Britain’s Natural History Museum has named a tiny, blind and wingless beetle after 17-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Nelloptodes gretae, measuring less than 1 mm, was discovered in Nairobi (Kenya) in the 1960s. It belongs to the Ptiliidae family of beetles, which includes some of the smallest insects in the world. “It is likely that undiscovered species are being lost all the time, before scientists have even named them, because of biodiversity loss. So it is appropriate to name one of the newest discoveries after someone who has worked so hard to champion the natural world and protect vulnerable species,” says a curator at the 146-year-old Museum.
“I am immensely impressed with the work of this young campaigner and wanted to acknowledge her outstanding contribution in raising awareness of environmental issues,” Mr Darby said.
Sweden’s Ms Thunberg, still only 16, has injected a burst of energy into the climate change movement since launching her first school strikes one year ago.
She has also become a global pop culture icon.
Earlier this month, British superstar DJ Fatboy Slim paid tribute to Ms Thunberg by using samples from her incandescent speech at the United Nations in a remix of his smash hit “Right Here, Right Now”.
But she has never before been linked to an insect.
Picture Credit : Google
