A new species of metallic blue bee, found so far in Texas and Oklahoma, was recently discovered by researchers.
Researchers believe the new bee species, called Andrena androfovea, formed its own branch on the Andrena family tree about 12.6 million years ago., is part of a family of bees known as mining bees for their solitary lifestyle — unlike the social honey bee — and underground nests. However, in theMining bees tend to avoid nightshades, so seeing one cozying up to them was a curious sight.
“This new species, however, is so distantly related to any other Andrena that we think it has formed its own branch on the Andrena family tree about 12.6 million years ago,” Bossert, the study’s lead author, said in the press release. “We know this because we sequenced and compared its genome to those of other bees. Using a technique called ‘molecular clock’, we can approximate how much time has passed since this lineage has separated from the other bees based on differences in its genome.
In addition to doing the genetic analysis, the researchers observed the bee’s foraging and pollinating behavior, which was different from other mining bees.“I observed this matte-blue-colored bee doing a handstand on the flower, sucking nectar with its tongue while scraping the flower with its hind legs and rubbing the flower with its hairy belly,” Hung said in the release.
Miriam Fauzia is a science reporting fellow at The Dallas Morning News. Her fellowship is supported by the University of Texas at Dallas. The News makes all editorial decisions.Miriam previously has written for USA Today, The Daily Beast, Inverse, The New York Times, and others. She holds a master's degree in immunology from the University of Oxford and another master's in journalism from Boston University.
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