Mount Tamalpais search party finds rare bee

A rare, elusive bee that is endemic to the Bay Area has turned up on Mount Tamalpais in its first documented sighting in nearly 45 years.

The San Francisco leaf-cutter bee, also known as Trachusa gummifera, was found as part of a One Tam community science effort to locate the fast-flying pollinator. The bee has been documented less than 100 times and has not been seen since 1980. The discovery could help fill in unknown details about its ecosystem.