Hundreds of critically endangered Canterbury knobbled weevils released into the wild

Wednesday 21 October 2026 · 2 outlets · 3 reports · updated Thu 22 Oct, 10:45am

In this story Department of Conservation

Approximately 250 to 300 critically endangered Canterbury knobbled weevils have been released at a secret location in the Ashburton Lakes area. The insects were bred in a Mosgiel laboratory from an initial population of six. This captive-rearing programme aims to prevent the extinction of the species.

How they headlined it

First reported by The Press, Wed 21 Oct, 12:38pm · 3 reports from 2 outlets over 22 hours

The PressWed 21 Oct, 12:38pm

Critically endangered knobbled weevils released in Canterbury (opens in new tab)
- ‘Stegosaurus of the bug world’: Hundreds of rare Canterbury weevils bred as scientists fight extinction (opens in new tab) Thu 22 Oct, 10:45am
RNZWed 21 Oct, 7:38pm

Hundreds of critically endangered NZ weevils released back into the wild (opens in new tab)