Do not be taken in by the beauty of this beast! They eat and eat and eat their way through the short life that they have and cause so much damage to the crops. They have one back spot on the bottom of each wing which helps to identify them from other white butterflies.
They have only been found in one location in New Zealand which eliminates us from being bounty hunters. We are A on the map and the butterflies are in Nelson on the south island on the Tasman Sea at B.
The life-cycle of the butterfly coincides perfectly with spring break at school. So this is the deal. For every dead butterfly that is brought into the office in Nelson they will pay $10. There is no limit since one female can lay 750 eggs in her lifetime. They can bring them in between 30 September and 11 October.
There is some concern that these great whites look a lot like the small white butterfly that are around all the time. If they bring those in dead they will not be paid the $10 but they will have their names in a draw to win spot prizes.
Not only has New Zealand figured out an economical way to rid the land of invaders but to help everyone to be gainfully employed for at least two weeks in the year! Can we learn from them?
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