Bees’ flight performance affects their ability to pollinate plants – a crucial service for many of our crops. Now, researchers from Imperial College London have measured the relationship between bumblebee flight performance and surrounding temperature.
Bees’ flight performance affects their ability to pollinate plants – a crucial service for many of our crops. Now, researchers from Imperial College London have measured the relationship between bumblebee flight performance and surrounding temperature.
Measuring the motivation of bumblebees to fly and their flight endurance, the team found performance rose rapidly from the lower tested limit of 12°C and peaked between 25-27°C. Beyond this, however, they found performance started to decline.
Their results indicate that whilst bumblebees found in more northern latitudes may see benefits to flight performance under future climate warming, populations in southern latitudes, where temperatures above 27oC are more readily exceeded, may be adversely affected. The results are published today in Functional Ecology.
Read more at: Imperial College London
Photo Credit: dawnydanwy via Pixabay
