''Scaptia beyonceae'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
horse fly
Horse-flies or horseflies are true flies in the family Tabanidae in the insect order Diptera. They are often large and agile in flight, and only the female horseflies bite animals, including humans, to obtain blood. They prefer to fly in sun ...
found in the
Atherton Tablelands
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tinar ...
in north-east
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
,
Australia.
[ Discovered in 1981 but not scientifically described until 2011, the fly is named after American recording artist and actress Beyoncé.]
Description
''Scaptia beyonceae'' has a striking golden tip to its abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...
, formed by a dense patch of golden hairs, providing the inspiration for its name. Part of the ''Plinthina'' subgenus, ''S. beyonceae'' was first collected in 1981, along with two other previously unknown subgenus specimens; the fly was officially described in 2011 by CSIRO research scientist Bryan Lessard.pests
PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...
, many types of horse fly serve an important role in the pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...
of plants
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...
. The flies drink nectar from several types of grevillea
''Grevillea'', commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the b ...
s, tea trees and eucalypt
Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia:
''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
s.
Naming
The naming of animal species is required to comply with guidelines established by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...
named after the singer Sting; '' Pachygnatha zappa'', a spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
named after singer-songwriter Frank Zappa; and three beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
species from the '' Agathidium'' genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
(''A. bushi'', ''A. cheneyi'' and ''A. rumsfeldi'') named after American politicians George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld respectively.Australian National Insect Collection
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research.
CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...
, who was responsible for naming the fly, "It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honor of the legendary singer, performer and actress Beyoncé as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy – the naming of species."
See also
*List of organisms named after famous people
In biological nomenclature, organisms often receive scientific names that honor a person. A taxon (e.g. species or genus; plural: taxa) named in honor of another entity is an eponymous taxon, and names specifically honoring a person or persons ar ...
References
External links
Images from CSIRO's ScienceImage
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1932229
Tabanidae
Insects of Australia
Diptera of Australasia
Insects described in 2011
Beyoncé