New ant species gets gender-neutral scientific name
Author of the article:Liz Braun
Publishing date:May 10, 2021 • 1 day ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe -- pictured at a 2004 performance in Winnipeg -- worked at writing about the newly-discovered species of ant, Strumigenys ayersthey.
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe -- pictured at a 2004 performance in Winnipeg -- worked at writing about the newly-discovered species of ant, Strumigenys ayersthey. PHOTO BY TORONTO SUN FILES /Toronto Sun
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Science and alt-rock are moving the social needle.
A new species of ant found in Ecuador has been given a name that ends in “they” rather than a traditional masculine or feminine Latin suffix; the insect has been given the first gender-neutral scientific name in a nod to diversity.
This is where entomology and etymology cross paths.
Yale taxonomic expert Douglas Booher suggested the gender non-binary “they.”
He named the ant Strumigenys ayersthey in honour of artist and human rights activist Jeremy Ayers.
According to newscientist.com, Ayers was a protege of Andy Warhol in the 1970s under the superstar pseudonym Silva Thin. Naming the insect is a tribute to Ayers’ activism in the LBGTQ community.
It’s also a nod to friendship.
Michael Stipe, lead singer of the band R.E.M, worked with Booher in writing about the new ant; Ayers, Stipe and Booher were friends who had Athens, Ga., in common.
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Booher calls this new ant special, and said of Ayers to Yale News, “No other human better represented the pan and inclusive world of humans. He was also a lover of biodiversity, so it just seemed to fit.”
The ant was discovered a few years ago by Philipp Hoenle (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany) in an Ecuadorian rain forest. He shipped the insect to Booher so the ant could be recognized as a new species.
According to Yale News, Booher had been thinking about naming a species after Ayers, who was a poet, photographer, artist and mentor to many in the artistic community of Athens, his home town.
Ayers had a gift for friendship. When he returned to Athens in the 1970s after his stint as one of Warhol’s superstars, he became the connection among a disparate group of artists in that college town.
Stipe said his ease at bringing people together made him the ‘queen ant’ of the artist colony there.
Booher was in Athens studying at the University of Georgia but left a PhD program to open a business. After 12 years away from school, he was inspired to return, citing Ayers’ fascination with nature as one of the things that prompted him to do so.
He later pursued a career in entomology.
Ants are fascinating critters. They are the hardest working bugs and they are very social insects. They have extraordinary strength.
It is estimated that there are 10 quadrillion ants alive at any one time.
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And some ant species are asexual.
Certain Amazonian ants eschew traditional reproduction and make babies by cloning instead. The queens copy themselves and produce daughters only; the colonies have no male ants.
news.yale.edu
newscientist.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Liz Braun
Publishing date:May 10, 2021 • 1 day ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe -- pictured at a 2004 performance in Winnipeg -- worked at writing about the newly-discovered species of ant, Strumigenys ayersthey.
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe -- pictured at a 2004 performance in Winnipeg -- worked at writing about the newly-discovered species of ant, Strumigenys ayersthey. PHOTO BY TORONTO SUN FILES /Toronto Sun
Article content
Science and alt-rock are moving the social needle.
A new species of ant found in Ecuador has been given a name that ends in “they” rather than a traditional masculine or feminine Latin suffix; the insect has been given the first gender-neutral scientific name in a nod to diversity.
This is where entomology and etymology cross paths.
Yale taxonomic expert Douglas Booher suggested the gender non-binary “they.”
He named the ant Strumigenys ayersthey in honour of artist and human rights activist Jeremy Ayers.
According to newscientist.com, Ayers was a protege of Andy Warhol in the 1970s under the superstar pseudonym Silva Thin. Naming the insect is a tribute to Ayers’ activism in the LBGTQ community.
It’s also a nod to friendship.
Michael Stipe, lead singer of the band R.E.M, worked with Booher in writing about the new ant; Ayers, Stipe and Booher were friends who had Athens, Ga., in common.
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STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Booher calls this new ant special, and said of Ayers to Yale News, “No other human better represented the pan and inclusive world of humans. He was also a lover of biodiversity, so it just seemed to fit.”
The ant was discovered a few years ago by Philipp Hoenle (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany) in an Ecuadorian rain forest. He shipped the insect to Booher so the ant could be recognized as a new species.
According to Yale News, Booher had been thinking about naming a species after Ayers, who was a poet, photographer, artist and mentor to many in the artistic community of Athens, his home town.
Ayers had a gift for friendship. When he returned to Athens in the 1970s after his stint as one of Warhol’s superstars, he became the connection among a disparate group of artists in that college town.
Stipe said his ease at bringing people together made him the ‘queen ant’ of the artist colony there.
Booher was in Athens studying at the University of Georgia but left a PhD program to open a business. After 12 years away from school, he was inspired to return, citing Ayers’ fascination with nature as one of the things that prompted him to do so.
He later pursued a career in entomology.
Ants are fascinating critters. They are the hardest working bugs and they are very social insects. They have extraordinary strength.
It is estimated that there are 10 quadrillion ants alive at any one time.
The 2021 Census will ask Canadians if they identify neither as male or female.
StatsCan expanding its gender options
This file photo illustration photo shows a Facebook App logo displayed on a smartphone in Los Angeles, March 1, 2021.
Study flags gender bias in Facebook's ads tools
And some ant species are asexual.
Certain Amazonian ants eschew traditional reproduction and make babies by cloning instead. The queens copy themselves and produce daughters only; the colonies have no male ants.
How a Yale scientist and a rock star named an ant for a Warhol ‘Superstar’
A new species of ant will be named after Jeremy Ayers, a mutual friend of Yale researcher Douglas B. Booher and R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, as well as Warhol.
news.yale.edu
Ant species given first gender-neutral scientific name
A newly discovered species of ant from Ecuador has been named Strumigenys ayersthey, with a “-they” suffix used instead of traditional gendered Latin ones to celebrate gender diversity
New ant species gets gender-neutral scientific name
Science and alt-rock are moving the social needle.
