14 December 2023 Hobbit psyllid hops into Bug of the Year race

You can forget about the Bird of the Century flash in the pan. The star of that show, Pūteketeke – the Australasian crested grebe – had its time, courtesy of the John Oliver global exposure. And, dammit, it’s not even a proper Kiwi (New Zealander, that is) – we share it with the Aussies. So, say farewell to our feathered friends and move your attention to the insect world, where the real biodiversity action lies.

The Entomological Society of New Zealand has revealed its 20 nominees for the 2024 New Zealand Bug of the Year, a who’s who, and what’s hot, in the Aotearoa entomological world. This year the list features everything from the nationally endangered, but cute and cuddly, Cromwell chafer beetle (Prodontria lewisii) to the not-to-be-messed-with hura or giant centipede (Cormocephalus rubriceps).

Other offerings include the notably nasty katipō spider, the barely buggish superb giant snail and the faintly fraudulent Mt Cook flea, which is in fact a wētā. You can pick between sweet singing cicadas, sharp springing springtails and blingy butterflies. Alternatively, you can pray for a win for the mantis or tick the box for the tuatara tick.  Arguably, the shining light of the competition is the titiwai or New Zealand glowworm (Arachnocampa luminosa) (see what I did there?!).

But I say no to all those candidates. The bug of my wishes, my insect idol, is the one and only Hobbit psyllid (Psylla frodobagginsi). This modest but magnificent little bug belongs to the unflatteringly titled jumping plant louse family, Psyllidae (with a silent ‘P’). It was named after the famous ring-wrecking Hobbit, Frodo. Like Frodo, it is neither big (under 2mm long), nor spectacular.

If it is flashy that you are looking for, go elsewhere – try a giant wētā or gaudy grasshopper. My guy is more sophistication than swank. This speckled beauty is found only in New Zealand, where it spends its life surreptitiously sipping sap from kōwhai trees. Best of all, however, is its Lincoln connection.

The Hobbit psyllid was described and named as a new species in 2019 by Lincoln University PhD graduate Francesco Martoni and his supervisor Karen Armstrong: "Its relatively Hobbit-like small size, and its presence in the cinematic home of the Lord of the Rings, prompted the ‘frodobagginsi’ moniker."

Martoni used DNA molecular methods to reveal the hitherto unknown, secret existence of P. frodobagginsi, which lived cryptically alongside its larger sister species, Psylla apicalis. "Also special for Lincoln is that the holotype specimen for the species – that is, the ultimate, species-defining example – is housed in the University’s Entomology Research Collection as a reference example in perpetuum. It is one of nearly one hundred such holotypes specimens held in the collection."

I implore you all to get out there and exercise your entomological democratic right in 2024. Vote for Frodo! Vote for the Hobbit psyllid (Psylla frodobagginsi)! Voting opens on 1 January.

By John Marris, Senior Research Officer and Lincoln University Entomology Research Collection Curator

PHOTOS:
Top - Lincoln University PhD graduate Francesco Martoni searches for Hobbit Psyllid specimens on a kōwhai tree. 
Above - The Hobbit psyllid (Psylla frodobagginsi).