New Native Bee Species Discovered

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor
While traversing the rocky gulches of Makolelau in May of 2024, Dr. Karl Magnacca noticed bees buzzing around a rare native plant. Magnacca, a survey entomologist for the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, quickly realized that these bees were different from any he’d seen before.
“I knew right away that it was a new species,” said Magnacca.
Magnacca collected samples of the insect to examine under the microscope, but his initial suspicion was correct – it was a species of native bee never identified before.
The new bee species was named Hylaeus paumako for its disguising feature of an all-black face on the male bee.…