Last Updated September 15, 2026
How many species of bee actually exist? Ask that question and you’ll usually get a confident “just over 20,000” — a number that’s been repeated for years, based mostly on species that have already been formally described and cataloged. A 2026 statistical analysis published in Nature Communications set out to answer a harder version of the same question: not how many bee species have been written up in the literature, but how many almost certainly exist, described or not. Its answer is bigger — and the gap between the two numbers turns out to be the more interesting story.
Key Takeaways
- A February 2026 study in Nature Communications, led by Dr. James Dorey at the University of Wollongong, puts the true global bee species count at 24,705–26,164 — up to 5,200 more than the roughly 21,000 species already formally described.
- The estimate comes from statistical modeling of 8.3 million bee records and country-level checklists across 186 countries, not new field discoveries.
- Turkey alone may hold around 843 undiscovered species — more than the study estimates for all of continental Europe combined — but the biggest overall gaps are concentrated in Asia and Africa.
- At the historical description rate of about 117 new species a year, fully cataloging the world’s bees would take another 30 to 45 years.
- Bee pollination underpins an estimated A$745 billion a year in global crop value, which is why an unglamorous taxonomy number connects directly to food security and conservation policy.
Table of Contents
- Between 24,700 and 26,200, According to the New Estimate
- The Gaps Aren’t Where You’d Expect
- Why a Taxonomy Number Matters Outside Academia
- Frequently Asked Questions
Between 24,700 and 26,200, According to the New Estimate
The study, led by evolutionary biologist Dr. James Dorey at the University of Wollongong, estimates the true global bee species count at somewhere between 24,705 and 26,164. That implies 3,700 to 5,200 species have never been formally described — a shortfall of roughly a fifth on top of the commonly cited “20,000-plus” figure most people repeat without knowing where it came from. The paper, published February 24, 2026, was co-authored by six researchers — Dorey alongside Amy-Marie Gilpin, Nikolas Johnston, Damien Esquerre, Alice Hughes, John Ascher, and Michael Orr — and is publicly available via its Nature Communications DOI record.
Dorey’s team didn’t go looking for new bees in the field. They analyzed 8.3 million existing bee records, country-level checklists, and published literature across 186 countries, then applied species-richness estimators — the same kind of statistical modeling used to project how many words exist in a language from a limited sample of text. A region where researchers keep turning up new species every time they look gets flagged as having a large remaining gap; a region that’s been surveyed for years with nothing new showing up gets treated as close to fully cataloged. Full methodology and figures are summarized in the University of Wollongong’s own press release.
The Gaps Aren’t Where You’d Expect
The most surprising part of the study isn’t the total — it’s where the biggest blind spots turn out to be. Overall, the researchers estimate that Asia and Africa hold the largest share of undescribed bee diversity, partly because usable bee records are thin or missing across large parts of both continents. But the single most striking individual case is much closer to Europe: the researchers estimate Turkey alone may hold around 843 undiscovered bee species, more than they estimate for the whole of continental Europe put together. Turkey sits at a genuine crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, spanning three recognized biodiversity hotspots — the Mediterranean Basin, the Caucasus, and the Irano-Anatolian region — packed into one country. It already has an active, long-running community of bee researchers, too, which makes the size of the remaining gap a real surprise rather than a simple case of nobody having looked yet, as Australian Geographic’s coverage of the study also notes.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Estimated total global bee species | 24,705–26,164 |
| Estimated undescribed species | 3,700–5,200 |
| New species described per year, on average since 1960 | ~117 |
| Bee records analyzed for the estimate | ~8.3 million |
| Estimated undiscovered species in Turkey alone | ~843 |
At the historical pace of about 117 new species described per year, the study’s own math suggests closing the current gap would take another 30 to 45 years — and that’s an optimistic extrapolation, since the species easiest to find and describe tend to get discovered first, leaving progressively harder cases for later.
“Bees are a perfect example. They’re keystone species; their diversity underpins healthy environments and resilient agriculture.”
Why a Taxonomy Number Matters Outside Academia
A global species estimate can read like pure academic trivia, but it connects directly to conservation policy — and to money — in a way that’s easy to miss. A species that hasn’t been formally described can’t be added to an endangered species list, can’t receive targeted habitat protection, and can’t be tracked for population decline in any official capacity — it doesn’t functionally exist for regulatory purposes, regardless of how real its ecological role already is. The stakes are larger than any one species, too: bee pollination is estimated to underpin roughly A$745 billion in global crop value each year, animal pollinators are involved in about 75% of food crop diversity and roughly 35% of total food production worldwide, and an estimated 90% of flowering plant species — around 307,000 species — depend on animal pollinators of some kind, bees included. One cost-benefit analysis cited alongside the study found that every dollar invested in describing Australia’s own undiscovered species returned up to $35 in downstream economic benefit, a concrete argument for why taxonomy funding isn’t just an academic line item. Further context on pollinator decline and food security is available from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s own coverage of this exact gap.
Every one of the thousands of bee species already known and covered on this site’s native bee identification chart went through that same process of description before it could be studied, protected, or even named in a pollinator garden guide. The 2026 estimate is essentially a map of how much of that groundwork is still ahead — including, as it happens, one very specific example: a Texas mining bee called Andrena cenizophila, described the same year this estimate was published.
Frequently Asked Questions
So how many bee species are there — 20,000 or 26,000?
Both numbers are defensible depending on what’s being counted. Around 20,000–21,000 is roughly what’s already been formally described in the scientific literature; the 2026 estimate of 24,705–26,164 factors in species that almost certainly exist but haven’t been described yet.
Where are most of the undiscovered species likely to be?
Asia and Africa hold the largest overall share of undescribed diversity, but Turkey stands out as the single most surprising individual case, with an estimated 843 undiscovered species — more than the study estimates for all of continental Europe combined.
Does this estimate include honeybees?
Yes, but the honeybee (Apis mellifera) is only one species among tens of thousands. The vast majority counted in this estimate are wild, mostly solitary bees that never form honeybee-style colonies.
Who actually did this research, and how was it done?
A seven-person team led by Dr. James Dorey at the University of Wollongong, published in Nature Communications on February 24, 2026. Rather than searching for new bees in the field, they applied species-richness statistical models to 8.3 million existing bee records and checklists from 186 countries.
Why does an undescribed-species estimate matter practically?
A species can’t be added to an endangered-species list, given targeted habitat protection, or tracked for population decline until it’s been formally described — so the estimate is effectively a map of how much conservation groundwork is still undone.
How long would it take to describe every remaining bee species?
At the historical pace of roughly 117 new species described per year, the study estimates 30 to 45 more years — and likely longer in practice, since the easiest-to-find species tend to get described first.
