Australian Native Bees' Nests Reveal Climate Change Challenges

WHO:

The Conversation - Researchers from Australia, including Carmen da Silva, conducted the study on native bees.

WHAT:

The Conversation - The study published in Nature Communications examined the heat tolerance of over 95 species of native Australian bees.

Phys.org - Bee species that nest in plant stems are at the greatest short-term risk from increasing temperatures due to climate change.

The Conversation - The study found that the most heat-tolerant bee species are also the most vulnerable to future warming.

The Conversation - A metric called "thermal safety margin" was calculated to assess species vulnerability to climate change.

WHERE:

The Conversation - The research was conducted across various locations on Australia’s mainland.

WHEN:

The Conversation - A four-month field trip was conducted to collect and test the bees.

WHY:

The Conversation - Understanding how native bees cope with climate change is crucial for predicting species responses to further climate changes.

The Conversation - The study aims to address the gap in understanding how microclimates affect species' heat tolerance.

HOW:

The Conversation - Researchers used butterfly nets and a "pooter" apparatus to collect bees from flowering plants.

The Conversation - Heat tolerance was tested by gradually increasing the temperature until the bees lost coordination.

The Conversation - The study compared vulnerability predictions using both air temperatures and microclimate temperatures experienced by the bees in their nests.

(UPDATED June 15, 2026 23:39 UTC)

Researchers from Australia, including Carmen da Silva, conducted a study published in Nature Communications that examined the heat tolerance of over ninety-five species of native Australian bees. The research found that bee species nesting in plant stems are at the greatest short-term risk from rising temperatures, and interestingly, the most heat-tolerant species are also the most vulnerable to future warming. To assess the species' vulnerability, a metric called "thermal safety margin" was calculated, and the study highlights the importance of understanding how native bees cope with climate change to predict their responses to further environmental shifts.