It gets too hot for the animals in bumblebee nests
Published: Friday, May 3rd 2024, 10:41
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Rising global temperatures may be making it too hot for bumblebee nests. This was shown by researchers from Canada and Belgium in an analysis of studies on this topic over the last 180 years.
Bumblebees prefer a nest temperature of between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius, regardless of species and region, as the research team showed in the study published on Friday in the Swiss journal "Frontiers in Bee Science". According to the study, this applies to bumblebee species in the Arctic as well as those in the tropics.
According to the researchers, this consistency of the optimal temperature range indicates that the bumblebees' ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions is limited. In this context, the researchers speak of a lack of "evolutionary plasticity". This refers to the ability of a species to adapt and evolve over time in response to environmental changes.
Bumblebees fan cold air to larvae
The larvae react more sensitively to the heat than the adult bumblebees. This is why bumblebees try to protect their offspring using various methods, as described in the study. For example, by fanning excess heat out of the nest with their wings.
The study shows that the increasing heat could be partly responsible for the sharp decline in bumblebees since the 1950s, the researchers wrote. However, other threats to bumblebees, such as pesticides and habitat loss, must still be taken into account. The complex interactions of the mechanisms underlying the decline in bumblebee populations are poorly understood.
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