Ashburton Courier: December 05, 2019

Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday 5 December 2019, Page 27
Butterfly to flutter by
Nature Matters with Mary Ralston
Many gardeners are
familiar with the monarch
butterfly and go out of
their way to grow swan
plants for the caterpillars.
But would you grow nettles
for the native admiral
butterfly?
New Zealand has at
least 20 species of native
butterfly. Most of these
rely on native plants for
food and their populations
have declined
markedly because of loss
of their favourite native
plants and use of
pesticides. Abig factor is
that the nettles they
depend on in their larval
stage are considered a
weed (with some justification
– they can really
sting!).
Some native butterfly
species are common
where there is still alot of
native vegetation, but
where thereare few stinging
nettles for the
admiral, or the scrambling
vine pohueue for
the copper butterflies,
numbers have declined.
Red admiral caterpillars
will eat most nettles,
but the eggs are laid
almost exclusively on
native nettles. Yellow
admirals prefer the nonnative
kinds including
common stinging nettle
and annual or dwarf nettle.
The yellow admiral
(kahu kowhai) prefers to
live in open areas, but like
the red admiral, they will
live and lay eggs wherever
there are nettles. They
are more likely to be seen
in urban areas than red
admirals.
Coastal copper butterflies
usually feed only on
the native pohuehue and
creeping pohuehue
(species of muehlenbekia).
Rauparaha's copper
butterfly live mainly in
coastal areas, such as
Wakanui, although they
can be found wherever
their food plants grow.
Their caterpillars totally
depend on several species
of pohuehue.
The easiest way to
attract native butterflies
to your garden is to plant
a variety of food plants
for caterpillars and nectar
plants for butterflies.
Clumps of nettles should
be grown so there is
plenty of food. Nettles
like rich soil and damp
conditions. Poehueue
like to scramble – give
them plenty of space and
something to climb over,
such as ashrub or fence.
They are often seen
scrambling over gorse
hedges.
Other plants that the
butterflies like for nectar
include hebes, lacebarks,
New Zealand broom,
gorse, clover and pea
plants. Common flowering
garden plants such as
marigolds, verbena and
alyssum are also good
sources of nectar for
them.
Photo: The copper
butterfly at Wakanui
(Photo Val Clemens)
Jo Luxton, Labour list MP
We all know the damage
crime can do in an area
Too many ofusknow the
damage crime can do in
our communities. Beyond
the victim’s suffering,
whole neighbourhoods
can be shaken by burglariesorassaults,
let alone
more serious crimes.
Before the lastelection,
crime had picked upand
our prison populationhad
exploded. Labour echoed
calls from communities
across the country to first
and foremost prevent
crime, to minimise the
harm associated with any
crime, and to keep our
communities safe.
That’s why we campaigned
on increasing the
number of police officers,
after seeing the previous
government neglect the
force for much of its time
in office. And that’s why
we committed to adding
1800 new police officers
when wetook over.
Today I’m pleased to
say we’re making tremendous
progress. Since
we became Government,
1825 new officers have hit
our streets. Of these 171
have come to the Canterbury
region.
We’re also working with
the police to get their
attrition rate down, so
good officers stay inthe
force longer. We are also
working hard to ensure
that the police workforce
more closely reflects the
community they serve,
with a 29% increase in
Constables who are
women joining the organisation.
But keeping our communities
safe is about
morethanjust puttingfeet
on the ground.
That’s why we’ve also
given the police greater
search and seizure powers
to target the manufacturers
and suppliers of
synthetic drugs, to get
thesedrugs off our streets.
And we’ve installed
over 500 fog cannons in
dairies, liquor stores and
petrol stations across the
country, to support our
small businesspeople who
were left to go it alone,
and toreduce the risk of
aggravated robberies at
large.
This government takes
community safety seriously
and we’re making
theinvestments needed to
intervene early before
people break the law, or
commit more serious crimes.
The work ofSafe Communities
Ashburton District
is to be applauded.
They aim to reduce crime
and enhance safety. Of
course, in May this year
they were awarded Safe
Communities accreditation.
Only 26 territorial
authorities in New Zealand
have this accreditation,
which is most
impressive.
Iamproudtobepart of
agovernment that’s working
hard to keep our
communities safe. And
while the Government
plays an important role, I
think we can all dolittle
things each day with the
same goal inmind.
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