Selwyn Times: August 14, 2019

16
Wednesday August 14 2019
AS I SAID in my last column,
we’ve travelled to Italy so Vittoria
can meet the family. And what a
journey it’s been.
Before we even left, Vittoria
caused her parents a heap of stress
with her first ambulance trip to
the emergency department, starting
on a course of antibiotics for
pneumonia, setting us back a day
on doctor’s orders.
It sounds bad, and it wasn’t
ideal, but it was all okay apart
from unsettling our sleep patterns.
So we were lucky, our pre-dawn
flight on Saturday went swimmingly.
Vittoria was happy to nap,
draw or watch cartoons all the
way to Brisbane where we stayed a
night with my sister-in-law Sarah.
The only niggle was that she
leaked on me because her nappy
was askew but, like for most parents
I think, that’s a non-event.
It looked like either the antibiotics
or time were working a treat
on Vittoria, so we were quietly
confident going into the 14-hour
leg to Dubai on Sunday night.
And again, it went pretty good.
Fourteen uneventful hours.
Arriving in Dubai we were all
tired, dishevelled, probably smelly
and definitely over trying to sleep
in an aircraft seat with a fidgety
toddler. Between us and relaxation,
were only four hours in an
airport and a six-hour flight. Easy
right? Spoiler alert – no.
Our luck ran out 20 minutes before
boarding started for our flight
to Venice when Vittoria vomited
all over the floor in the middle
of a packed terminal. And a little
on my shirt and shoes. Honestly,
what’s the protocol for that?
I just floundered in surprise for
a bit until Laura went into nurse
mode and sent me off to clean
Vittoria up while she “dealt with
it” in the splash zone.
Once we were as “fresh” as possible
and a suddenly exhausted
toddler crying in my arms, we
made our way to the gate where
we were told we could get Vittoria
checked up for free at the airport
clinic and wouldn’t miss our flight.
However, once the “ambulance”
arrives (literally a push trolley)
we were told that a full check at
the clinic might make us miss our
flight – great.
With all the vitals coming back
healthy, and Vittoria totally out to
it asleep, I was offered a difficult
choice; do further checks and
miss the flight or sign a waiver
saying “refused treatment” and
that if it gets worse it’s all on you.
Although I was confident to
sign away and just get to the flight
so we could be done with it, I felt
terrible anyway. So for three long
and stressful hours of the last flight
we thought of all the worst things
it could be – dehydration, gastro,
some sort of never-wake-up disease.
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Highs and lows of travel
VITTORIA
& Matt
CONFIDENT: In Dubai,
unaware of what was coming
next.
And what does Vittoria do when
she finally wakes up? Sits up, laughs
and becomes the flight staff’s
darling by running laps around the
plane with a huge grin on her face
for the duration of the flight.
Anyway, we’re in Italy now and
ready for family time.
•Former Star Media
journalist Matt Salmons has
become a stay-at-home
dad. We follow his journey
weekly.
BACKYARD CRITTERS
Feasting on kawakawa leaves
Mike Bowie is an ecologist who specialises in
entomology (insects and other invertebrates).
Each week he introduces a new species found in
his backyard at Lincoln. His column aims to raise
public awareness of biodiversity, the variety of
living things around us. Check out the full list of
invertebrates found at http://naturewatch.org.nz/projects/
backyard-biodiversity-bugs-in-lincoln
ANYONE WHO knows
kawakawa, or Piper excelsum,
will be familiar with the holey
nature of its leaves.
The main herbivore causing
damage on these peppery leaves
is the native kawakawa looper,
Cleora scriptaria. The moths
are found throughout the year,
but mostly in the hotter months
throughout the North and
South Island.
The moths are extremely
variable in size and colour, but
often have a 30-55mm wingspan
and are brown in colour. The
wings have scalloped edges and
have a distinctive spot in the
middle of the forewings.
Newly-emerged females
produce pheromones to attract
male moths with feathery
antennae adapted for sensing
SELWYN TIMES
DISTINCTIVE:
The
kawakawa
looper moth
varies in size,
but often has
a 30-55mm
wingspan.
these chemicals. Pale green
cylindrical eggs are laid on
leaves of host plants in clusters
of three to 12. As well as
kawakawa, other hosts include
horopito, wineberry, ramarama
and akeake.
Young larvae are green but
usually turn browner as they get
older, reaching a length of up to
40mm.
The fully developed larvae
then descend to the leaf litter on
a silk thread and pupate close to
the soil.
Interestingly, herbalists like to
use the holey kawakawa leaves
rather than the undamaged
ones, as the damage caused
by the caterpillars stimulates
the production of defensive
chemicals that are beneficial for
medical creams.
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