Climate vice squeezes bumblebee habitat from north and south

[damnedifIknow]

Bumblebee habitat in North America and Europe is rapidly being lost. What’s more, the cool-loving insects are succumbing to rising temperatures in the south without shifting north.

The fear is that many species vital for pollinating crops and wild plants on which entire ecosystems depend may be pushed to extinction.

“We are looking at what we think is a first for global warming, that in the north, bumblebee species are failing to extend their range northward while their southern range contracts,” says Jeremy Kerr of the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada.

“Their distribution has run up against a kind of wall, because they’re not establishing new territory fast enough to track the rapid changes in temperature.”

Kerr says that many other species including fish and butterflies have successfully managed to shift their ranges northward, but bumblebee ranges across Europe and North America have receded by 300 kilometres in the south in the past three decades without a corresponding increase to the north.

“It’s crushing bumblebee species in a kind of climate vice,” says Kerr.

Kerr and his colleagues say that the situation is so dire that governments and conservation agencies should consider artificially creating colonies to the north to help them spread, a process called assisted migration. “We need governments to lead strongly on this, and we need it immediately,” says Kerr."

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27871-climate-vice-squeezes-bumblebee-habitat-from-north-and-south/

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, damnedifIknow.

[damnedifIknow]

4. Scary when you look at what these bees actually do

Crops pollinated by bumblebees (some of the crops are pollinated for seed).
Kiwi fruit Oil seed rape Runner beans
Cranberry Turnip rape Lima beans
Blueberry Sunflowers Broad beans
Gooseberry Cotton Soya bean
Currants Vetches Aubergine
Cherry Lucerne (alfalfa) Tomato
Pear Clovers Peppers
Plum Lupin Cucumber
Apple Buckwheat Squash
Blackberry Pumpkin
Orange Gourds
Lemon Celery
Melon coriander
Watermelon Fennel
Raspberry Gherkin
Peach Marrow
Strawberry Mustard

http://www.bumblebee.org/economic.htm

[haikugal]

2. We used to have a lot of bumble bees, I mean a lot!

I haven't seen one in two years and our honey bees which used to buzz everywhere are few. It worries me a lot. We've even talked about beekeeping, when we get set up. Our mason bees are doing fine though because we have plenty of fruit set in spring on the trees. We need to get on this...and ALL the rest of it too!

[SamKnause]

3. Apparently my small 12 acre farm

is a sanctuary for bumblebees.

I have more bumblebees this year than in the

previous 12 years.

I have butterflies, bumblebees, and honey bees on every

white clover flower.

I wear flip flops a lot.

I am surprised I have not gotten stung yet.

I had to get a bumblebee off my dogs ear.

I guess it was tired of flying and wanted to hitch a ride.

They seem to be very docile.

When the golden rod blooms I hope to have thousands and

thousands.

You can hear them buzzing as you approach the plants.

I usually observe them 4 or 5 times a day.