Taylor Swift Now Has a Genus of Australian Bugs Named After Her
Taylor Swift has collected Grammys, Billboard records, and a net worth in billions — and now, she can add an entomological namesake to the list. On September 9, 2026, the University of California, Riverside announced that a newly discovered genus of plant-feeding insects from Australia had been named Swiftiephylus in her honor.
The Science Behind the Name
The genus was described in a paper covering 12 new species, published in the journal Insect Systematics and Evolution.
Of those, four species carry names directly inspired by Swift and her music: Swiftiephylus taylorae, Swiftiephylus amator, Swiftiephylus intrepidus, and Swiftiephylus poetorum — Latin renderings of "Taylor," "lover," "fearless," and "poets," nodding to several of her album titles.
The genus name itself blends "Swiftie," the term for her fanbase, with "phylus," a suffix commonly used across this insect group.
Why a Scientist Chose Swift
The naming was the work of Sarah Schroeder, a UC Riverside doctoral student in entomology and self-described lifelong Swiftie, who co-authored the paper.
Schroeder explained that honoring Swift through the naming felt like an authentic way to celebrate someone whose work mattered to her personally, while also drawing attention to how much undiscovered insect diversity still exists.
She also pointed to a physical resemblance behind the choice, noting that the insects' pale yellow bodies with red accents echoed Swift's signature blonde hair and red lip look.
What the Bugs Actually Are
The Swiftiephylus insects belong to Miridae, the largest family of true bugs, home to more than 11,000 described species worldwide. Researchers believe their coloring helps them blend into the reddish-orange structures of Australian she-oak flowers, where they feed. Importantly, the bugs pose no known threat — they aren't considered pests to humans, animals, or the plants they live on.
Interestingly, the specimens weren't newly collected; they were gathered between 1995 and 2004 during a biodiversity survey conducted with the American Museum of Natural History, and only formally identified as new species decades later.
Not Swift's First Insect Honor
This isn't the first time science has borrowed Swift's name. Back in 2022, Virginia Tech entomologist Derek Hennen named a newly discovered twisted-claw millipede Nannaria swiftae, discovered in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee. Hennen has said Swift's music helped him through graduate school, making the naming a personal thank-you as much as a scientific one.
A Small but Meaningful Honor
Naming species after celebrities isn't just a novelty — researchers often say it's a deliberate strategy to draw public attention to biodiversity that would otherwise go unnoticed. With Swift now linked to both a millipede and an entire insect genus, her cultural footprint has, quite literally, extended into the natural world.
