Scientists in Australia have identified a new species of native bee with tiny, devil-like horns that have earned it a playfully hellish name – “lucifer.”
The species, Megachile lucifer , was discovered by scholars surveying a critically endangered wildflower in Western Australia’s Goldfields in 2019, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.
The highly distinctive, upward-pointing horns on the female bee’s face inspired its name, said Kit Prendergast, lead author of the study and an adjunct research fellow at Curtin University.
“When writing up the new species description[,] I was watching the Netflix show "Lucifer,” Prendergast said in a statement Tuesday. “The name just fit perfectly.”
A DNA test later showed that the species didn’t match a

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