Invertebrates in the diet of brushtail possums, Trichosurus vulpecula, in lowland podocarp/broadleaf forest, Orongorongo Valley, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

Abstract Possums are considered generally to be herbivores, but invertebrate remains are found regularly in faecal samples. Monthly samples of possum faeces from January 1979 to June 1983 were examined; 47.5% contained invertebrates, mostly insects. In all, insects from 14 orders were eaten by possums; though about 75% were stick insects, cicadas, wetas, beetles, and dipteran larvae. Invertebrates were eaten mostly in summer and autumn; dipteran larvae, however, were eaten in winter. Seasonal and yearly variation in occurrence of invertebrates eaten by possums generally paralleled independent measures of invertebrate abundance. However, in most circumstances, invertebrates comprised only a small part of the diet of possums. The consumption of invertebrates by possums indicates their opportunistic feeding habits. Their potential impact on native invertebrate populations may, however, have been previously underestimated.