Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and global pop star Taylor Swift has added another unexpected title to her long list of accolades, this time as the namesake of four newly discovered insect species.
In an article shared by Variety, University of California, Riverside doctoral student in entomology Sarah Schroeder, who is a lifelong Swiftie, explained why she chose to honor the singer through the new species.
“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,” she said
As per the UCR press release, 12 newly described insect species were featured in a study published in the journal Insect Systematics and Evolution.
Among them is a new genus called Swiftiephylus, which contains four species whose names were inspired by Taylor and several of her albums: Swiftiephylus taylorae, Swiftiephylus amator, Swiftiephylus intrepidus, and Swiftiephylus poetorum.
The species names are Latin-inspired references to Taylor, Lover, Fearless, and Poets, respectively. Meanwhile, the genus name combines “Swiftie,” the term widely used for the global star’s fans, with “phylus,” a name commonly used for this group of insects.
For Sarah, the connection between Taylor and the insects goes beyond their names. According to her, one of the reasons she dedicated the names of the new insects to the singer also has to do with their appearance.
“Taylor Swift’s iconic look is her blonde hair and red lips. These insects are pale yellow with accents of red throughout,” she said. “In the paper I refer to them as blonde.”
Beyond the pop culture connection, Sarah emphasized the importance of taxonomy in understanding and protecting biodiversity. She also added that naming the insects after Taylor serves as a way to highlight conservation science while drawing attention to the many species that have yet to be discovered.
“If we don’t describe species, we don’t know they exist and can’t conserve them. Honoring Taylor through naming these species after her is a way to honor conservation science and bring attention to all the unknown diversity,” she explained.
This is not the first time a newly discovered species has been named after the singer. In 2022, a millipede discovered in the Appalachian Mountains was named Nannaria swiftae after the pop star.
"Her music helped me get through the highs and lows of graduate school, so naming a new millipede species after her is my way of saying thanks," Virginia Tech entomologist Derek Hennen said in a statement.
Other species have been named after celebrities including Beyoncé (species of horsefly named Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae), Tobey Maguire (a spider species Filistata maguirei), Andrew Garfield (a spider called Pritha garfieldi), Jeff Daniels (a killer worm called Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi), Angelina Jolie (a spider named Aptostichus angelinajolieae), Brad Pitt (wasp specie named Conobregma bradpitti), Kate Winslet (a ground beetle named Agra katewinsletae), Lady Gaga (bug named Kaikaia gaga), among others.