These are the 2026 ABC Australian Insect of the Year finalists selected by experts ahead of a national vote to choose the nation's favourite small wonder.
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The Australian Insect of the Year is an annual online poll run by the ABC in partnership with insect conservation organisations.
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This year's top six were nominated by the CSIRO, Invertebrates Australia, Australian Entomological Society and Zoos Victoria, along with Gardening Australia magazine and A Naturalist's Guide to the Insects of Australia.
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Eminent entomologist Ken Walker, who nominated last year's champion, the graphic flutterer dragonfly, said each of this year's finalists represented an important story about insects.
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He said that through charismatic creatures like butterflies and beetles, Australians could learn about insects, most of which remained unnamed and unknown.
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"A review by the Academy of Science in 2018 looked at the state of our understanding of the Australian fauna of insects and estimated only 30 per cent of our insect fauna is named, which means 70 per cent of our insect fauna is unnamed," Dr Walker said.
"When you're used to things going along quite nicely, you don't notice something until it goes wrong.
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it → look → something
So much of that is due to insects doing things like pollination.
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It's easy to forget 90 per cent of crops rely on insect pollination.
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cent → forget → pollination
"On the other hand, only 1 per cent of known insects are pest species, but we tend to know those quite well."
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Dr Walker said it was vital that people protect insects for our environment.
"
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Through Insect of the Year, we can highlight the importance of conservation.
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Insects play an essential role in nature and agriculture," Dr Walker said.
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"We need to protect them and to mitigate the things that reduce insect populations, because without them we are all stuffed."
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we → need → them
This year's ABC Insect of the Year expert panellists were:
- CSIRO entomologist Keith Bayless
- Australian Entomological Society president Mark Schutze
- Invertebrates Australia founding managing director Kate Umbers
- Gardening Australia magazine horticultural editor AB Bishop
- Zoos Victoria invertebrate conservation coordinator Jessie Sinclair
- Author and nature photographer Peter Rowland
The blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) was the inaugural ABC Insect of the Year, with the graphic flutterer dragonfly (Rhyothemis graphiptera) winning last year's popular vote.
You can cast your vote for the 2026 Australian Insect of the Year until the end of October.
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Dr Walker said much of the public awareness of insects centred on the adult life stage, which included familiar butterflies, beetles, flies and ants.
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He said the nomination of the Otway glow-worm, the larval stage of a gnat, highlighted the complex life cycle of many insects.
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"People might only think about the adult stage, but they've got eggs, larvae and pupae," Dr Walker said.
"So much of their life we don't notice them because they're out of sight.
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"It's great then, with the Otway glow-worm, we have one of the contenders as the grub or larval stage."
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Dr Walker said countless insect species could be subjects of conservation programs if more was known about their plight.
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"There are myriads of other insects that deserve similar conservation but they just haven't been studied,"he said.
"
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They do need our conservation and protection."
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You can cast your vote for the 2026 Australian Insect of the Year until the end of October.
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The 2026 ABC Australian Insect of the Year will be announced on November 9, coinciding with the start of Australian Pollinator Week.
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These iconic and much-loved beetles emerge over the festive season and were once a common fixture of summer nights.
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"However, sightings of this species, and many others, have become rare.
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"That's why scientists are gathering data via the Christmas Beetle Count to learn more about these beetles to help protect them."
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The critically endangered Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly embodies everything that makes Australian insects extraordinary — striking in appearance and ecologically remarkable.
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insects → endanger → appearance
"By celebrating this insect, we celebrate the importance of protecting entire ecosystems and the overlooked invertebrates that keep them functioning."
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that → celebrate → them
The orchard swallowtail, also known as the Australian citrus butterfly, is one of our largest and most spectacular butterflies.
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swallowtail → know → butterflies
"While the larvae occasionally nibble the leaves of backyard citrus, they rarely cause lasting damage and are well worth accommodating because the adult butterflies are important pollinators."
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butterflies → nibble → damage
They are juvenile flies: fungus gnat 'maggots', to be precise, which become bioluminescent to attract prey.
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As its name suggests, it has eyes on stalks.
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Their purpose is to attract females and compete with rival males.
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The females have much smaller heads.
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"This species is largest stalk-eyed fly in Australia, and is found in north Queensland, where it feeds on rotting fruit and animal faeces, helping to clean up the environment."
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it → find → environment
"Both the adults and their larvae are voracious predators, eating soft-bodied pests like aphids.
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The tortoise-shelled ladybird proves Australia's most beautiful insects are often its hardest workers."
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The Aporia