Wellington

The stomach contents of 34 opossums collected from Otari reserve, Wellington, New Zealand, were examined and fragments of leaves and leaf cuticles were identified. Leaves were the main food though flowers, fruit and at least one insect were also taken. The main species eaten were kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile), pohuehue (Muehlenbeckia australis), hinau (Elaeocarpus dentatus), climbing rata (Metrosideros fulgens), five-finger (Pseudopanax arboreum), tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) and lawyer (Rubus cissoids)

This study assessed the level of utilization by mosquitoes of the available phytotelm habitats in indigenous forests in the Wellington region (New Zealand). The native epiphyte Collospermum hastatum was found to be the most abundant source of larval mosquito habitats in local native forests, but no mosquito larvae were recorded in the plants’ leaf axils. Apart from these epiphytes, the local forests were found to have few natural breeding containers, and the only other relevant type of phytotelm habitat for mosquitoes was tree holes.