For the first time a new species of Aethina has been identified in association with the African stingless bees Meliponula lendliana.

Aethina tumida is known to infest nest of honey bees, bumble bees and also stingless bees. However, in the present case, the beetle found in the nest of Meliponula lendliana is not Aethina tumida.

In the 20424 several specimens of a beetle have been found in a nest of this stingless bees species in Kenya. Microscopical and molecular analysis have now confirmed that this beetle doesn’t belong to Aethina tumida, but represents a new species of the genus Aethina, as recently published in Apidolgie.

Further investigations will be need to determinate the exact classification of this beetle.

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