The day all of us bug enthusiasts have been waiting for has finally arrived. It is time to vote for Aotearoa’s Bug of the year 2023. Our lab group cannot wait to get our votes in for next years winner… The NZ Giraffe Weevil, obviously. Unfortunately the competition is quite stiff so the giraffe weevil may only win by the tip of their long nose.

To ensure our favourite crosses the finish line first we have dedicated a special page to showing off how iconic the giraffe weevil is. So if you want to bask in the giraffe weevil’s glory or simply test the confidence you have in your favourite bug’s chances go to our BoTY page.

As you can see from just a few #Bugoftheyear2023 tweets this is going to be one nail-biting competition and the giraffe weevil will really have to pull out all the stops to convert it’s naysayers. If you would like to help us get the giraffe weevil into the winners circle, join our campaign on twitter using the hashtag #TeamGiraffeWeevil or click here to vote.

Congratulations to PhD student Simon Connolly who won not one, not two, but THREE best oral presentation awards last week! Along with Ashton McDonald and Erin Steed, Simon represented the Painting lab at the Te Aka Mātuatua School of Science Postgraduate Conference. He won both the Best Presentation of Ecological Science and Best Overall Presentation.

Simon, Erin and Chrissie then attended and presented at the 70th New Zealand Entomological Society Conference in Rotorua the following day. Chrissie forgot to take many photos, but we all had a great time connecting with new and old friends, and learning about all the great entomological research happening around the motu. The dinner at Te Puia with a tour of the geysers at night was a highlight!

At the close of the meeting Simon once again cleaned up by winning the Best student oral presentation at the conference. Well done Simon!