“Rare Blue Bees Seen in Florida”

An ultra-rate metallic blue bee has been discovered by researchers in the state of Florida. They believed conclusively that the species was extinct and no longer existed because they hadn’t seen the species for years. Yet previously found in four areas, “totaling just 16 square miles of pine scrub habitat at Central Florida's Lake Wales Ridge," the Florida Museum said in a news release, proving the species is making a comeback.

Presently registered as a species with considerable need for conservation by Florida State’s Wildlife Action Plan, the discovery of the blue bee substantiates the prodigious innovation as scientists and researchers rally to grasp more information about the tiny, elusive blue bee.

Chase Kimmel, a postdoctoral researcher and founder of the bee states in a release, “I was open to the possibility that we may not find the bee at all so that first moment when we spotted it in the field was really exciting,"

The bee, famous for its distinctive manner of gathering pollen, first struck Kimmel as unusual. He and a volunteer sighted the bee while instating a small bee condo proximate to Ashe’s calamint (a rare yet threatened species of flower that the bees like to pollinate from) in the Lake Wales Ridge area.

Kimmel documents, "We observed a shiny little blue bee grabbing the flower and rubbing its head on the top portion of the flower two or three times before moving on to another flower," Kimmel told CNN. "In reading about this unique behavior we were pretty shocked to see it."

Kimmel of the Florida Museum of Natural History, later spotted the bee on March 9 of this year. Documented in an emailed statement from Kimmel, the museum says it was the first time they’ve seen a blue bee since 2016.

To affirm the bee found was in fact the blue calamintha after its catching back in March, researchers utilized macrophotography and met with lead authors who had been familiar with the species for further verification.

"We observed a shiny little blue bee grabbing (an Ashe's calamint flower) and rubbing its head on the top portion of the flower 2-3 times," Kimmel's statement elaborates. That behavior is unusual, yet a unique characteristic of the blue calamintha bee: "We were pretty shocked to see it."

“Research on the insect have been stymied due to the recent covid-19 pandemic, although more of the elusive bee has been seen,” said Kimmel.

In a release, the museum stated, “The blue calamintha bee, or Osmia calaminthae in Latin taxonomy, has unique hairs on its entire head that they use to gather pollen.”

Despite the fact that there is limited help during the pandemic, Kimmel states he’s searched numerous places just looking for the reclusive bee. And due to its unique characteristics, like their ability to create individual nests rather than hives, Kimmel says, “It collects pollen on its face, relies on a threatened flowering plant and is found primarily in a habitat in central Florida: Lake Wales Ridge.”

The museum hypothesizes the region has an ancient history, “When much of the state was underwater, higher elevation sand dune areas along the Central Florida ridge behaved almost like islands, producing isolated habitats," according to one release.

In the same release, the museum confirms that the ecosystem of the region is being compromised, and drastically disappearing before our very eyes.

Kimmel further elaborates, “The bees had previously been found in four locations,” And even after extensive work essential on preserved state grounds, researchers now have discovered the blue bees on at least ten chattels, remarkably expanding their believed ecological footprint.

While further research is necessitated, by tracking the species’ behavior, biology, and habitat needs, the discovery of the blue calamintha is reassuring to scientists that in consideration of human impact on their environment, the bee still exists—opposite once thought.

Jaret Daniels, Kimmel’s advisor and him are working congruently on a two-year research endeavor, to confirm the specie’s current numbers and the feeding and nesting habits of the blue calamintha.

Although previously found, the blue bee species only survived predominately in the four locations, them being the southern part of Lake Wales Ridge, Florida. Earlier in the season, Kimmel was however, able to monitor the calamintha and track their movements, leading to a conclusion far greater than expected. He found that the bees migrated to seven new areas where they were not spotted previously, proving their migration is larger than once known by scientists.

Kimmel informed CNN, "It is still very rare and can take many hours and days to find it which reinforces how rare it can be. Its presence is highly associated with Ashe's calamint, so the bee may influence how well the plant is pollinated which can affect the plant's survivorship.”

"It is very important to continue investigating the relationship between the bee and the plant host or hosts and its influence on the environment itself."

Furthermore, Kimmel and Daniels stumbled upon yet another plant that the bee frequents in lieu of the Ashe’s calamint. However, despite their harrowing tale of survival, the disappearing forests aren't the only thing that's causing their decline. Lake Wales Ridge is home to one of America’s most vastly dissolving ecological communities in the entire nation.

"It's one thing to read about habitat loss and development and another to be driving for 30-40 minutes through miles of orange groves just to get to a really small conservation site," Kimmel proclaims. "It puts into perspective how much habitat loss affects all the animals that live in this area."

Yet despite the odds against them, Kimmel and Daniels teamed up to tackle the issue of whether the blue bees are protected by the Endangered Species Act, that would be subsidized by a grant endowed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

If all else fails, one thing is for sure: being as a remote and indigenous bee as the blue calamintha, it lacks desire to inhabit extensive colonies. The females build the nests, although they do not stick around long enough to care for their young.

But one things remains clear: the enterprise will inclusively educate other scientists on the bee’s nesting patterns and their newly developed habitats, from migration routes, to breeding and pollination methods, all of which are currently unknown to researchers today.

But it is a very rigorous undertaking.

"Even though I have found the bee in multiple sites, it took hours and sometimes days to find even one bee," Kimmel said.

Now that story has a nice “buzz” to it, don’t you think?

Written by J. J. Richards