Good News: This Forest Honeybee Is Not Extinct After All!

A rare species of honeybee thought to have been completely eradicated by disease and invasive species has been found in the ancient woodlands of Blenheim Palace in Britain – and not only that, they’re thriving, too!

Nobody knew these bees existed, even though new evidence points to them having lived on Blenheim estate since the middle ages where they have created self-sustaining colonies roughly 20 meters off the ground on a plot of woodland that has very little human interaction.

The species was believed to be extinct after the varroa mite, a parasite that feeds on and attacks honeybees, invaded Britain in 1992. However, the newly found subspecies is believed to have evolved to ensure their survival against the parasitic varroa mite. “They have had no treatment for the varroa mite — yet they’re not dying off,” explains Filipe Salbany, a bee conservationist who discovered 50 colonies of the rare honeybees.

Though the results of DNA samples from the newly discovered bees are not yet available, Salbany is confident that the Blenheim bees are descendants of Britain’s ancient native species. “The wings are smaller [than imported bees] and their veins are very distinct,” says Salbany. Around 800,000 of these wild bees have been discovered so far.