Scientists discover new

as if it were mortal snakes, spiders and sharks If that wasn’t enough, Australia now has a spooky new creature: a “lucifer” bee with devil-like horns.

The species, called Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer, was found in the state of Western Australia, Curtin University announced Tuesday.

Kit Prendergast, of the university’s School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, discovered the bee while inspecting a critically endangered wildflower in 2019 and was immediately drawn to the insect’s unique appearance.

“The female had these amazing little horns on her face,” he said.

A fan of the Netflix TV show “Lucifer,” she said the name fit perfectly with the bee’s distinctively devilish appearance.

Prendergast said DNA barcoding confirmed that the new species did not match any known bees in DNA databases. He also said the specimens he recovered did not match any of the museum’s collections.

“It’s the first new member of this group of bees to be described in more than 20 years, which really shows how much life we ​​have left to discover,” Prendergast said.

He added that he hopes the discovery will raise awareness about the number of undiscovered species that could still exist, especially in areas threatened by climate change and mining.

“Many mining companies still do not survey for native bees, so we may be missing undescribed species, including those that play crucial roles in supporting threatened plants and ecosystems,” he said.

“Without knowing which native bees exist and which plants they depend on, we risk losing both before we realize they are there.”

Almost all flowering plants depend on wild pollinators, particularly bees, but habitat loss and climate change are pushing many vital species to the brink of extinction.

Curtin University noted that the publication of the research coincides with Australian Pollinator Week, which highlights the crucial role of bees in maintaining healthy ecosystems.

The new research was published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.