Dr Bryan Lessard (a.k.a. Bry the Fly Guy)
discovered the curious world of flies as an undergraduate, learning
about maggots and their uses in medicine and solving crime.
He has discovered more than 150 species new to
science and has officially named 30 species from Australia and New Zealand,
most famously Plinthina beyonceae, the horse fly with a golden abdomen named
after Beyoncé. This Australian species quickly became a bootylicious
ambassador for biodiversity and sparked a global conversation about the
importance of naming species.
His research takes him to all corners of the world to discover and document
new species of insects. His favourite collecting spots include the stunning
tropical rainforests of Queensland, Australia, the pristine mountains of
Lord Howe Island, and the ancient nothofagus forests of Chile. By collecting
fresh specimens, he can analyse their DNA to confirm the identity of new
species and see where they sit in the fly tree of life.
Bryan now works as a Postdoctoral Fellow at CSIRO’s Australian National
Insect Collection, researching the evolution and classification of
soldier flies (Stratiomyidae), most famous for the black soldier fly
Hermetia illucens that powers compost bins and could become the
superfood of the 21st century. He also shares his passion for flies and
biodiversity with the world through speaking events, traditional and social
media, and television. Bryan was an invited speaker at TEDx Canberra in
2016, presented "Bry the Fly Guy's Top 5" biodiversity countdown on ABC
Evenings Radio with Chris Bath, and has made appearances on Gardening
Australia, Totally Wild, Scope TV and The Project. Follow Bry the Fly Guy on
social media to get a behind-the-scenes look at his scientific adventures!
(Source:
Brytheflyguy)
Education
Bachelor of Biotechnology
(Advance) Honours I
University of Wollongong (2005-2008)
Doctor of Philosophy (Entomology)
Australian National University (2009-2013)
Employment & Training
Current Roles
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Revision and classification of the Australian mosquitoes
Research and Curation Team
Australian National Insect Collection
Spokesperson
National Research Collections Australia
Professional Experiences
2015-2018
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
CSIRO: Revision and classification of the Australian soldier flies
2017-present
Associate Editor
Zoologia
2016-present
Scientific consultant for small to medium sized enterprise
Goterra, Australia's largest commercial insect farm
2010-present
Visiting Fellow (Lecturer)
Australian National University
2018-
Winner of the ACT Tall Poppy of The Year Award
Australian Institute of Policy and Science
2018-
Member of the Australian Science Superheroes
Australia’s Chief Scientist
2017-
Winner of the Early Career Research Excellence Award
Society of Australian Systematic Biologists
2016-
TEDx Talk
TEDx Canberra
2016-
Winner of the Council of Heads of Australian Entomological
Collections Speaker Prize
Australian Entomological Society
2011-
Winner of the Presidential Prize for Best Presentation
Entomological Society of America(Source: CSIRO)
Did You Know?
Dr Lessard achieved worldwide notoriety in 2011
when he named a variety of horse fly after singer Beyoncé.
The moment he found Plinthina beyonceae is one he won’t
forget.
During his PhD research he became an expert on horse flies.
On this occasion, he pulled open a drawer of unidentified
fly specimens at the Australian National Insect Collection
and “the bright shining golden abdomen caught my eye”.
“I immediately recognised it was one of my flies, but it
didn’t look like any of the species in my group. So I took
the specimens out and compared them … and realised it was
completely new,” he says.
“At the time, there were only three specimens in
Australian museums. That was the exact same number of
members of [Beyonce’s former girl band] Destiny’s Child. And
the specimens were originally collected in 1981, which was
the birth year of Beyoncé as well.
“I thought, what better way to generate a bit of interest
about taxonomy than naming it after the bootylicious
Beyoncé,” he laughs, adding: “I did not know it’d
become a viral sensation.”
(Source:
News.com.au)
The Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae fly, which is found in far
north Queensland, sports a spectacular gold patch on its
abdomen which CSIRO insect expert Bryan Lessard says makes
it the "all-time diva of flies".
"It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s
abdomen that led me to name this fly in honour of the
performer Beyonce as well as giving me the chance to
demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy – the naming of
species," Mr Lessard said in a statement released on
the CSIRO blog.
The rare Scaptia plinthina horse fly was collected in 1981
from the Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns, the year the
former Destiny's Child singer was born.
"Most Australian Scaptia species have been described,
however these five new species of a sub-group [plinthina]
have been housed in Australian collections since the group
was last studied in the 1960s," Mr Lessard said.
"Although often considered a pest, many species of horse
fly are extremely important pollinators of many plants.
"Horse flies act like hummingbirds during the day, drinking
nectar from their favourite varieties of grevillea, tea
trees and eucalypts."
(Source:
ABC News 13 January 2012)
Another fly named after a celebrity by Bryan Lessard
American drag queen RuPaul and Queensland soldier fly
species Opaluma RuPaul.
(Source:
ABC News)
RuPaul Andre Charles – the 'Glamazon' of television series
RuPaul's Drag Race – once said, "I believe in using all
the colours in the crayon box."
RuPaul's iconic quotes and glitzy gowns have since inspired
CSIRO researchers to name a soldier fly after the performer,
due to the unique iridescent colours.
Just one of 150 species to receive celebrity status in the
past year – the Opaluma RuPaul hails from Lamington National
Park in Queensland, which suffered extensive fire damage in
2019-20.
"I wanted to do something quite spectacular," CSIRO
entomologist Dr Bryan Lessard said."I think this fly can give RuPaul a run for her
money on the runway because it's got legs for days and this
glamazon look to it"
Dr Lessard said naming species was key to protecting them,
while attracting the attention of citizen scientists and
policy makers tasked with the bushfire recovery efforts.
"I've worked with conservation scientists to formally
list them as endangered species – they're some of the first
flies in Australia to actually get this listing," Dr
Lessard said.
"That allows citizen scientists, conservation scientists
and even policy makers to go out there and protect them so
we can enjoy them for future generations."
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Critical & Creative Thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Literacy
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability
Cooperative
Learning Activity
1. In groups
of 3 - 4 students, read about Dr Bryan Lessard and his research on
classifying Mosquitoes.
The Conversation 18 December 2018
2. Using the information contained
within this article, you are to create a new BTN segment for younger
students to understand this work.
You need to go and look at the
latest BTN episode. Most episodes
are short 4 minutes long or less.
As a group, work out how each
episode is presented. What does BTN do to engage students? How fast paced is
it? What graphics do they show? What video clips?
3. To make a BTN episode, you will need to divide into
roles:
a. Presenter
b. Researcher/Dr Bryan Lessard
c. Video creator
d. Interviewer
4.
Mindmap
the information using one of the online mindmapping apps listed here.
5. Based on the information,
create the introduction piece
by the Presenter; and, also the conclusion
create the questions to be
asked by the interviewer to Dr Bryan Lessard;
discover what images the
Researcher/Dr Bryan Lessard would like to display during the videotaping
5. If you are the Video creator,
you are to video insects in your backyard to be placed within the interview.
6. Pull it altogether into one BTN
3 - 4 minute segment.
7.
Reflection.
What did you learn while creating
a BTN segment? Share with your group.
Your
digital collection
Primary
Middle
Secondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Personal and social capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:Critical and creative thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Numeracy
1. You are individually going to
start a digital collection of insects by photographing different species
while on the way to school, at school in the school grounds, on weekend
hikes, at the skate park, or just messing about in your backyard.
Start by using your mobile's
camera to hone in on any species of insects in your backyard. Try to take
multiple copies at different angles as this will help you identify the
insect later on.
2. Create an Excel database with a
folder for your photographs and a description of the insect you have
observed. You will also need columns for when (date and time of day) and
where you saw this insect.
3. Have a look and explore the
Atlas of Living Australia. There is a
very interesting area called Explore your area where you can put in your
street name and suburb and it tells you about the species that live near
you.
"This site has been developed for those
who are interested in insects and their close relatives but have only basic
knowledge of them. The main aim of this site is to provide an understanding
of the different types of invertebrates, their Classification and anatomy,
allowing a person to become familiar with those that are more common or
conspicuous. The site includes an overview of the biology, ecology and life
cycle of all 26 orders of true insects found in Australia as well as other
groups of invertebrates likely to be encountered. Further distinction, to
family level within some groups is also provided as well as photographs or
drawings of representative species."
5. Once you have started making
observations, become a Citizen Scientist by recording your observations and
sharing them on iNaturalist
Australia which then contributes to the Atlas of Living Australia. As Dr
Bryan says "You never know what new species you might find in your own
backyard!"
Want to learn more about
Mosquitoes and Microbats? go to
Environmental Scientist and look at the two activities there:
1. Create a VoiceThread around the relationship
between Mosquitoes and Bats
2. Debate: Should we get rid of "pesty" Mosquitoes?