Friday, January 13, 2012

Rare Horse Fly Named After Beyonce


An Australian researcher has named a rare horsefly after Beyonce because of it's unique golden bottom...

From Cisro News
A previously un-named species of horse fly whose appearance is dominated by its glamorous golden lower abdomen has been named in honour of American pop diva, BeyoncĂ© – a member of the former group Destiny’s Child, that recorded the 2001 hit single, Bootylicious.

According to the Australian National Insect Collection researcher responsible for officially ‘describing’ the fly as Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae, CSIRO’s Bryan Lessard, the fly’s spectacular gold colour makes it the “all time diva of flies”.

“It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honour of the performer BeyoncĂ© as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy – the naming of species,” Mr Lessard said.

“Although often considered a pest, many species of horse fly are extremely important pollinators of many plants,” he said. “Horse flies act like hummingbirds during the day, drinking nectar from their favourite varieties of grevillea, tea trees and eucalypts.”