New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner
#New Zealand bug of the year #Arctesthes avatar moth #Denniston Plateau #Mining controversy #Conservation #Endangered species #Forest & Bird #Entomological Society
📌 Key Takeaways
- Arctesthes avatar moth won New Zealand's bug of the year with nearly half of votes
- Moth named after Avatar films due to mining threats to its habitat
- Species faces potential extinction from proposed mining activities on Denniston Plateau
- Competition aims to raise awareness about New Zealand's unique insect species
📖 Full Retelling
The critically endangered Arctesthes avatar moth, named after the Avatar films due to mining threats to its habitat, has been crowned New Zealand's bug of the year in a competition organized by the Entomological Society of New Zealand, winning nearly half of the more than 11,000 votes cast, with conservation group Forest & Bird highlighting how the species faces potential extinction from proposed mining activities on its primary habitat at the Denniston Plateau on South Island's west coast. The moth won by a significant margin, receiving 5,192 votes and defeating the runner-up mahoenui giant wētā by 2,269 votes in the competition that aims to raise awareness about the country's unique insect species. Other notable contenders included the hellraiser mite, the black tunnelweb spider, and a bioluminescent giant earthworm, each with dedicated champions advocating for their conservation. The Arctesthes avatar moth, discovered in 2012 by entomologist Brian Patrick during a 'bioblitz' organized by Forest & Bird, is a day-flying species with distinctive brown and marigold wings that exists only in this specific threatened ecosystem. The moth's name was deliberately chosen to draw parallels to James Cameron's Avatar films, where a unique ecosystem faces destruction from mining interests, mirroring the real-world threat posed to the Denniston Plateau by Bathurst Resources' proposed open-cast coalmine, which is currently navigating a new regulatory regime that could fast-track approval despite significant environmental concerns.
🏷️ Themes
Conservation, Biodiversity, Mining controversy, Public engagement
📚 Related People & Topics
Conservation
Topics referred to by the same term
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Denniston Plateau
Plateau in New Zealand
Denniston Plateau (technically the Denniston-Stockton Plateau) is an 18 km long, 600–800 m high coalfield plateau in the Papahaua Range on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. A combination of impermeable rock, high rainfall, and shallow acidic soil has created a unique ecosystem of st...
Entity Intersection Graph
Connections for Conservation:
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Ecological restoration
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Floreana giant tortoise
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Species reintroduction
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Theodore Roosevelt
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Original Source
New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner Arctesthes avatar moth, which won nearly half of the votes, was discovered in 2012 and is critically endangered A tiny critically endangered moth, named after the Avatar films because of the proposed mining activity threatening its primary habitat, has been crowned New Zealand’s bug of the year. The Avatar moth won by a wide margin, earning 5,192 of the more than 11,000 total votes cast. It won 2,269 more votes than the runner-up, the mahoenui giant wētā, one of the world’s largest insects . Other contenders included the wonderfully spiky hellraiser mite, the country’s heaviest spider – the black tunnelweb – and a giant earthworm that glows in the dark. The Arctesthes avatar moth is from the Geometridae family and is endemic to New Zealand. It is a day-flying moth with brindled brown and marigold wings and lives only in the Denniston Plateau and nearby Mount Rochfort, on the South Island’s west coast. The moth was discovered in 2012 by the entomologist Brian Patrick during a “bioblitz” – an intense scientific survey to identify species within a specific area – run by the conservation group Forest & Bird. The organisation then ran a competition to name the moth, with the winner – Avatar – picked to highlight the moth’s plight. In the fictional world of James Cameron’s Avatar films, a unique ecosystem faces destruction from a mining company. In New Zealand, the ecologically significant Denniston Plateau is subject to a mining expansion proposal that, if approved, would lead to a significant area being dug up for a large open-cast coalmine. The proposal is making its way through a new regulatory regime that could result in divisive mining and infrastructure projects being fast-tracked for approval . “It is a species named Avatar – which was created to warn us about mining – now facing real-world extinction through fast-track approvals on public conservation land,” said Nicola Toki, who is...
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