They thought it was extinct but they found the world's largest bee

February 21, 2019

The insect was found on an unexplored island in Indonesia. The last time they found specimens, it was in 1981.

The largest bee in the world has been rediscovered after decades in which we thought it was off.

After days of research, wildlife experts they found a single woman, who photographed and filmed. The scientists' next mission is to go back and determine the number of copies remaining.

Known as the giant bee Wallace, the insect is named after the British naturalist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallace, who discovered it in 1858.

The scientists They found several specimens in 1981, but had not seen it since.

The hypnotic movement of a nest of bees that has become viral

Last January, a group of scientists and conservationists traveled the Indonesian forest in search of Giant bee of Wallace, a species that has not been seen since 1981 and that we thought was extinct.

The female bee, the biggest bad of the species Megachile PlutoIt is four times bigger than the typical European bee. It is the largest known bee on the planet. The reason why these bees are so big is not known for sure.

Scientists argue that some isolated species on islands grow much more than their continental counterparts, sometimes due to lack of predators. Or it could be that the larger bees are better able to colonize and survive on a new island.

Bees, in all their species, have been declared as one of the most valuable species on the planet in the annual debate Earthwatch this was done last year. In the same spirit, five scientists debated the most important species on the planet: mushrooms, bats, plankton, primates and bees.

He lost a bet and had to sit naked in a nest of bees full of bees

Although all species are important (even those that did not participate in the debate), bees do a key job.

About 250 000 species of flowering plants depend on bees for pollination In addition, They are crucial for global agriculture and can increase yields of about 90 crops of many fruits and vegetables.

Even many of our medicines, Conventional and alternative remedies come from flowering plants. And cotton is another essential product pollinated by the bee.