A new female species of praying mantis has been named after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in honor of her work for gender equality.
Cleveland Museum of Natural History scientists announced Wednesday the Madagascar species would be called the llomantis ginsburgae. It is the first type of praying mantis to be classified female based on its genitalia.
“As a feminist biologist, I often questioned why female specimens weren’t used to diagnose most species,” Case Western Reserve University Ph.D. candidate Sydney Brannoch, the study’s lead researcher, said in a statement. “This research establishes the validity of using female specimens in the classification of praying mantises.”
The authors said the species reminded them of the 83-year-old justice’s infamous lace collar, noting “her appreciation of the jabot, a decorative neck accessory, which resembles the neck plate of the insect.”
