VARIETY - Taylor Swift, the award-winning billionaire singer and songwriter, is getting a new honor: The megastar is the namesake of several recently discovered species of plant-feeding insects from Australia.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have named the new species of insect after Swift. A paper describing the 12 new species was published in the journal “Insect Systematics and Evolution.” Of these, one genus has been named Swiftiephylus, which combines “Swiftie,” the term for Swift’s fans, with “Phylus,” a name commonly used for this group of insects.
Four species have been bestowed names inspired by the artist herself as well as several of her albums: Swiftiephylus taylorae, Swiftiephylus amator, Swiftiephylus intrepidus, and Swiftiephylus poetorum. The names are Latin versions of “Taylor,” “lover,” “fearless” and “poets,” respectively.
The Swiftiephylus insects are closely associated with Australian she-oaks, trees and shrubs adapted to environments ranging from tropical forests to coastal dunes and extreme heat, according to UC Riverside. Many plant bugs spend their entire lives on a particular host plant, from hatching through adulthood and egg laying.
UC Riverside entomology doctoral student Sarah Schroeder decided to name the insects after Swift, in the hopes her association with the bugs will elevate both the insects and the concept of insect conservation more generally. “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,” Schroeder said in a statement provided by the university.