A cute, vividly coloured native bee with a very distinctive buzz is the ABC’s first Australian Insect of the Year.
A total of 13,593 people voted in the inaugural ABC Insect of the Year poll. Just over 50.1 per cent (6,815 votes) chose the blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) from a field of six insect finalists selected by an expert panel.
The common hoverfly (Melangyna viridiceps) received the second highest number of votes with 13.0 per cent of all responses, followed by the Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa) with 11.4 per cent of the vote.
About 9.9 per cent of voters selected the golden stag beetle (Lamprima aurata), 7.9 per cent chose the Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis), while 7.7 per cent voted for the Eltham copper butterfly (Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida).
Botanist and beekeeper Anna Carrucan nominated the blue-banded bee.
Dr Carrucan said she was hopeful the charismatic bee’s victory would translate into greater interest and awareness in all six finalists, and in native insects more generally.
“I’m delighted by the result, and I would love to thank those who voted for this bee but also those who voted for any of these finalists. They are all deserving of more interest,” she said.
Anna Carrucan hopes people will become aware of the cruicial role insects play in the ecosystem. (Supplied: Anna Carrucan)
“The interest in the IOTY competition has been amazing. It shows how much people have engaged with all the nominees.
“It is evidence of the interest and growing awareness of our native bees and other pollinators.”
Dr Carrucan said insects and other invertebrates received comparatively little funding research compared with mammals and birds, which more often captured the public imagination.
She hoped that would change as more people became aware of the crucial roles insects played in the ecosystem.
The Bogong moth has finished third in the ABC Insect of the Year poll. (Supplied: Ajay Narendra )
“There could be so much more research into our native insects. As is the case with so much of our ecological research, there are so many more worthwhile projects to be done than money available to fund them,” Dr Carrucan said.
“I think the win by the blue-banded bee serves to highlight all other native bees and insects that are just as important to the ecosystem.”
She said the win highlighted the different and important roles insects played, such as pollination, predation of pests, or decomposition of leaf litter and forest floor vegetation.
“These things we call ecosystem service,” Dr Carrucan said
“The blue-banded bee isn’t just cute and attractive but also crucial with its special type of buzz pollination for food crops and native plant species.
“It is also emblematic of the ‘canary in the coal mine’ for all sorts of insects to encourage us to look at what our precious native insects need in terms of habitat, food and places to breed.”
The blue-banded bee rapidly bangs its head against each flower to release the pollen. (Supplied: Dr Prendergast)
The ABC conducted the online poll for four weeks during October and November, with more than 12,000 Australians participating. About 1,000 votes were also taken from overseas, including the United States, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and Indonesia.
The ABC Australian Insect of the Year announcement coincides with Australian Pollinator Week.
Adult golden stag beetles are useful pollinators. (supplied: David Paul, Museums Victoria)
Fiona Chambers, Wheen Bee Foundation chief executive officer, said she was thrilled Australia’s first Insect of the Year award featured several species that played a key role in pollination for native plant species as well as agriculture.
“Insect pollinators are vital to Australia’s food security, with nearly two-thirds of our agricultural production benefiting from bee pollination,” Ms Chambers said.
“Australian Pollinator Week encourages everyone to take the time to recognise and celebrate the important role of our diverse, and often unrecognised, insect pollinators.
“Native bees, including the blue-banded bee, have evolved over millions of years alongside our native flowers, making them some of Australia’s best pollinators.”
The common hoverfly has proved a popular choice among ABC Insect of the Year voters. (Supplied: Peter Rowland)
Museums Victoria Research Institute, curator of entomology Ken Walker, who was part of the ABC Insect of the Year panel and nominated the Lord Howe Island stick insect as a finalist, said he hoped the annual award would change how people thought about insects.
“Shifting the public’s perception of insects from ‘creepy-crawlies’ to something of value and beauty is a huge task,” Dr Walker said.
“Even a computer software glitch is called a ‘bug’. Insects are the ‘little things that run the world.'”
He said insects were the biological foundations of all terrestrial ecosystems.
“Imagine a world without pollination or decomposition. Enjoy chocolate? Well, without a tiny pollinator fly, there would be no such sweet treats,” Dr Walker said.
“The ABC Insect of the Year competition was designed to raise the profile of insects and get people thinking about them as animals with beauty, importance and value.”
The Lord Howe Island stick insect was believed to be extinct until a tiny colony was found. (Supplied: Rohan Cleave, Zoos Victoria)
Dr Walker said only insects with names could be added to the competition list.
“What are we missing? How to do we manage or conserve such an unknown biological asset?” he said.
“Eighty per cent of the world’s insects do not have a name.
“Ultimately we need to shift away from the creepy-crawly terms and welcome beetles, butterflies, flies, wasps, bees, ants, dragonflies, cockroaches, pray mantis, grasshoppers and so many more of our natural biological resources.”
The Eltham copper butterfly was believed to be extinct until rediscovered near Eltham in Victoria. (Supplied: Mike Coupar, Museums Victoria)
