Scientists have named a newly discovered species of beetle to commemorate Canada’s 150th birthday.
"It’s only from Canada so I think it's very appropriate name," researcher Reginald Webster, who first discovered the insect in New Brunswick, said in an interview with CTV News.
The beetle, "Apimela canadensis," lives in sand and gravel along the shore of rivers.
"We were sort of hoping we could find other species new to science from other provinces," Webster told CBC News.
"We could have one from every province that's named canadensis."
Researchers collected the adult beetle specimens in late May and June, according to an article published by Natural Resources Canada on Wednesday.
The insect is a few millimetres long, with a yellowish-brown head and a dark-brown glossy body. It will be included in an upcoming book by the Canadian Forest Service that will feature more than 400 types of beetles found in eastern Canada.
There are about 55,000 species of insects in the country, according to the Biological Survey of Canada.
The bug might be little, but its discovery is a big deal.
"I would say that people don’t appreciate very much what we don’t see, but we have here a gold mine of new species in Canada," scientist Jan Klimaszewski told the National Observer.