A new Australian native bee discovered in Western Australia’s Goldfields by Forrest Research Foundation alumna, Dr Kit Prendergast, has been announced this week.
While surveying a critically endangered Marianthus aquilonarius, Dr Prendergast noticed the bee visiting not just this endangered wildflower, but also a nearby mallee tree. Using DNA barcoding, she found the bee was unlike any known species within existing DNA databases, nor did the morphology match any museum collections.
Named Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer, this new species has distinctive tiny ‘horns’ on the female bee’s face, marking it as the first member of this bee group to be described in over two decades. Dr Prendergast’s find underscores how much we have to discover about Australia’s native pollinators and the importance of conservation, particularly for threatened plants and ecosystems.
To find out more, please visit the ‘Journal of Hymenoptera Research’, ‘Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), a new megachilid with demon-like horns that visits the Critically Endangered Marianthus aquilonarius (Pittosporaceae)’, available here: doi.org/10.3897/jhr.98.166350
Image Credit: Dr Kit Prendergast/Curtin University
