Joseph Brider, Natural Heritage Trust
First published CI News (19 Sept 2020)
Previously recorded Riffle-bug (Microvelia oceanica) for the Cook Islands
The Cook Islands Biodiversity and Ethnobiology Database lists nearly 650 species of insect and it is estimated we have around 1,300 species. We have found about 300 of the unrecorded insects, and are working to find and record the rest. Although most our insects are already known somewhere in the world, at present we have only a dozen that are unique to the Cook Islands, known as endemics.
Over the last few weeks, Natural Heritage Trust has been looking at our freshwater insect life, specifically the bugs that live on top of the water surface.
