The competition to find Britain’s favorite insect was run by the Royal Society of Biology and the shortlist was featured on Digital Journal, where each insect was characterized along with photographs. As a reminder, the top ten contenders were:
The Divine Messenger – Seven-spot Ladybird
The Woolly Bear – Garden Tiger Moth
The House Sitter – Small Tortoiseshell
The Socialite – Black Garden Ant
The Bee’s Knees – Buff-tailed Bumblebee
The Impersonator – Large Bee-fly
The Gardener’s Friend – Marmalade Hoverfly
Kicking up a stink – Green Shieldbug
The Big Daddy – Stag Beetle
Lord of the Skies – Emperor Dragonfly
From the list, each insect was given a phrase that attempted to express its characteristic features.
The winner was revealed at the end of Biology Week, a series of events designed to promote bioscience in the U.K. and around the world.
The winner of the competition was the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris.) The bee is the largest of the European bumblebee species. The bees are pollen-storing and can navigate their way back to the nest from a distance as far away as 8 miles.
The bee was a clear winner in the competition, winning 40 percent of the votes and well ahead of the seven-spot ladybird, which secured 15 percent of the votes cast. The final results were:
1st Buff-tailed bumblebee (40.5%, 3,033 votes)
2nd Seven-spot ladybird (15.2%, 1139 votes)
3rd Emperor dragonfly (14.5%, 1084 votes)
4th Small tortoiseshell butterfly (9%, 674 votes)
5th Stag beetle (6.5%, 487 votes)
6th Marmalade hoverfly (5%, 373 votes)
7th Green shieldbug (2.8%, 209 votes)
8th Garden tiger moth (2.7%, 201 votes)
9th Black garden ant (2%, 153 votes)
10th Large bee-fly (1.8%, 131 votes)
Bumblebees have large furry bottoms, although their name refers to their hum. The buff-tailed bumblebee is named after the queen bee’s buff-colored “tail.” It is the earliest bumblebee to be seen each summer.
