Kentucky Serendipity

Buggy Kid in Kentucky 14 September 2019

Kentucky is the place of many significant first events, and to the list we can now add that Kentucky is the first place where a toddler helped discover a new species of insect. I can’t say much about this story without infringing on copyrighted news stores, so I’ll just give the gist and interested readers can click on one of the links for details. In a nutshell: Laura Sullivan-Beckers is planting flowers and her daughter, Sylvie, helps by watering them. However, she accidentally over-waters and some insects float up. The mother investigates and later it is determined that the insects are a new species. Since Sylvie was two years old at the time of the watering, I wager that she is the youngest person ever to co-discover a new species. Are you listening, Guiness Book of World Records? Here are links to news stories with details and photos:

• Kentucky Today: MSU professor, daughter uncover new insect species
• Insider Louisville: Murray State biology professor discovers new insect species with help from her toddler
• Good Morning, America: Mom and daughter discover new bug species when daughter over-waters flower garden (with video)