Beyonce may be one of the biggest pop divas out there, but she isn’t the only diva with that name. A previously unnamed species of horse fly with a glamorous golden rear end has been named Beyonce because it is the “all-time diva of flies,” researchers say.
Bryan Lessard, a researcher from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, is responsible for officially describing the fly and naming it Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae, according to the Australian National Insect Collection.
Beyonce isn’t the first celebrity to be honored with her own species. Traditionally named after scientists involved in their discovery, organisms have also been linked to the likes of Harrison Ford, Matt Groening (creator of “The Simpsons”), Mick Jagger and other celebrities, including a beetle named after Roy Orbison.
Gold and bold
The rare Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae species of horse fly was collected in 1981 (the year that Beyonce was born) together with two other previously unknown specimens from northeast Queensland’s Atherton Tablelands.
The singer Beyonce, on the other hand, was a member of the group Destiny’s Child, which recorded the 2001 hit single “Bootylicious.” The fly got its booty-ful name from its extreme diva feature: a big gold butt.
“It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honor of the performer Beyonce as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy — the naming of species,” Lessard said in a statement.
By NBC News
When your butt is goals
When your butt is a lot more fiery than Red
We see you JayZ
Scaptia beyonceae
