StayiNatHome NZ's Journal

This is a crazy time. New Zealanders are all locked up in our self-isolation bubbles to slow the spread of the Covid19 virus and save lives. At iNaturalist NZ–Mātaki Taiao, we'd like to do our bit to help you get through. And we can, when you stay at home with iNat.

Taking a break with nature is good for you

It's medically proven that spending time with nature is good for our health. It's a great way to dial down the stress, even for a short while. So grab the free iNat app, or your camera, and take a break to explore the nature in your garden and home. By using the iNat app, we can connect you to our large community of nature enthusiasts to get pretty much any species identified. Let's link our bubbles online and stay connected.

What's in your garden and home?

How many wild species can you find? How many are native? What species that your neighbours have found in their gardens are missing from yours? If you're a regular iNat NZ user, what species can you find that you've not noticed before? Take the time to discover just how diverse your home and garden really are.

Comment on observations in your neighbourhood

With the iNaturalist NZ–Mātaki Taiao website, you don't need to feel alone. Browse through the other observations being made in your neighbourhood on our Explore page. Share your enthusiasm by posting comments and questions on observations. Favourite observations. Start conversations. Encourage new users that are opening their eyes to wild Aotearoa nature.

Help others identify their finds

If you know some things about nature, you can also share your identification expertise on our Identify page. There are new people joning all the time. Whether you know your house sparrows, or Hoheria, or Hormosira, it's great to get your help identifying the observations as they come in. Share, and build, your knowledge of nature by making identifications and starting or joining in conversations on observations.

Follow the nature news

With our #StayiNatHome project, we're pulling together all of the activity on iNaturalist NZ–Mātaki Taiao during New Zealand's Covid19 lockdown. Any NZ observations you make during this time will automatically pop up in the project. If you visit the project page you'll get to see all of our project journal posts. Join the project and you'll get alerted when new journal articles are posted. We'll also be posting on our favourite observations, highlighting important discoveries, and providing tips for getting the most from iNaturalist NZ–Mātaki Taiao.

Share your favourite observations with the world

We'll also be sharing our favourite observations and stories on social media (Twitter and Facebook) under the hashtag #StayiNatHome. We encourage you to do the same. You can share your favourite iNat NZ observations by copying their web links and sharing them on social media (#StayiNatHome #iNaturalistNZ).

Need help?

If you need help, you can message us on the iNaturalist NZ–Mātaki Taiao website, reach us on Twitter and Facebook at iNaturalistNZ, or email us at help@inaturalist.nz. Or, just leave us a comment below.

Stay safe, stay home, & keep exploring.

Kiwi's have been self-isolating in our bubbles since Wednesday, and been busy supporting our families and friends online and putting teddy bears in our windows. Through it all we've kept on connecting with nature, and with each other, on iNaturalist NZ–Mātaki Taiao.

iNat NZ usages has increased this week

We've just had a first look at the numbers of observations and identifications made on iNat NZ since Aotearoa went into self-isolation. To our big surprise, the numbers are up. In the six days between the start of our bubbles on Wednesday morning to right now (10 pm on Monday), 431 observers have made 2,485 observations of 1,057 species in their homes across New Zealand. Those observations have been identified by 206 identifiers.

Those are amazing numbers, considering this strange and stressful time. In the week before we went into our bubbles, 347 observers made and uploaded 1,921 observations of 1,030 species, supported by 205 identifiers. That means in our six days in bubbles there's been a 24% increase in observers and a 29% increase in observations. Kiwis are getting out into their gardens and finding nature.

We're also 50% up in observers and 40% up in observations since this time last year, when 286 observers made and uploaded 1,784 observations of 968 species. That's less surprising as the iNat NZ community has continued to grow.

Check out some of the amazing finds from NZ homes

Below are some of our highlights of the finds this past week. You can explore them all, and more, on the stats page of our StayiNatHome project.

@faye444 found an odd spiky-leaved holly that got the plant people in Christchurch talking. @reinderw figured out that it was the holly cultivar, Ilex aquifolium 'Ferox Aurea'. Check out Faye's observation for her photo of the crazy leaves.

@skinkysam in Taranaki photographed a colossal wasp on her window. It's longer than her finger! The species is Norton's giant ichneumonid wasp (Megarhyssa nortoni), an introduced parasitoid of wood borers. This giant wasp was introduced on purpose to New Zealand in 1964 to control the pest borer Sirex noctilio in Pinus radiata plantations. It does its job well, only attacking this pest.

@karutahi photographed a gloriously purple flowered glory bush (Tibouchina urvilleana), wild on the edge of west Auckland. As pretty as it is, New Zealand doesn't need another escaped wody garden plant becoming a weed. It's one to look out for in wild Auckland.

@jovirens found an elegant, velvety purple fungus on a tree in Dunedin, called silverleaf fungus (Chondrostereum purpureum).

Up in Whangarei, @tutukiwi has "decided that to assist with sanity during the lockdown, I'll record everything that I can around my home". He's found some amazing things so far, from a kereru perched in the sun to an impressive looking adult tiger beetle.

Over in Okato, Taranaki, @emily_r photographed a crazy spiked larva on a leaf in a garden. It was identified as a larva of the steelblue ladybird (Halmus chalybeus). The larva and the adult of this species are both amazingly looking but completely different.

@aalbertrebergen photographed a partly albino grey warbler/riroriro in a garden in Waikouaiti. Riroriro are one of New Zealand's smallest birds and are hard to photograph, yet @aalbertrebergen managed to get a whole series of impressive photos of this rare colour morph.

Perhaps the most impressive find of the week so far has been a white-banded house jumping spider (Hypoblemum griseum), photographed by @christopherstephens. We've had a string of photographs of this species this week, from houses throughout New Zealand. What makes the photo by @christopherstephens so extraordinary is that this tiny little spider has taken down an adult porina moth that must be at least five times its size. Check it out!

Finally, you should admire this cute litte moth fly that @ryvesie photographed in north Auckland. We're still not sure what species it is but it sure is fluffy.

Let us know what you can find living in your home and garden.

Stay safe, stay home, & keep exploring.

#StayiNatHome