A bee species indigenous to the rainforests of eastern Australia have been discovered for the first time in 98 years. Although unusual, and nearly clearly threatened by fragmentation and habitat loss, the bee's rediscovery gives hope for the several other bee species that haven't been seen for many years.
Earlier this week, some people earned a short moment of hope that one of the world's most famous (the thylacine) lately extinct species, might still be alive.
That hope was shortly dashed, but a bit of consolation is that a largely lesser-known creature, not seen for even longer than the Tasmanian tiger, has been discovered alive. Welcome back Pharohylaeus lactiferus
Indigenous Bee Species
Australia has hundreds of indigenous bee species, a lot of which might already be extinct (a common issue worldwide). Lactiferus has a specific status, still being the only Australian relative of a genus.
The only other Pharohylaeus species resides in New Guinea. Since 1923, Lactiferus hadn't been seen and only six samples had ever been obtained before then when James Dorsey, Flinders University Ph.D. went searching for it.
He explained his trip to the rainforests of Queensland and northern New South Wales was mainly taken for his paper on the connections between ground-nesting bees. Still, having learned of lactiferus's likely extinction, he agreed to look for it at the same period.
Dorsey is as well an entomologist and a photographer who has put himself in the assignment of photographing at least one relative of each Australian bee genus, of which there are 63 including the introduced ones. He said "if I am going to involve Pharohylaeus I would have to locate lactiferus."
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Discovered at Last
Discovering it he did, at three areas of the 245 places he searched, still, there were false alarms along the way. Pharohylaeus lactiferus is a part of a faction called the masked bees that are quite hairless and have very remarkable facial markings.
This makes them simple to differentiate from other bees, and lactiferus is hardly thick and big, probably with two ccs, so it can be said apart from many other masked bees. However, Dorey often confuses other big masked be es for his trophy until he got a closer look.
Dorey explained that unluckily, it seems lactiferus may be too selective for its own good. He only discovered it on the outside of tropical and subtropical rainforests.
Still, it only appeared to be prying in the flowers of two trees called fire wheels and Illawarra flame trees. Both of them are bright red and interestingly known for being pollinated by birds than bees.
Experts remain hopeful, still, that the bees' extinction can be prevented. Dorsey explained that the secret to saving lactiferus is conserving the environment and if likely reconnecting it so detached populations can combine their genes.
Unluckily, the substantial burning witnessed in last year's bush fires means these forests are under a lot of pressure than ever.
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