"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 weta, 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"
"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."
The Arctesthes avatar moth is a tiny critically endangered day-flying geometrid with brindled brown and marigold wings that lives only on the Denniston Plateau and nearby Mount Rochfort on the South Island. The moth secured 5,192 of more than 11,000 votes to win New Zealand's bug of the year, outperforming the mahoenui giant weta by 2,269 votes. The species was discovered in 2012 during a bioblitz run by Forest & Bird and was named Avatar to draw attention to mining threats. The Denniston Plateau faces a proposed large open-cast coalmine and a regulatory route that could fast-track divisive projects on public conservation land, placing the species at heightened extinction risk.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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