Researchers have described a new Australian bee, Megachile lucifer, nicknamed the "Lucifer" bee for small horn‑like projections. Collected in 2019 in Western Australia's Goldfields during a survey of an endangered wildflower, DNA analysis confirmed it as a distinct species. Published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, the study warns that gaps in taxonomy and limited monitoring threaten pollination services and hinder conservation efforts.
Meet the 'Lucifer' Bee: New Australian Species With Devilish Horns Discovered
Researchers have described a new Australian bee, Megachile lucifer, nicknamed the "Lucifer" bee for small horn‑like projections. Collected in 2019 in Western Australia's Goldfields during a survey of an endangered wildflower, DNA analysis confirmed it as a distinct species. Published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, the study warns that gaps in taxonomy and limited monitoring threaten pollination services and hinder conservation efforts.
01:58 AM, 11/12/2025Science
New Australian bee species identified: Megachile lucifer
Researchers have described a previously unknown native Australian bee, nicknamed the "Lucifer" bee because of small horn‑like projections on its head. The species, given the scientific name Megachile lucifer, was first collected in 2019 in the Goldfields region of Western Australia during a survey of an endangered wildflower. The discovery is reported in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.
Distinctive appearance and DNA confirmation
Megachile lucifer stands out from related bees because of tiny, horn‑like structures that give it a striking, "devilish" look. Genetic analysis confirmed the specimen does not match any previously described species, supporting its formal recognition as new to science.
'When writing up the new species description, I was watching the Netflix show Lucifer at the time, and the name just fit perfectly,' said Kit Pendergast, the study's lead author and an adjunct research fellow at Curtin University.
Conservation implications
The authors warn that Australia faces a growing pollination crisis driven in part by a shortage of basic information about native pollinators and a broader "taxonomic impediment" — the lack of resources and expertise to identify and describe species. For many threatened plants, the insects that visit and pollinate them remain unknown, jeopardizing targeted conservation efforts.
The study also emphasizes that much of Australia's native bee fauna is poorly monitored and many regions have not been thoroughly surveyed, meaning additional undescribed species are likely awaiting discovery.
Context: new species are regularly found
Discovering new bee species is not uncommon. For example, Cornell University researchers described 11 new bee species from the eastern United States in 2011. In Utah — the so‑called "Beehive State" — more than 600 bee species are known, and researchers there reported nine new desert bee species in 2016 and another 49 previously undescribed species in a 2018 survey. These findings underscore how much remains to be learned about pollinator diversity worldwide.
Why this matters
New species descriptions like that of Megachile lucifer help fill critical gaps in our understanding of ecosystems and can inform conservation priorities. Improved monitoring, taxonomic research and public awareness are essential to protect pollinators and the plants that depend on them.