We haven’t seen a quarter of known bee species since the 1990s
A sweeping analysis shows an overall downward trend in bee diversity worldwide, raising concerns about these crucial pollinators.
ByLiz Langley
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But, it seems, these crucial insects aren’t doing very well. A study published today in the journal
One Earth reveals that in recent decades, the number of bee species reported in the wild has declined globally. The sharpest decrease occurred between 2006 and 2015, with roughly 25 percent fewer species spotted even as sightings by citizen scientists were increasing rapidly.
Halictid bees also called sweat bees for their attraction to our perspiration pollinate important crops such as alfalfa, sunflowers, and cherries. Observations of these tiny metallic fliers have fallen by 17 percent since the 1990s, the study found.
A Quarter of Known Bee Species Havenât Been Seen Since 1990
Published: February 1, 2021
The number of wild bee species recorded by an international database of life on earth has declined by a quarter since 1990, according to a global analysis of bee declines.
Researchers analyzed bee records from museums, universities and citizen scientists collated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, (GBIF) a global, government-funded network providing open-access data on biodiversity.
They found a steep decline in bee species being recorded since 1990, with approximately 25 percent fewer species reported between 2006 and 2015 than before the 1990s.
Although this does not mean these species are extinct, it may indicate that some have become so scarce that they are no longer regularly observed in the wild.
Quarter of bee species haven t been seen in 30 years - research
25 Jan, 2021 01:00 AM
3 minutes to read
A leafcutter bee (Megachile sp). Photo / Eduardo E Zattara
The Country
Argentinian researchers have found that, since the 1990s, up to 25 per cent of reported bee species are no longer being reported in global records - despite a large increase in the number of records available.
While this does not mean that these species are all extinct, it might indicate that they have become rare enough that no one is observing them in nature.
The findings appeared on January 22 in the journal, One Earth. The research was conducted at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET).
25% of wild bee species have gone missing since the 1990s, study finds By Sophie Lewis Challenge for gardeners: Don t poison bees
Bee species around the world are facing devastating declines, and researchers are warning that we are running out of time to save them. According to new research, up to 25% of known bee species haven t been reported in global records since the 1990s, despite an increase in the number of available records overall.
Researchers at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) in Argentina, who published their findings today in the journal One Earth, studied bee data from 1946-2015, finding a shocking decline in the last three decades.