discovery

A newly described species of native leafcutter bee sporting tiny, devil‑like facial “horns” has been unveiled by researchers in Western Australia’s Goldfields. The species, formally named Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer, was first collected in 2019 during a survey of pollinators around a critically endangered wildflower, Marianthus aquilonaris, and is now detailed in a peer‑reviewed paper in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research. Curtin University+1 Why scientists are buzzing about Megachile lucifer The female bees carry a conspicuous pair of forward‑curving “horns” on the clypeus (the front of the face) — a feature not seen in males. Researchers say the structures are sub‑millimetre