The new species that has been discovered in Norway is called snikkarbia (Xylocopa violacea). He is among Europe’s largest bee species, if you ignore the bumblebees. The insect is black with dark wings. It has a bluish, metallic violet sheen, explains associate professor at the NTNU Science Museum, Frode Ødegaard. – It is a very spectacular insect, he says. This specimen was photographed in Greece. Here you can clearly see the blue-purple color of the wings. Photo: Stanislav Krejčík / Wikimedia commons About the size of a bumblebee The species can be more than 2.5 centimeters long, and is the size of a bumblebee. The Snikkarbie genus is normally widespread in the Mediterranean area, where there are eight species in total. But one of these is constantly drifting and moving further north. He should already be well established in Germany, Poland, Belgium and England. – And now he drives and pushes even further north, says Ødegaard. He thinks it is surprising that the species has been discovered in Norway. – Yes, I was surprised. Because I didn’t think he would come here so soon. Since they live in dead wood, he may have been transported far by humans. But they can also fly far for their own machine, he says. One of the reasons why the species is constantly moving further north is probably due to changes in the climate. But it can also be a combination of several factors. Sat in the window sill In Denmark, snikkarbia has been found ten times, and in Sweden three times. Now this summer she was discovered for the very first time in Norway – in Holmestrand. And he who made the discovery was Michael A. Gerhardsen. – It was in preparation for us to have guests that he was discovered. It had to be vacuumed, and then he sat on the windowsill. Gerhardsen called out to his roommate to get an assessment of what this could be. – Not something we had seen before, so I put a glass over him. It lived under the glass until the next day, and then I contacted an expert on insects. Eventually the bia was sent to Trondheim and to Frode Ødegaard. Here is the snikkarbia in the window frame in Holmestrand. It must have been the size of the largest bumblebees in Norway. Photo: Michael Gerhardsen – As a small interior architect, the NTNU researcher says they are unsure whether the snikkarbia will manage in the Nordics, as it is adapted to a completely different climate. – At the start, we expect that there will be specimens trying their way north, but that the spreading front in Europe will move slowly but surely northwards. The species got the name sneaker bee because it lives in dead wood, the root of a tree or a hollow tree. And he digs out a chamber for his larvae. – The bee arranges this chamber very nicely for its larvae, like a small interior architect. They are almost like birds, because they feed and raise their young, Ødegaard explains. But is it a good thing that these large bees establish themselves in this country? Frode Ødegaard is an associate professor at NTNU, the Museum of Science, where as a researcher he works on a number of issues within species diversity and conservation biology in insects both in Norway and internationally. Photo: Liv Ødegaard Positive or negative? – These are pollinators who will help with pollination in a world where we see this going back. In that sense, it is positive. At the same time, this is a new species that we do not know how it will adapt to the fauna we have before. – But there is no indication that this is negative, says the entomologist. And perhaps the most important question – at least for those of us who fear stings from wasps and bees: Is it painful or dangerous to be stung? – They have stingers like most bees. And they can sting. But they are not aggressive at all. They want to scare people. I have never heard of anyone being stung by a wasp, says Frode Ødegaard.
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Discovered the snikkarbia in Norway for the first time – researchers think the find is spectacular – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
