Scientists Name Newly Discovered Insects After Pop Star Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's albums ‘Lover,’ ‘Fearless’ and ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ get a nod in an insect research paper Taylor Swift received an unusual honor from an entomologist researcher, who has been a "lifelong" Swiftie, as the scientist named newly discovered insects after the Life of a Showgirl artist's name. In a new study titled “New genera and species of Australian sheoak-associated plant bugs,” published on September 9, in the Insect Systematics and Evolution journal, 4 out of 12 newly discovered insects received a new genus name, “Swiftiephylus." The four plant-eating insects that fall under the genus even got their species name after the pop star and the titles of her several albums. The scientific names of those insects are Swiftiephylus taylorae (Taylor), Swiftiephylus amator (lover), Swiftiephylus intrepidus (fearless) and Swiftiephylus poetorum (poets). Researcher and co-author Sarah Schroeder, who is a PhD student at UCR, remarked, “It felt authentic to me as a lifelong Swiftie to honor Taylor in this way, as well as bring attention to the diversity of insects that has yet to be discovered.” The researcher then noted that the insects have the ability to camouflage among Australian she-oaks due to their blonde appearance and this is where it clicked her. “Taylor Swift’s iconic look is her blonde hair and red lips. These insects are pale yellow with accents of red throughout.” Sarah then mentioned that her motive behind coining a genus name after Taylor was to bring public attention to "the unknown diversity" and in order to conserve it. "Taxonomy is the cornerstone of conservation," the doctoral student declared, adding, “If we don’t describe species, we don’t know they exist and can’t conserve them. Honoring Taylor through naming these species after her is a way to honor conservation science and bring attention to all the unknown diversity.