Anagotus fairburni Monitoring Orua Wairua

6 years ago, 74 flax weevils (Anagotus fairburni) and 100 Cook Strait giant weta (Deinacrida rugosa) were translocated from Maud Island and released over 2 sites across Oruawairua. One site was located on the North-western side of the island and the other on the Eastern side. A research study conducted by biologist Mark Anderson (completed last year) identified weevil feeding signs in both of the previous translocation sites. On the North-western release site, 109 weevils were collected and a further 16 were seen. Unfortunately, across the 3-day trip, no giant weta or weevils were found anywhere else on the Island. This year, a group of students from an Untouched World Blumine Island trip were interested in enhancing the biodiversity of the island and decided to investigate the locations in which the weevils and weta were translocated. This will be to monitor the progress of the invertebrates and if possible, identify how large the populations are and movement from the original translocation site they may have potentially moved.