perfidy

Two entomologists have named three recently discovered slime mold beetles of the genus Agathidium after our President, Vice President and Secretary of Defense. Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller were responsible for naming 65 species of slime mold beetles, and aside from A. bushi, A. cheneyi and A. rumsfeldi, they named other bugs after wives, a former wife, Pocahontas, Hernan Cortez, the Aztecs, Darth Vader ("who shares with A. vaderi a broad, shiny, helmetlike head"), their scientific illustrator Frances Fawcett, the Greek words for "ugly" and "having prominent teeth" and the Latin word for "strange," and for various distinguishing features they discovered on the beetles. Also achieving immortality in scientific nomenclature were various geographic locations, such as California, Georgia and a few states in Mexico.

Lest you think that the decision to name slime mold beetles after administration figures is some sort of lame political hit job,

The decision to name three slime-mold beetles after Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, however, didn't have anything to do with physical features, says Quentin Wheeler, a professor of entomology and of plant biology at Cornell for 24 years until last October, but to pay homage to the U.S. leaders. "We admire these leaders as fellow citizens who have the courage of their convictions and are willing to do the very difficult and unpopular work of living up to principles of freedom and democracy rather than accepting the expedient or popular," says Wheeler, who named the beetles and wrote the recently published monograph describing the new slime-mold beetle species while a professor at Cornell.

President Bush was pleased with his new namesakes, and called Wheeler in London to thank him.

If you want to acquire your very own Agathidium, for a pet or for ritual sacrifice, Wheeler says, "bushi so far is known from southern Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia; Agathidium rumsfeldi is known from Oaxaca and Hidalgo in Mexico; and Agathidium cheneyi is known from Chiapas, Mexico.

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