Another lesson for Tassie … NZ Insects Downed by Government’s 1080 Blitz

A unique New Zealand native butterfly, the forest ringlet or Dodonidia helmsi (above image by Mike Lusk from Nature Watch), is on the brink of extinction, according to experts. And the controversial 1080 poison is in the firing line as one of the main killers.

Andi Cockroft, co-chairman of the Council of Recreational Associations of New Zealand (CORANZ) says a major cause was not hard to identify in 1080 poison. If the connection at first glance seemed far- fetched, further explanation showed it could be the harsh reality.

“Not openly admitted by the New Zealand government, 1080 was developed in 1927 as an insecticide. Soon after its first use, it was then found to kill everything that takes it in. A less than lethal dose i.e. sub-lethal, impairs the health and probably reproductive ability of species, whether insects, birds or animals,” said Andi Cockroft. “Yet in New Zealand it became shortsightedly used as a pest poison.”

Up until the 1970s, forest ringlet butterflies were found throughout New Zealand districts, ranges and regional parks. However, over the last few decades the elegant butterfly had experienced a major decline in both numbers and distribution – the cause of the decline in the species has been under much debate and speculation from expert entomologists.

Author and conservationist Bill Benfield agreed with Andi Cockroft. He pointed out in his book “The Third Wave” that insects had a vital role in the ecology of any forest. New Zealand’s two 1080 users the Department of Conservation (DOC) and OSPRI, the latter concerned with eradicating bovine Tb, have denied any effect on insects and told a government review of 1080 in 2007 that “there was no evidence” to support the effect on insects.

“Yet DOC and OSPRI claim that insects are not affected by 1080, but DOC has a registration for 1080 as an insecticide for use as a wasp paste,” he said.

Tony Orman, outdoors book author and conservationist said the narrow, myopic view of DOC was astounding.

“They know it kills insects but they blatantly deny it. 1080 is not a ‘pest’ poison – it’s an ecosystem poison.”

He said the decline of the butterfly and the department’s denial about 1080 recalled the research an entomologist the late Mike Meads did on forest ecology in the early 1990s. Mike Meads warned about the destruction of important forest floor insects vital in the soil making process of forests. Another entomologist Peter Notman also warned of the lack of knowledge of the detrimental impact of 1080 on insects.

Both were ignored by DOC.

In 2015 over 800,000 hectares of public lands were dowsed with 1080 laced baits. In addition OSPRI covered many more hectares.

Andi Cockroft said the words of “the last few decades” were very significant.

“Isn’t it remarkable, it coincides roughly with the formation of the Department of Conservation and its unleashing of the aerial poison policies, more recently boosted by Conservation Minister Maggie Barry’s frenzied “predator free” by 2050? Fanciful? Surely 1080 wouldn’t affect butterflies? Well it’s an insecticide. End of story,” he said.

Despite the strong probability of a major cause being 1080, the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust had asked a Senior Conservation Officer, to advise on how best to the decline of the butterfly, which is New Zealand’s only true forest butterfly.

Meanwhile Jacqui Knight, the founder of the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust said that, “the forest ringlet is quite unique in that it is only found in this country, and it’s the only one of its species in the world. It really is a New Zealand icon.”

Footnote: The Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust is a charitable trust which is committed to promoting New Zealand’s biodiversity by ensuring the protection and conservation of moths, butterflies and their habitats.

*Ben Hope originally wrote an outdoors column in New Zealand’s North Island newspaper “Hawkes Bay Herald Tribune”. His articles have also appeared periodically in outdoor magazines with a strong conservation theme.