NELLOPTODES GRETAE

About:

• Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London have officially called the insect Nelloptodes gretae to honour the 16-year-old Swedish activist’s “outstanding contribution” in raising global awareness of climate change.
  
  
• The arthropod, which has no eyes or wings, is less than 1mm long and belongs to the Ptiliidae family, which is made up of some of the world’s smallest beetles.
  
  
• The beetle was first found in 1965 by British naturalist Dr William C Block in Nairobi, Kenya.
  
  
• Biological names comprise two words, one for the genus and the second for the species. Traditionally, it is the species name that scientists coin to honour a prominent personality.
  
  
• While the species name gretae derives from Greta, the genus Nelloptodes too is a new genus.