Meet the beetle named after activist Greta Thunberg
The beetle, called Nelloptodes gretae, was named after the Swedish teen at Natural History Museum.
LONDON (Reuters) - Climate change activist Greta Thunberg may have been tipped for the Nobel Peace Prize, but she has now been afforded perhaps the ultimate honour: having a beetle named after her.
The beetle, called Nelloptodes gretae, was named after the Swedish teenager at London’s Natural History Museum on October 25 by its Scientific Associate Dr. Michael Darby.
"I was just amazed by how successful she’s been in promoting interest in climate change and particularly in her speech to the United Nations," he said.
"I put her down as someone very special after hearing that. It was quite extraordinary," he added.
After sailing across the Atlantic to promote carbon-free travel in September, Thunberg angrily denounced world leaders at the United Nations, saying: "How dare you."
The Swedish campaigner’s brief address electrified the start of a summit aimed at mobilising government and business to break international paralysis over carbon emissions, which hit record highs last year despite decades of warnings from scientists.
The beetle was first discovered by soil ecologist Dr. William C. Block in the 1960s at Kenya’s Aberdare National Park. His collection was donated to the Natural History Museum in 1978 and the insect was kept in its stores unnamed for decades.
Part of Dr. Darby’s job is to sort through the museum’s collection of beetles and name previously unidentified species. Its Spirit Collection holds over 22 million animal specimens.
The Nelloptodes gretae beetle has no eyes or wings and is less than 1 mm (0.04 inches) long. It belongs to the Ptiliidae family of beetles which includes some of the smallest insects in the world, according to the museum.
Senior Curator in Charge, Coleoptera at the museum, Dr. Max Barclay, said the tribute to Thunberg was about making a serious point.
"What we’re trying to do is to increase awareness of the importance of natural habitats and the creatures that live in them, so that hopefully future generations will protect them and care about them more than we have," he said.
Inspired by Thunberg’s solitary weekly protest outside the Swedish parliament a year ago, millions of young people poured onto the streets around the globe in September this year to demand governments attending the summit take emergency action.
Thunberg has gone on to meet Pope Francis and former U.S. President Barack Obama as she promotes climate change awareness around the world.
