AVON, Ind. -- Some good news for the declining bee population: A Hoosier entomologist has discovered a species of bee never before seen in Indiana.
Hendricks County Entomologist Robert P. Jean found the bee near native wildflowers in the Burnett Woods Nature Preserve in Avon.
Researchers at the nature preserve identified the species as Andrena Uvulariae, which has never been recorded in the state of Indiana and is only occasionally found in the eastern United States.
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Cliff Chapman with Central Indiana Land Trust, a group that focuses on preserving natural areas in the state, says the discovery is a big deal.
“I think it’s important for several reasons,” said Chapman. “I think right now – in 2018 – there’s a lot of negativity in our daily lives, so I think it’s nice and really refreshing to know that there’s still species home here in Indiana that we don’t even know about. That we’re still discovering things.”
The new bee means another pollinator in Indiana’s ecosystem, which Central Indiana Land Trust says will improve the habitat for native plants and animals.
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