Greta Thunberg has accomplished some pretty amazing things in the past two years. As the spearhead behind the school strike movement, she’s been a prominent activist raising awareness of the global climate crisis.
Her efforts have been acknowledged and celebrated by all those passionate about the climate crisis and the environmental changes effecting our planet. And now, she has a beetle named after her, Nelloptodes gretae.
Climate activist, Greta Thunberg, has been honoured with a new species of beetle to celebrate her inspirational work.
Michael Darby, Scientific Associate of the London Natural History Museum, has cited her quote “you are never too small to make a difference” as the inspiration to name a new species of beetle. Pale yellow and gold and measuring just 0.79 millimetres, Nelloptodes gretae is also notable for having no eyes or wings. It’s predominant trait is a small pit found between where the eyes should normally be.
The newly named species was discovered in soil samples, collected from Kenya in the mid ’60s by entomologist William Brock. Michael Darby’s research in these samples has unearthed a variety of beetle species, belonging to the beetle family Ptiliidae, a family consisting of some of the smallest insects known in the natural world. Also of note, Greta shares this family with Sir David Attenborough, so she’s in perfect company.
Michael Darby would like to stress that “I’ve not named this species after Greta because it is small – it’s just that this is the group that I work on.”
‘You are never too small to make a difference.’
A new species of miniature beetle has been named after @GretaThunberg, in recognition of her advocacy for climate action and protecting the natural world 🌍🐞 https://t.co/BWMgS2VbcM
— Natural History Museum (@NHM_London) October 25, 2019
