Australian Bees' Nest Types Influence Climate Resilience
Rosalyn Gloag Bees have many different ways of building their homes. Many people will be familiar with the hives of European honeybees, often found in tree cavities. But many other bees – including many of Australia’s roughly 2,000 species of native bees – build their nests underground , in plant stems or in wood cavities. Our new paper published in Nature Communications shows that the extent to which native Australian bees can cope with increasing heat depends on the type of
Research published in Nature Communications reveals that the type of nest used by native Australian bees affects their ability to handle rising temperatures. The study found that bees living in stem nests, which are exposed to higher temperatures, are more heat tolerant than those in ground or cavity nests. This suggests that nest environment plays a key role in determining a species' resilience to climate change. The study involved collecting over 95 native bee species across Australia and testing their heat tolerance. Scientists used a pooter to safely collect bees from flowering plants during a four-month field trip. The findings highlight the importance of considering microclimates when assessing species' responses to climate change. Heat tolerance was measured by gradually increasing temperatures until bees lost coordination. The results show that species with similar nesting habits often share similar heat tolerance levels. Understanding these patterns can help predict how bee populations will adapt to future warming.
Understanding how bees adapt to climate change is critical for preserving pollinator populations and ecosystem health.
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