Earlier take-off could lead to fewer bumblebees and less pollination.*

Earlier take-off could lead to fewer bumblebees and less pollination.

Lund University

With the arrival of spring, bumblebee queens take their first wing beat of the season and set out to find new nesting sites. But they are flying earlier in the year, as a result of a warmer climate and a changing agricultural landscape, according to new research.

“We risk losing additional bumblebee species, and having less pollination of crops and wild plants,” says researcher Maria Blasi Romero at Lund University.

When spring arrives and the ground warms up, bumblebee queens wake up from hibernation. Contrary to workers and males, queens are the only bumblebees that survive the winter, and they spend a couple of weeks finding a place to nest, where they can lay eggs and start a colony.

 

* THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.