This week on Science Behind the Forecast, learn how vital bees are to our lives and how they’re adapting to a changing climate. LPM’s Bill Burton talks bees with meteorologist Tawana Andrew.
This transcript was edited for clarity and length.
Tawana Andrew: Today’s topic is about a tiny but powerful part of our planet.
Bill Burton: It’s got me buzzing. I’m telling you, I’m excited to talk about this. And we’re talking today about bees. Educate us, please.
TA: There’s apparently about 30,000 bee species around the world.
BB: Wait, wait, wait! 30,000?!
TA: Yes, 30,000 bee species around the entire planet. There’s a lot of them, and they’re vital because we can’t have our morning cup of coffee or that afternoon salad without them. Ninety commercially grown crops in the United States rely on honeybees specifically, and those honeybees pollinate $15 billion – that’s billion with a B – worth of crops each year, and that’s just in the United States Without them, we really would not have the food supply that we rely on so much.
BB: We definitely need honey bees. What’s happening with the range for bees? Is climate change affecting that?
TA: It is because the southern boundaries of the North American habitat have been gradually being pushed to the north. That was found by a 2015 study. However, the northern ranges remain the same. Researchers have found that bees have lost nearly 200 miles of habitat across North America and Europe. They are losing their homes with the changing climate and evolving climate that we’re seeing across the world.
Specifically in June, they’re very very busy. We say busy bees, but they are busy in June in the northern hemisphere. That is when bee colonies are near their peak population, to help to maximize honey production and stockpile the critical resources that they need to weather the winter months. Bees usually collect honey when temperatures are between 50 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
BB: That’s a pretty wide range.
TA: The most optimal temperatures for foraging are between 68 degrees and 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
BB: Ah, it’s just right.
TA: Exactly. You have to have everything perfect for those bees, right? But they know how to adapt when the weather gets wacky. Researchers say that bees will gather water to help to keep the colony cool on days where temperatures start to approach or even exceed 100 degrees. They’ll spread little tiny water droplets throughout the hive, and the bees will fan their wings, evaporating that water and cooling the hive through that.
On very humid days they do this thing that’s called bearding.
BB: Bearding?
TA: Bearding is basically when a lot of the bees in a colony will hang out on the front of the hive in a large cluster to do a couple of things: one, reduce the body heat within the hive, and to cool the temperature within the hive by fanning their wings and circulating the cooler air within the colony.
BB: It’s bee AC.
TA: Exactly, they know exactly what they’re doing to cool things down, and for them, it’s free. They don’t have to pay for it.
LPM depends on donations from members – generous people like you – for the majority of our funding. You can help make the next story possible with a donation of $10, $20, $100 or $1,000. We’ll put your gift to work providing news and music for our everyone diverse community.