World 02 · Any term · Combined Year 7–8 class

Biodiversity & Discovery

What lives here, and how can we know?

Your mission

Bug Detectives: what lives here, and how sure can we be?

What you'll make

A field guide page that explains how one local creature's features help it survive, and your verdict on how far to trust the AI that identifies moths.

Who it's for

Bushy Park Tarapuruhi volunteers, the school environment group or a Year 5–6 class

How long

About nine one-hour sessions, in any term. It can be shorter or longer.

NZ curriculum, Years 7–8:Science: Organism DiversityScience: Life ProcessesTechnology: Design, Make, and Innovate· Topics: biodiversity, moths, light traps, invertebrates, adaptations, classification keys, cells and microscopes, AI species identification

Your journey

Nine weeks from question to something you're proud of

Each week has one job. You ask, investigate, make sense of it, design, build, test, improve and share.

Nine weeks, one hour each

Tap a week to see that lesson. Each world runs as nine one-hour weeks; it can be shortened to five weeks or stretched to 11–12.

5 weeks

Quick build

A set of three species cards from one habitat, each with an adaptation and how sure the ID is.

9 weeks

Full journey

Compare two habitats, audit the AI, explain an adaptation and make a class field guide.

11–12 weeks

Go further

A second light-trap night, a bug hotel design, or a real contribution to MaramaTrap or Bushy Park.

Big ideas

What this world is really about

Big idea 1
Living things vary, and that variation can be observed and recorded.
Big idea 2
Classification is a way of organising evidence about relationships between organisms.
Big idea 3
Cells are the fundamental unit of living organisms and can be specialised for different functions.
Big idea 4
Identification involves uncertainty and evidence, not certainty.

Up close

Things you'll meet in this world

A pūriri moth, Aotearoa's largest moth. It is found only here.
Photo: Kat Jenkins, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Moths resting on a pale sheet at night, just like a MaramaTrap survey.
Photo: Morgane Merien, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
A male tree wētā. Look at the huge jaws and the spiny back legs.
Photo: Tony Wills, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Read first

Background reading

Short readings to read with a partner. Stop at each “Think about it” and talk it through.

Your first moth nightRead

You are not catching moths in a jar. You hang a white sheet, switch on a UV torch after dark, and photograph moths when they land. They stay free. You get a photo. Science gets a clue about what lives near your place.

Moths matter because they are food for birds and bats, and their caterpillars eat plants. So moth diversity tells us something about land health.

Setup in seven steps

Pick a dark spot, away from porch lights and streetlights.
Hang the sheet (vertical is best).
Put the UV light about an arm's length in front of the sheet, not shining in anyone's eyes.
Wait until after sunset and leave it on for 1–2 hours on a calm, clear night.
Check every 15–30 minutes.
Photograph on the white background: get close, no flash if you can avoid it.
Switch off before sunrise, so moths can fly away before birds wake up.

If nothing shows up, that is still data. Weather, moon phase and season all change moth activity.

Safety: use a 395 nm UV torch, don't shine it in eyes, stay off roads, get permission for private land, and have an adult with you at night.

Think about it: Why is "we saw nothing" still useful evidence?

Source: MaramaTrap student guide "Your first moth night".

Meet some moth groupsRead

MaramaTrap's AI usually names a moth family (a big group of related species), not always the exact species. That is normal, and families are still useful for science.

Group	Look for	Examples
Ghost moths (Hepialidae)	Large, sometimes spectacular	Puriri moth, porina moth
Hawk moths (Sphingidae)	Chunky body, pointed wings; can hover	Convolvulus hawk-moth (kumara moth)
Emperor moths (Saturniidae)	Huge and fluffy; introduced	Gum emperor moth
Owlet moths (Noctuidae)	Browns and greys; one of the biggest NZ families	Armyworms, flax-notcher moths
Tiger and lichen moths (Erebidae)	Includes the black-and-white magpie moth	Magpie moth
Loopers and carpets (Geometridae)	Many hold wings flat like a triangle	Kawakawa looper, cabbage tree moth
Grass moths (Crambidae)	Small; sit on grass stems	Kowhai moth
Plume moths (Pterophoridae)	Narrow, feathery wings
Bag moths (Psychidae)	Caterpillars live in camouflage bags	Common bag moth

If the AI says "not sure", the photo may be unclear or the moth may be from a tricky group. Try another angle, or check with your teacher or nzbutterflies.org.nz with an adult.

Think about it: Which group would be easiest to identify from a photo? Which would be hardest? Why?

Source: MaramaTrap student guide "Meet some moth groups".

A photo alone is not enoughRead

A moth photo without notes is like one word with no sentence. Your notes turn a picture into evidence. Record:

Place: region and a site nickname ("School garden"), not your home address.
Habitat: within about 500 m, is it forest, farm, town or coast? Is there predator control, native plants, streetlights, water nearby?
Timing: date and time, moon phase (more moths often fly on darker nights) and weather.
Equipment: UV torch, sheet.

Same method + good notes = your photo can join a national picture of moth life in Aotearoa.

Think about it: If two groups trap on different nights, what notes would you need to compare them fairly?

Source: MaramaTrap student guide "Why your notes matter".

How a light trap really worksRead

Scientists have used light to sample night-flying insects for a long time. Light traps mostly catch moths, but also adult water insects like mayflies and caddisflies.

Here is a surprise: light does not attract insects. It confuses them and pulls them off their chosen flight path. Some circle the light; others settle nearby and fly off later.

Insects see green, blue and near-ultraviolet (UV) light very well. They see yellow and orange poorly, and they cannot see red at all. That is why UV torches work.

A light trap mostly samples insects within about 500 m. Wind matters (insects fly upwind, and many settle in strong wind), and so do temperature and humidity. Rain can stop flying altogether.

Think about it: List three things that could change your catch that have nothing to do with how many moths live there.

Source: Department of Conservation, Inventory and Monitoring Toolbox, "Invertebrates: light trapping" (B. Patrick, 2016).

Can we trust the machine?Read

MaramaTrap's AI does two jobs. First, detection: it finds the insect in the photo and draws a box around it. Second, classification: it decides what kind of insect it is.

Each answer comes with a confidence score between 0 and 1. A score of 0.90 means the AI is very sure. A score of 0.35 means it is mostly guessing. A careful system says "uncertain" instead of forcing every photo into a group.

Why moths? New Zealand has about 1,800 described moth species, most found nowhere else. Their caterpillars often need particular plants, so the moths you find tell you about the plants and habitat around you. Moth communities can change within two to five years after habitat restoration.

Think about it: If the AI is 90% sure and your expert is sure it's wrong, who do you believe? What would you check?

Source: UCOL Applied Science, "Image Identification and AI Classification Pipeline" report (2026), Light Trap Study folder. Field results from this study are not yet published and are not quoted here.

Biodiversity on the land around usRead

New Zealand's biodiversity is special: many species are found nowhere else, because the country was isolated for so long. Living things do jobs for the land: tūī and bellbirds pollinate plants, and predators like the kārearea (NZ falcon) control smaller animals.

Two big threats are habitat loss (native forest cleared for farms) and introduced predators such as rats, stoats and possums. Planting native trees along streams and field edges creates corridors that connect patches of habitat so wildlife can move between them.

Think about it: Which of our two survey habitats has more native plants nearby? Would you predict more moth groups there?

Source: Regenpreneur PDC Module 11, "Farm Biodiversity" (PDC 2025).

An invader in our forestRead

New Zealand has thousands of native wasp species. Most are tiny, live alone (solitary), don't build big nests, and help control other insects. The problem wasps are introduced social wasps: the German wasp (arrived 1945) and the common wasp (1970s). They build large papery nests, often underground, and there is nothing here to keep their numbers down.

At Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, near Whanganui, birds such as the toutouwai (North Island robin) and tīeke (saddleback) feed on native insects. Wasps eat huge numbers of the same insects. NZ research found that wasps in infested forests can weigh more in total than all the birds, rats and stoats in the same area, and can remove 1.5–8.1 kg of invertebrates per hectare each year.

Think about it: If wasps eat the insects that robins feed their chicks, what would you predict happens to the robins? What evidence would you collect to check?

Source: "Wasp Control at Bushy Park, Whanganui" recommendation report (2025); "A Guide to Wasp Identification and Control" (Tasman–Nelson). Both in Royal Society / Wasp Trap.

Go deeper: from Science Learning Hub and DOC

Moths of AotearoaRead

New Zealand has more than 2,000 species of moths and butterflies, and over 90% of them live nowhere else. Only 17 are butterflies; about 98% are moths.

Moth or butterfly?

Moths usually have feathery or thread-like antennae that taper to a point; butterflies have little knobs on the ends.
Moths usually rest with their wings flat; butterflies hold them upright.
Most moths fly at night and are brown or grey.

Life cycle: egg → caterpillar (eats and grows) → pupa inside a cocoon → adult. Many adult moths live only one or two weeks.

Some moths to know: the pūriri moth, our largest; Gadira petraula from the South Island, whose females can't fly; and Orocrambus fugitivellus, a moth that flies by day and also has flightless females.

Moths feed native birds and help pollinate plants, and changes in moths can warn us about changes in the environment.

Think about it: Why might flightless females make a moth species more at risk if its habitat changes?

Adapted for Kōkiri Lab from “New Zealand moths”. Source: Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao, The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, www.sciencelearn.org.nz Read the original

Why do moths fly to lights?Read

Moths can be nocturnal (active at night), diurnal (by day) or crepuscular (at dusk and dawn). Flying at night means less competition for food and fewer daytime predators.

Moths were flying at night long before electric lights existed. To fly straight, many seem to keep a fixed angle to something far away, like the Moon or stars. Some can also sense Earth's magnetic field.

Scientists aren't completely sure why moths gather at lights, and there are several ideas. A leading one: a moth mistakes a nearby light for the distant Moon. Because the light is close, the angle keeps changing as the moth flies, so it keeps turning, and ends up circling the light. Other ideas are that moths are drawn to particular colours of light, such as ultraviolet.

Light traps use this behaviour to sample moths. Some night-blooming flowers attract moths partly with the carbon dioxide they give off.

Think about it: “Scientists aren't completely sure.” How could our class test one of the ideas about why moths come to lights?

Adapted for Kōkiri Lab from “Nocturnal adaptations of moths” by Angus Gaffney. Source: Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao, The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, www.sciencelearn.org.nz Read the original

Explore more

Trusted places to find out more

Videos, articles and activities from Science Learning Hub and other trusted sites, matched to the week they help most.

For teachers

For teachersWeek 2Heath moth traps for monitoring mothsScience Learning HubAnother trap design to compare with the white-sheet method when planning a fair survey.Open

These links open other websites. Kōkiri Lab checked them in September 2026.

How you'll learn

Investigate, think, make, share

Every world moves through the same four areas. Pick one to see what you actually do here.

What evidence can we gather?

Students encounter the phenomenon, build the knowledge needed to interpret it, and gather evidence directly.

What you actually do in this world

Observe and compare adaptations in organisms from different local environments.
Find patterns in cell structures and shapes using a microscope.

This is not a strict pipeline. A student may investigate, model, test, investigate again, revise, and communicate, in whatever order the actual inquiry demands.

Make something

Investigate it. Build it.

Hands-on science investigations and build projects for this world, each linked to the week it fits. Open one to see what you need and how to do it.

Science investigations

VOICE: ask a question and find out with evidence

Garden vs grass: who lives where?Does a garden bed have more kinds of invertebrates than mown grass?Open

You need

pitfall cups (dry) · trowel · white tray · hand lens · tally sheet

Steps

Set 4 dry pitfall cups in each habitat, level with the ground.
Check them after 24 hours.
Count the different kinds (richness) and the total number (abundance).
Release every animal where you found it.

How you'll know: Compare richness and abundance. Then say how sure you are, and what could have affected the result (weather, how long, where).

Handle with brushes or pots, not bare hands. No kill jars.

Go further: Add a third habitat, like under a tree.

Fits Week 3 →

Moth night: dark vs moonlitDo more moths come to the sheet on a dark night than a moonlit one?Open

You need

white sheet · 395 nm UV torch · phone camera · notebook

Steps

Run the sheet for 1 hour after dark on a moonlit night. Photograph every moth.
Repeat on a dark night, at the same place and time.
Record weather, wind and temperature both nights.
Upload photos to MaramaTrap and compare.

How you'll know: Moth counts can change with the moon, wind and cold, so note all of them before you decide.

An adult with you at night. Never shine the UV light in eyes.

Go further: Compare the moth families on each night.

Fits Week 3 →

Beat the AIWhen is the MaramaTrap AI right, and when is it fooled?Open

You need

10 moth photos with AI results · moth ID guide

Steps

Write your own ID for each photo before looking at the AI.
Record the AI's family and confidence.
Check both against the expert answer.
Sort the results: both right, AI right, you right, both wrong.

How you'll know: Look for a pattern: are blurry photos or low confidence scores more often wrong?

Go further: Find a photo that fools the AI, and explain why.

Fits Week 7 →

Build projects

FORGE: design, make, test and improve

Field guide pageCan we make a page that helps someone else identify a creature?Open

You need

photos or drawings · page template

Steps

Choose one creature you found.
Show 2–3 features that tell it apart, and one adaptation that helps it survive.
Give your page to another group: can they identify the creature with it?
Fix whatever confused them.

How you'll know: Another group identifies the creature correctly using only your page.

Go further: Add a 'look-alike' box that shows how not to confuse it.

Fits Week 8 →

Insect observation chamberCan we build a safe, temporary home to watch an insect up close?Open

You need

clear container or 3D-printed chamber · mesh · leaves and damp tissue

Steps

Design airflow, shelter and a way to see in.
Build it, then watch one insect for 10 minutes and record what it does.
Release the insect where you found it the same day.

How you'll know: The insect stays calm and you recorded real behaviour.

Go further: Add a scale ruler so photos show size.

Fits Week 5 →

Yes/no keyCan we build a key that works for 10 creatures?Open

You need

specimen photos or cards · paper

Steps

Start with one yes/no question that splits the group in two.
Keep splitting until each creature is on its own.
Test it on another group's specimens.

How you'll know: Someone who hasn't seen your specimens can reach the right name.

Go further: Make it work for 15 specimens.

Fits Week 4 →

More ideas from the Kōkiri library

Background learning

Earlier Kōkiri inquiries with learn pages, activities and build ideas that fit this world. They were written before the eight-world curriculum, so use them as background and pick what helps.

Makerspace build ideas

Ready-made ideas from the Kōkiri maker library that suit the Make & Test part of this world.

Stretch challenges

Find three adaptations on one creature and sort them by type.
Make a key that works for 10 or more specimens.
Find a photo that fools the AI, and explain why it was fooled.

Where AI helps

AI is your thinking partner, not your ghost-writer

AI turns up at particular moments in this world, to help you think harder. The ideas, the making and the explaining stay yours.

MaramaTrap moth identifier
Weeks 3 and 7
What it does
Suggests which moth family is in a photo and says how confident it is (from 0 to 1).
What you do
Check it against your own ID and an expert's. Decide when to trust it and when not to.
Kōkako, your AI mentor
Weeks 4–6, while you make sense of your survey
What it does
Asks you one question at a time, such as “What evidence supports that?”. It never tells you the answer or whether you are right.
What you do
Write the finding in your own words, including how sure you are.

Our AI promise

AI asks. You decide.
AI never writes your explanation or does your making for you.
AI never gives you a mark or a score.
If AI is unsure, it says so, and that is useful evidence too.

Students recording moths on a lit white sheet at night

Your platform

MaramaTrap

Collect and identify local species, and weigh the AI's confidence against your own.

The open light-trap upload is live. The same dataset is revisited later as longitudinal evidence in Evolution & Adaptation.

Open MaramaTrap

For teachers: curriculum, reasoning and inquiry stages

Essential knowledge

Taught to the whole combined class. Over the two-year programme the class covers both the Year 7 and Year 8 curriculum statements.

Phase 3 curriculumSurvival adaptations: structural, behavioural and physiological adaptations suited to an environment; variation between individuals of the same species.
Life ProcessesCells: cell structure and organelles, specialised cells, organisation from cells to tissues to organs to systems, microorganisms.
Phase 3 curriculumAI-assisted species identification and the confidence associated with an automated classification.

The whole combined Year 7–8 class investigates the same phenomenon, with the same fieldwork, equipment and inquiry problem. Instead of splitting the class by year level, every task has three levels of support (Getting started, On track, Stretch), so each learner goes as deep as they are ready to.

Dominant mode:

Investigate

Reasoning this world makes visible

Species identification is genuinely uncertain, and AI-assisted classification confidence makes that uncertainty directly visible.

Uncertainty handling

Starting out: Identify uncertainty.
Going further: Distinguish types and sources of uncertainty and explain how they affect a conclusion.

All five dimensions recur across every world. Each world provides a context in which one or more becomes especially visible, not an exclusive assignment.

VOICE and FORGE stages

Document 33 stage names, used across Kōkiri. The week plan above shows which stages each week works in.

Te reo groupings shown are provisional, pending cultural advisor review.

VOICE: investigating

Mainly in STEM Investigate and Think & Create.

Kite · te reo group (provisional)

Question · What do we want to find out, and why does it matter?
Observe · What do we notice?
Evidence · What did we actually record?

Whakaaro · te reo group (provisional)

Compare · What is the same or different?
Interpret · What might the evidence mean?
Uncertainty · How sure are we, and why?
Finding · What can we say?
Next step · What should happen next?

FORGE: designing and making

Mainly in Make & Test, ending with Explain in Share & Impact.

Wero · te reo group (provisional)

Frame · What is the problem, who is it for, and what counts as success?

Kite · te reo group (provisional)

Options · What are at least two real ways we could do it?

Whakaaro · te reo group (provisional)

Represent · Can we sketch, flowchart or model it before we build?

Auaha · te reo group (provisional)

Generate · Make it.

Tohu · te reo group (provisional)

Test · Does it work? Record what actually happened.
Evaluate · How well does it meet the criteria, and why?
Refine · What one change will help, and why?
Explain · How do we explain it, and the evidence, to someone else?

Aotearoa and place

Māori ecological knowledge, moa and extinction, introduced species, conservation; local biodiversity sites and species around Whanganui.