The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately 236.7 square kilometres (91 sq mi). The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,960,027 square kilometres (756,771 sq mi) of ocean. Avarua is its capital.
The New Zealand Defence Force is the three-branched military of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, promoting its interests, safeguarding peace and security, as well as supporting peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. It consists of three services: the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), the New Zealand Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), as well as 'tri-service' components. As of June 2023, the NZDF has a strength of 14,996 employees, consisting of 8,669 regular force personnel, 3,260 reserve force personnel and 3,067 civilian members. It is supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MOD) and is commanded by the Chief of Defence Force (CDF).
Oceania is a geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Australia is regarded as an island or a continental landmass contained inside of the larger continent of Oceania. Spanning the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, at the centre of the water hemisphere, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of about 9,000,000 square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi) and a population of around 44.4 million as of 2022. When compared to the continents, Oceania is the smallest in land area and the second-least populated after Antarctica.
Anostostomatidae is a family of insects in the order Orthoptera, widely distributed in the southern hemisphere. It is named Mimnermidae or Henicidae in some taxonomies, and common names include king crickets in Australia and South Africa, and wētā in New Zealand. Prominent members include the Parktown prawn of South Africa, and the giant wētā of New Zealand.
The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include cave crickets, camel crickets, spider crickets, and sand treaders. Those occurring in New Zealand are typically referred to as jumping or cave wētā. Most are found in forest environments or within caves, animal burrows, cellars, under stones, or in wood or similar environments. All species are flightless and nocturnal, usually with long antennae and legs. More than 500 species of Rhaphidophoridae are described.
HMS Orpheus was a Jason-class Royal Navy corvette that served as the flagship of the Australian squadron. Orpheus sank off the west coast of Auckland, New Zealand on 7 February 1863: 189 crew out of the ship's complement of 259 died in the disaster, making it the worst maritime tragedy to occur in New Zealand waters.
The first colonies of the British Empire on the continent of Australia were the penal colony of New South Wales, founded in 1788, and the Swan River Colony, founded in 1829. Over the next few decades, the colonies of New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Van Diemen's Land, and Victoria were created from New South Wales, as well as an aborted Colony of North Australia. On 1 January 1901, these colonies, excepting New Zealand, became states in the Commonwealth of Australia. Since federation, the internal borders have remained mostly stable, except for the creation of some territories with limited self-government: the Northern Territory from South Australia, to govern the vast, sparsely populated centre of the country; the split of the Northern Territory into Central Australia and North Australia, and then the quick merger of those back into the Northern Territory; and the Australian Capital Territory, a federal district ceded from New South Wales.
Zealandia, also known as Te Riu-a-Māui (Māori) or Tasmantis, is an almost entirely submerged mass of continental crust in Oceania that subsided after breaking away from Gondwana 83–79 million years ago. It has been described variously as a submerged continent, continental fragment, and microcontinent. The name and concept for Zealandia was proposed by Bruce Luyendyk in 1995, and satellite imagery shows it to be almost the size of Australia. A 2021 study suggests Zealandia is over a billion years old, about twice as old as geologists previously thought.
Xyridacma ustaria is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Francis Walker in 1863 from specimens obtained in Auckland. It is endemic to New Zealand. X. ustaria has been found on Codfish Island in May with larvae recorded on Pittosporum tenuifolium. It has also been found at Paroa in February as well as in Canterbury.
Culladia is a grass moth genus of subfamily Crambinae, tribe Crambini. Some authors have assigned the synonymous taxon Nirmaladia to the snout moth family (Pyralidae), where all grass moths were once also included, but this seems to be in error.
Zermizinga is a moth genus in the family Geometridae erected by Francis Walker in 1863. Species within this genus include Zermizinga sinuata, the lucerne looper or spider moth, which was described by Warren in 1897, as well as Zermizinga indocilisaria, which was described by Walker in 1863.
Condica illecta is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in both the Indo-Australian and Pacific tropics, including Borneo, Hawaii, Hong Kong, India, New Guinea, the Society Islands, Taiwan and Queensland and New South Wales in Australia. It is also present in New Zealand.
Cosmopterix attenuatella is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae described by Francis Walker in 1864. It is widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics of both the Old and New World, including the United States, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands, Dominica, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Galápagos Islands, Cook Islands, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius and Saint Helena.
Culladia admigratella is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1863. It has a wide range in the tropics, and has been recorded from the British Indian Ocean Territory, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Socotra, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Sumatra.
Culladia hastiferalis is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1866. It is found on Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, New Guinea, Taiwan, the Philippines (Luzon) and Australia, where it has been recorded from Northern Territory and Queensland.
Culladia strophaea is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. The taxonomy of this species is currently uncertain.
Pyrgotis plagiatana is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in New Zealand.
Eudonia sabulosella is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand and is regarded as being common. The larvae of this species are known to damage pasture in New Zealand.
