Recently, scientists discovered a new type of native bee with tiny "horns" on its face in the gold mining area of Western Australia and named it Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer, bringing an exciting new species to local biodiversity. The discovery highlights how little is still known about Australia's native pollinators.
The bee was discovered while surveying the goldfields for the endangered wildflower Marianthus aquilonarius, which is found only in the Bremer Range between Norseman and Hyden. Dr. Prendergast from the School of Molecular and Life Sciences at Curtin University said that the strange little horns on the face of this female bee inspired the name "lucifer", which originally means "bringer of light" and is also a humorous tribute to its "devil" characteristics. It is worth mentioning that the doctor was inspired by the Netflix series "Lucifer" when he was named.
According to reports, during the inspection of rare plants, Dr. Prendergast observed that the bee not only visited endangered wildflowers, but also visited nearby eucalyptus trees. Through DNA barcode comparison, it was confirmed that the collected male and female samples were from the same new species, and there were no related records of known bees in the morphology and gene banks, and there were no matching samples in the museum collection. This is the first time in more than 20 years that a new member of this bee group has been formally described, and it also shows that even in mining-risk areas such as gold mines, there is still a lot of new life waiting for us to discover.
Dr. Prendergast also pointed out that this discovery reminds us to have a deeper understanding of the status of native bees before the relevant habitats are disturbed. Because the new bee species coexists with endangered wildflowers in a small area, both may be at risk from factors such as habitat destruction and climate change. She stressed that many mining companies currently do not consider native bees in their environmental surveys, potentially missing some undescribed species that are still critical to maintaining endangered vegetation and ecosystems. If we don’t understand native bees and the plant species they depend on, we risk losing key species and ecological relationships through ignorance.
It is reported that the research was published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research on November 10, 2025, and was supported by the Australian Biodiversity Atlas, the Goldfields Environmental Management Organization and the United States Agricultural Research Service.
Compiled from /ScitechDaily