The Giant Bee Lost and Found
The largest bee in the world, as long as a thumb, was found by a famous naturalist in 1858, and then hardly seen again for more than a century.
What was reported
In 1858, Alfred Russel Wallace collected a huge black bee on the island of Bacan, in Indonesia's North Moluccas. It was later named Wallace's giant bee: the world's largest, with a wingspan of about 6 centimetres and massive jaws.
It wasn't seen again until 1981, when an entomologist found it nesting inside termite mounds in trees. Then it vanished again. In 2019, a team searching the islands found a female and filmed her alive for the first time.
Explanations offered
The bee lives inside active termite nests, lining its burrows with tree resin, which makes it extremely hard to find. Its rediscovery drew attention to the forests it depends on, and to collectors who sell specimens.
- When
- Found in 1858, filmed in 2019
- Where
- North Moluccas, Indonesia
- Witnesses
- Alfred Russel Wallace, and a team of naturalists
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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