How a resemblance to the former president inspired the name for an unknown moth species in the USA.
A small moth, preserved in an entomology collection in California, was named after Donald Trump because it reminded the scientist of the former president.
“The uncanny resemblance of the tuft of scales on the head of the moth was an inspiration,” said Vazrick Nazari, who studied and identified the moth back in 2017.
The species is scientifically known as Neopalpa donaldtrumpi and is native to the dune habitats and dry desert areas of southern California and Baja California, Mexico.
“But I wanted to bring larger public attention to the fact that we still have undiscovered and undiscribed species in the USA”, added Vazrick Nazari.
“We need to protect their fragile habitats and give the future generations a chance to study and document them.”
Currently very little is known about Neopalpa donaldtrumpi apart from its habitat.
Other species in this group of micro-moths are known to feed on plants in the nightshade family, so it this species may also feed on these plants.
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