The discovery of a new bee species, Andrena androfovea, has been reported by researchers who first observed the insect decades ago. Their findings were published in November 2024. This blue bee is noted for its unique behavior of doing handstands.
Illinois Tech Assistant Professor of Biology Matthew Smith, who studies how bees respond to human-induced environmental changes, highlights the significance of this discovery. "It’s going back to the evolutionary pressure; we’re living in the Anthropocene," says Smith. "This is the period where you’re having a lot of human-made changes to our environment. What’s interesting is that we’re able to see animals adapt to those changes, leading to speciation events where we now have a new subgenus and new species."
The process of discovering and classifying a new species involves significant effort. Advances in technology have shifted the focus from just physical characteristics to include genomic and transcriptomic sequencing. Smith explains, “Since genomic and transcriptomic sequencing is more accessible and faster than ever, we can rapidly evaluate how genes, gene regulation, and resultant proteins may change across related animals.”
The implications of this discovery extend into agriculture. The Andrena androfovea has developed a specialized method—performing handstands—to forage on nightshade plants such as tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. Understanding this bee's foraging habits could affect crop management strategies.
“Discovering species that have a specialization in foraging is really useful for improving agriculture systems if you have a specific crop,” says Smith. “Knowing that you have a bee that’s specialized in pollinating a specific crop or flower can lead to better support of that native bee community while hopefully leading to more efficient, higher crop yields.”