This Weird New Bee Species From Australia Looks Like a Dog

In Western Australia Perth bushlands, new bee species have been found. According to experts, the native species has a snout that gives it the appearance of having a dog's face. It was discovered as a result of research conducted at Curtin University that provides fresh insight into our most crucial pollinators.

A protruding portion of the insect's face that Dr. Kit Prendergast of the Curtin School of Molecular and Life Sciences noticed resembled a dog's snout inspired her to name the new species Zephyr after her pet dog. The name also pays homage to the support her dog gave her while she was pursuing her Ph.D.

Prendergast claims that the extraordinary and uncommon discovery will advance our understanding of how biodiversity changes over time. Additionally, it would guarantee that conservation efforts were used to protect the Leioproctus zephyr bees.

Intriguing Unusual Face

Prendergast said that the very peculiar face of the bee immediately piqued her interest when she first looked at the samples she had gathered during her Ph.D. research on the biodiversity that native bees have in urbanized areas of the southwest Western Australia biodiversity hotspot.

She added that when she was trying to identify it, she discovered that it did not match any described species, even though she was confident that if it were a known species, it would be relatively simple to identify given how peculiar it appeared.

Once a specimen has been examined under a microscope, a laborious process of comparing its traits to those of other identified species and then a thorough examination of museum collections can be used to confirm a specific species.

Prendergast continued to say that she learned while browsing the WA Museum's Entomology collection that although Leioproctus Zephyrus had been initially discovered in 1979, no scientific description had ever been made of it.

Prendergast said that she was eager to contribute to the identification and naming of this species.

Prendergast said that even though there are a wide variety of important insects, many of them have names or descriptions that are derived from science.

Leioproctus Zephyr

Only seven locations in southwest Western Australia have recorded sightings of the Leioproctus zephyr, and no specimens have ever been taken from their original habitat. Only five of the remnants of urban bushland that Prendergast surveyed had them, and they only foraged on two Jacksonia plant species there. They were completely absent from residential gardens.

She added that This species is not only fussy, but it also has a clypeus that resembles a snout. So she gave them the name Zephyr after her dog. The researcher claims that her dog has been crucial to her well-being and mental health throughout the difficult phase of completing a Ph.D. and beyond, Sci Tech Daily reports.

Through DNA barcoding, Prendergast was able to verify that the new bee species is most closely related to other unidentified Leioproctus species. On October 31, her study was published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.

Leioproctus Bees

According to Aussie Bee, the Leioproctus Bees are a diverse and very large group of native bees belonging to the family Colletidae that are found all over Australia. These furry bees have 200 or so described species, and their sizes range from 4 to 16 mm. The majority are black, while a few have an orange-red, metallic blue, green, gold, or red abdomen.