Nicola Toki

They might be a pest in the vege garden, but aphids are fascinating critters. They poop sugar, give birth like Matryoshka dolls, and fight off their enemies like powerful kickboxers. Audio

Within this group, there are 6 wingless species that sport antlers as impressive as any reindeer or stag. Audio

The New Zealand Bat Flea is the only threatened species of flea endemic to this country. Audio

This week's critter is a super rare fungus that attacks giant weta. It's only been seen a handful of times and might be more threatened than the weta it feeds on! Audio

You might find this week's critter on your rose bush, munching on the leaves of your plum tree, or in native forests.  The prickly stick insect, Acanthoxyla prasina, is incredibly good at looking like… Audio

This week's critter is the Giant Bladder Kelp, or Rimurimu, can grow up to 50 metres tall and up to 70cm in a single day. It's swirling fronds create dense canopies called kelp forests which provide… Audio

This week's critter is New Zealand's largest native parasitoid wasp, Certonotus fractinervis (Giant Ichneumonid Wasp).  Audio

Cockroaches are one of the least-loved critters in the world but not all roaches are disease-infested household invaders. Te Pāpapa Pango is one of 21 cockroaches native to Aotearoa and is this week's… Audio

This week's critter is the Giant Knobbled Weevil is a bumpy plant-munching native now found only on remote offshore islands off the coast of Fiordland and Stewart Island. Audio

This week's critter is the Lettuce Liverwort, which looks just like a frilly green lettuce and is smaller than your thumbnail ! Audio, Gallery

Have you ever noticed the little translucent critters that leap about when you disturb sand at the beach? That's the native landhopper, Makawe hurleyi, sometimes called ‘lawn shrimp’. Audio

The Southern Elephant Seal is one of the top predators in the Southern Ocean. They are enormous beasts: males are 5 to 6 times heavier than females and weigh around 3 and a half tonnes which is… Audio, Gallery

This week's critter is the Mantis Shrimp. Mantis shrimp are undoubtedly one of the coolest and scariest creatures alive. Nic Toki talks to Jesse about this little marine critter.  Audio

This week's critter is the Greta Thunberg Freshwater Snail. Less than 3mm big and found in a muddy trickle beside the Cobb Valley Road in Kahurangi National Park, this week's critter is a tiny snail… Audio

This week's critter is the Spiny Longhorn, a rare native beetle found in forests throughout the country. Its larvae burrow into dead trees, chewing their way to the bottom before resurrecting… Audio

This week's critter is the Southern Splash-zone Spider, which lives in the high tide zone of our rocky southern coasts. Audio

The Koitareke, or Marsh Crake, is a small and secretive native bird that we still don’t know a lot about. It lives deep in wetland vegetation and is recognisable by its witchy cackles at dusk and… Audio

The firedot lichen, Caloplaca allanii, is found only on the Waitakere coastline West of Auckland on old volcanic rocks near the ocean's spray. It is one of six Nationally Critical lichens in Aotearoa.

Voted the world's ugliest animal in 2013, the blobfish is a beloved internet phenomenon. But they look very different underwater. Audio, Gallery

The Green Tokoriro or Moss Wētā is one of Aotearoa’s tiniest and most mysterious species of wētā—many are smaller than 1cm!

  Audio, Gallery