Fly species named after celebrity drag queen RuPaul
Scientist was watching hit show while examining rainbow-coloured insect
“It’s really important for the next generation of LGBTQ+ scientists to know that they’re being represented … as we give the names of legends in the community to memorable species.”
BRYAN LESSARD AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGIST
A fly species was named after drag queen superstar RuPaul by Australian entomologists this week, affirming drag’s growing impact on society.
The soldier fly, which fittingly sports bold rainbow colours, now has the Latin name of Opaluma rupaul. Bryan Lessard of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation — known as “Bry the Fly Guy” in scientific circles — said the icon served as perfect inspiration.
“I’d been watching a lot of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ when I was examining the specimen under the microscope, so it was on my mind,” Lessard told CNN. “I really wanted to give this group of flies a memorable name because it needs the attention; the first specimen of this RuPaul fly was collected over a hundred years ago and sat neglected in a museum collection until someone with the knowledge of that group came along to name and document them.”
There are 2,700 species of soldier flies. The new soldier flies all got fitting tributes. Many of the 13 new soldier flies that Lessard named are from areas affected by the 2019-20 bushfires.
The RuPaul fly is just one of 150 new species recently named by the research organization. Lessard previously named the Scaptia beyonceae fly after the “Queen Bee” — Beyoncé — and named three rare beetles after characters from Pokemon.
RuPaul, considered to be the most famous drag queen in the world, has produced and hosted the reality competition series “RuPaul’s Drag Race” since 2009, with the show receiving eight Primetime Emmy Awards. Lessard said that naming the fly RuPaul can help tie together pop culture and the LGBTQ community with science and entomology.
“As a gay scientist, it took me a long time to feel comfortable in my own skin in a very traditional field of science, in entomology,” Lessard said. “I think it’s really important for the next generation of LGBTQ+ scientists to know that they’re being represented in the workplace, as we give the names of legends in the community to memorable species.”
In a tweet, RuPaul acknowledged his new namesake. The show host posted two side-byside photos of himself and the fly, writing, “Rainbow colors and legs for days.”