Buzzing with excitement! Israeli biologists discover new bee species

Israeli researchers have discovered a new bee species in a threatened sand ecosystem along the coast.

The newcomer to the known bee world was found after biologists and zoologists sought to understand the success or otherwise of habitat preservation efforts in a once-diverse Sharon district flooded with Eucalyptus trees in recent decades.

Credit was given to Professor Yael Mandelik and Karmit Levy from the Department of Entomology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who have spent five years studying the effect of a restoration project and its effect on the local bee population.

“We observed changes in bee communities and in the availability of their food and nesting resources in the restored habitats,” said Levy. “Restoration efforts have positive effects on bee communities.”

Taxonomist Dr Alain Pauly from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels had the honour of naming the newbie Lasioglossum Dorchini, after the Tel Aviv University bee researcher Dr Achik Dorchin.

“Beyond just the professional excitement of discovering a new species that was previously unknown to science, this finding has broader applicative value in helping us better understand bee communities, their habitat requirements and the pollination services they may provide,” said Mandelik.