Newly-Discovered Butterfly Species Named After Iryna Zarutska

A new species of butterfly has just been named after Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian refugee who was brutally murdered on the Charlotte, NC light rail in August.

The butterfly is very beautiful and has been officially named “Iryna’s Azure.”

Take a look:

🚨#BREAKING: A scientist who discovered a new species of butterfly has named it after Iryna Zarutska to ensure "she is never forgotten."

The scientist said, "Her name will be forever immortalized as a butterfly…"

The butterfly is called "Iryna's Azure." pic.twitter.com/ebq9DqgplE

— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) October 26, 2025

🚨 WOW! A scientist has just named a newly-discovered butterfly species after Iryna Zarutska, so she will forever be remembered

It's called: "Iryna's Azure," derived from the "Greek Goddess of peace"

The butterfly was found in South Carolina

"This will outlast most other… pic.twitter.com/cj8wEqZ5BZ

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 26, 2025

🚨 WOW! A scientist has just named a newly-discovered butterfly species after Iryna Zarutska, so she will forever be remembered

It’s called: “Iryna’s Azure,” derived from the “Greek Goddess of peace”

The butterfly was found in South Carolina

“This will outlast most other tributes because it’s a living organism. Her name will be immortalized as a butterfly.” – Harry Pavulaan

We’ll never forget Iryna.

The scientist who named the butterfly, Harry Pavulaan, said that he found Iryna’s story heartbreaking and was inspired to name the species after her so that she would never be forgotten.

ABC News has more:

“This will outlast most other tributes because it’s a living organism. Her name will be immortalized as a butterfly,” Harry Pavulaan, the president and director of the International Lepidoptera Survey who named the insect after Zarutska, told ABC News on Friday.

Zarutska was fatally stabbed on Aug. 22 just before 10 p.m. while riding the Blue Lynx Line in Charlotte, according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.

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The butterfly, called Iryna’s Azure, primarily flies in April in South Carolina, and features light blue wings on its dorsal — or top — side, but can also have “a distinct violet-blue tint,” according to the Pavulaan’s report, which was published in September.

The insect was first spotted in South Carolina back in 1985 by another researcher, Ronald Gatrelle, but it had not been officially named, Pavulaan noted. So in 2018, Pavulaan traveled to South Carolina, collected a series of butterflies and examined the specimens, he told ABC News.

After several years of research, Pavulaan and his reviewer determined the insect to be the “first known hybrid introgression” for the Azure butterflies, he said.

Pavulaan already had determined a name for the winged-creature, but when he saw the videos spreading online of Zarutska’s death, he said he decided to expedite the paper and name it after her.

“When I saw the story break … I’m 70 years old and I’m still driven to tears,” Pavulaan told ABC News.

What a cool and thoughtful way to preserve the memory of someone whose life was tragically cut far too short.

I think it’s wonderful that a name can become part of the natural world like that. It feels so much more permanent and beautiful than just a stone marker. It’s a lovely gesture that truly honors a life.

— Gelson Luz (@gelsonluz) October 26, 2025

Rest in Peace, Iryna.

You will never be forgotten.