BEETLE BOOST FOR BUSH AND FRIENDS

[Anonymous]

Beetle boost for Bush and friends

Two US scientists have paid tribute to their favourite
politicians by naming three species of beetle after them.
President George Bush,Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld were all honoured.

One of the entomologists said he admired all three men for “having the
courage of their convictions” and standing up for freedom and democracy.

The three beetles who now bear their names are among 65 newly discovered
species which feed on mould.

The scientists, Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller, discovered the insects
after collecting thousands of specimens for study and classification, according
to a press release from Cornell University where Mr Wheeler used to work.

‘Prominent teeth’

They named them Agathidium bushi, Agathidium cheneyi and Agathidium
rumsfeldi.

Others were named after the scientists’ wives, the Star Wars villain Darth
Vader and the Greek words for “ugly” and “having prominent teeth”.

But Mr Wheeler, who is now head of entomology at London’s Natural History
Museum, said the decision to name three beetles after politicians had nothing to
do with physical features.

“One has to be creative with names,” he told the BBC news website.

“We are two of the only politically conservative scientists around, and we
decided to stick our necks out.”

The bushi can be found in the US states of North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia,
while the cheneyi and rumsfeldi are from Mexico.

At least two former US presidents have species named after them, the
Washington Times newspaper reports.

A deer, an elk and a lion are named after Theodore Roosevelt, while Abraham
Lincoln has a wasp and a rose in his name.

[Author]

April 16, 2005 at 11:10 AM