Gallery: Beetle Andy Rooney, George Washington Moth: 8 Celebrity Insect Lookalikes
01andy-rooney-beetle-2
Researchers at the National Wildlife Federation are a serious bunch, spending their days saving animals and educating the public and studying pressing scientific questions — when, that is, they're not deciding which beetle species looks like Gilbert Godfrey. This odd custom began when entomologist Sam Droege of the United States Geological Survey started sending identification requests to NWF biologist Doug Inkley. The photos end up circulating on the NWF's in-house email list. "It's all our staff who geek out about this stuff," explained Danielle Brigida, and the list isn't just about celebrity insects. "Right now there's a big debate going back and forth about what's cuter — puffins or pikas?" On the following pages, WIRED looks at some of Droege and the NWF's favorite bugs. __Above:__ Andy Rooney Beetle ------------------ Identified by entomologist Doug Yanega of the University of California, Riverside as a species of *Ripiphorus*, one of the wedge-shaped beetles. *Image: [Sam Droege](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/8457761700/in/set-72157632737496430)/Flickr*
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Kenny Rogers Bee ---------------- *Anthopora bomboides* collected in Allegany County, Maryland. *Image: [Sam Droege](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/7366624642/in/set-72157632737496430)/Flickr*
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George Washington Moth ---------------------- *Tosale oviplagis*, commonly known as a dimorphic tosale moth, and assigned its celebrity lookalike by Doug Inkley at the National Wildlife Federation. *Image: [Sam Droege](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/7159690897/in/set-72157632737496430)/Flickr*
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Gilbert Gottfried Beetle ------------------------ An unknown member of the Scarabaeidae family found in a bowl of hand sanitizer in West Virginia. *Image: [Sam Droege](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/8466515156/in/set-72157632737496430)/Flickr*
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Rodin's *The Thinker* Cricket ----------------------------- *Velarifictorus micado*, or the Japanese burrowing cricket. *Image: [Sam Droege](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/7546290276/in/set-72157632737496430)/Flickr*
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Billy Idol Bee -------------- A species of *Melecta*, a genus of nest-parasite bees, given its celebrity name by Jennifer Henke. *Image: [Sam Droege](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/8423768865/in/set-72157632737496430)/Flickr*
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Blue Man Bee ------------ Scientific name *Augochlora regina*. *Image: [Sam Droege](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/8036768157/in/set-72157632737496430)/Flickr*
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Woolly Mammoth Spider Wasp -------------------------- *Pepsis ruficornis*, or the Pompilid spider wasp. *Image: [Sam Droege](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/8236869032/in/set-72157632737496430)/Flickr*
