A newly discovered species of fly has been named after drag icon RuPaul, thanks to its "rainbow colours and legs for days".
CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) entomologist Bryan Lessard has built a reputation for naming his discoveries after famous figures, with his announcement of the Beyoncé fly – Scaptia beyonceae – in 2011 causing quite a stir.
But none have left the entomology as gagged as his latest discovery.
The Opaluma rupaul soldier fly is part of a new genus of fly called Opaluma, which draws its name from the Latin words for opal and thorn, and is said to look like "little gems buzzing around the forest floor", according to Lessard, as quoted in The Guardian.
As if that dazzling rainbow extravaganza wasn't enough, the rupaul solider fly has a distinctive thorn tucked into its abdomen, so you know she's fierce.
Considering this, it's little wonder Lessard chose the bouffant-haired, towering drag queen as the bug's namesake. As the creator of RuPaul's Drag Race, the American star brought drag into the mainstream and was a familiar face at high profile events in the 90s.
However, it wasn't until RuPaul headed up the competitive drag competition that she (as male drag performers often use female pronouns) became the multi-hyphenate mogul she is today.
"I was watching a lot of RuPaul's Drag Race while examining the species and I know it would challenge RuPaul on the runway serving fierce looks," Lessard said.
"It has a costume of shiny metallic rainbow colours, and it has legs for days. I think once (Ru) sees the fly she’ll realise it’s quite fierce and hopefully appreciate the name."
It's a savvy choice by the scientist as, just as RuPaul brought drag into the mainstream, Lessard hopes that by naming a species after a well-known figure more attention will come to the species in general. Having discovered 50 species of fly, Lessard is committed to shedding further light on the species.
"There's a new wave of entomologists using pop culture to generate interest in our science and what we do, which is really exciting," he said.
"It's a great way of generating attention about why flies are important, to get as many people as possible talking about these species that need help, so they can be protected.
"With bushfire recovery efforts, normally the interest goes to the cute and cuddly species like koalas, but a lot of the invertebrates don’t have any attention, and they’re the essential workers of our ecosystem … it’s really important we study them."
