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2025-05-27T17:27:24Z

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{{short description|Largest known species of bee}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite journal |last=Kuhlmann |first=M. |year=2014 |title=''Megachile pluto'' |journal=[[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] |volume=2014 |page=e.T4410A21426160 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T4410A21426160.en|doi-access=free }}</ref>
| image = Stavenn Megachile pluto.jpg
| genus = Megachile
| parent = Megachile (Callomegachile)
| species = pluto
| authority = [[Frederick Smith (entomologist)|Smith]], 1860<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8580609 |author=Smith, Frederick|year= 1860|title= Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the islands of Bachian, Kaisaa, Amboyna, Gilolo, and at Dory in New Guinea.|journal= Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Zoology|volume=5|pages= 93–143 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1860.tb01022.x }}</ref>
| synonyms =
*''Chalicodoma pluto'' <small>(Smith, 1860)</small>}}

'''''Megachile pluto''''', also known as '''Wallace's giant bee''' or '''{{lang|id|raja ofu}}''' ({{lit|king of the bees}}),<ref>{{cite web |first1=Clay |last1=Bolt |date=2019-02-21 |title=Rediscovering Wallace's giant bee |website=globalwildlife.org |publisher=Global Wildlife Conservation |url=https://www.globalwildlife.org/2019/02/21/rediscovering-wallaces-giant-bee/ |access-date=2021-03-27}}</ref> is a large [[resin bee]] found in [[Indonesia]]. With a wingspan of {{convert|63.5|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}, it is the largest known living bee species. It was believed to be extinct until several specimens were discovered in 1981. No further sightings were confirmed until two specimens were collected and sold on [[eBay]] in 2018.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vereecken |first1=Nicolas |title=Wallace's Giant Bee for sale: implications for trade regulation and conservation |journal=Journal of Insect Conservation |date=2018 |volume=22 |issue=5–6 |pages=807–811 |doi=10.1007/s10841-018-0108-2 |bibcode=2018JICon..22..807V |hdl=2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/284789 |s2cid=53836547 |url=https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/284789/3/Vereecken2018_Article_WallaceSGiantBeeForSaleImplica.pdf }}</ref> A live female was found and filmed for the first time in 2019.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |last=Briggs |first=Helen |date=2019-02-22 |title=World's biggest bee found alive |website=bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47311186 |access-date=2021-03-27}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Megachile pluto.jpg|thumb|left|Female]]
Wallace's giant bee is a black [[resin bee]] with well-developed, large jaws. The species exhibits strong [[sexual dimorphism]]; females may reach a length of {{convert|38|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}, with a wingspan of {{convert|63.5|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}, but males only grow to about {{convert|23|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} long. Only females have large jaws.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Simon |first=Matt |date=2019-02-21 |title=The Triumphant Rediscovery of the Biggest Bee on Earth |magazine=Wired |issn=1059-1028|url=https://www.wired.com/story/wallaces-giant-bee/ |access-date=2019-02-21}}</ref> ''M. pluto'' is believed to be the largest living bee species, and remains the largest extant bee species described.<ref>{{cite news |last=Quenqua |first=Douglas |date=2019-02-21 |title=The World's Largest Bee Is Not Extinct |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/science/giant-bee-wallace.html |access-date=2019-02-21}}</ref> It is "as long as an adult's thumb".<ref name="BBC"/> Wallace's giant bee is easily distinguished from other bees due to its large size and jaws, but also a notable white band on the abdomen.<ref name=messer/>

==Distribution and habitat==
The reports of Wallace's giant bee's existence come only from three islands of the [[North Maluku|North Moluccas]] in Indonesia: [[Bacan]], [[Halmahera]], and [[Tidore]]. Very little is known about its distribution and habitat requirements, although it is thought to be restricted to primary lowland forests. The islands have become home to [[oil palm]] plantations that now occupy much of the former native habitat. This has caused the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] to label this species as vulnerable.<ref name=iucn/>

==Discovery and rediscovery==
The species was originally collected by [[Alfred Russel Wallace]] in 1858, and given the common name "Wallace's giant bee"; it is also known as the "giant mason bee". It was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1981 by Adam C. Messer, an American [[entomology|entomologist]], who found six nests on the island of Bacan and other nearby islands.<ref name=messer>{{cite journal | author = Messer, A. C. | title = ''Chalicodoma pluto'': The World's Largest Bee Rediscovered Living Communally in Termite Nests (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) | journal = Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society | year = 1984 | volume = 57 | issue = 1 | pages = 165–168 | jstor = 25084498 }}</ref> The bee is among the 25 "most wanted" lost species that are the focus of [[Global Wildlife Conservation]]'s "Search for Lost Species" initiative.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://lostspecies.org/|title=The Search for Lost Species|work=Global Wildlife Conservation|access-date=2017-06-02|language=en-US}}</ref>

The bee had not been spotted for over 27 years. In 2018, two specimens were collected by local sellers in Indonesia, one on Bacan in February and the other on Halmahera in September. They were subsequently sold on eBay, highlighting the lack of protection that is afforded to the rare species.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vereecken |first1=Nicolas |title=Wallace's Giant Bee for sale: implications for trade regulation and conservation |journal=Journal of Insect Conservation |date=2018 |volume=22 |issue=5–6 |pages=807–811 |doi=10.1007/s10841-018-0108-2 |bibcode=2018JICon..22..807V |hdl=2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/284789 |s2cid=53836547 |url=https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/284789/3/Vereecken2018_Article_WallaceSGiantBeeForSaleImplica.pdf }}</ref> In 2019, a single female having established its nest in an arboreal termite colony on the island of Halmahera in Indonesia was found by local naturalist Iswan Maujud as part of a field expedition co-led by Clay Bolt and Eli Wyman.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Simon |first1=Matt |title=The Triumphant Rediscovery of the Biggest Bee on Earth |url=https://www.wired.com/story/wallaces-giant-bee/ |magazine=Wired |accessdate=24 February 2019 |date=21 February 2019}}</ref> This specimen was filmed and photographed before being released.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |last=Briggs |first=Helen |date=2019-02-22 |title=World's biggest bee found alive |website=bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47311186 |access-date=2021-03-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/02/worlds-largest-bee-rediscovered-not-extinct/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222040237/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/02/worlds-largest-bee-rediscovered-not-extinct/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 22, 2019|title=World's largest bee, once presumed extinct, filmed alive in the wild|last1=Main|first1=Douglas|date=21 February 2019|website=National Geographic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bolt |first1=Clay |title=Wallace's Giant $9,000 Bee |url=https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2018/04/03/wallaces-giant-9000-bee/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107224859/https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2018/04/03/wallaces-giant-9000-bee/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-11-07 |website=National Geographic }}</ref>

==Ecology==
Wallace's giant bees build communal nests inside active nests of the tree-dwelling termite ''[[Microcerotermes amboinensis]]'', which may serve to hide their existence from attackers. The bee uses [[tree resin]] to build compartments inside the termite nest, which protects its [[Mining|galleries]]. Female bees repeatedly leave their nests to forage for resin, frequently gathered from ''[[Anisoptera thurifera]]''. The bee's large jaws assist in resin gathering; the female makes large balls of resin, which are held between the jaws. The association of the bee with the termite may be [[Symbiosis #Definition|obligate]].<ref name=messer/><ref name=iucn/>

== See also ==
* [[List of largest insects]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

*{{Commons category-inline|Megachile pluto|''Megachile pluto''}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q134348}}

[[Category:Megachile|pluto]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Insects of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Hymenoptera of Asia]]
[[Category:Vulnerable fauna of Asia]]
[[Category:Insects described in 1860]]

Megachile pluto - Revision history

imported>Citation bot: Altered pages. Add: hdl, bibcode, doi. Removed parameters. Formatted dashes. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:Endemic fauna of Indonesia | #UCB_Category 57/673