8 Feb 2019

Spreading the joy of monarch butterflies

From Afternoons, 1:39 pm on 8 February 2019

In many parts of the country, a monarch caterpillar pops up as rarely as a blue moon - but in Christchurch, Napier, Wellington, and a few other spots, people are inundated with these cute crawlers.

So New Zealand's Monarch Butterfly Trust has set up a Facebook page to match up people with a caterpillar surplus, with those with a shortage.

Jacqui Knight from the Trust joins us to explain why it's a good idea to spread the monarch love, and how people can get involved.

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) in the forest of, Ocampo municipality, Michoacan state, Mexico.Millions of the butterflies arrive each year to breed, after travelling more than 4500km from the United States and Canada.

Photo: AFP / Enrique Castro