After finding a December moth in my moth trap I had the thought of if there were more moths ( and other organisms) named after months and i’ve been able to compile a brisk list of ( mostly) moths named after months which is as follows
January - January Graphic
February - February Red which is actually a species of stonefly
March - March moth
April - April Green cicada
May - May Highflyer
June - Mount Hermon June Beetle
July - July Highflyer
August - August thorn
September - September thorn
October - October Thorn
November- November Moth
December - December moth
What I’d like to know from everyone here is if you know of any more Organisms named after months of the year?
4 Likes
Mayflies?
3 Likes
August’s Carpenter! It’s a type of Xylocopa but different from the ones I have observed (X. subvirescens).
Why do these lack “bee” on the end of their name?
I don’t know, but most of the Xylocopa I am aware of who have common names do not, which makes them sound like a very well described group of woodworkers (Bearded Carpenter, Ornate Carpenter, Cuban Carpenter, Splendid Carpenter, Woolly Carpenter, etc.) . I think that is kind of funny especially since the ones I have observed do make tremendous noise (buzz pollination) as if they are using tools.
Some do have the word “bee” at the end of their common names, though I suspect these represent instances where the word bee has been retained. I think it gets rather a mouthful to say “Green-tailed Carpenter Bee” so bet if it was ever there, it was dropped by those who use it.
1 Like
The genus Maianthemum – it means “Mayflower.”
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.