News24 | Mzansi votes: It’s time to choose your favourite South African insect

While many people regard insects as pests, the reality is that we depend on them every single day. From pollinating crops to recycling nutrients, they keep ecosystems alive.

South Africans from all over the country have nominated their favourite insects, and now you can vote for yours to win the first ever Mzansi Insect of the Year title in the competition run and hosted by the Entomological Society of Southern Africa and News24.

Voting closes at 18:00 on 26 October, and the winner will be announced on 28 October.

Small creatures. Massive impact.

Meet your 10 finalists

1

A master of disguise that mimics the flowers it hunts on. Found in eastern and southern Africa, it can turn green, yellow, cream, pink or purple to match its surroundings, then waits for flies, bees and butterflies to come within reach. When threatened, it flashes bold spiral eyespots on its wings to startle predators.

Nominated by: Adele Snyman, Diana Martin, Rick Proctor and others
Photo: CC BY-NC 4.0, sue52888, iNaturalist observation

2

Heelwalkers were only described in 2002 – the first insect group recognised at this deep level since 1914. Found only in Africa, these night-time hunters stalk small insects with spiny forelegs, walking with their heels held up in the air. Males and females court by tapping their abdomens on the ground, and their eggs survive the dry Cape summer in pods of cemented sand.

Nominated by: Simon van Noort
Photo: © Simon van Noort

3

South Africa has two native honey bee subspecies. The Savannah honey bee (Apis mellifera scutellata) lives across most of the country, and the Cape honey bee (A. m. capensis) lives in the south-west (winter rainfall region). Cape bee workers can even lay eggs that hatch into females without a queen. That ability makes them a social parasite of Savannah bees: if Cape workers get into a Savannah colony, they can take it over and cause it to collapse. Together, these subspecies pollinate about 50 of our crops and countless indigenous plants, which makes them vital for food security and biodiversity.

Nominated by: Anneki Wilken, Jack Grundling, Jan Molenaar, Deidre Pretorius and about 30 others
Photo: Risuna Mavasa

4

Spectacular semi-arid specialists with tufts of bright yellow or orange hair and metallic green or blue wing cases. South Africa has the highest diversity of brush jewel beetles, found from Namaqualand and the Karoo to the Fynbos. They lay the largest eggs of any insect relative to body size, and adults appear for only about two months in early spring.

Nominated by: Renier Basson
Photo: Renier Basson

5

Large, alien-looking and almost impossible to spot, this mantid blends in like “an angry pile of twigs ready to pounce”. Its tall, cone-shaped head sets it apart from most other mantids. They are considered rare, but they may simply be better at hiding, so we don't see them too often.

Nominated by: Willem (Wimpie) Bezuidenhout

Photo: Willem Bezuidenhout

6

Glittering in metallic green, blue, purple and red, this small wasp is one of Africa's most dazzling insects, found from Senegal to South Africa. Like other cuckoo wasps, it lays its eggs in the nests of other insects. Its nominator chose it because it draws international attention to South Africa's stunning insects.

Nominated by: Rudolph Steenkamp, Deon Oosthuizen

Photo: Rudolph Steenkamp

7

One of South Africa’s smallest dragonflies is easily recognised by its small size and boldly patterned wings. Males have a blue abdomen, while females range from dull to bright yellow. It lives in low-lying swampy areas and short grass near streams and run-off, found across much of sub-Saharan Africa.

Nominated by: Tommy Cowell

Photo: Tommy Cowell

8

Johannesburg's most notorious resident is actually a garden ally. This king cricket, which can grow 6–7 cm long, hunts slugs, snails and cutworms and will eat almost anything else, from fallen fruit to pet food. Orange-brown with dark bands and very long antennae, it even inspired the look of the aliens in District 9.

Nominated by: Rajesh Rama, Renesh Thakoordeen, Takalane Khashane

Photo: CC BY-NC 4.0, wickus_, iNaturalist observation

9

With its long snout and expressive “face”, this weevil looks permanently serious – hence its name. Found in protected areas such as the Kruger National Park, it rewards a closer look with its sculptured exoskeleton and subtle colours. Weevils feed on plants, help with pollination and decomposition, and are food for birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Nominated by: Sandiso Mnguni

Photo: Sandiso Mnguni

10

An important night-time flower visitor, this small African hawkmoth has a distinctive white stripe down its abdomen and bright red underwings that flash in flight. Its 3 to 4cm tongue lets it feed from many flowers – including short-tubed ones, where it probably steals nectar without pollinating. Its caterpillars feed on Vernonia plants.

Nominated by: Timo van der Niet

Photo: Timo van der Niet

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_{Production editor: Hanlie Gouws
Design: Mihle Mdashe
Information supplied by: Dr Charlene Janion-Scheepers, Entomological Society of Southern Africa
Journalists: Andrew Thompson; Ethan van Dieman; Noluthando Ngcakani
Subeditor: Riaan Grobler
News24 editor-in-chief: Adriaan Basson
News24 deputy editor: Ahmed Areff}

_{Image credits: Risuna Mavasa/Supplied; Getty Images; CC BY-NC 4.0/Supplied; sue52888/Supplied; iNaturalist observation/Supplied; Renier Basson/Supplied; Rudolph Steenkamp/Supplied; Sandiso Mnguni/Suuplied; Simon van Noort/Supplied; Timo van der Niet/Supplied; Tommy Cowell/Supplied; Willem Bezuidenhout/Supplied; wickus/Supplied}