Rare blue bee thought extinct discovered in Florida

A rare blue bee thought to be extinct was discovered living in Florida, researchers said.

The blue calamintha bee was last seen in 2016, scientists said.

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“I was open to the possibility that we may not find the bee at all so that first moment when we spotted it in the field was really exciting,” Chase Kimmel, a researcher at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said in a statement.

Kimmel has lived in a remote part of the state studying the insect since March. He is working on a project to study the bee’s population, as well as its living and eating habits.

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The bee had previously only been recorded living in 16 square miles of pine scrub in Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida, scientists said. Kimmel was able to find the bee in three of the same locations that it had been recorded previously. He also found it in six other locations 50 miles away.

The blue bee feeds on the calamint flower, a plant that is also very rare. Kimmel also found one instance of a bee pollinating a different flower.

Part of Kimmel’s study also will determine the bee’s nesting preference. The blue bee does not live in colonies. Instead it nests rather than lives in a hive like honeybees.

This study could help determine if the bee, already listed by the state as a species of greatest conservation need, qualifies for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

“It’s one thing to read about habitat loss and development and another to be driving for 30, 40 minutes through miles of orange groves just to get to a really small conservation site,” Kimmel said. “It puts into perspective how much habitat loss affects all the animals that live in this area.”

Cox Media Group