''Megachile pluto'', also known as Wallace's giant bee or (), is a large resin bee found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. With a wingspan of it is the largest known living bee species. It was believed to be extinct until several specimens were discovered in 1981. No further sightings were confirmed until two specimens were collected and sold on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

in 2018. A live female was found and filmed for the first time in 2019.

Description

Wallace's giant bee is a black resin bee with well-developed, large jaws. The species exhibits strong

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

; females may reach a length of , with a wingspan of , but males only grow to about long. Only females have large jaws. ''M. pluto'' is believed to be the largest living bee species, and remains the largest extant bee species described. It is "as long as an adult's thumb". Wallace's giant bee is easily distinguished from other bees due to its large size and jaws, but also a notable white band on the abdomen.

Distribution and habitat

The reports of Wallace's giant bee's existence come only from three islands of the North Moluccas in Indonesia: Bacan,

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island. Ha ...

, and

Tidore Tidore ( id, Kota Tidore Kepulauan, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island ...

. Very little is known about its distribution and habitat requirements, although it is thought to be restricted to primary lowland forests. The islands have become home to

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm '' Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its c ...

plantations that now occupy much of the former native habitat. This has caused the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

to label this species as vulnerable.

Discovery and rediscovery

The species was originally collected by Alfred Russel Wallace in 1858, and given the common name "Wallace's giant bee"; it is also known as the "giant mason bee". It was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1981 by Adam C. Messer, an American

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

, who found six nests on the island of Bacan and other nearby islands. The bee is among the 25 "most wanted" lost species that are the focus of

Global Wildlife Conservation Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

's "Search for Lost Species" initiative. The bee had not been spotted for over 37 years. In 2018, two specimens were collected in Indonesia, one on Bacan in February and the other on Halmahera in September. They were subsequently sold on eBay, highlighting the lack of protection that is afforded to the rare species. In 2019, a single female was found by Clay Bolt, living in a termite nest in Indonesia. This specimen was filmed and photographed before being released.

Ecology

Wallace's giant bees build communal nests inside active nests of the tree-dwelling termite ''Microcerotermes amboinensis'', which may serve to hide their existence from attackers. The bee uses

tree resin In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

to build compartments inside the termite nest, which protects its galleries. Female bees repeatedly leave their nests to forage for resin, frequently gathered from ''

Anisoptera thurifera ''Anisoptera thurifera'' is a tree species in the family Dipterocarpaceae. This Asian species has been recorded from Bangladesh through to New Guinea; the IUCN has categorised it as Vulnerable. Subspecies The Catalogue of Life The Catalogue ...

''. The bee's large jaws assist in resin gathering; the female makes large balls of resin, which are held between the jaws. The association of the bee with the termite may be obligate.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q134348

pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...