Signs of hope: New bee species discovered across the country

Here’s a bright spot for the bees — new species are still being discovered today in states across the country.

A researcher spends his days combing through a rich meadow buzzing with life, cataloging bees as he goes.

Among the common bumblebees, he spots a bee smaller than an apple seed, tiny with darker features. The scientist is delighted and curious about this new mystery bee standing out against a bright yellow flower. It could be the first sighting of a whole new species.

Discoveries like this one are happening more often than you might think. But if we don’t act soon to save the bees, new wild bee species will disappear before we ever meet them.

New bee discoveries add to the amazing diversity of wild bee species

There are thousands of unique species of bees — from the metallic sweat bee to the fuzzy bumblebee to the tunneling mason bee. And those are just the bees we already know about. Recent years have unveiled dozens of wild bee species that were previously unknown.

In 2023, researchers identified three new species of bees in California and Arizona with with luminescent bodies. Discoveries like this add to our knowledge of the range and movement of bee species. 

Bee surveyors are finding wild bees never seen before in their states. Volunteers with a bee atlas project in Oregon found a species of wild bee new to Oregon but also not seen anywhere in 40 years. A research project in Iowa found seven new species of bees in 2022. Surveys in Pennsylvania and Vermont have also documented bees not previously known to call those states home. 

Even in the face of disappearing pollinator habitat and the widespread use of toxic bee-killing pesticides, bees are still hanging on and finding ways to survive. It’s a beacon of hope.

But that hope needs to spur action quickly.

Despite new bee sightings, many other bee species go missing

There’s still so much to learn about wild bees. Every new discovery adds richness to the biodiversity of life on our planet.

But many of the bee species we already know and love are already teetering on the edge of extinction.

At the same time scientists are identifying brand new species, bee species already on the record are disappearing. One-fourth of known bee species haven’t been seen in the wild since the 1990s.

We need to take action to save the bees

To give bees everywhere a real hope of surviving, Environment America and our state groups have been working to:

• Ban the worst uses of toxic bee-killing pesticides. We’re urging the Environmental Protection Agency to restrict the use of seeds coated with bee-killing neonicotinoids.
• Expand bee-friendly habitat. We’re advocating for more funding to plant native wildflowers along U.S. highways, giving bees more safe spots to find food.
• Protect at-risk bee species. We’re pushing to get more bee species protected by the Endangered Species Act, including the Western bumblebee, the American bumblebee and the Southern Plains bumblebee.