I'm not kidding, she's real, and for a bee she's pretty huge.

They thought this particular bee was extinct for around 38 years, but there she was in a termite nest alive and well in Indonesia.

"It was absolutely breathtaking to see this 'flying bulldog' of an insect that we weren't sure existed anymore, to have real proof right there in front of us in the wild," said natural history photographer, Clay Bolt, who took the first photos and video of the species alive.

"To actually see how beautiful and big the species is in life, to hear the sound of its giant wings thrumming as it flew past my head, was just incredible."

Currently there aren't any legal protections around it's trade, but there damn well should be.

Now if only they can get a mate for her and the species can be brought back from the brink of extinction. Maybe it'll lead to a way to fight colony collapse.

Damn its huge lol. Pretty Cool.

If there is one, surely there is another few somewhere? Bees don't live that long. Someone has to be producing them.

Wonder if a queen is bigger than that, or is that the queen lol.

I don't know if that's the queen. I know in honeybee colonies the queen wears a little red dot on her back, but I don't know if that carries over to other species.

Can you beelieve it? Oh don't mind me, I'm just trying to distract myself from that hellspawn you linked a picture of.

Not the bees!

It's either the bees, or the wasps. No, not the wasps, the Waspinator!

They found this bee by looking for the island described in a XIXth century naturalist, that's crazy. Congrats to the team.

What's crazy about it? Well, other than the giant bee.

It's the wonders of discovery. Finding an old document that leads you to forgotten wonders. It's the spirit of adventure...

This world and its wonders. They never cease to amaze.

I'll look out for updates on the bee's situation. :)