New Moth Species Named after President and First Lady

On Tuesday, July 23, 2019, the Costa Rica Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) announced the discovery of two new moth species, which were named in honor of President Carlos Alvarado and First Lady Claudia Dobles in recognition of their efforts to protect biodiversity in Costa Rica. The presidential couple was presented with their patronyms at a ceremony in La Cruz. The two species were discovered by parataxonomists in Area de Conservación Guanacaste; DNA barcoding was used to determine that they were, indeed, new species. A big welcome to Tinaegeria carlosalvaradoi and Percnarcha claudiadoblesae! A news article, in Spanish, regarding this event, can be found here.