Lady in red

A big pohutakawa in Cliffs Rd dominates the St Clair, Dunedin, skyline yesterday with its brilliant floral show and White Island in the background.

Otago Museum honorary entomology curator Anthony Harris says some species of plants in and near Dunedin have this year been flowering weeks earlier than in the past.

Scarlet mistletoe, which in the southern area often flowered about Christmas time, had already been seen flowering in the Catlins early this month.

More German and common wasp queens than usual also appeared to have survived this year's winter, and three species of ants had scavenged in the city during winter, changing previous patterns of behaviour, he said.