In 2022, I added flax notcher and scraper moth damage to the species I map along my standard runs through Ōtautahi-Christchurch. The caterpillars make distinctive damage on flax leaves (as I first learned in high school). In hindsight, this was crazy to try to map while running, but the results are fascinating! Flax cultivars are now widely planted in gardens, but almost all of the herbivory is on the old flax up in the hills.
#EcologicalMonitoring #WildCounts #Phormium #AotearoaNZ #Herbivory