The bee was first found in 1858 by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace
The world’s largest bee has been rediscovered, more than 160 years after it was first seen on a tropical Indonesian island.
The giant insect is as long as an adult’s thumb, and not a single one of them had been seen since 1981.
Known as Wallace’s giant bee, a team of scientists found a single live female during an expedition to Indonesia’s North Moluccas islands in January.
They filmed and photographed the creature, which is described as being four times larger than a European honeybee.
Named after the scientist who made the discovery, the insect was first seen in 1858 by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace on the tropical Indonesian island of Bacan.
Several specimens of the bee were next found in 1981, but it had not been seen since until the 2019 expedition.
Clay Bolt, one of the scientists on the expedition, described seeing the “flying bulldog” of an insect in the wild was “breathtaking”.
Eli Wyman, who joined Mr Bolt on the trip, added: “To actually see how beautiful and big the species is in life, to hear the sound of its giant wings thrumming as it flew past my head, was just incredible.
“My dream is to now use this rediscovery to elevate this bee to a symbol of conservation in this part of Indonesia, and a point of pride for the locals there.”
The trip was supported by environmental group Global Wildlife Conservation, which has launched a worldwide hunt for 25 “lost species”.
They include the Fernandina Galapagos tortoise, last seen in 1906, and the Sinu parakeet, last seen in 1949.
Brazil's bid for the 2027 Women's World Cup was ranked higher than the bid submitted by Germany, Netherlands and Belgium in an evaluation report released by FIFA on Tuesday.
The FIFA Congress is set to vote for the 2027 host on May 17 at its meeting in Bangkok. It will be the first time the member federations of soccer’s 211-nation governing body will hold an open vote to pick the tournament’s hosts.
Brazil has been favored to win the 2027 contest since FIFA brokered a deal with several of soccer's continental governing bodies in October to get preferred hosts of the men's World Cup in 2030 and 2034.
South American soccer body CONMEBOL agreed to take just three games for 2030 — one each in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay for a 104-game tournament mostly to be hosted in Spain, Portugal and Morocco — and skipped its turn to bid for 2034, which is going to Saudi Arabia.
Sending a first Women's World Cup to South America then became a likely consequence.
Based on the technical evaluation by a FIFA in-house panel, Brazil's bid was given an average score of 4.0 out of 5, while the joint European bid received a 3.7.
The three-person evaluation team, led by FIFA's chief women's officer Sarai Bareman, determined both bids qualify for consideration “due to both having exceeded the minimum hosting requirements” in the technical evaluation.
The United States and Mexico withdrew a joint bid last week. U.S. Soccer said the federations will instead focus on hosting the 2031 tournament. South Africa dropped its bid late last year, saying it would also turn to 2031. That hosting decision is due next year.
Brazil hosted the men's World Cup in 1950 and 2014, and hosting another major FIFA event would make better use of stadiums built for that tournament.
Germany hosted the Women's World Cup in 2011 and the men's World Cup in 2006. It also will host the men's European Championship in 10 cities starting June 14.
The 2023 Women's World Cup was held in Australia and New Zealand and was the first hosted by two nations.
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FILE - The tournament trophy is displayed on the pitch before the Women's World Cup soccer final between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 20, 2023. Brazil's bid for the 2027 Women's World Cup was ranked higher than the bid submitted by Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium in an evaluation report released by FIFA on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)
FILE - Brazil's Marta, center, celebrates her goal against the United States during a FIFA Women's World Cup semifinal soccer match in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 27, 2007. The six-time women's world player of the year plans to retire from the national team after 2024. (AP Photo/Greg Baker, File)
