‘Lucifer’: New bee species discovered in Western Australia
A new bee species has been discovered in Western Australia with it’s sinister new name backing up its terrifying look.
A new bee, discovered in Western Australia, has been announced this week – reinforcing our status as home of the creepiest crawlies.
The Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer is a “leaf cutter” bee, with distinctive horns on its head.
While these are the obvious reasoning behind its chosen name, there was another factor at play.
“I am also a huge fan of the Netflix character Lucifer, so it was a no-brainer,” said Kit Prendergrast, who discovered the species.
Prendergrast was on a surveying trip in the Bremer Ranges in the goldfields region of Western Australia when she came across the bee.
She was conducting surveys for pollinators of a critically endangered plant (Bremer marianthus) when she eyed it.
DNA barcoding and comparison with museum specimens revealed the species was new to collectors.
It also revealed another specimen found at the site was the mate of the horned bee, but he didn’t have the same horns.
It’s thought that the horns likely assist with accessing food and defending against competitors and enemies.
However, it’s uncertain why the female has them and not the male species.
“It’s the first new member of this bee group to be described in more than 20 years, which really shows how much life we still have to discover – including in areas that are at risk of mining, such as the Goldfields,” Prendergrast said.
Both Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer and the Bremer marianthus plant could “both be at risk from habitat disturbance and other threatening processes like climate change,” Prendergrast said.
“Many mining companies still don’t survey for native bees,” she told The Sun.
This means we could be missing important species that play a role in supporting local ecosystems.
“Without knowing which native bees exist and what plants they depend on, we risk losing both before we even realise they’re there.”
According to the CSIRO, Australia currently has 2000 native bee species, with more than 300 yet to be scientifically named and described.
A fellow bee researcher, Tobias Smith, has said Australia’s native bees are “understudied and data poor”, which means we don’t fully understand their conservation status.
Prendergrast echoes this sentiment in an article published in The Conversation.
“Far more attention has been given to the introduced European honey bee Apis mellifera,” she wrote.
“Currently, there is no requirement to survey for native bees in areas about to be mined, farmed or developed.
“Even if they are found, any species that has not been officially identified has no conservation standing, which is one reason why taxonomic research is so important.”
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Originally published as ‘Lucifer’: New bee species discovered in Western Australia
