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.
While a few of our nominees were familiar from last year, we highlighted a much broader diversity of “bugs” on our nominee list for 2024 (we had representatives from 3 phyla (Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Onychophora), 5 Classes, 14 Orders, and 19 Families). Nine of our nominees have populations that are threatened, and we’re excited to have the opportunity to share their stories.
Voting is now closed for 2024.
Don’t see your favourite bug on the nominee list this year? You can recommend bugs anytime and we will consider those recommendations for future years.
did you find a new bug? inaturalist.nz can help you identify it!
Questions? Email us at bugoftheyear@ento.org.nz.