A previously un-named horse fly species whose appearance differs by a “glamorous” golden lower abdomen has been named in honor of famous pop diva and new mother, Beyoncé.

Australian National Insect Collection researcher Bryan Lessard said that the fly’s spectacular gold color 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 honor of the performer Beyoncé as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy, the naming of species," said Lessard.

"Although often considered a pest, many species of horse fly are extremely important pollinators of many plants," he said.

"Horse flies act like hummingbirds during the day, drinking nectar from their favorite varieties of grevillea, tea trees and eucalypts."

The rare Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae species of horse fly was collected in 1981, the year Beyoncé was born, the authors explained. The fly was found in north-east Queensland's Atherton Tablelands together with two other previously unknown specimens.

"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 1960's," said Lessard in in the Australian Journal of Entomology.