Each season I do four nights of moth lighting in my garden in suburban Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. My summer moth lighting this year started on Saturday. I photograph every moth that settles at my light and today I've been uploading my photos to #iNaturalist.

I've been doing this consistently each autumn since 2015 and every season each year since (at least) 2021. You might think I would have found all the moth species that visit my garden, but no.

So far I've finished uploading Saturday's moth photos and have found six new species to our garden. Here are four of them.

There's the endemic moth *Gymnobathra hamatella*:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337290749

There's the "nationally vulnerable" endemic species *Gadira leucophthalma*:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337263605

There's the endemic Clematis triangle *Deana hybreasalis*:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337285888

Also, less ideal, there's the introduced Case-bearing Clothes Moth *Tinea pellionella*:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337285916

#mothodon #moths #Lepidoptera #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #NZ #insects #EcologicalMonitoring

Check out this big gum emperor moth that visited my moth light at home last night, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ.

I first thought there was a bird flapping in the bushes, before it appeared. This one was pinker than most I've seen, and it happily clambered about on its big fluffy feet.

They're more like Pokémon than real moths.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/336921630

#moths #mothodon #Christchurch #NZ #Ōtautahi #insects #entomology

Check out this big gum emperor moth that visited my moth light at home last night, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ.

I first thought there was a bird flapping in the bushes, before it appeared. This one was pinker than most I've seen, and it happily clambered about on its big fluffy feet.

They're more like Pokémon than real moths.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/336921630

#moths #mothodon #Christchurch #NZ #Ōtautahi #insects #entomology

Here are four of the many things I found taking my camera for a run this afternoon in Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ.

Curious European greenfinches on a wire (one twisted around to look at me): https://inaturalist.nz/observations/335927660

A late instar caterpillar of an Australian yellow admiral butterfly that I found feeding on a European dwarf nettle: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/335927656

A mallard duck swimming on the Heathcote River with the *best* reflections (I took a lot more photos of the swirling patterns on the silver water): https://inaturalist.nz/observations/335927802

A mushroom of what I think is the native *Pluteus readiarum*, growing on the dead stump of a planted ribbonwood tree: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/335927658

#nature #WildCounts #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #NZ

Here are four of the many things I found taking my camera for a run this afternoon in Ōtautahi-Christchurch city, NZ.

Curious European greenfinches on a wire (one twisted around to look at me): https://inaturalist.nz/observations/335927660

A late instar caterpillar of an Australian yellow admiral butterfly that I found feeding on a European dwarf nettle: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/335927656

A mallard duck swimming on the Heathcote River with the *best* reflections (I took a lot more photos of the swirling patterns on the silver water): https://inaturalist.nz/observations/335927802

A mushroom of what I think is the native *Pluteus readiarum*, growing on the dead stump of a planted ribbonwood tree: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/335927658

#nature #WildCounts #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #NZ

We were out shopping at Barrington Mall today and I was surprised to see this big sign saying “Shopping is pointless” next to a photo of a happy woman in a field of flowers.

My first thought was that it’s some surprisingly on point anti-commercialism messaging to see in a mall at Christmas time.

Then I realised that a word was being blocked from view. When I made a few steps to the left, the whole sign reads “Shopping elsewhere is pointless.”

They were so close!

#mall #shopping #sign #nz #Christchurch #Ōtautahi #Christmas

We were out shopping at Barrington Mall today and I was surprised to see this big sign saying “Shopping is pointless” next to a photo of a happy woman in a field of flowers.

My first thought was that it’s some surprisingly on point anti-commercialism messaging to see in a mall at Christmas time.

Then I realised that a word was being blocked from view. When I made a few steps to the left, the whole sign reads “Shopping elsewhere is pointless.”

They were so close!

#mall #shopping #sign #nz #Christchurch #Ōtautahi #Christmas

Surprised to find these on my lawn this morning in #Christchurch #otautahi #nz

Very unseasonal

Hear ye #Christchurch #Otautahi people

Mt Pleasant Pottery Club Christmas market & Student Exhibition
7th December 2025 10am - 2pm
Te Papa Kura Park, Main Road, Redcliffs

One of the sites at Travis Wetland where we set up our invertebrate sampling yesterday was in the new southern woods.

I helped with a planting day for this back in 2014, when it was still a wet field. Now, it feels like a real forest, with a canopy well above my head and lots of wild seedlings scattered about underneath. It's amazing how quickly trees grow when the ground is always wet.

Here are two photos of the same part of the wetland in September 2014, when trees were being planted, and now. It's like magic!

Many of the trees planted here were sourced from Pūtaringamotu, Riccarton Bush, the old growth fragment of kahikatea swamp forest in central Christchurch. Pūtaringamotu is a much drier site than it was when the city was founded so it's fantastic to see a new swamp forest emerging.

(Now we just need to rein in our carbon emissions to stop the impending sea level rise that will otherwise submerge all these sites in a few centuries.)

#UrbanEcology #ForestRestoration #wetland #nz #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #nature

It's opening night! I would love to see some friends in the audience.

This is the most technically ambitious production I've been in, and the most demanding for me personally. It's looking and sounding amazing and I can't wait to share it with our first audience.

https://www.repertory.nz/show/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles/

#Ōtautahi #Christchurch #theatre

Ōtautahi put on a fine norwester light show this evening. Here are some panoramas I just stitched together from my sunset photos.

If you want to get lost in the full-resolution versions, go to Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54931804109/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54931793954/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54930688507/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54930688692/

#sunset #Christchurch #NZ #Ōtautahi #clouds #myphoto

It's opening night! I would love to see some friends in the audience.

This is the most technically ambitious production I've been in, and the most demanding for me personally. It's looking and sounding amazing and I can't wait to share it with our first audience.

https://www.repertory.nz/show/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles/

#Ōtautahi #Christchurch #theatre

Ōtautahi put on a fine norwester light show this evening. Here are some panoramas I just stitched together from my sunset photos.

If you want to get lost in the full-resolution versions, go to Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54931804109/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54931793954/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54930688507/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/54930688692/

#sunset #Christchurch #NZ #Ōtautahi #clouds #myphoto

Native plant gardeners of Ōtautahi Christchurch and Selwyn area! Can I please harvest harakeke seed pods from your garden? Looking for places that have a high number of large, established harakeke plants so I don't take too many from each plant. Or if you know of wild locations that people wouldn't mind my foraging in!

#foraging #Ōtautahi #ŌtautahiChristchurch #Canterbury #harakeke

Native plant gardeners of Ōtautahi Christchurch and Selwyn area! Can I please harvest harakeke seed pods from your garden? Looking for places that have a high number of large, established harakeke plants so I don't take too many from each plant. Or if you know of wild locations that people wouldn't mind my foraging in!

#foraging #Ōtautahi #ŌtautahiChristchurch #Canterbury #harakeke

I was running down off the hills this afternoon as part of my monthly biodiversity survey of this Port Hills route. I was carrying cameras and a monocular and a wind-shielded microphone plugged into my phone.

A couple of young guys biked up the hill on their mountain bikes.

"Capturing the birds?" one of them asked, curiously.

"Yeah!" I replied.

"Premium," he nodded.

There wasn't time to explain that I was capturing more than bird observations. Still, here are two of my afternoon's "premium" bird observations.

😄

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/314079214
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/314079214

#nz#ChristchurchPortHills#Ōtautahi#Christchurch #birds #nature#BiodiversitySurvey #wildcounts #iNaturalistNZ

I was running down off the hills this afternoon as part of my monthly biodiversity survey of this Port Hills route. I was carrying cameras and a monocular and a wind-shielded microphone plugged into my phone.

A couple of young guys biked up the hill on their mountain bikes.

"Capturing the birds?" one of them asked, curiously.

"Yeah!" I replied.

"Premium," he nodded.

There wasn't time to explain that I was capturing more than bird observations. Still, here are two of my afternoon's "premium" bird observations.

😄

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/314079214
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/314079214

#nz#ChristchurchPortHills#Ōtautahi#Christchurch #birds #nature#BiodiversitySurvey #wildcounts #iNaturalistNZ