10.12.2025 16:30
Yılmaz Orak named a new moth species he identified in the Eğil district of Diyarbakır after his wife, Yıldız Orak. Orak stated that the study was published in the journal Zootaxa, which holds significant importance in the academic community. He said, "The mother of my two children was my biggest supporter during this intense research process. I wanted to thank her by naming it after her. Thus, we decided on the name 'Tephris yildizae'."
While working as a laboratory technician at Bitlis State Hospital, Orak, who completed his undergraduate education at Bitlis Eren University (BEÜ) in 2018, was assigned to Diyarbakır Selahattin Eyyubi State Hospital. Later, he began his master's education at the same university and decided to prepare a thesis on moths and butterflies, which he has been interested in since childhood.
HE NAMED THE NEW MOTH SPECIES HE DISCOVERED AFTER HIS WIFE
With the support of his advisor, Prof. Dr. Kesran Akın, a faculty member in the Biology Department at BEÜ, Orak conducted fieldwork in the Eğil district of Diyarbakır for 3-4 years, collecting 97 Pyraloidea (snout moth) species using light traps.
Akın and Orak, who performed morphological and genetic analyses on these samples in the laboratory, determined that one of the moths belonged to a new species of the genus "Tephris."
Orak named the new moth species after his wife, Yıldız Orak, who supported him throughout his studies, and the article he prepared with his advisor was published in the scientific journal Zootaxa.
"IT WAS BOTH A SCIENTIFIC AND EMOTIONAL SYMBOL FOR ME"
Orak stated that he has had a curiosity about nature, especially insects, since childhood.
He explained that this curiosity turned into serious research when he started his academic life, saying, "During my master's process, the guidance and support of my advisor, Prof. Dr. Kesran Akın from the Biology Department of BEÜ, was very valuable to me. In the analyses we conducted on the 97 Pyraloidea species we collected in the Eğil district of Diyarbakır with the help of light traps, one did not match the examples in the literature. Through detailed analyses we conducted in the laboratory with my advisor, we decided that this was a new species."
"THE MOTHER OF MY TWO CHILDREN WAS MY BIGGEST SUPPORTER"
Expressing his happiness at identifying the new moth species, Orak said, "The mother of my two children was my biggest supporter during this intense research process. She was always by my side in the field and in the laboratory. Therefore, I wanted to thank her by naming this new species we brought to the world after her. Thus, we determined the name 'Tephris yildizae.' It was both a scientific and emotional symbol for me. Our work was published in the Zootaxa journal, which holds an important place in the academic community."
"I WILL CONTINUE TO BE INVOLVED IN NEW PROJECTS"
Stating that they recorded two new species for the Turkish fauna through field studies, Orak noted:
"These species records are very valuable in terms of scientific inventory. They have revealed how rich Diyarbakır is in terms of biological diversity. We were happy to contribute new insights to Lepidoptera studies in Turkey. Discovering new species provides important data for the future, not only academically but also ecologically. I want to continue our work in the field and in the laboratory. I believe there are still undiscovered species in our region. I will continue to contribute scientifically and be involved in new projects."
"WE CONDUCTED FIELDWORK FOR 3-4 YEARS"
Prof. Dr. Akın stated that they have been working on butterfly and moth species in Turkey for about 20 years.
Emphasizing that Turkey, which serves as a bridge between Europe, Asia, and Africa, has tremendous richness in terms of both plant and animal species, Akın provided the following information:
"Between 2018 and 2022, I conducted fieldwork on snout moths in the Eğil district of Diyarbakır with my master's student Yılmaz Orak. During that period, we collected approximately 100 taxa from the Eğil district. Of these, 79 were new records for Diyarbakır. Previously, only 56 species from this group were known in Diyarbakır. In this sense, we made significant contributions. Our country has a very rich biodiversity. There are 5,600 known species of butterflies and moths, of which about 700 belong to snout moths."
Pointing out that they identified one of the 100 taxa they discovered during the master's study as different from those in the existing literature, Akın stated that they determined through detailed studies that it belonged to the genus 'Tephris.'
"IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE 11 KNOWN SPECIES"
Emphasizing that the genus Tephris is known worldwide by only 11 species, Akın continued:
"Seven of these were distributed in the Palearctic region. This species was very different from the 11 known species. Through detailed studies on genital and morphological characteristics, we determined that our species was different. We published this in Zootaxa, a respected journal in our field. My student wanted to name the species after his wife. He wanted to dedicate it to his wife, who always supported him in these studies. We named the species after the student's wife. The species name became 'Tephris yildizae.' The field studies took place between 2018 and 2022, but evaluating and identifying the samples takes a long time. We introduced this new species to the literature with the article published in 2025."
"I WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT"
Yıldız Orak also stated that her husband's master's process was prolonged due to the pandemic, but he did not spare his support.
Expressing that her husband put in great effort for his master's education, Orak said, "It was his childhood dream. It was a great happiness for me to realize this dream together. His naming the species after me made me very happy spiritually. From now on, I will gladly continue to provide my support."