Having a bug named after her probably isn't high on Beyoncé's list of priorities. It's probably not that prestigious of an honor, either. Especially considering Bey's recent Grammy record, having a bug out there called the Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae is just a little bit weird and let's be honest, underwhelming.
But the meaning behind it is kind of neat, and really, it's an honor that scientists named a rare creature after Beyoncé. She's also not the only celeb to have something named in her honor. After all, Johnny Depp had a fossil named after him, and Lady Gaga received a special honor, too.
Of course, there is the fact that it's a literal fly that is named after Beyoncé. ABC explained that the beyonceae fly is only found in north Queensland, Australia. The species of horsefly is very rare, which could also describe Beyoncé and her range of talents.
Describing the fly as "bootylicious," ABC recapped an insect expert's explanation for why the fly was named after Bey. For one thing, it has "unique dense golden hairs" on its abdomen. While Beyoncé probably doesn't appreciate being compared to a hairy fly, it's the gold and flashy nature of the creature that brought to mind the singer.
The fly was also first found the same year Beyoncé was born, which researchers probably found interesting as well. And while it sounds gross on the face of it -- because who cares about flies, right? -- researchers explained that the horse fly is responsible for important pollination tasks. Similar to bees, horse flies "act like hummingbirds," noted ABC, sipping nectar from specific plants.
The jury is out on what Beyoncé actually thought of the discovery and its subsequent naming, though. It seems as if the researchers who made the naming decision do have a sense of humor. After all, one explained that they purposely chose to name the fly after a well-known celebrity to give them "the chance to demonstrate the funny side of taxonomy," which is the naming of the species.
That research team did reach out to Beyoncé to see whether she'd like to comment publicly on the naming of the fly. But at the time, they hadn't heard back from her, and fans can guess they probably never did.
The discovery and naming happened back in 2012, but the odds are pretty high that Beyoncé had too much going on to comment about a bug being named in her honor. After all, she became famous in part because of her vocal prowess, and that's what keeps her pretty busy.
However spectacular the discovery was for scientists, Beyoncé probably wasn't down for a special ceremony or an introduction to her namesake...