Bumblebees affected by Global warming

Teams of researchers from Canada, US and Europe have warned that the Bumblebees face great threat to their population due to the rapid climate changes. According to a study, the climate change is responsible for the destruction of their habitat which is why their population will also suffer. Bumblebees are social insects that form colonies with a single queen. The colonies of Bumblebees are quite small when compared to those of the Honeybees. The Bumblebee colony grows up to as few as 50 individuals in a nest. The Bumblebees have round bodies that are covered in soft hair, called pile which makes them look fuzzy. The Bumblebees are important to the humans too as they are responsible for the pollination of both crops and wildflowers. However, since they do not produce honey, they are not looked as honey producers.

Due to global warming, the natural ranges within which the bees roam has been greatly reduced. This phenomenon has been observed in many parts of North America and Europe. The Bumblebees need cool areas in order to survive but if they arenot able to move to those areas it might lead to death. One perfect example of this is the Butterflies who have adopted this measure to survive the heat in specific months. However, such a thing has not been seen in the Bumblebees yet. Although their movements have been recorded towards the South but theyhave not started to move towards North yet. For the study, the researchers had to examine about 420,000 records, both historical and current between 1901 and 2010 about the 67 types of bees. Then they compare the results to the movements in the North in the recent decade against a baseline from 1901 to 1974. As a result of the decreasing population of the Bumblebees, it will affect the plant species that widely used for consumption because of their role as the pollinators. The researchers also warned that if this is not stopped then it could lead in the rise of food prices and other problems.

The researchers also looked into the other factors that might be responsible for this. Factors like use of land for agriculture and use of pesticide etc. were considered but there was no significant impact found, leading to the inference that climate change is the sole reason why the bees are not travelling north. The researchers also suggested that in order to ensure their survival, some kind of assisted migration might be necessary so that the Bumblebees can be helped externally in establishing new colonies further north.