A new species of bee that makes a star-shaped cocoon like konpeito when it is a larva was found in Okinawa prefecture and named "Hoshigata Harabo Socoma Yubachi".
Insects that make star-shaped cocoons are rare in the world and are the first to be discovered in Japan.
The newly found "Hoshigata Harabo Sokoma Yubachi" is a small bee with a body length of 3 to 4 mm, even if it is an adult.
Three years ago, when elementary school students and others surveyed the park in Okinawa Zoo & Museum, participants found a star-shaped cocoon like konpeito.
According to research teams such as the Okinawa Municipal Folk Museum, after the larvae parasitized other insects and grew, they spit out threads and hung from the branches and leaves, and about 100 animals cooperated to make cocoons. It turned out to be a new species of bee.
The cocoon is thought to be made to protect itself from natural enemies, and it is named "Hoshigata Harabo Socoma Yubachi" because it is about 1 to 3 cm in size and looks like a star.
Insects that make star-shaped cocoons are rare in the world and are the first to be discovered in Japan.
"Hoshigata Harabo Sokoma Yubachi" has been found not only on the main island of Okinawa but also on Amami Oshima, and the research team has published on YouTube how cocoons are made.