New Native Bee Species Discovered

Photo courtesy of DLNR

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. “Paumako” is Hawaiian for grief or mourning. The bee species is further unique in that it is only found on Molokai.
Magnacca explained that native bees in Hawaii, of which there are currently 64 identified species, have evolved over the last 1.5 million years to pollinate specific native plants.
“These mesic forests are the most diverse in terms of native plants and insects in general, and also the most threatened,” said Magnacca. “Everyone’s attention is grabbed by the wet rain forest, but we have large portions of those forests protected and in relatively good shape, while dry and mesic forests are much more endangered. So, it’s really important to protect these remnant patches, even when they’re small, because our native species can survive in them.”
Magnacca had come over to Molokai to check out a new conservation area acquired by DLNR in 2022. Working with Ane Bakutis from the Molokai Plant Extinction Prevention Program (MoPEPP), Magnacca wasn’t shocked that they came across the new discovery in a less researched area like Mokolelau.
“While I didn’t expect to find many bees during my visit, the presence of the native shrub kolomona piqued my interest,” said Magnacca. “It was there that I first noticed the distinctive markings on one of the bees. I immediately realized that I had found something new,” said Magnacca. “This is an exciting discovery, and I want to give credit to the MoPEPP team for showing me the area.”
With over 25 years of experience and having done his PhD work on native Hawaiian bees, Magnacca is no stranger when it comes to discovering new species. In fact, he’s churned out over 500 new species identifications, including 14 bee species. Still, it’s the gaps in knowledge regarding Hawaiian bees which continue to drive questions regarding the best ways to protect them.
“We don’t actually know that much for a lot of the native bees,” said Magnacca.
For the Hylaeus paumako, Magnacca has theorized that it might nest in rocky areas like some other native bees do, but, he explained, “we really don’t know.”

Loss of native habitats, invasive species like ants, and pathogens spread via honey bees have all hurt native bee populations – making discoveries like these all the more critical in terms of conservation.

“We can’t protect what we don’t know about,” said Magnacca. “There’s a huge amount of work and not enough people to do it.”