A brand new species of wasp has been discovered and it gets its name from Lucius Malfoy.
This is all due to the PhD candidate who named the species, Thomas E. Saunders who happens to also be a Potterhead.
The wasp species is named Lusius malfoyi, and it can be found in the Australasian region. Saunders published a paper on it through the University of Auckland in New Zealand and he says the name fits this new wasp for two reasons.
“First, the study of parasitoid wasps can be described as an enjoyable and ‘magical’ experience,” he said.
“Second, the fictional namesake and his family have a sinister reputation in the Harry Potter stories. However, in the end their reputations are salvaged. This parallels the way in which many people view ‘wasps’ in a fearful way, even though only a small proportion of wasp species cause damage or harm.”
Saunders is, of course, referring to the Malfoy family’s history with the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself, where Lucius served the Dark Lord when he returned, somewhere up till the family switched sides in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Saunders hopes that a “more nuanced understanding of wasps can be achieved through educating people about their diversity, ecology and behavior.”
Or maybe he just wants people to be a little less scared of the wasps.
