Taylor Swift has become so popular that she is no longer confined to the human species. A rising star entomologist at the University of California, Riverside, Sarah Schroeder, has named not one but four species of insects after the pop icon, critters so distinct that they have been put in their own genus, Swiftiephylus.
The insects are named “in recognition of her show-stopping talent, heart-wrenching lyrics, and the joy and comfort she has brought to so many,” Schroeder writes in her new study, published in the scientific journal Insect Systematics & Evolution.
The brightly colored insects, native to Australia, are small — just fractions of an inch long — with colors that pop under a microscope. They are part of a large group of insects called “true bugs”; despite the misconception that all insects are “bugs,” a bug is technically an insect with a straw-like mouth and partly translucent wings.
The new species belong to a particular family of true bugs called plant bugs. Although Schroeder’s research didn’t include any behavioral studies, plant bugs like Swiftiephylus live short, intense lives lasting one or two months. To eat, they insert their piercing/sucking mouthparts into the stems and shoots of plants, slurping up the plants’ juices, while using chemical pheromones to seek mates and reproduce.
Swiftiephylus bugs seem to be particularly good at not getting eaten thanks to their reddish-pink markings and blonde body, which camouflages perfectly with the flowers of the plants on which they’re found, called sheoaks. When Schroeder, 27, began her research in 2022 as a first-year PhD student, it was Swiftiephylus’ bright blonde and red colors that got her thinking of her favorite pop star, the red splotches evoking Taylor Swift’s signature red lipstick.
The titular species, with red in the middle of its back, she named Swiftiephylus taylorae; for the other three, she chose names based on Swift’s albums: S. amator, Latin for “lover,” is “named for the dreamy, hopeful, romantic 2019 album Lover;” S. intrepidus is named for Swift’s 2008 Fearless; and S. poetorum is named for 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department.
For Schroeder, all this work is deeply personal. She grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, going to choir practice and bonding with her mom over listening to Swift. Her office is covered in Swift photos, and next year she will walk down the aisle to the song “Enchanted.” Being able to connect her love for music to her love for science and the natural world is especially rewarding.