Perhaps that’s why my recent rediscovery of the native bee species
Pharohylaeus lactiferus is so exciting — especially after it spent a century eluding researchers.
But how did it stay out of sight for so long?
A creature overshadowed
Australia is home to 1654 named species of native bee. Unfortunately, these are often overshadowed in the eyes of public by the widespread and invasive European honeybee.
Scientific research on Australian native bees is lagging, compared to many other nations.
With this in mind, it may not be surprising to learn some native species can go unnoticed for many years. Although, when it’s the only representative of a whole genus, one might start to worry about losing something special.