Marielle and ten other women are honored in new species of ants

Marielle Franco lives. At least in entomology, which is the study of insects. The councilor, sociologist, activist for LGBTQIA+ rights and poor communities, who died in 2018, has just been honored with a new species of Brazilian ant.

In addition to Franco, ten other women, two researchers and the Wapicheri indigenous people lend their name to ants of the genus Hylomyrma.

The article describing the 14 new species was published in October in the specialized journal Zootaxa. The author is Mônica Ulysséa, entomologist and researcher at the Museum of Zoology at the University of São Paulo. The work, the result of his doctoral thesis, was carried out in conjunction with his advisor, Carlos Roberto Brandão, a professor at the same institute.

For the tribute, Ulysséa thought of women who “each in their area of ​​expertise, struggled to occupy a place historically considered not their own”. “I chose to honor women who are not even scientists, to draw attention to all gender biases in our society”, she explains.

Among the names, stand out Clarice Lispector, Dandara dos Palmares and football player Formiga (see all the honored in the photo gallery below and at the end of the text).

The gender Hylomyrma, formerly known for 16 species, now has 30, ranging from southern Mexico to northern Argentina.

In the study, the researcher mapped the morphological characteristics of the animals, such as hair and thorns on the head, abdomen and chest, the three parts of an insect’s body. In order to be able to separate and identify each species, she evaluated 3,260 individuals.

The area of ​​biology that identifies and classifies the species that make up our biodiversity is known as taxonomy. Despite the importance of these specialists, the taxonomist is a professional who is “at risk of extinction”, says the biologist.

“The low investment by government agencies or universities, as it is considered a basic science, ends up making the work difficult”, he says. She recalls that, unlike other scientific areas considered “harder”, taxonomy is more representative of women in Brazil, at least among undergraduate and graduate students.

Despite having a wide distribution, the genus Hylomyrma it was considered rare, difficult to observe in the field. For this reason, very little was known about its biology.

Ulysséa, in her work, identified a unique characteristic of this group of ants: the presence of an intermediate caste between workers —sterile, responsible for fetching food and building anthills— and queens —breeders who spend their entire lives in the nest.

The research found female workers with reproductive capacity in at least eleven species, indicating that this finding is not all that uncommon. These ants unite traits of both the worker and queen in morphology. It’s something that can now be better understood on the field, says Ulysséa.

See names of honorees in new species of ants

Hylomyrma adelae – Adela Zamudio (1854–1928), an educator, essayist, poet and feminist born in Cochabamba, Bolivia, was involved in the fight against discrimination against women in Latin America, against racism and also opposed to religious teaching.

Hylomyrma dandarae – Dandara dos Palmares (?–1694), worked in the resistance against slavery and was married to Zumbi dos Palmares, with whom she was part of the Quilombo dos Palmares, the largest quilombo that existed in Latin America, with about 20,000 people and one of the great symbols of resistance of the enslaved.

Hylomyrma jeronimae – Jerônima Mesquita (1880–1972), nurse and Brazilian feminist leader. Born in Leopoldina (MG) on April 30, the date on which National Women’s Day is celebrated, due to its importance in the fight against gender inequality. It was part of the national suffrage movement.

Hylomyrma lispectorae – Clarice Lispector (1920–1977), writer, journalist, poet and one of the main names in Brazilian literature.

Hylomyrma macielae – Miraildes Maciel Mota, Formiga, a soccer player from Bahia, is the only soccer player to have participated in seven editions of the Olympic Games and all editions of the Women’s Soccer World Cup. She is also a lesbian and works to defend the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Hylomyrma margardiae – Margarida Maria Alves (1933–1983), from Paraíba, was the first woman to become a union leader in the country. He fought for the defense of human rights and rural workers.

Hylomyrma marie – Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva (1956–2011), from Pará, was an extractivist and environmentalist, recognized for her struggle for the preservation of the Amazon, sustainable extractivism and agrarian reform. In 2011, she and her partner, José Cláudio da Silva, were murdered for their activism, posthumously receiving the UN’s Heroes of the Forest award.

Hylomyrma marielleae – Marielle Franco (1979–2018), was a sociologist, Rio de Janeiro councilor for the PSOL, human rights defender, for the LGBTQIA+ population and worked on behalf of residents of Rio de Janeiro communities. She was shot dead on the night of March 14, 2018 along with her driver, Anderson Pedro Mathias Gomes, a crime that has not yet been resolved.

Hylomyrma mild – Mítia Heusi Silveira (1984–2010), a biologist who graduated from UFSC, was a Funai employee and a personal friend of the author. Mitia was a victim of femicide in 2010, aged 26, by her ex-husband. His body was found in an area of ​​the Rio Vermelho state park, near Florianópolis (SC).

Hylomyrma primavesi – Ana Maria Primavesi (1920–2020), an Austrian agronomist based in Brazil, was a pioneer in the study of soils in tropical forests, in particular their management and agroecology.

Hylomyrma virginiae – Virgínia Leone Bicudo (1910–2003) was a sociologist and pioneer from São Paulo in her studies on race relations in Brazil. She was also the first Brazilian non-medical psychoanalyst.

Hylomyrma the last – The species Hylomyrma the latter takes place in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, a region where the Wachiperi indigenous people live.

Hylomyrma lopesi – Benedito Cortês Lopes, professor of biological sciences at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), introduced the author of the study to “the enchanting world of ants and science”.

Hylomyrma beetle – Christian Paul Peeters (1956–2020) was a Belgian researcher who contributed to the knowledge of the biology and morphology of ants.