There could be between 3,700 and 5,200 undiscovered bee species buzzing around in the world, according to a new study that offers a “treasure map” for finding new varieties of the pollinators.
Bees are widely recognised as a keystone species whose diversity underpins healthy environments and resilient agriculture.
But exactly how many bee species live on our planet remains unclear.
"Knowing how many species exist in a place, or within a group like bees, really matters,” said James Dorey, an author of a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. “It shapes how we approach conservation, land management, and even big-picture science questions about evolution and ecosystems.”
Researchers have described over 18,000 bee species so far but many more are hypothesised to exist, especially in Australia, China, Argentina, and Chile.
The new study estimates that there could be between 24,705 and 26,164 bee species.
This portrays a richer and more complex picture of the world's bees than ever before.
The findings come as a growing body of research shows that bee colonies are dying in large numbers across the world and hinting that the planet may be losing species that are yet to be documented.
“If we don't understand how many bee species there are, we're missing a key part of the puzzle for protecting both nature and farming,” Dr Dorey said.
The new study assessed global datasets, country checklists, and literature records to measure the number of bee species at the planet, continental and national level for 186 countries.
The number of undiscovered species could vary across continents, it noted. Europe likely has few bee species that remain to be found, particularly in countries like Sweden and Switzerland, where species diversity has remained steady. In comparison, Turkiye likely has 843 bee species that are yet to be discovered.
Island nations, which are most impacted by climate change, may possess a richer diversity of bee species than continental nations, according to the study.
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At the current rate, scientists estimate it will take another 30 to 45 years before all bee species are discovered.
"Wild bee conservation, research, and taxonomy around the world face challenges, including regionally poor data, extinctions, poaching, rare conservation assessments, political and cultural barriers, and national restrictions to sharing and collaboration," Dr Dorey said.
"These challenges are particularly evident in Africa, Asia, and many countries in Central and South America, where high species diversity bumps up against a lack of capacity and funding for species research and taxonomy.”
Even wealthy countries like Australia are underestimating the number of species, the study notes.
Only about 12 per cent of new species described on the continent since 2000 have been named so far.
China and Israel were also found to have particularly high species discovery gaps.
Researchers hope the new method described in the study could provide a useful “treasure map” for targeted species discovery.
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