The new genus, called Swiftiephylus, was announced in a study published on September 9 in the journal Insect Systematics and Evolution.
The study describes 12 newly identified species of Australian plant bugs, including four species whose scientific names pay tribute to Swift and her music.
The four species are Swiftiephylus taylorae, named after Taylor Swift, as well as Swiftiephylus amator, Swiftiephylus intrepidus and Swiftiephylus poetorum.
The latter three names are inspired by Swift’s albums and music, referring to “Lover,” “Fearless” and “The Tortured Poets Department,” respectively.
The insects belong to the Miridae family, the largest family of true bugs. The family contains about 11,000 described species worldwide and includes both plant-feeding and predatory insects.
Sarah Schroeder, a doctoral student in entomology at the University of California, Riverside and a co-author of the study, said she wanted to honor Swift while drawing attention to the large number of insect species that scientists have yet to discover.
Schroeder is a lifelong Swift fan and said the insects’ appearance also helped inspire the tribute.
The insects are pale yellow with red markings and can camouflage themselves among Australian she-oaks.
Their coloration reminded Schroeder of Swift’s recognizable blonde hair and red lipstick.
Beyond the connection to the singer, researchers said the naming highlights the importance of taxonomy, the scientific process of identifying and describing species.
Schroeder emphasized that documenting species is important for conservation because scientists cannot protect species they do not know exist.
The insects were collected in Australia between 1995 and 2004 by researchers from the American Museum of Natural History and Australian collaborators.
The collections produced more than 50,000 specimens, showing how much biological material can remain unidentified for years.
Scientists estimate that nearly 30 million insect species may still be undocumented, highlighting the enormous scale of insect diversity that remains to be studied.
The Swiftiephylus discovery is not the first time scientists have named a species after a celebrity.
In 2022, researchers at UC Riverside named a newly identified nematode species Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi after actor Jeff Daniels, whose character in the 1990 film Arachnophobia was associated with the tribute.
For Swift, the unusual honor adds her name to scientific records while also helping researchers draw public attention to insect diversity and the importance of conservation science.
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