scientists describing a new species of ant, strumigenys ayersthey, have broken with conventional naming traditions and used the pronoun “they” instead of the traditional male or female form to promote nonbinary gender inclusivity.

the new ant, described in a recent paper in zookeys, was named after the late artist and human rights activist jeremy ayers. traditionally, a species named after a person would have an “i” appended at the end of the name for males, or “ae” for females; in this case, ayersi or ayersae. instead, the researchers went with ayersthey.

they did this to honor ayers and the large number of people who do not identify with either the male and female genders, according to study author douglas booher, a yale postdoctoral researcher, and co-author philipp hönle, a doctoral student at the technical university of darmstadt, germany.

“in contrast to the traditional naming practices that identify individuals as one of two distinct genders, we have chosen a non-latinized portmanteau honoring the artist jeremy ayers and representing people that do not identify with conventional binary gender assignments, strumigenys ayersthey,” the authors wrote in the study.

ayers was an eclectic artist, publishing photography books, authoring a column in andy warhol’s interview magazine, and writing lyrics for both r.e.m. and the b-52s. indeed, r.e.m. lead singer and songwriter michael stipe joined booher in writing the etymology section of the paper explaining the decision to use the pronoun “they” to honor the artist. ayers is remembered today as a fixture of the athens, georgia, art community, according to a local paper.

hönle first encountered the ant while working on his doctoral thesis at darmstadt, researching ant communities in the chocó area of ecuador. of the specimens he looked at, one stood out for its unique shiny exoskeleton, for which hönle couldn’t find a matching species. hönle then contacted booher, an expert on the ant genus strumigenys, also known as trap-jaw ants for their trap-jaw mandibles. booher quickly identified the specimen as a potentially undescribed species, kicking off the work to describe the new ant.

what sets s. ayersthey apart from other ants in the genus is its signature shiny and smooth outer “skin,” or cuticle, as well as its long trap jaws, described by the researchers in the paper as a “biological mousetrap.”

the strumigenys genus itself is quite diverse. the various species’ trap-jaw mandibles can range from short to long, with the newly described species having large mandibles; some species lack the trap jaw entirely. one common identifying feature of the genus is a sponge-like structure toward the base of the abdomen. according to booher, the function of the sponge structure remains a mystery to scientists.

in a study published in plos biology in march 2021, booher explores the evolution of the trap-jaw mechanism and its gradual increase in length. the trap-jaw mechanism itself is one of the fastest movements in any living creature, with the jaws snapping shut at a rate of up to 1.2 million meters per second squared.

the newly described species is found in the chocó region of ecuador, a biologically rich and diverse coastal rainforest that is simultaneously understudied and under threat due to human activities. logging, mining and oil palm plantations have resulted in a 61% reduction of the chocó region’s forests.

“[the chocó] features a plethora of endemic species. there is one critically endangered subspecies of [brown-headed] spider monkey, ateles fusciceps fusciceps, that only lives in the forests of this part of ecuador,” hönle said. “however, the insect fauna and especially the ants there are poorly known, as only very few researchers did sample the area.”

the region is so understudied that last year hönle and other scientists described another species of native ant, odontomachus davidsoni, calling this one “large and conspicuous.”

hönle’s fieldwork collecting specimens in the chocó takes place on land preserved by jocotoco, an ngo that buys threatened land to conserve it.

“the fact that no one has described this species before highlights how much else might be out there. the new strumigenys is just one more little piece toward a more complete understanding of the fauna,” hönle said.

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citations:

booher, d. b., gibson, j. c., liu, c., longino, j. t., fisher, b. l., janda, m., … economo, e. p. (2021). functional innovation promotes diversification of form in the evolution of an ultrafast trap-jaw mechanism in ants. plos biology, 19(3), e3001031. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001031

booher, d. b., & hönle, p. o. (2021). a new species group of strumigenys (hymenoptera, formicidae) from ecuador, with a description of its mandible morphology. zookeys, 1036, 1-19. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1036.62034

hönle, p. o., lattke, j. e., donoso, d., von beeren, c., heethoff, m., schmelzle, s., … blüthgen, n. (2020). odontomachus davidsoni sp. nov. (hymenoptera, formicidae), a new conspicuous trap-jaw ant from ecuador. zookeys, 948, 75-105. doi:10.3897/zookeys.948.48701

i was lucky enough to have the privilege of attending cop26 as a delegate from the university of connecticut, where i am currently a senior environmental studies student. on my second day at the conference, i heard an indigenous bolivian woman—angélica ponce chambi—speak about gender equality and climate change, the role that indigenous women have in protecting the environment, and the need for immediate global action for environmental protection. it was beautiful and it was moving. it’s one of the relatively few events at cop that gave me genuine hope. another such moment came in hearing from emtithal “emi” mahmoud, a sudanese-american poet and advocate for refugees. what the two speakers have in common is personal experience. they didn’t get a comfortable delegate job through family connections, because they’re wealthy, or any other reason based on luck and privilege. 

rather, both are from a community already feeling the impacts of climate disasters, communities doing the real work to recover. they have been impacted, and they are fighting every day for real action. they are on the frontlines.

these are the people we need to hear from. communities have solutions—ones that are often more effective because they are created by the people who are affected by the problem and will be affected by the solution.

i know that cop is about politics; i know that countries, people, organizations, and corporations are there to make a statement and negotiate deals. but what if, for just a moment, we paused and listened? truly listened, with empathy and caring, to those being most impacted, to the community organizers, to those who are not usually heard. i’m not naive. i know that listening won’t suddenly make all of our differences disappear, that the negotiations won’t suddenly become easy, but i do believe it would help.

the problem is different when we’re able to see it through a human and community lens. it’s harder to think of it as just a policy issue, and not a people issue. when you think of something as a people issue, what choice is there but to act? when there’s a face and a story, and when we listen with empathy, we can see ourselves, and our loved ones in that story.

when i heard mahmoud speak, i heard someone with a different past, and different identities from me—but also someone who shares an identity as an activist, and a frustration with cop for ignoring the voices of those being affected. when i heard chambi speak, i again heard someone with different identities and backgrounds, but also someone who shares an identity as a woman who is proud to be in the climate movement and bring her specific perspective as a woman to the table. their voices and stories resonated with me, while allowing a glimpse into someone else’s lived experiences. 

i believe that stories based on lived experiences matter. they have an enormous impact. the presence of these stories and the people who carry them might not “fix” cop because of how unjust it has been—from the lack of women at cop in positions of power to inequities in who was able to access the covid-19 vaccine and travel to the conference. yet, i believe that it would go a long way in remedying some of the harms that have been done by creating space for those who need to be heard most, and result in action that is more on par with the needs of the moment.

cop27 will happen one year from now in egypt. the world is watching. we are ready for a cop that is just and equitable, that centers on those most impacted, and acts on climate change at the scale of the crisis we are facing. we are watching—and we expect better.

• can cop26 become a turning point for gender responsive climate action? several authors team up in this opinion piece to argue that any meaningful international effort to address climate change must have women and girls at its center.

• advancing gender equality through climate action. women and girls are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change and pay a higher price. why? what needs to be fixed?

• 4 black women leaders on climate, justice, the green ‘promised land.’ it’s well documented that black neighborhoods and other communities of color are disproportionately affected by a changing climate, amplifying existing disparities related to race, gender, and class. read this q&a with four leading black women activists and scholars in the environmental movement about what this moment means for their communities.

check back tomorrow for more info on what is being explored at cop26 — and good reads to keep you informed!