Colombia counts its bees at last: 738 species, and 246 of them never recorded there before

After combing through museum collections and field records, researchers have published Colombia's first full bee checklist in the journal PeerJ: 738 species, including 246 never before documented in the country. Unusually, about 40% of Colombia's bees are social, and most nest above ground. The team estimates the true total may top 1,000 species — a baseline that makes protecting pollinators far easier.