New 'ecclesiastical' moth named after Pope Leo XIV

Researchers name moth species after Pope Leo XIV

“The pontiff is a strong advocate of climate and environmental protection, and we hope that his voice may serve as an example for humanity,” researchers wrote. [...]

Newly discovered moth named after Pope Leo. There is a reason behind it

Scientists have named a newly discovered moth species after Pope Leo XIV, highlighting biodiversity discoveries in Crete and making a call for the greater good.

New moth species named for Pope Leo

Pope Leo XIV receives gifts from visitors from all over the world every year, but a newly identified insect may be the first papal tribute of its kind. In the journal Nota Lepidopterologica, entomologists describe a striking moth species recently discovered on the rocky Mediterranean island of Crete. With its royal color scheme and ecological significance, the winged insect lives up to its scientific name—Pyralis papaleonei, or the Pope Leo moth…

New 'ecclesiastical' moth named after Pope Leo XIV

Distinguished by its striking colors and a name that carries the weight of a high ecclesiastical office, a new species of moth has been discovered in the rugged terrain of Greece. When researchers from the Tyrolean State Museum, the Finnish Museum of Natural History and the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology identified this unique insect in the White Mountains of Crete, they chose a name that reflects both its noble appearance and a message of…

Newly discovered purple-winged moth named after Pope Leo XIV

Purple wings, orange-gold markings, and crisp white bands make the newly described moth hard to miss. That is part of what makes its late recognition so striking. In the White Mountains of western Crete, researchers have identified a previously unknown species now named Pyralis papaleonei, or the Pope Leo moth. The insect is medium-sized, with a wingspan of about two centimeters, and belongs to a showy group of moths that entomologists have coll…

A New Moth Species Named for Pope Leo XIV Is a Plea to Protect What We Haven't Yet Found

Somewhere in the naming of animals, science and theology have always made uneasy company. The Old Testament hands Adam his first job: go through every creature and give it a name. Taxonomy, in other words, is possibly the oldest human profession. Peter Huemer, a moth researcher at the Tyrolean State Museum in Innsbruck, seems to reckon it’s also one of the most urgent. His newest contribution to that ancient ledger is a small purple moth from th…