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Scientists have mapped the distribution of all 20,000 bee species on earth.
The new global bee map will help in the conservation of the insects we rely on to pollinate our crops, researchers in Singapore and China say.
Bees are facing pressure on their population numbers due to habitat loss and the use of pesticides.
Yet little is known about the range of species that live on every continent except Antarctica, from tiny stingless bees to bees the size of a human thumb.
Bees provide essential services to our ecosystems and are the main pollinators of many of our staple foods. Yet, until now, we haven’t had the data to show where most species are found on the planet, said Dr. Alice Hughes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yunnan.
“Here we combine millions of records to create the first maps of global bee wealth and understand why we see these patterns,” he told BBC News.
“These maps and our structure can then form the basis for future work, enabling us to better understand bee wealth patterns and ensure they are effectively preserved in the future.”
Some bee species, such as bumblebees, in areas such as Europe and North America, are well studied.
But in other regions, such as much of Asia and Africa, documentation has been sparse.
While much remains to be learned about what drives bee diversity, the research team hopes their work will help in the conservation of bees as global pollinators.
Dr John Ascher of the National University of Singapore said, “By establishing a more reliable baseline, we can more accurately characterize the decline of bees and better distinguish areas less suitable for bees from areas where bees should thrive but have been reduced. from threats such as pesticides, loss of natural habitat and overgrazing “.
Facts about bees
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Some species, such as honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees, live in colonies, while others are solitary insects
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Although some groups, such as bumblebees, are well studied, the vast majority, over 96% of bee species are poorly documented
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Many crops, especially in developing countries, rely on native bee species, not honey bees,
How was the map made?
To create their map, the researchers compared data on the presence of individual bee species with a checklist of more than 20,000 species compiled by Dr. Ascher.
This has provided a clearer picture of how the many bee species are distributed around the world.
The study confirmed that, unlike other creatures, such as birds and mammals, more bee species are found in arid and temperate areas far from the poles than in tropical environments closer to the equator.
There are more of them in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere, with hot spots in parts of the United States, Africa and the Middle East.
There are far fewer bee species in forests and jungles than in desert environments because trees tend to provide fewer food sources for bees than plants and flowers.
Why do we need to keep track of insect populations?
The reported decline in some insect populations has raised alarm, with calls for better monitoring.
The huge number of insect species on the planet – more than 900,000 – makes this a monumental task, with millions of specimens awaiting identification in museums.
Insects are often overlooked in global biodiversity assessments, in favor of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
The research is published in the journal Current Biology.
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