By David Brown
You may have heard her songs, seen her videos, maybe even attended one of her concerts … but have you seen the Australian 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. And four of the insects are named after Taylor Swift — Swiftiephylus taylorae — or her albums “Lover,” “Fearless,” and “The Tortured Poets Department.”
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.
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, with more than 11,000 described species worldwide.
Swiftiephylus plant bugs feed on trees and shrubs in Australia, though they are relatively harmless to their host plants and, like Taylor Swift, aren’t known agricultural pests. Unlike their namesake, the Swiftiephylus are silent bugs and have no known musical talent.
Adapted from an article by David Brown, published on Mongabay News.
