This one comes via Robert Silvey of Rubicon, who earned a place on my RSS aggrigator for his writing on Canada… One of the benefits of being a scientist seems to be the right to name new things you discover. It’s supposed to be a great honor to have something named after you. …Though sometimes you wonder if it’s really an honor, like when they name a slime mold beetle after you…

Two former Cornell University entomologists named three species in the genus Agathidium after the U.S. leaders, Cornell announced on Wednesday. Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller christened 65 new species of slime-mold beetles, named for the fungi-like molds on which they feed, which they discovered after collecting thousands of specimens for a study of their evolution and classification.

The three leaders honored are President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, now namesakes of the bushi, cheneyi and rumsfeldi slime-mold beetles. Thanks to Robert Silvey of Rubicon (who earned a place on my RSS aggrigator for his writing on Canada).