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A Code for Collecting New Zealand's Invertebrate Species*
Source: Collection Code for New Zealand Invertebrates. 1979. Nature Conservation Council Information Leaflet No. 20, 6pp. Nature Conservation Council,
BOX 12-200,
Wellington, January 1979.
* reproduced with some omissions.
1.0. Collecting - General
1.1 Collect no more specimens than are strictly required for any purpose.
1.2 Examine readily identified insects alive and release where captured unless voucher specimens are required.
1.3 Do not collect the same species in numbers year after year from the same locality.
1.4 Never collect all leafmines, galls, seed heads, etc., that can be found; leave as many as possible for the population to recover.
1.5 Keep damage to, and interference with, the environment to a minimum (see 5 below).
1.6 Consider photography as alternative to collecting. 1.7 Specimens for exchange or disposal to other collectors should be collected sparingly, or not at all.
1.8 For commercial purposes insects should be either reared or obtained from collections already in existence.
2.0 Collecting - Rare and Endangered Species
2.1 Specimens on the list of rare species [see the NZ Department of Conservation list of nationally threatened invertebrates] should not be collected at all unless there is a justified purpose and the permission has been obtained.
2.2 Specimens of distinct local forms or varieties should be collected with restraint.
2.3 Collectors should attempt to break new ground rather than collect a local or rare species from a well-known or perhaps overworked locality.
2.4 Previously unknown localities for rare species should be brought to the attention of the DSIR (now Landcare Research - MM ) Entomology Systematics Section, Private Bag, Auckland, which undertakes to inform other organisations as appropriate in the interests of conservation.
2.5 Specimens of rare or endangered species accidentally collected or found dead should be deposited in a national collection - the DSIR (now Landcare Research - MM ) New Zealand Arthropod Collection Auckland, or that of the National Museum Wellington - and not retained in a private collection.
4.0 Collection - Permission and Conditions
4.1 Always seek permission from landowner or occupier when collecting on private land, in national parks, reserve and N.Z. Forest Service lands.
4.2 Always comply with any conditions laid down by the granting of permission to collect.
4.3 When collecting on reserves or sites of known interest to conservationists, supply a list of species collected to the appropriate authority.
4.4 When collecting it is particularly important to implement the points listed in the following section.
5.0 Collecting - Damage to Environment
5.1 Do as little damage to the environment as possible; be careful of nesting birds and of vegetation, especially rare plants.
5.2 When beating never thrash trees and bushes so that foliage and twigs are removed. A sharp jarring of the branches is both less damaging and more effective.
5.3 Bark and other material removed from dead timber should be replaced as far as possible. Not all dead wood or bracket fungi in a locality should be worked.
5.4 Overturned stones and logs should be replaced in their original positions.
5.5 Exercise particular care when searching for rare species, e.g., by searching for larvae rather than by beating for them.
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