October 25, 2019

New beetle named after climate change activist Greta Thunberg

WATCH: Greta Thunberg on global climate change movement: 'This is just the beginning'

Greta Thunberg has made quite a name for herself as a climate change activist and, now, a beetle.

The newly discovered insect was named Nelloptodes gretae after the 16-year-old Swedish activist, according to the Natural History Museum in London.

(MORE: Trump and conservatives go after Greta Thunberg following UN climate change speech)
Michael Darby/Pemberley Books/AFP via Getty Images
A handout picture released by Pemberley Books on October 25, 2019 and first published in Entomologists Monthly Magazine shows the beetle Nelloptodes gretae, named after teenaged Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

"I'm really a great fan of Greta," Michael Darby, who works at the museum and named the insect, said in a statement. "She is a great advocate for saving the planet and she is amazing at doing it, so I thought that this was a good opportunity to recognize that."

Nelloptodes gretae is described as a yellow and gold beetle, with no eyes or wings, that measures just 0.79 millimeters. The beetle's small size is one of the reasons it had been so unknown.

"They are even dwarfed by some unicellular organisms," according to the museum.

(MORE: 'We must always carry on': Greta Thunberg leads thousands in climate march)

The bug was first collected in Kenya between 1964 and 1965 by entomologist William Brock. He took samples of soil from around east Africa and gave them to the museum, where they had been stored away up until now.

Darby went through the samples recently and was able to describe Nelloptodes gretae, as well as a new genus and eight other new beetle species.

Valerie Blum/EPA via Shutterstock
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg signs the guest book after receiving the key to the city from the Mayor of Montreal Valerie Plante following the climate strike in Montreal, Sept. 27, 2019.

Thunberg recently made headlines for her damning speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit, in which she condemned world leaders.