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Buzz
Worthy
Nature loversmay
find the concrete jungle
stifling, but
Lasioglossum
gotham
, a.k.a. the Gothambee,
one of 11 newbee species recently
discovered in the easternU.S.,
is perfectly at home in the city.
These tinyNewYorkers can get
nourishment fromhuman sweat
(no shortage of that in the Big
Apple come summer), nest in
underground tunnels and defend
themselves handily (the females
do, anyway; themales don’t sting).
“This li le bee has been quietly
living in the city, pollinating
flowers in people’s gardens, for
years,” says JasonGibbs, a research
scientist at Cornell University.
“It’s a pleasure to help give it some
well-deserved recognition.” Appar-
ently, this li le bee has also figured
out how to schmooze.
BYSAMPOLCER
THEWORLD
TRENDS FACTS NEWS
ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL CHANG
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
•
APRIL 2012
19
SWARM
WELCOME
Countries with the
most bee species
OW
FACTOR
Relative pain
of different
insect stings
U.S.
3,515
Brazil
1,814
Mexico
1,795
Australia
1,640
Argentina
1,074
Turkey
1,371
South
Africa
1,172
China
1,084
Spain
927
Italy
897
Sweat
bee
Fire ant
Bullhorn
acacia
ant
Honey
bee
Bullet
ant
Tarantula
hawk
Paper
wasp
Red
harvester
ant
Bald-faced
hornet
Yellow
jacket