Not sure what to make of this one, found in a very isolated little area of creviced schist rock in the Waitaki Valley, between 20-30 km inland and only about 1 km south of the Waitaki River. Its size (SVL around 55-60 mm) would suggest an Alps (a number of adults including gravid females seen, confirming they are small), but its deep yellow eyes, toe shape and general colour pattern are quite unlike the Alps' among greywacke further west in the same valley, and I don't know of any alps anywhere having deep yellow eyes. Korero geckos are off to the south in the Kakanui Mts system, but although small for their species there they are still distinctly bigger then these ones and with rather different patterning. If I had to guess I'd probably go with aberrant Southern Alps gecko, maybe with some korero genetic influence? Superficially they're a little like the schist gecko, but surely much too isolated to be a population of them.
On 12/12/2023, at Omarama, Mackenzie Basin, Canterbury, I found a 20mm immature caterpillar under its foodplant muehlenbeckia axillaris.
I collected it and reared it on muehlenbeckia axillaris.
Caterpillar grew to 50mm before it pupaed.
It pupaed on 5/2/2024, it did not spinned a cocoon in soil, but just buried itself in soil and moth esclosed on 20/2/2024.
Until I had reared this caterpillar, physetica caerulea's life cycle were unknown for many past years.
Found dead on road. Summit road
Drawn to light. Several appeared just on dark, many looked recently eclosed. FYI @carey-knox-southern-scales
In a rock tumble. Lep and Hep survey with @carey-knox-southern-scales
Assisting @Carey-Knox-Southern-Scales on moth surveys. Evening/Night 1. Multiple lights/sheets set up in a steep gully of native bush. Undergrowth dominated by ongaonga. Ribbonwood/lacebark dominant forest trees, some kowhai and totara etc. Quite battered but possibly P. urticae given proximity of tree nettle.
Assisting @Carey-Knox-Southern-Scales on moth surveys. Evening/Night 1. Multiple lights/sheets set up in a steep gully of native bush. Undergrowth dominated by ongaonga. Ribbonwood/lacebark dominant forest tree, some kowhai and totara etc. Several of these encountered. Weakly marked, wings flat (not held upright).
Assisting @Carey-Knox-Southern-Scales on moth surveys. Evening/Night 1. Multiple lights/sheets set up in a steep gully of native bush. Undergrowth dominated by ongaonga. Ribbonwood/lacebark dominant forest tree, some kowhai and totara etc.
Saw three of this species today. INat suggest McCanns but I thought the white stripes were closer to a Grass skink.
Please note: Access to this part of Naseby Forest is by permit only it is working forest.
Titirangi Village, Auckland.