Bug of the Year competition helping Kiwis learn about native insects

The Bug of the Year competition is back for the second year running.

A red admiral butterfly, the Mt Arthur giant wētā, and a psyllid named after Frodo from the Hobbit, are fan favourites to win.

Twenty bugs are vying to be New Zealand's favourite, nominated this year by voters.

Jenny Jandt is a committee member for Bug of the Year, an Otago University researcher, and a social media personality known as 'The Wasp Lady'.

She said more than half of the nominees are at-risk species.

"Eleven of our 20 nominees are listed as at-risk, endangered or declining.

"It really puts in perspective that even the little guys right now are struggling with all of the effects of global climate change."

One of the underdogs that could take out the top spot, thanks to a strong campaign behind it, is the tuatara tick.

"Steph Godfrey and Rob Cruikshank both nominated the tuatara tick for the Bug of the Year. So this is a tick, that only parasites the tuatara," Jandt said.

"It's really, really specialised and most definitely only found in New Zealand."

Jandt said Bug of the Year was born after looking at Bird of the Year, and wanting bugs to get the same publicity.

One of her favourite things about the competition is opening people's eyes to the diversity of native insects in their backyard.

"If you look closely enough, you start to see that it's not just this really pretty bush flowering in your yard, it's an entire ecosystem full of all of these interactions of individuals living inside of it."

She said 3000 votes have been cast so far.

Voting closes on 12 February, with the winners announced on Valentine's Day.

The winning insects receive research funding and promotion about their conservation.

People can follow their favourite insects on social media to help their campaigns to win, she said.

Last year's competition received 17,000 votes, and the winner was Ngaro Huruhuru, a native bee.