WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. (AP) - A University of the Cumberlands assistant biology professor has discovered a new species of bee, and the university says his finding will be published in The Florida Entomologist.
Leif Deyrup and his father, Mark Deyrup, first noticed the species in 2002 while looking at pollination of plants in a habitat called Florida scrub. Seeing unusual features in the bee's appearance and behavior, they decided to conduct a research project. Deyrup's father works at Archbold Biological Station, specializing in classifying different types of insects.
Deyrup's primary expertise is in animal and insect behavior, but the university says he is excited about the bee discovery. The 35-year-old is in his fourth year of teaching biology at the university in Williamsburg in southeastern Kentucky.
