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| Silk cover over the Puriri Moth Caterpillar hole |
Mangaiti Gully Restoration Trust is an innovative,
progressive Trust that is pushing conventional boundaries in urban
restoration. This means enhancing the
environment within the gully system to take the negative pressure off the
native fauna (birds, invertebrates, reptiles and fish) which urbanisation
invariable brings.
Selective and targeted planting is one way to achieve this.
An example is the Puriri Moth. An impressive native moth that is the largest
native in NZ with a wing span of 150mm. Their caterpillar bore into the trunks
of Grey Willow and Privet when native species are absent. If these are removed
during weed clearing our native moth is also removed. To manage this, extensive
planting of a native substitutes like Lace Bark is being done. This winter 62
Lace barks that we grew from seed have been planted in the latest cleared area.
These grow relatively fast giving good early canopy cover which helps to shade
out sun loving weeds.
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| Adult Puriri Moth |
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