Exploring New Zealand’s Unique Butterflies and Moths

A Naturalist’s Guide to Butterflies & Moths of Aotearoa New Zealand by Carey Knox, John Beaufoy Publishing, RRP $29.99

This October, A Naturalist’s Guide to the Butterflies & Moths of Aotearoa, New Zealand, will arrive in your favourite bookstores. This easy-to-use introductory guide covers 361 species of butterflies and moths, many of which are found only in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

About the guide

In Aotearoa/New Zealand, diversity and uniqueness in the animal kingdom have flourished, largely concealed from the rest of the world, and the country’s insects are no exception. An astonishing and unique array of moths and butterflies (collectively known as lepidoptera) call New Zealand home with over 2,000 species thought to be present. More than 90% of Aotearoa’s lepidoptera are endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else. This is the highest proportion of endemic butterflies and moths in any country in the world, making New Zealand a very special place to study and observe these beautiful insects. Butterflies are, of course, well known across the world for their colourfulness and beauty, but many moths are brightly coloured and intricately patterned too, as readers of this guide will quickly discover.

The guide is reasonably comprehensive with images of 361 of Aotearoa’s species within. It also includes enjoyable sections on their habitats, ecology, life cycle, identification, conservation, and how to find and study butterflies and moths.

How the guide came to fruition

There are few modern field guides or dedicated books on the butterflies and moths of Aotearoa New Zealand. John Beaufoy Publishing contacted me expressing an interest in developing a guide and I was delighted to receive the opportunity. It was a dream come true for a big ‘nature nerd’ – to be able to produce a field guide on our wildlife and be able to include many of my own favourite images of our beautiful lepidoptera.

I first took a keen interest in the lepidoptera of Aotearoa a mere three years ago, having spent over a decade working solely on New Zealand lizards as a professional herpetologist. At first, I simply enjoyed photographing and observing moths, seeing how many species I could find in various places around Central Otago, where I live. I started going out looking for moths for several nights every week and occasionally during the day too (New Zealand has a diverse range of brightly-coloured day-flying moths as well as butterflies). I began putting my observations on the website iNaturalist and soon discovered a community of like-minded people who were interested and could help me identify the moths I had found. I found this experience very rewarding, and addictive especially when I found rare or poorly known species, which got all the experts excited!

Whilst travelling around New Zealand, mostly during my day job as a herpetologist, I was able to undertake moth surveys in some of the most remote parts of the country, such as the Fiordland mountains and Kahurangi National Park. Before I knew it, I had undertaken over 200 nights of surveying for moths across New Zealand and photographed over 700 species.

When it came time to put the guide together, the first challenge was to work out how many species I could fit within the page limits of the book, and what species should be in or out. I decided to include all the species most likely to be seen by naturalists across New Zealand, so most of this book is devoted to what are expected to be the most commonly seen moths and butterflies. To balance the emphasis on common species, a selection of rare and particularly ecologically fascinating lepidoptera is profiled in a special rarities and specialities section, I am sure all readers will enjoy. After compiling the photographs and text, I was extremely lucky to receive an excellent review from one of New Zealand’s premiere lepidopterists Dr Robert Hoare. Eventually all the text and photographs were finalised and the final guide put together.

A thirst for exploration and a love of the natural world has always inspired me, and the thrill of the hunt hoping to locate new or rare species. The camera is the tool with which I record these experiences, and I am sure my passion and thirst for exploration comes across in this new book. Keep an eye out for it at your local bookstore.

A selection of brightly-coloured moths from Aotearoa New Zealand