BERKELEY, California –
Scientists are naming a rare species of beetle in honor of former California Governor Jerry Brown after finding one on his ranch.
Bembidion brownorum was last seen in 1966, but it was not named or described until one was collected near a creek on Brown’s ranch in Colusa County, about an hour’s drive north of Sacramento. northwest, University of California, Berkeley announced Monday.
This beetle is brown and small with a length of about 5 millimeters (0.2 inches), although that length is still larger than other species of Bembidion beetles. According to UC Berkeley, under magnification “it glows with a metallic green and yellow luster”.
Brown, who left office in 2019, lives in the coastal mountains of inner California on land that has belonged to his family since the 1860s. He has provided his property as a meeting space for the Association. California Native Plant Society, entomologists, and experts in forestry and firefighting.
UC Berkeley entomologist Kipling Will has been sampling insects at the 2,500-acre farm for more than two years. On July 1, 2021, he found a strange bug and called expert David Maddison at Oregon State University to help identify it, UC Berkeley said.
They determined that it was a previously unnamed or described species. Will later found 21 specimens in museums across California, although they may not have been labeled or misidentified, UC Berkeley said.
Will said the species is rarely seen because it may be in rapid decline as its habitat is destroyed by urbanization and agricultural development.
The bug was named in honor of Brown and his wife, Anne Brown.
“I’m glad (my farm) is advancing science in a number of interesting and important ways,” Brown said in the UC Berkeley statement.
“There are so many undiscovered species,” he said. “I think it’s very important that we catalog and explore what we have and understand its impact on the environment — how it works and how it changes.”
Will and Maddison described the beetle in a study published Monday in the journal ZooKeys. John S. Sproul of the University of Nebraska Omaha is co-author.
“As of the time of publication this morning, the species has been officially named,” Will said via UC Berkeley in response to a question from the Associated Press. “If the question is about a certain ceremony, then no, we don’t do it.”
