COMPLEX - A scientist looked at a group of tiny blonde bugs with red markings and thought of Taylor Swift. And somehow, that ended with an entire genus named after her.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside revealed Wednesday, September 9, that four newly described Australian plant bugs belong to a new genus called Swiftiephylus.
“Taylor Swift’s iconic look is her blonde hair and red lips,” doctoral researcher Sarah Schroeder said in a university news release. “These insects are pale yellow with accents of red throughout. In the paper I refer to them as blonde.”
The Taylor references only get deeper from there. Swiftiephylus taylorae is named for “the one and only, Taylor Swift,” according to the study, while its three relatives pull from her discography. S. amator means “lover,” S. intrepidus translates to “fearless,” and S. poetorum nods to The Tortured Poets Department.