Bug Art Competition
Through the 2025 Easter Holidays, in collaboration with The Little Adventures of Erig the Earwig and sponsored by Buglife, we ran a Bug Art Competition. The intention was to get families outdoors and engaging with nature in a different way to perhaps they were used to doing. We created a Top Tips for Spotting Bugs Guide, and gave entrants the instructions to go for a walk, find a bug that inspired them and create a piece of artwork on said bug.
There were three categories for kids aged 5-17, and the chance to win some amazing prizes, including a Leica Monovid donated by Leica, The Little Adventures of Erig the Earwig books, Bug Hotels donated by Green Feathers, Buglife Family Membership donated by Buglife, a London In the Wild Book donated by London Wildlife Trust, CampWild Memberships, and some other goodies!
We had an amazing line up of judges:
Bill Markham – Producer of Disney's A Real Bug’s Life
Ashleigh Whiffin – Entomology Curator at National Museum Scotland
Wildlife Kate – Nature educator & enthusiast
Lucy Fleming – Illustrator of Erig the Earwig
And our very own Luke & Roan – Wild Finca founders
Below we are delighted to share the Winners and Runners-up from the competition. And see some of the lovely stories and feedback that came with the entries at the bottom too.
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The Stories Behind The Artwork
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My dad, brother, and I went for a walk at Hampstead Heath (London) to look for bugs. My dad lifted a log and I was excited to see a centipede, slug, and worm hanging out. We walked some more and I saw a leaf move - it turns out that it was a butterfly! I also drew wood lice, dung beetle, grasshopper, and more because I think they look really cool.
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He spotted this ladybird when we were walking to Aldi and wanted to draw it!
I run a home educators group and some of the children went on a look around our garden and have created pictures for the competition.
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My son (aged 6 3/4) had a great time exploring exploring around our house in Durham (UK) - so much so that he couldn't decide on just ONE bug to draw!
I saw a beautiful Peacock Butterfly on my walk. Here is a picture and a few facts.
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He loved taking part. He spends most of his time hunting for bugs and creating art anyway so this was the perfect opportunity for him. He’s my little naturalist - he’s so knowledgeable about the bugs he finds (although he didn’t include facts in his entry as writing is not his favourite task!).
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I would just like to add that I’m v proud of her for this, she’s has done it all herself including all the research. She went for a walk and then brought this to me 2 days later for submitting. She’s only just turned 11.
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Thanks for running this competition - it has really inspired my son! He found the dragonfly nymph while pond dipping. The ID is a little bit of guesswork, but it was definitely a darter.