Ngaro Huruhuru – Native Bee (Leioproctus fulvescens) was the FIRST to be crowned New Zealand Bug of the Year 2023!!!

Check out the Collection of Papers: New Zealand 2023 Bug of the Year Nominees from New Zealand Entomologist!

Click HERE to purchase a poster showing off all of the 2023 nominees!

Did you miss the 2023 Bug of the Year Competition? You can still learn about the nominees here!

All images from iNaturalist.nz with author attribution on the organism page.

Click on an insect to learn more!
Antlion Lacewing
Weeleus acutus
Ngaro Huruhuru – Native Bee
Leioproctus fulvescens
Chorus Cicada
Amphipsalta zelandica
Kapowai – Carové’s Giant Dragonfly
Uropetala carovei
New Zealand Praying Mantis
Orthodera novaezealandiae
Ngaro Tara – Three-lined Hover Fly
Helophilus seelandicus
Pepeke Nguturoa – Giraffe Weevil
Lasiorhynchus barbicornis 
Homer Grasshopper
Sigaus homerensis
Ngaro Wīwi – Large Black Hunting Wasp
Priocnemis monachus
Kahuwai – Black Tunnelweb Spider
Porrhothele antipodiana
Knobbled Weevil
Hadramphus tuberculatus
Orange-Spotted Ladybird Beetle
Coccinella leonina
Helms’s Stag Beetle
Geodorcus helmsi
Namu – Sand Fly
Austrosimulium australense
North Island Lichen Moth
Declana atronivea
Pepe Tuna – Pūriri Moth
Aenetus virescens
Robust Grasshopper
Brachaspis robustus
Prickly Stick Insect
Acanthoxyla prasina
Tunga Rere – Huhu Beetle
Prionoplus reticularis
Upokorua – Southern Michelin Ant
Amblyopone australis
Australasian Green Shield Bug
Glaucias amyoti
Wētāpunga
Deinacrida heteracantha
Lemon Tree Borer Wasp
Xanthocryptus novozealandicus
Kahukōwhai – Yellow Admiral Butterfly
Vanessa itea