New beetle, other insects named after the coronavirus
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A new study says that scientists discovered 28 new species of beetles in the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. All of them are very small and measure only 2-3 mm.
A beetle is an insect, often large, shiny and black, with a hard case on its back covering its wings. There are many different types of beetles.
All of the 28 new beetle species belong to the Trigonopterus family. One of them has been named Trigonopterus corona after the coronavirus. This shows the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic even on science.
Other insects
However, this beetle is not the only one named after the coronavirus and the pandemic.
In April 2021, scientists discovered a new species of caddisfly (a moth-like insect) in Kosovo, Europe. They named it Potamophylax coronavirus.
Moreover, in the same month, scientists also named a new species of Brazilian wasps Allorhagas quarentenus. While this name doesn’t look related to the coronavirus, it is a reference to the quarantine that happened during the pandemic.
In Mexico, scientists also named a new type of wasp species, Stethantyx covida.
If you discovered a new insect, plant or animal, who would you name it after?
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