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 wētā, 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 that glows in the dark.

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 hellraiser mite (Neotrichozetes spinulosa). Photograph: Frank Ashwood

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.

In the fictional world of James Cameron’s Avatar films, a unique ecosystem faces destruction from a mining company. In New Zealand, the ecologically significant Denniston Plateau is subject to a mining expansion proposal that, if approved, would lead to a significant area being dug up for a large open-cast coalmine. The proposal is making its way through a new regulatory regime that could result in divisive mining and infrastructure projects being fast-tracked for approval.

“It is a species named Avatar – which was created to warn us about mining – now facing real-world extinction through fast-track approvals on public conservation land,” said Nicola Toki, who is Forest & Bird’s chief executive and backed the moth to win the country’s annual bug of the year competition.

Forest & Bird say the Avatar moth is facing real-world extinction through fast-track approvals on public conservation land. Photograph: Brian Patrick

Alongside Forest & Bird, which has hundreds of thousands of online followers, groups and individuals took to social media to discuss the moth and highlight its precarious existence.

“This is a special type of creature, no less important than a kākāpō or panda, and we can’t just afford to write it off,” Toki said. “I think there is a point where New Zealanders feel very uncomfortable about planned extinctions.”

The mining company Bathurst Resources, which is behind the proposal to mine the Denniston Plateau, says it would limit its impact on the landscapes and ecosystems, and would look to relocate species or “offset” biodiversity impacts. The resources minister, Shane Jones, has previously told the Guardian that opening up New Zealand to more mining projects was necessary to boost the economy and boost employment, even if it resulted in environmental trade-offs.

The blue damselfly (Austrolestes colensonis) was also on the shortlist. Photograph: Frank Ashwood

The Entomological Society of New Zealand launched the bug of the year competition in 2023, inspired by Forest & Bird’s wildly popular bird of the year competition.

Toki said it was “delightful” other groups wanted to amplify New Zealand’s species.

The popularity of the bug award is growing, with this year’s competition generating the highest number of votes so far. Each contender has “a champion” – volunteers including enthusiasts, museums or environmental groups, who promote their favoured bug. The winner’s champion gets to decide how public donations generated through the competition are spent.

Taranga pill woodlouse (Cubaris tarangensis) was shortlisted. Photograph: Frank Ashwood

Dr Jenny Jandt, a senior zoology lecturer at the University of Otago who helps to coordinate the competition, said it brought communities together while highlighting New Zealand’s species.

“We have such unique fauna here in New Zealand,” she said. “We really wanted to draw the attention to some of these things, and say … the insect world is bigger than the sand flies that bite you and the bumblebees that pollinate your garden.”