The world’s largest bee is a giant, black wasp-like insect so long as an grownup’s thumb, and it was extinct — or so scientists thought. The huge bee was rediscovered alive in Indonesia final month, many years after it was final seen.
Wallace’s Giant Bee was named after discoverer Alfred Russell Wallace, who discovered the huge species in 1958. The final time a specimen was noticed was 1981. In January 2019, a bunch retraced Wallace’s steps and journeyed to Indonesia to see if they might discover the bee. Their lengthy trek paid off.
Natural historical past and conservation photographer Clay Bolt described the crew’s five-day seek for Global Wildlife Conservation. On the final day of their expedition, everybody on the crew had fallen ailing, however they persevered and ultimately got here throughout what they believed to be a bee’s nest. Bolt known as it “the most remarkable thing I’d ever laid my eyes on.”