A Taylor Swift fan helped describe 12 new insect species; 4 species named after her music and life

Swiftiephylus taylorae (Image Credit: Sarah Schroeder/UCR) Taylor Swift has inspired songs, fashion and fan culture around the world, but her latest namesake comes from an unexpected corner of science: a newly described genus of Australian plant-feeding insects. According to the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside), entomology doctoral student Sarah Schroeder, a lifelong Swift fan, helped describe 12 previously unknown insect species and named one new genus and four species in tribute to the singer and her music. The genus, Swiftiephylus, contains four species whose scientific names draw on Swift's name and several of her albums. The discovery also highlights how taxonomy can bring attention to insect diversity and conservation.A new genus inspired by a lifelong SwiftieThe new genus is called Swiftiephylus, combining “Swiftie,” the common term for Taylor Swift's fans, with “Phylus,” a name frequently used for this group of insects. It belongs to the family Miridae, the largest family of true bugs, which contains more than 11,000 described species worldwide. Schroeder, a doctoral student in entomology at UC Riverside, chose the name as a personal tribute to an artist w...