‘Pretty shocking’: Fijian mini-bee population drops 99 per cent
A very wee bee the size of a grain of rice was discovered just two years ago in the trees of the island nation. But researchers believe that 99 per cent have already vanished – what is happening?
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
Tiny bees that carry pollen* inside their minuscule bodies are going through a “pretty shocking” decline in population, Aussie researchers have revealed.
As small as a grain of rice, the native Fijian masked bees(Hylaeus navai*) were discovered only two years ago, but their population has suffered a 99 per cent decline in the last 150 years, leaving them on the brink of extinction*.
A University of Wollongong research team collected bee samples from Fijian forests and studied this species, estimating their population size through gene analysis*.
The findings worried researcher and lead author Tegan Edwards.
“We can see that it’s all happening without us really knowing,” Ms Edwards said.
On field trips to 54 spots in the Fijian forests, the researchers used 9m and 15m long sweeping nets to reach the top of the trees and collect these elusive* bees that live and breed in the treetops.
They found that the mini-bee’s population went through a significant 62 per cent decline between 1933 and 1942, a decade in the middle of a period of colonisation*.
Between 2002 and 2011, the decline jumped to a 76 per cent, and went further up to 82 per cent between 2015 and 2025.
The dramatic decline was caused by things like climate change, loss of habitat*, and threats from introduced flora and insect species, including the African tulip tree and European honey bee, according to Ms Edwards.
The masked bees’ habitat has been reduced to only 1.4 to 2.4 per cent of Fiji’s land area. Historically, they also hung out in lowlands, but now they’re only found in the forest canopies*.
“Invasive species are probably a major driver, like the African tulip tree, which was introduced to Fiji as an ornamental* tree, a species that humans found really pretty,” Ms Edwards said.
The tree has since spread widely across the main island of Fiji, Viti Levu, but sadly has been proven to be poisonous to some bee species – likely including these little Fijian masked bees, Ms Edwards said.
“It has those red flowers really high up in the canopy*, so it potentially is really attractive to these species and then it is poisoning them as they go to it,” she said.
Size may also matter. Larger invasive* European bees and other Fijian native bees may also be out-competing this species by expanding their own habitats.
“There’s quite a few drivers* that we can hypothesise* that are causing these declines, but it’s pretty hard to say without that ecological monitoring*, unfortunately,” Ms Edwards said.
Ms Edwards, worked alongside Dr James Dorey and Dr Nikolas Johnston, and their findings were published in the Ecology and Evolution journal*.
BEES UNDERPIN OUR FOOD SYSTEMS
Bees are an incredibly important part of our ecosystem.
There are more than 22,000 bee species, making them our planet’s number one pollinator, Ms Edwards said.
If they were to disappear tomorrow, it would harm global ecology and human food sources would be disrupted.
“We would lose a lot if we lost our pollinators,” Ms Edwards said. “They underpin* a lot of our food systems.”
The process of pollination carried out by these tiny insects helps trees to fruit and plants to grow. The food produced – like fruit and vegetables – is then eaten by most animals, including humans.
“We need animal pollinators to be able to continue their reproduction (via plants and trees), which means we need the pollinators to have those species,” Ms Edwards said.
“We have some pollinators that will only pollinate one single species of plant, and if we lose that pollinator, then we lose that plant.”
The research team is advocating* for stronger monitoring and conservation* efforts, arguing that we can’t know we’re harming them if we don’t even know these species exist.
Despite being a hotspot for unique native species of bees, island ecosystems are “desperately under-researched and under-resourced”, University of Wollongong Biological Sciences lecturer Dr James Dorey said.
“By the time we discovered the Fijian Hylaeus, they were already in serious trouble,” he said.
”How many other bee or insect species are out there, and have not yet been discovered but are seriously threatened or even extinct?”
POLL
GLOSSARY
- pollen: a fine powder produced by flowers that is used in plant reproduction
- Hylaeus navai: a tiny species of native bee found in Fiji’s main island. They are the only species that ingest pollen and carry it in an internal organ.
- extinction: the complete dying out or disappearance of a species
- gene analysis: the study of DNA to find out genetic relationships, diversity, or traits, and population history
- colonisation: taking control of another country and moving people to live there
- habitat: the natural environment in which a species of plant or animal lives
- ornamental: beautiful rather than useful, decorative, something that is used purely for decoration and to add beauty
- canopy: treetops, upper layer formed by the tops of trees in a forest
- invasive: the spread of non-native species that cause harm to local ecosystems.
- driver: a key factor or pressure that causes or creates another thing
- hypothesise: to come up with an explanation for something based on little evidence as a starting point
- ecological monitoring: tracking and observing ecosystems and wildlife over time
- pollinator: an animal or insect that transfers pollen from one flower to another making plant reproduction possible
- underpin: to support a basic structure of something
- conservation: protection and preservation of natural environments and wildlife
EXTRA READING
New native bee species Lucifer discovered in WA
Scientists plan to bring dodo back from extinction
The role of de-extinction in rebuilding ecosystems
QUICK QUIZ
- When was the Fijian bee discovered?
- In which decade the bee’s population suffered a 76 per cent decline?
- How did the research team get the bee samples?
- Why are bees so important to our food system?
- Which tree was proved to be poisonous to some bees?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Show the decline
Design an infographic that show how much the little bee population has declined over time. Use the information in the story to help you.
Time: spend at least 20 minutes on this activity.
Curriculum links: English, Science.
2. Extension
Why do you think colonisation in Fiji is a cause for the fall in numbers of the little bees? Use information from the story and your own ideas to write a list of reasons.
Time: spend at least 30 minutes on this activity.
Curriculum links: English, Science.
VCOP ACTIVITY
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are important in connecting ideas in a text and improving its flow. They help to join sentences, clauses or phrases to create a coherent and meaningful text.
Coordinating conjunctions are used to connect equal ideas or phrases - for example: and, but, or, so, yet, nor.
Subordinating conjunctions are connecting words or phrases that join a subordinating clause to the main idea. They provide additional information about the main idea - for example: because, although, while, when, if, since, until.
Complete at least two activities from the choices below:
- Read the news article carefully and highlight all the conjunctions used in the text.
- Write down the conjunctions you found and the words or phrases they connect.
- Identify the type of conjunction used (coordinating conjunctions or subordinating conjunctions).
- Explain the role of conjunctions in connecting ideas and improving the flow of a text.
- Write a short paragraph about something you found interesting in the article. Challenge yourself to re-use three conjunctions from the text. Can you up-level them to a higher level conjunction? Does it make the sentence better or harder to read? (Sometimes, the basic conjunction is the best choice).