You may have heard her songs, seen her videos, maybe even attended one of her concerts … but have you seen the new genus of Australian plant bugs named after Taylor Swift?
Scientists at the University of California, Riverside recently described a new genus of plant bugs, they’ve named Swiftiephylus, in honor of the Grammy-winning U.S. singer. The genus contains 12 new species of plant bugs. Four of the insects are named after Taylor Swift or her albums: Swiftiephylus taylorae, Swiftiephylus amator, Swiftiephylus intrepidus, and Swiftiephylus poetorum. The first is a Latinized version of Taylor; the others are references to her albums “Lover,” “Fearless” and “The Tortured Poets Department.”
The authors write that the insects were named after Taylor Swift, “in recognition of her show-stopping talent, heart-wrenching lyrics, and the joy and comfort she has brought to many. The term ‘Swifitie’ refers to Swift’s loving fanbase,” the study notes.
Study author and “Swiftie” Sarah Schroeder said in a press release that she named the insects after Taylor Swift’s appearance. “Taylor Swift’s iconic look is her blonde hair and red lips. These insects are pale yellow with accents of red throughout,” Schroeder said. “In the paper I refer to them as blonde.”
Schroeder believes that their coloring helps the bugs camouflage in the flowers they live on, which feature spindly red to orange flowers.
Though many species of insects are broadly called bugs, Swiftiephylus plant bugs are part of the Miridae family, the largest family of true bugs. There are more than 11,000 described species of true bugs in the Miridae family worldwide. The bugs in this study were collected between 1995 and 2004 and borrowed from museum collections to be formally described.
Swiftiephylus plant bugs feed on trees and shrubs in Australia, though they are relatively harmless to their host plants and aren’t known agricultural pests. Unlike their namesake, the Swiftiephylus are silent bugs and have no known musical talent.
Akito Kawahara, director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity in Florida, U.S., has written about the taxonomic use of naming insects after celebrities, which he thinks is, “generally good for science,” especially for insects which often don’t get much attention.
“Currently many insects are disappearing and potentially going extinct. The naming for celebrities helps generate more attention to them, and their importance to the environment and in many cases, to humankind,” Kawahara told Mongabay in an email.
Banner image: Of Swiftiephylus taylorae. Image courtesy of Sarah Schroeder/UC Riverside.
