This Newly Discovered ‘Lucifer’ Bee From Australia Was Named After Its Devil-Like Horns

Researchers hope the discovery shines a light on bee conservation Down Under

Sara Hashemi - Daily Correspondent

November 12, 2025 4:53 p.m.

The specimen was discovered in Western Australia.  Prendergast and Campbell

A few years ago, wild bee ecologist Kit Prendergast was searching for pollinators of an endangered wildflower when she spotted a strange bee.

“I discovered the species while surveying a rare plant in the Goldfields and noticed this bee,” Prendergast, of Curtin University in Australia, recounts in a statement. “The female had these incredible little horns on her face.”

She collected specimens for further analysis, which revealed the bees belonged to a previously unknown species. The findings were reported in a study published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research on November 10.

Microscope observations found that the bees measure about eight to nine millimeters (around 0.35 inches) long, and the females of the species have two 0.9 millimeter (0.035 inch) horns protruding from between their eyes. DNA analysis concluded that the bee did not match any existing species in any databases, and the specimens also didn’t match any in museum collections.

“The taxonomist who describes a new species gets to name it,” Prendergast tells Jennifer Hassan at the Washington Post. After consulting with her co-author, reports the outlet, they “decided that the devil-like horns needed a devilish name,” choosing the name Megachile lucifer.

Some bees native to Australia are known to have horns, but none are as large or curved as the “Lucifer” bees’ prominent facial features, Prendergast writes for The Conversation. Prendergast and her co-author aren’t sure why this species’ females have them. But the authors report that past research has found that horns can help female bees defend against competitors over floral resources or to fend off other females from nesting sites.

In the press statement, Prendergast adds that she was watching the television show “Lucifer” at the time, so the name was a “no-brainer.” It also has a double meaning: in Latin, lucifer means “light-bringer,” and the researcher writes that she hopes the new species “brings to light the wonders of our native bees.”

“More interest and investment into the taxonomy, conservation and ecology of native bees, means we can protect both them and the rare and precious plants they pollinate,” she writes.

The study also makes the case for better conservation practices in the Bremer Ranges, a region in Western Australia where the species were found that is also home to the endangered plant species Marianthus aquilonaris, the wildflower that led to the bees’ discovery. The authors write that more surveys should be undertaken to find nesting locations for the bees, and that until then, trees with small holes that would be suitable for nesting should be protected.

“Because the new species was found in the same small area as the endangered wildflower, both could be at risk from habitat disturbance and other threatening processes like climate change,” Prendergast adds in a statement.

Australia is home to more than 2,000 species of native bees, but an estimated 500 bees have yet to be described. The country’s native bees are “understudied and data poor,” confirms Tobias Smith, a bee researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia who was not involved in the study, to Peter Guo at NBC News.

Researchers may have overlooked bee species that support threatened plants and ecosystems, Prendergast adds in a statement. “Without knowing which native bees exist and what plants they depend on, we risk losing both before we even realize they’re there.”

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