It’s been a big few weeks for Beyonce. First she gave birth to her daughter. Then she had to listen to Jay-Z’s “song” about her daughter. Then she had an Australian horsefly named after her.
The Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae fly was originally discovered in 1981, but has only just been named by 24-year old CSIRO researcher Bryan Lessard. One of the key decisions in naming the fly – aside from the fact it was discovered the same year Beyonce was born – was the fact it had a “bootylicious” golden bum.
“It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honour of the performer Beyoncé as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy – the naming of species.
“Although often considered a pest, many species of horse fly are extremely important pollinators of many plants.”
Lessard hasn’t managed to find the fly again out in the wild, although has been informed that someone out there has been bitten by a fly with a gold bum.
There’s no word from Beyonce about her reaction to the news, but we fully expect to hear a Jay-Z ditty about the fly any day now…