Aotearoa is home to thousands of fascinating insects, spiders, slugs, snails, centipedes, springtails and other bugs. These bugs make up more than half of our animal diversity and many of them are found nowhere else on the planet! Bugs are vital for the health of our ecosystems: they are food for our birds and fish, they pollinate our crops and flowers, and they keep our soils aerated, our waste decomposed and our backyard buzzing.
There are 21 nominees vying for New Zealand Bug of the Year 2025, who will you vote for?
Key dates
Voting opens 1 January.
Get your vote in by midnight 12 February. Results will be announced on 14 February 2025.
For more information and to vote: https://bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz.
There are some familiar nominees but also a broad diversity of bugs are highlighted on the nominee list. There are representatives from 3 phyla (Arthropoda, Mollusca and Onychophora), 5 Classes, 14 Orders and each nominee is the sole representative of its taxonomic Family.
Previous winners
- Ngaro huruhuru – native bee (Leioproctus fulvescens) was the first to be crowned New Zealand Bug of the Year in the inaugural event in 2023.
- In 2024 it was the turn of kahukura | New Zealand red admiral to get the most votes.
Nominees:
- Giant Springtail, Holacanthella spp.
- Ngaio Weevil, Anagotus stephenensis
- Bat Fly, Mystacinobia zelandica
- Pūngāwerewere | Trapdoor Spider, Cantuaria johnsi
- Piriwai | Yellow Mayfly, Ameletopsis perscitus
- Rō | New Zealand Giant Stick Insect, Argosarchus horridus
- Pepeke Nguturoa – Giraffe Weevil Lasiorhynchus barbicornis
- Frosted Phoenix, Titanomis sisyrota
- Long-tailed Stonefly, Zelandoperla fenestrata
- Rango pango | NZ Blue Blow Fly, Calliphora quadrimaculata
- Mercury Island Tusked Wētā, Motuweta isolata
- Gravel Maggot, Smeagol climoi
- Southern Ant, Chelaner antarcticus
- Puene | New Zealand Dobsonfly, Archichauliodes diversus
- Putoko ropiropi | Gherkin Slug, Athoracophorus papillatus
- Whe | New Zealand Praying Mantis, Orthodera novaezealandiae
- Mānuka Chafer Beetle, Pyronata festiva
- Honi | New Zealand Mole Cricket, Triamescaptor aotea
- Ātaka | Exquisite Olearia Owlet, Meterana exquisita
- Ngāokeoke | NZ Velvet worm, Peripatoides novaezealandiae
- Powelliphanta | Giant Ground Snail, Powelliphanta augusta
Related content
For more on insects, see these key articles:
- What’s so special about insects?
- Insect taxonomy
- Aquatic insect life
- Insects – physical characteristics
- Wētā
- Glow-worms
- Label the insect activity
- All about insects – PLD webinar
- Butterflies
- Moths
Discover how insects use their antennae in this fascinating article.
Our article Living World – Insects, provides links to the wide range of Science Learning Hub resources for teachers related to insects in the Living World strand of the New Zealand Curriculum.
Visit our We love bugs! Pinterest board for links to more resources and community activities.
Useful links
Read more about why Bug of the Year is so important in this 2023 The Conversation article: Insects and spiders make up more than half NZ’s animal biodiversity – time to celebrate these spineless creatures.
Visit the Entomological Society of New Zealand website.
