The Burnside Primary School pupils behind the project braved the wintery weather to plant 150 Muehlenbeckia axillaris shrubs at the park last week.
Teacher Bianca Woyak said the shrub was the butterfly larvae’s only food source.
“They’ll be moving in about October, we’re just waiting for the plants to settle,” she said.
It was a great day of hands-on learning, Woyak said.
“The weather wasn’t the best, but it was good for digging and planting.”
The boulder copper butterfly was reintroduced to Christchurch by Burnside pupils in February, after a 200-year absence from the city.
Because the pupils had already built the butterflies a habitat on the school grounds, they knew what to look for when scouting a new location for the insects to live, Woyak said.
“Boulder coppers need an area with no shade . . . and dry, so nowhere too low-lying.”
The butterflies from the initial translocation had laid eggs, and these offspring would be the ones to inhabit the park, she said.
At just two or three centimetres wide, the butterflies were small and their eggs were nearly impossible to see.
This added an element of suspense to the project.
“We’re waiting with bated breath to see if we have butterflies in October.”
-By Fiona Ellis
