There is an insect name. The name is loaded with misinformation and prejudice if it's called "murder hornet" or "gypsy moth". The Entomological Society of America has axed both names due to this.
Better Common Names is a project that aims to stop insect names that may be harmful to people. The group adopted the name "northern giant hornet" because they wouldn't accept popular names for the insect. It changed the name of the insect to "spongy" There are other names that need to be changed. The proposal can be submitted by anyone, and the ESA will consider it along with other requests. Common names that refer to racial or ethnic groups are not allowed by the society.
The effort is part of a larger movement to address racism in science. The American Ornithological Society is scrutinizing English bird names. A number of birds have been named for people with ties to slavery.
There is a lot of misinformation in the name.
The changes are being discussed by the president and an assistant professor of entomology at the university.
The interview has been edited to make it clearer.
Why do we use common names for insects?
Latin names like how humans are Homo sapiens are used by scientists. When we are talking to the general public or people that are most affected by insects, that doesn't help. Common names are used to help with the discussion.
There are millions of insects and we only have a few that have a common name. Most of the time, it is just the ones that we talk about. They are usually the problem-makers or the ones that benefit.
The Entomological Society of America has been the institution that decides what common name we use for specific species, just to make sure that we are talking about the same thing when we are talking to the general public.
How do insects come up with their names?
Someone or a community suggests a name for an insect. Scientists or people who work with farmers are usually the ones who get the job done. It would be a lot easier if we had a common name. They suggest something.
The committee that gets these requests will study them and follow certain criteria. We will either accept this common name or we won't. They meet every year to discuss new ideas for common names. They've been looking back to see if there are any problematic names.
We have a lot of common names, what are the concerns with them?
Some names could be considered contributing to discrimination or exclusion. A derogatory term for a group of people led to the naming of the spongy moths. The term "gypsy" is a derogatory term for the Romani people.
How did the project start?
How are we actually contributing to some of the problems that we are seeing is something that the ESA looked into in the past. Sexual harassment or exclusion based on gender is not uncommon. A new code of conduct has been created. It came to an end in 2020. The Better Common Names Project was one of the things that went into high gear after George Floyd was murdered. We wanted to change the way we named insects because our members may be suffering from it.
The emergence of what is now called the northern giant hornet also happened at that time. All of a sudden, there is a problem with this hornet in Washington state, and we're calling it "murder hornet" or "Asian hornet" Enough is enough. Rules for common names need to be improved.
It was important to remove the wordmurder from the name.
You know, the murder part. People as far away as Pennsylvania would send in any type of wasp to be identified because they were afraid that it was the same thing. It is not a true statement. Humans are not attacked by the hornet. It probably wouldn't hurt you. It's bad for honeybees because it will kill all the honeybees. That's the reason it's called murder. That is not a good name to use if you are talking to the public.
People began to call it the Asian giant hornet. That name was concerning to me.
Even if it is not intentional, it can contribute to anti- Asian sentiment. It is a real problem that we see rising discrimination against these groups and hate crimes, and so we want to avoid contributing to that, if some insect that people see as very scary and dangerous would be compared to a group of people. We don't want to use a geographical designation in the common name.
Changing problematic names is something you hope will accomplish something.
We don't contribute to the problems of discrimination or distrust against a whole people. We can do better than we have done before.
It's important to get federal agencies and state agencies on board, when they say, "We want our employees to use this name and stop using the other name" The agencies have been very supportive.
Are you a fan of the common name for an insect?
The handsome fungus beetle is one of my favorites. Why is it so handsome? I think they are a regular beetle but someone thought they were handsome.
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