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Insect named after Jacinda Ardern

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New species of wētā has been named after the New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.

The official name of the newly found insect is Hemiandrus jacinda .

Steven Trewick, a professor in evolutionary ecology at Massey University in New Zealand, is the scientist who named the insect.

The believed the insect reflected the Prime Minster. He said it was a “striking species”, and he considered it beautiful.

The prime minister’s office said Ardern was “aware of this and very honoured”.

A beetle and a lichen, along with an ant in Saudi Arabia, have also been named after her.

More than 100 different species of wētā are found in trees, caves, bush and sometimes suburban gardens.

The newly discovered species is bigger and more brightly coloured than the 17 ground wētā already recorded, and found in native forests in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Coromandel in the upper North Island.

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