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SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Wednesday <strong>August</strong> 8 <strong>2018</strong> 23<br />
Backyard Critters<br />
Wasps which hunt for spiders<br />
Mike<br />
Bowie is an<br />
ecologist who<br />
specialises in<br />
entomology<br />
(insects<br />
and other<br />
invertebrates). Each<br />
week he introduces a<br />
new species found in<br />
his backyard at Lincoln.<br />
His column aims to raise<br />
public awareness of<br />
biodiversity, the variety<br />
of living things around<br />
us. Check out the full list<br />
of invertebrates found at<br />
http://naturewatch.org.<br />
nz/projects/backyardbiodiversity-bugs-inlincoln<br />
THERE ARE somewhere<br />
between 2000 and 3000 native<br />
wasp species in New Zealand.<br />
Some of the larger native species<br />
belong to a family called<br />
Pompilidae or spider wasps, of<br />
which there are 11 species in<br />
New Zealand.<br />
On Christmas Eve last year,<br />
I observed one of these wasps,<br />
Priocnemis species, repeatedly<br />
searching on the verge of our<br />
lawn.<br />
These large 15-25mm long<br />
HUNTERS: The Priocnemis species wasps have long legs and<br />
iridescent black coloured wings.<br />
shiny black hunting wasps have<br />
long legs and iridescent black<br />
coloured wings.<br />
Pompilids are solitary wasps<br />
that paralyse large spiders with<br />
venom, drag them backwards<br />
across the ground into a nest<br />
hole, and lay a single egg on<br />
them.<br />
When the larva hatches, they<br />
eat the paralysed spider while it<br />
is still alive, saving its vital organs<br />
to last, just before the wasp<br />
larva pupates.<br />
Hosts are usually larger<br />
species including native<br />
trap-door or tunnelweb<br />
spiders.<br />
$10k for Camp Twitch<br />
CHRISTCHURCH mother<br />
Robyn Twemlow is out to<br />
make a difference in the lives of<br />
those diagnosed with Tourette<br />
Syndrome – and last week<br />
received $10,000 from the Mazda<br />
Foundation to aid her cause.<br />
Tourette’s is a condition characterised<br />
by tics, repetitive and<br />
involuntary movements.<br />
Five years ago, Ms Twemlow’s<br />
then-nine-year-old daughter<br />
Analise was diagnosed with the<br />
syndrome.<br />
But the pair found there was<br />
little support for them in the<br />
community.<br />
Ms Twemlow founded the<br />
Tourette’s Association of New<br />
Zealand as a way for her family<br />
to connect with other affected<br />
Kiwis.<br />
As well as running a support<br />
system for families and an<br />
information hub for those who<br />
have been recently diagnosed,<br />
the Tourette’s Association also<br />
began running a yearly camp<br />
called Camp Twitch.<br />
It brings together young<br />
people with Tourette’s and their<br />
families for a weekend of fun<br />
where their tics are welcomed.<br />
At Blackwells City Mazda<br />
last week Ms Twemlow was<br />
presented with $10,000 from the<br />
Mazda Foundation to help run<br />
KIND DONATION:<br />
Blackwells City Mazda dealer<br />
principal Seth Ovens with<br />
Robyn and Analise Twemlow. <br />
Camp Twitch, enabling more<br />
than 50 young people and their<br />
families to attend the camp.<br />
Ms Twemlow said the funding<br />
would reduce the financial stress<br />
of families living with Tourette’s<br />
and allows young people from<br />
any financial background to attend<br />
the camp.<br />
She said Camp Twitch is an<br />
environment where children<br />
can “tic loud and proud.”<br />
“It’s amazing to see them<br />
build their self-esteem and take<br />
ownership over their disorder.<br />
It also provides opportunity for<br />
parents to share their experiences<br />
of raising a child with<br />
Tourette Syndrome – so it’s an<br />
empowering experience for all<br />
involved.”<br />
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