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Climate crisis could lead to rise of smaller bees, study finds:

Agence France-Presse

Danger looms for larger species such as bumblebees, which have lower heat tolerance, leading to ‘cascading effects’ on ecosystems

An article I found interesting to read that has to do with environmental change talks about the rise in bees due to the current climate crisis we are facing. The article is saying that the climate crisis would lead to the rise in smaller bee populations but a decrease in other bee species, for example a decrease in the number of bumble bees. This is a very important issue due to the fact that bees including bumble bees have a very beneficial impact on our environment. The article states “The climate crisis could lead to more small-bodied bees but fewer bumblebees, according to research warning of potential “cascading” effects on plant pollination and across whole ecosystems.” (Agence France-Presse). There was an experiment done on over 20,000 different types of bees over the last years to see how the different types of bees reacted to climate change. The research found that “They found that larger-bodied bees and comb-building cavity nesters declined in abundance as temperatures increased, while smaller, soil-nesting bees increased.” (Agence France-Presse) This goes back to the main point of the article that is stating that the smaller bee populations are increasing, while bigger bee populations like bumble bees are decreasing. Bumble bees are one of the bee populations that are taking the biggest hit due to the current climate crisis. This is a big problem because bumble bees play a vital role in a lot of ecosystems. The article also states that “studies showing that bumblebees, the dominant pollinators in many ecosystems, have a lower heat tolerance than other bees and move to cooler regions at higher altitudes as temperatures warm.” (Agence France-Presse). The article talks about how bumble bees are in trouble due to the climate crisis because of their “body size and nest behavior”. 

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