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A new bee species discovered in Australia has earned the name “Lucifer” thanks to its tiny devil-like “horns.” Dr. Kit Prendergast of the Curtin School of Molecular and Life Sciences is being credited with the find, which he said was made while surveying a rare plant in Western Australia’s Goldfields. Officially named, Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer, the name is inspired by the female bee’s unusual horned face. DNA barcoding confirmed the male and female were the same species and that it didn’t match any known bees in DNA databases. “The female had these incredible little horns on her face,” Prendergast said in a statement. “When writing up the new species description I was watching the Netflix show Lucifer at the time, and the name just fit perfectly. I am also a huge fan of the Netflix character Lucifer so it was a no-brainer.” “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.” The horns, each measured at about 0.9 millimeters long, could be used to access flowers and other resources and defend nests, but their exact functions remain unclear. Especially because the males don’t have them. Australia has around 2,000 native bee species, hundreds of which haven’t been named, according to CSIRO, an Australian national science agency. Dr. Prendergast said the discovery highlighted the importance of understanding native bees before their habitats are disturbed. “Because the new species was found in the same small area as the endangered wildflower, both could be at risk from habitat disturbance and other threatening processes like climate change,” he said. “Many mining companies still don’t survey for native bees, so we may be missing undescribed species, including those that play crucial roles in supporting threatened plants and ecosystems. Without knowing which native bees exist and what plants they depend on, we risk losing both before we even realise they’re there.” The publication of the research coincides with Australian Pollinator Week, an annual celebration of the crucial role bees, butterflies and other insects play in maintaining healthy ecosystems and food production. The research was supported by the Atlas of Living Australia, the Goldfields Environmental Management Group and the USDA Agricultural Research Service and was published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.
