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Scientists have discovered a new bee species that depends on a native Texas plant.
Researchers at Washington State University say the newly identified bee appears to rely almost entirely on the cenizo shrub, also known as Texas purple sage, for pollen.
They say the bee's name, cenizophila, literally translates to "lover of cenizo."
According to a study published in the Journal of Melittology, field observations and pollen analysis indicate that the "Texas Ranger" (another name for the Cenizo shrub) is likely this bee's only source of pollen.
"To our knowledge, this bee is the only mining bee in the world that is specifically focused on this one particular kind of shrub," Silas Bossert, an assistant professor at Washington State University and lead author of the study, told the "WSU Insider."
The discovery highlights how some native pollinators are closely tied to specific plants and how changes to those ecosystems could put them at risk.
Scientists say understanding those connections is key to protecting both pollinators and the landscapes they depend on.
Melittologist Jack Neff of the Central Texas Melittological Institute first collected the bee decades ago, but he and other experts had not classified and named it until now.
According to the "WSU Insider," It took years of collaborative work between researchers in Texas, Kansas, and Washington to finally identify it as a distinct species.
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