Tiaki titiwai | glowworms

Titiwai have a fundamental place in Māori cosmogeny 'Te maramatanga namunamu ki taiao'. This was the dim, feeble glimmer emanating from Moko-huruhuru, or Hine-huruhuru, the glowworm and the very first phase of light known. 

Titiwai (NZ Glowworms - Arachnocampa luminosa), iconic invertebrate larvae, are best known in tourist caves but are well known in damp dense bush throughout the Auckland region. However, there is little knowledge about the dynamics of specific populations and how they are impacted by habitat change, predators and drought.  

Associated with sheltered, shady stream banks, several established populations in the Eskdale Reserve Network were severely disrupted by extensive track modification and floods causing riparian erosion.

This project provides an opportunity to study not only healthy populations in the Eskdale Reserve Network but also to establish ongoing monitoring of disrupted sites to understand how they recover naturally, and how we might accelerate this process by habitat restoration.