The largest bee in the world found alive

The world's largest bee has been rediscovered after decades of lost thought for science.

The giant bee – as long as the thumb of an adult – was found on a little explored Indonesian island.

After days of research, wildlife experts found only one woman alive, which they photographed and filmed.

Known as Wallace's giant bee, the insect takes its name from British naturalist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallace, who described it in 1858.

Scientists found several specimens in 1981, but this has not been seen since.

In January, a team followed in Wallace's footsteps on a trip through Indonesia to try to find and photograph the bee.

"It was absolutely breathtaking to see this" flying bulldog "of an insect we were no longer sure of, to have real evidence before us. we in the wild, "said Clay Bolt, a natural history photographer. first photos and videos of the living species.

"To see how great and beautiful the species is in life, to hear the sound of its giant wings shuddering as it passed near my head was incredible."

Wallace's giant bee (pluto pluto)

• With an estimated wingspan of 6 cm, Wallace's giant bee is the world's largest bee.

• The female is nesting in termites, using her large jaw to collect sticky tree resin in order to line the nest and protect it from termite invasion.

• The species depends on the lowland primary forest for resin and termite nests living in trees

• Wallace, who co-developed the theory of evolution with Charles Darwin, described the bee as "a large black insect resembling a wasp, with an immense jaw like a beetle".

The discovery, in the Indonesian islands known as the North Maluku, gives hope that the forests of the region are still home to one of the rarest and most sought after insects in the world.

There is currently no legal protection around his business.

Eli Wyman, an entomologist at Princeton University, a member of the travel and bee expert, said he hoped that this rediscovery would spur further research to deepen understanding of the life of the bee and to inform future efforts to protect it from extinction.

The environmental group Global Conservation Conservation (GWC), which launched a global hunt for "lost species", supported the trip.

"By making the bee a world-renowned flagship in conservation, we are confident that the future of this species is better than if we leave it quietly in a state of oblivion," said Robin Moore.

In January, the group announced that they had discovered more rare Bolivian frogs belonging to a species thought to be reduced to a male.

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