In Her Insect 'Era': Scientists Caught the 'Swiftie' Bug and Named a Genus After Taylor Swift
Sarah Schroeder identified four plant bug species in a new genus, and the study says their colors and names honor Taylor Swift.
- On Wednesday, University of California, Riverside entomology doctoral student Sarah Schroeder named a new genus of Australian plant-feeding insects "Swiftiephylus" after Taylor Swift in a study published in Insect Systematics & Evolution describing 12 new species.
- Researchers collected 593 specimens in Australia between 1995 and 2004, but Schroeder spent years analyzing them before recognizing their pale yellow bodies with red accents resembled Swift's signature blonde hair and red lips.
- The genus includes four species named for Swift's albums: Swiftiephylus taylorae, S. amator for the 2019 album Lover, S. intrepidus for 2008's Fearless, and S. poetorum for 2024's The Tortured Poets Department.
- Schroeder emphasizes that "taxonomy is the cornerstone of conservation," arguing that "if we don't describe species, we don't know they exist" and cannot protect them from extinction.
- Naming species after celebrities follows a growing trend; a snake was named for actor Harrison Ford in 2023. Schroeder aims to document some of the 30 million insect species still awaiting discovery.
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43 Articles
Taylor Swift honored with newly discovered insect genus named Swiftiephylus
Taylor Swift has collected Grammy Awards, broken music records and sold out stadiums around the world. Now, the global superstar has added a much different honor to her list: a newly described group of Australian insects named in her tribute. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside announced that a new genus of plant-feeding insects has been named Swiftiephylus, a nod to Swift and her devoted fan base.
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MandatoryTaylor Swift’s Latest Honor Is Unlike Anything She’s Won Before
Taylor Swift has won just about every kind of major honor, but this one is taking her fame somewhere no music award ever has: the insect world. The award-winning singer and songwriter is now the namesake of a newly identified group of Australian plant-feeding insects. A new genus and four species have been named after […]
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