An exciting new discovery was recently published in the Journal of Hymenoptera. Scientists discovered a bee, Pharohylaeus lactiferous, which was not seen since 1923, almost 100 years ago. The discovery was made during a project to assess if the bee populations in Australia were threatened. Very little is known about the rare Australian bee's biology, so this find will be of particular scientific interest.
Flinders University | James Dorey
Rare Bee Last Seen In 1923 Rediscovered In Australia
Pharohylaeus lactiferous is very rare.
EurekAlert | James Dorey
Before this study, there were only six recordings of this bee ever found. James Dorey, the paper author, is concerned about the status of the bees. He said in a news release, “This is concerning because it is the only Australian species in the Pharohylaeus genus and nothing was known of its biology.” His suspicion that the bee might be extinct motivated this study.
The study sampled several different locations.
EurekAlert | James Dorey
Dorey used a net to capture the bees in the study. Areas with ecosystems that attract bees, or specific plants associated with bees, were targeted. By selectively sampling several different locations, the research aimed to estimate the size and range of different bee populations. In total, 3,585 bees were collected over the summer from locations that represented 89 distinct bioregions.
The population of bees seems to be isolated to the Australian coast.
Dorey explained, “Three populations of P. lactiferous were found by sampling bees visiting their favoured plant species along much of the Australian east coast, suggesting population isolation.” Isolated species are at greater threat to habitat loss and fragmentation in light of the increase in climate change and forest fires.
The largest threat to species is habitat loss.
WikiMedia | Bidgee
Since European colonization, Australia has lost over 40% of its forests and woodlands. This is a significant amount of habitat. Researchers suspect that there might be key plant populations that sustain the remaining Pharohylaeus lactiferous population. The bees are closely associated with red flowering plants. But more information is needed about these rare bees to guide conservation efforts.
There is a lesson here about how many species are vulnerable to extinction.
Dorey discussed the vulnerability of the species with The Sydney Herald.
"It’s easy to imagine how the clearing of that one little patch of rainforest I found them in up in Atherton would destroy that population," he said.
"Or a bushfire raging through – it was only in 2018 that those bushfires went through Eungella [90 kilometres west of Mackay] and burnt that forest.
"I found the species in the area after those fires, but it’s not hard to imagine how with increasing fires in the future, a population could be wiped out."
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