One of the US Supreme Court’s justices has extended her influence to the insect world, inspiring the name of a newly discovered praying mantis species.
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WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 8: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sits as the nine members of the Supreme Court pose for a new group photograph to reflect their newest member, Elena Kagan, October, 08, 2010 in Washington, DC.
Ginsburg’s famous jabots, the neck accessories she invariably wears on the bench and for public occasions, also played a part.
“Female insects belong in all places where species classifications are being made”, perhaps?
After dissecting out the genitalia, researchers examined the specimens under a microscope and could “unambiguously differentiate between the two species of ilomantis”.
“As a feminist biologist, I often questioned why female specimens weren’t used to diagnose most species”, Brannoch says in the announcement.
This adds to the working toolkit that researchers can use to identify the insects, which will allow them to more accurately distinguish one species from another.
“It is my hope that our work not only sets a precedent in taxonomy but also underscores the need for scientists to investigate and equally consider both sexes in other scientific investigations”, she says. The species was identified using a specimen collected in 1967 in Madagascar. “Our work reduces this impediment by characterizing both sexes for praying mantis species”.
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But what makes this discovery unique is that Brannoch and Swenson based their findings on the genitalia of female specimens. Its GreenCityBlueLake Institute is a center of thought and practice for the design of green and sustainable cities.
