Climate change could turn bumblebees into picky eaters

By Gary Hartley

Temperature and humidity changes that influence the way flowers grow can make bumblebees picky eaters – and climate change could make them even more so. This suggests that rising temperatures could have an impact on pollination rates, which are already in decline.

Charlotte Descamps and her colleagues at UCLouvain in Belgium tested how buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) respond to plants grown at different temperatures. They found the bees were four times less likely to visit borage plants grown at 26°C compared …