Learn about Ngaokeoke/Peripatus
Is it a caterpillar or a worm? Let’s learn about the incredible lives of ngaokeoke, one of Aotearoa’s living fossils that has been around for more than 500 million years!
Ngaokeoke play an important role in the decomposition of dead and dying trees. If you are in the right place you might be able to find ngaokeoke living inside logs.
These incredible creatures are predators that shoot a sticky substance to trap other bugs , then use their spit/saliva to dissolve their prey so that they can drink their internal fluids. Some of them lay eggs, and others have live young. They come in a range of colours including indigo, blue and purple with orange spots! Their pores are always open and they dry out quickly, so you are most likely to find them in damp leaf litter (especially under nikau fronds) and rotten logs. If you do find ngaokeoke during the day, be careful to cover them over as quickly as possible to prevent them drying out. They are nocturnal, so you may spot them on trees and logs at night, especially on a wet night after a long dry spell. The pictures below are all ngaokeoke that have been found by Kids Greening Taupō students on bug hunts. We think they are beautiful!
Ngaokeoke are so special that they even have their own phylum: Onychophora. They are believed to be a missing link between caterpillars and worms, but not much is known about these unique and elusive creatures!
Learn more about ngaokeoke/peripatus in this information from DOC
Or, in this great Predator Free New Zealand article
Students from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Whakarewa I Te Reo Ki Tuwharetoa discovered these beautiful taonga at one of our local community planting days in 2020.
The pamphlet below is from DOC and has some great information. You can go to the original source here for a pdf: https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/conservation/native-animals/invertebrates/peripatus-facts-brochure.pdf