Editorial

Abstract

Welcome to this edition of the WETA under a new editor. The WETA is a bi-annual journal offering an opportunity for the dissemination of observations, news and views, and the outcomes of small research projects, related to entomology and arachnology in an Australasian context. In particular it is an important outlet for amateur, in the sense of unpaid, students as well as professional scientists. For many years entomology has been underrepresented in university courses in New Zealand, perhaps reflecting the fact that there are few employment opportunities in this country for trained entomologists. It has always seemed peculiar to me that a country which is so dependent on exports of primary produce, is a small country specialising in monocultures, Kiwifruit, grapes, pine trees for example, and which invests a large amount of money and effort in expanding the tourist trade, and which is therefore so vulnerable to introduction of pests, should expend such small effort in training professional entomologists. In addition, there is proper concern about this country's conservation estate, yet apart from birds and a few larger insects, we have remarkably limited knowledge of the diversity of the animals which exists there, and still less about how to maintain them. It is certain that numerous species of insects and other invertebrates, many of particular interest, remain to be discovered in this country. As many people have pointed out, the current pace of change means that many species of animal will become extinct before they are discovered. We owe it to future generations to ensure that the rich diversity and uniqueness of the New Zealand fauna is fully documented and its interrelationships understood as far as possible. This small journal makes an important contribution to this aim.