Naomi Pierce

Naomi E. Pierce (born 1954) is an American entomologist and evolutionary biologist who studies plant-herbivore coevolution and is a world authority on butterflies.

In 1991 Pierce was appointed Hessel Professor and Curator of Lepidoptera at Harvard University.

[7] Pierce is known for her research on the relationship between lycaenid butterfly larvae and ants, as well as the genetic trends within the species, in order to understand the process of evolution.

[7] Pierce and collaborators Corrie Moreau and Charles D. Bell were the first to establish the origin of ants at 140 to 168 million years ago using molecular sequence data, 40 million years older than previous estimates.

[8] In 2018, the entomopathogenic fungus Ophiocordyceps naomipierceae was named in Pierce's honor.