Q.
A kaleidoscope of butterflies that flutter from blossom to blossom as you inhale your way through a path of lilacs? Yes, please. A cloud of midges that are suddenly all up in your face as you walk down the beach? Absolutely not.

Which insects would you be delighted versus despairing to see flying towards you in a great swarm? And what are some collective nouns for our bug friends and foes?

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A.

Trust the Australians to have an annual Insect of the Year poll.  After 24,00 votes, who were the bug champions for 2025?

2025 Insect of the Year Poll. ABC Australian Insect of the Year
Note the outstanding names 👏🏽

i.    Graphic flutterfly dragonfly
ii.   Greengrocer cicada
iii.  Duck-billed Christmas beetle
iv.  Bird dropping beetle
v.   Giant rainforest mantis
vi.  Mountain katydid

🦋

A sampling of collective nouns…

A Bevy of Bugs
• An army of caterpillars
• A brood or chorus of cicadas
• An intrusion of cockroaches
• An orchestra of crickets
• A cluster of dragonflies
• A business of flies
• A sparkle of fireflies
• A choir of katydids
• A loveliness of ladybugs
• A bite of midges
• An eclipse or whispering of moths
• A scourge of mosquitos
• A ghost of winter gnats

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Header Art: Susan Wilkinson