Most of New Zealand's butterflies belong to the Nymphalidae and Lycaenidae families.

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Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato Published 8 August 2018 Referencing Hub media
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Butterflies are categorised into 5 families – Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Riodinidae and Lycaenidae. In New Zealand, our butterfly species fall into 3 of these families, while 2 families are not represented.

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    ARTICLE

    New Zealand butterfly origins

    Butterflies make very poor fossils. They have no bones or other solid matter that can be preserved. Therefore, unlike other animals, we can’t use their fossils to trace the history of when they ...

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    2. ACTIVITY

    Establishing butterfly transects

    In this activity, students set up and walk a transect to observe and record butterfly sightings. They act as citizen scientists to monitor changes in the local environment. Modify this activity ...

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