Jacinda Ardern 'very honoured' after large insect species gets her name

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern felt "very honoured" after she realised that a large insect has been named after her.  

Hemiandrus jacinda is the name given to a new species of wētā, a giant flightless cricket, reports The Guardian. 

The cricket is red in colour and "long-limbed," something which is similar to Ardern's Labour party colour and symbol.

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New Zealand's prime minister was "aware of this and very honoured," her spokesperson said. 

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

Steven Trewick, the scientist who named and formally described the insect, said the name had struck him for "reflecting traits of the prime minister".

Trewick, a professor in evolutionary ecology at Massey University in New Zealand, said it was a "striking" and beautiful species.

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

Zootaxa journal described it for the first time on Friday as "comparatively large, long-limbed, glossy and predominantly orange-red".

Trewick said it was remarkable that jacinda was not found until now given that it had been discovered near densely populated regions and that it was "not a small, cryptic beast but a hefty insect with flamboyant colouring",