Nicola Toki

The spiky leaves and flowers of taramea or golden speargrass are famous for their power to draw blood (even through gaiters!). But if you can get past the spike, you'll encounter one of the most… Audio

Three unlikely bedfellows have joined forces - calling for urgent action over what they say is an exploding population of browsing pests across the country.

Federated Farmers, the New Zealand… Audio

The matata or New Zealand fernbird is a secretive little bird with a big attitude. Despite being the size and weight of a mouse, they're not afraid to hunt for blowflies on the back of a sleeping sea… Audio

The icing sugar fungus, Beauveria bassiana, is a stealthy member of the fungi kingdom. When it comes into contact with an insect or another invertebrate, it invades the critter and starts growing… Audio

The Manaia pygmy pipehorse, Cylix tupareomanaia, is a tiny candy cane critter unique to the coastal waters of Te Tai Tokerau Northland. Audio

This week's critter is the common bag moth, Liothula omnivora. These drab little critters are found all over the country hanging from fenceposts, branches and even letterboxes. The caterpillars spin… Audio

The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week. Audio

This week's critter is a bioluminescent member of our underground network of soil engineers. We're talking about the New Zealand earthworm, Octochaetus multiporus. Audio

Having kākāpō in the North Island wilderness again is an historic win for our native manu, but conservationists say other species are at risk of falling through the cracks. Audio

The Bird of the Year contest is cancelled for 2023.

The annual poll run by Forest and Bird has had some tumultuous moments: voting scandals, a bat (a mammal!) winning, and a competition favourite… Audio

Kareao is native to Aotearoa. While it can be frustrating to navigate through, the plant is incredibly useful - it can be eaten, woven, used as a rope or even used to make kites. Audio

This week's critter is the rarest of our seven tree weta species (Hemideina). The Banks Peninsula tree weta (Hemideina ricta) is only found in a 200km2 patch of remnant native bush on Banks Peninsula… Audio

Sea butterflies are the flying snails of the sea. They belong to the scientific order Pteropoda - which means 'wing-foot' in Ancient Greek - because of the wing-like 'foot' they flap to swim. Audio

This week's critter is the devil's coach horse beetle, Creophilus oculatus. Despite its ominous common name, this beetle is a helpful member of our corpse fauna - a group that includes all the… Audio

Thursday June 22 (yesterday) was the shortest day of the year so this week's critter is here to celebrate the cold. Antarctic midges are incredible survivors: they can cope with -15 °C temperatures… Audio

The papatua snakeskin chiton is a fascinating critter that lives in rock pools all around Aotearoa. Their stripy, scaly girdle looks like snakeskin and they have a shell made of separate plates they… Audio

This week's critter is the southern bladderwort, Utricularia australis, a carnivorous plant that lives fully submerged in peat bogs. A dramatic decline in population means this species is now… Audio