CBC Windsor highlighted a new paper by School of Environmental Sciences researchers who made the first Canadian sighting of hibiscus bees (Ptilothrix bombiformis) in Canada.

Master’s student Janean Sharkey described the discovery in Ojibway Prairie Park Nature Reserve (OPPNR) in Windsor, Ont., in a research paper co-authored by post-doctoral researcher Dr. Alana Pindar and Dr. Nigel Raine, holder of the Rebanks Family Chair in Pollinator Conservation at U of G.

Sharkey was also interviewed on CBC Windsor Morning in which she described the “pretty exciting” discovery.

“It’s not every day you find a new record,” she said, adding “this is the first time a new [bee] genus has been found in Canada for quite a while.”