Not many celebrities can say they have an entire species named after them. Then again, Beyoncé isn’t like most celebrities.
It’s natural: When you think of horse flies, you think Beyoncé.
Okay, so maybe you don’t. But the connection is very apparent to one enterprising scientist Down Under.
Say hello to the Scaptica Beyonceae. An obscure species of horse fly named in honor of the multi-awarded, “Bootylicious” former girl bander.
An Australian researcher says he chose the name because of the fly’s “spectacular gold color” — and because it happens to be the “all time diva of flies.”
Yep, sounds like Beyoncé to us!
Listen as the scientist responsible for the fly’s superstar name explains the similarities between the insect and the chart-topping singer.
“It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honor of the performer Beyoncé as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy — the naming of species,” said Australian National Insect Collection researcher, Bryan Lessard.
Marijuana named after Jay-Z, Beyoncé baby >>
Interestingly, the rare Scaptia (Plinthina) Beyonceae was first collected in 1981 — the same year Beyoncé was born! Of course, it was found in northeast Queensland’s Atherton Tablelands, not in the arms of Mathew and Tina Knowles in Houston, Texas.
Lessard argues that that while horse flies are “often considered” pests, the bugs are “extremely important pollinators of plants” and “act like hummingbirds during the day, drinking nectar from their favorite varieties of grevillea, tea trees and eucalypts.”
Amazingly, Beyoncé isn’t the first star to have a creepy crawly named after her. Aptostichus angelinajolieae is a species of trapdoor spider named after Angelina Jolie. Agra schwarzeneggeri is a species of carabid beetle which takes its name from former Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Photo credit: WENN.com
More Stories from Entertainment
Leave a Comment