducted...

The buildings of Landcare Research (Manaaki Whenua) in Tāmaki, Auckland, house an enormous range of preserved and live specimens of insects and other invertebrates. Why do...

Watch Dr Robert Hoare, of Landcare Research NZ Ltd, as he mounts a moth for display in the Landcare Research insect collection. This delicate process results...

Dr Robert Hoare, of Landcare Research NZ Ltd, introduces us to the world of moths. He describes their place in the ecosystem and how important they...

Dr Peter Buchanan and Dr Robert Hoare, scientists at Landcare Research NZ Ltd, talk about New Zealand’s unique ecosystem. They talk about why so many of...

Dr Robert Hoare, of Landcare Research NZ Ltd, shows us the process he uses to rear moths in the laboratory, using basic equipment such as a...

Dr Robert Hoare, of Landcare Research NZ Ltd, talks about the process that the scientists went through to name the new species they had found when...