Now, a fly named after bootylicious Beyonce

A rare far north Queensland horse fly has been named after sultry singer and actress Beyonce because of its unusual, but attractive, backside.

CSIRO researcher Bryan Lessard said the fly, first discovered three decades ago, was named after Beyonce because of its glamorous golden lower abdomen.



He said the fly's spectacular gold colour makes it the 'all-time diva of flies'. "It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly's abdomen that led me to name this fly in honour of the performer Beyonce as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy - the naming of species," Lessard said.


Gold-bottomed fly: Australian National Insect Collection researcher
Bryan Lessard shows samples of the Beyonce fly named after the diva,
owing to its unusual, but attractive, backside. Pic/AFP

The rare Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae horse fly was collected in 1981 from the Atherton Tablelands, the same year The Destiny's Child singer was born. "Most Australian Scaptia species have been described.

However, these five new species of a sub-group [Plinthina] have been housed in Australian collections since the group was last studied in the 1960s," Lessard added. The CSIRO has contacted Beyonce for a response but is yet to hear back.