Fiji's Tiny Masked Bee on Brink of Extinction Just Two Years After Discovery

A tiny bee species in Fiji, discovered just two years ago, is on the brink of extinction. The masked bee, Hylaeus navai, was first formally described in 2024, but researchers believe its population has plummeted by 99 per cent over the last 150 years.

Scientist Tegan Edwards spent a month in Fiji battling humidity, heat, and rain while searching for the bee, which is smaller than a grain of rice. Her efforts, along with those of her colleague James Dorey, an evolutionary biologist, have shed light on the precarious state of this tiny creature.

"It's a pretty common situation, especially with insects," Ms Edwards said. "It's hard to catalogue them because they're so diverse and it's hard to see them before they go, especially in areas that are more under-studied."

The researchers' findings, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Ecology and Evolution, highlight the urgent need for conservation efforts. Dr Dorey first discovered a single Hylaeus navai on a trip to Fiji in 2016, and then "a whole bunch more" on two visits in 2019.

Dr Dorey said that not only was the insect difficult to find, but it was also hard to kill it in order to correctly record and describe it. He added that scientific analysis indicated the bees were critically endangered.

"We see mutations in the bee's genome," he said. "You can look at the frequency of the mutations to say something about when they arose, but also make predictions about how maybe 100 years ago the population was this size and now it's this size, and see how things have changed."

The population collapse is believed to have aligned with colonization in Fiji, which brought habitat destruction and potential pesticide use. The bees' attraction to red flowering plants, such as the African tulip, which is poisonous to a variety of bees, is also thought to be a contributing factor.

Ms Edwards emphasized the importance of finding and helping the bees before they become extinct. "Pollinators underpin all of our systems, so we need to look towards conserving our pollinators," she said. "What we don't know, we can't conserve."

The research team has not revisited Fiji to check on populations of the masked bee since 2024. Dr Dorey hopes that a partnership with the University of the South Pacific, funded by a federal government grant, will help train Fijian students to research the rare bee year-round.