Patrick Wilson, 10, from Taupō explains why stick insects are his choice for NZ Bug of the Year.
Video / Daniel Hutchinson
The hunt is on for New Zealand’s Bug of the Year for 2024.
This is the second year the competition has been run by The Entomological Society of New Zealand, which aims to raise the profile of some of Aotearoa’s smaller, more forgotten species.
This year 20 bugs are vying for the top spot, including the venomous katipō spider, a species of tick found only on tuatara and a many-legged giant centipede.
With voting open until February 12, the Waikato Herald asked some conservationists and kaitiaki of the future which critter they’re backing this year.
Patrick Wilson is backing the NZ praying mantis; his sister Isabel hopes to see the stick insect included next year.
Patrick Wilson (10), Kids Greening Taupō student leader
I will vote for the New Zealand praying mantis. When I was 5, I became fascinated with these sleek and deadly (to a fly) insects that look like leaves. They would make a great Bug of the Year.
We have lots of baby ones hatching in our hebes every summer, and they end up all over our garden. I even looked after a “pet” one for five weeks that I found in the garden missing a leg, and I fed it flies every day.
New Zealand praying mantis, Orthodera Novaezealandiae, have a blue dot on the inside of their front legs, or a black dot when they are young.
They are the only praying mantis native to NZ - don’t be fooled by the fatter Springbok mantis that has been introduced from South Africa.
I think the NZ stick insect, or rō, which is Māori for stick insect, should be in the draw next year too. They can be bright green and smooth or brown and prickly and are super camouflaged and they are a good challenge to try and find.
Artist Sue Graham is passionate about NZ's red admiral butterfly- she even painted some on a utility cabinet for Chorus.
Sue Graham, Taupō artist and conservationist
The NZ endemic red admiral butterfly gets my vote.
Living near the Waitahanui River where ongaonga (native nettles) grow, we are fortunate to see red admirals frequently during the warmer months and they often feature in my artworks. One summer when riding my bike near a raupō wetland, I was awestruck to see many kahukura butterflies flutter by all at once, like a fantasy woodland scene from a Walt Disney cartoon.
I often read that their underwings are a mottled, drab, bark-like pattern but when we make our 3D kinetic red admiral garden art, I just love painting their tapestry-like patterns as much as the bold red and black top wings.
People can help these dramatic-looking butterflies by eradicating wasps and planting flowers such as hebe.
Heidi Pritchard (left), of Kids Greening Taupō, is on team red admiral butterfly, whereas Zara Pritchard will vote glowworm.
Though there are so many interesting bugs out there and all have their own special niche in the environment, my vote for this year’s Bug of the Year is the red admiral butterfly or kahukura, red cloak in Māori.
It is a beautiful butterfly that you can see around Taupō, it is a perfect example of why native plants are so important. It uses ongaonga or stinging nettle as its host plant to lay its larvae, curling the leaves around itself to create a protective tent.
Bugs are essential to supporting higher forms of life as well as being important to plants in different stages of their lives as well.
Zara Pritchard, (11) Kids Greening Taupō student leader
I have chosen the NZ glowworm. I find it fascinating that they don’t actually poop but turn their waste into light which attracts more insects for them to eat. You don’t have to go to Waitomo caves to find glow worms, but you can search around damp overhangs here in Taupō to see their glowing lights.
I have chosen the orange-spotted ladybird. They are caped crusaders; though they are cute with their orange dots on their backs, they are feisty when eating the aphids that kill some plants.
They are important for helping other bugs and plants.
I vote for the superb giant land-snail. I think they should win because they are so rare. Possums, rats and pigs have almost eaten all of them. I also like that they eat earthworms like they are spaghetti, slurp!
These snails are important because they help scientists know how New Zealand was created based on where you can find them living. Bugs are important because they help pollinate the plants.
DoC senior ranger Sarah Tunnicliffe simply can't pick a favourite.
Sarah Tunnicliffe, Department of Conservation senior ranger biodiversity
While we can’t possibly pick a favourite, it’s fantastic to see some of our lesser-known critters getting some attention!
Native insects make up a key part of a healthy ecosystem; across DoC we have a range of work programmes that support specific species. In the Central Plateau area we do a lot of work on Powelliphanta marchanti – a species of giant land snails, while next door in Maniapoto District they work to protect the Mahoenui giant wētā. Our predator control initiatives across the country help protect the landscapes our native insects and critters inhabit.
You can do your bit by trapping introduced pests in your backyard, and by leaving some corners of your garden wild and cluttered as habitat.
Kids Greening Taupō student leader Victoria Orozco is also on team NZ praying mantis.
Victoria Orozco, Kids Greening Taupō student leader
Ortodera novazealandiae is also known as the NZ praying mantis, the garden mantis or even the green mantis. They are a bright green colour but darker than the lime green of the South African mantis.
There are 2400 species of mantis around the world, but in New Zealand we have only two.
Females are larger than males and cannot fly. The males tend to be more sexually attracted to the South African species than our own native species, which is a problem because the females kill the males after mating with them. This reduces the number of our native species.
Mantises are important to the eco-system because they help with insect control.
