This bee species may be endangered by climate change

Across the western U.S., a shiny green bee pollinates manzanita shrubs and overwinters in the boreholes of trees.

Warmer temperartures will make surviving a challenge for some bee species.

But warming temperatures could make it harder for this species, Osmia ribifloris, to survive in parts of its native range.

Caradonna: “In already warm ecosystems like deserts, a lot of organisms may be close to their physiological limits. You warm up the temperature and they don’t really have a lot of room to adjust.”

Paul Caradonna of the Chicago Botanic Gardens tested the effect of warming on these bees in Arizona. He painted nesting boxes black, so they would absorb more heat. Those nests were, on average, three to five degrees hotter than the unpainted ones. That increase is consistent with the warming expected in the Southwest over the next few decades.

Read the story by Sarah Kennedy from Yale Climate Connections - “This bee species may be endangered by climate change.”