Admiral update – first release

Our red admiral breed and release programme is going from strength to strength. We have been working with the Moths & Butterflies of NZ Trust, based in Auckland. They have been extremely supportive supplying two lots of nettle plants with eggs and caterpillars on and loads of information. We are both feeling our way through how to manage a captive breeding programme. The nettle that we brought back from the King Country had a small number of eggs. They have since developed into butterflies and have been released. We are unsure at this stage whether the hatched butterflies are mating within the tunnel house and laying eggs. Everything slows down over the winter months but does not stop. The New Zealand admirals are quite a hardy species. The small video is of our first release and the photo shows the feeding station. Click on any photo on this blog to enlarge.