In 1965, renowned bee biologist Charles Michener described a new species of masked bee from “an entirely unexpected region,” the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. Michener named the bee Hylaeus tuamotuensis and noted that its nearest relatives live in New Zealand — some 3,000 miles away across the Pacific Ocean. How did a small bee make such a big journey?
It turns out that the answer was buzzing above scientists’ heads all along. By swinging insect nets high up in the trees, researchers discovered eight species of Hylaeus bees that had never been described before, including six that live in Fiji.
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