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Sydney (AP) - A species of bees that has been missing for almost 100 years has been sighted again on the Australian east coast for the first time.
The researcher James Dorey from Flinders University in Adelaide searched and sampled the preferred forage plants of the Australian bee species Pharohylaeus lactiferus in the states of New South Wales and Queensland.
He discovered three populations of the rare bee, according to a study published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.
The last time the insect was documented was in Queensland in 1923.
At that time three males had been found in the highlands of the Atherton Tablelands west of Cairns.
Finally, insect experts brought into play the possibility that the bee species could have become completely extinct, according to Dorey.
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At nine to eleven millimeters in length, P. lactiferus is relatively large and robust.
The body is black with distinctive white markings on the face and body.
It is possible that the species is so rare because its habitat is highly fragmented and it is likely to specialize in a few host plants.
"If we want to understand and protect these wonderful Australian species, we absolutely have to expand biomonitoring and conservation efforts," says Dorey, according to a statement from Flinders University.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210301-99-634293 / 2
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