Threats
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Climate Change
Temperatures change causes flowers to bloom earlier or later than usual, leaving bees with fewer food sources. Bee populations are also having more difficulty moving their ranges to cooler, more northern regions to follow temperature shifts, thus reducing their habitat.
If bees cannot adapt to increasing temperature changes, this could lead to their extinction.
Habitat Loss
Bees rely heavily on the environment that surrounds them. Therefore, habitat loss is destroying bees homes by limiting the area they have to live and thrive in. There are fewer plants or flowers to pollinate and less food for bees. They play a crucial role in our ecosystem and contribute to biodiversity.
Invasive Plant Species
Invasive or non-native plant species overtake the land and resources that native wildflowers need to survive. This reduces the number of native wildflowers that bees can forage from. It becomes harder to find food and can cause the bee population to decrease.
Agriculture
Many farms have been using insecticides and neonicotinoid pesticides. This harms bees, can kill them, or hurt their chances of reproduction. These harmful substances slowly kill bees over a long period of time. Additionally, the development of monoculture crops in farming creates a lack of diversity in plants that bees rely on.
Humans
Humans are very destructive to the environment which will overall affect bees. Industrialization and urban expansion have caused excessive amounts of deforestation and destruction of habitat. We also cause pollution harming the environment as well as bees.
Honey Bees
Surprisingly, honey bees pose a significant threat to solitary bees. Honey bees are non-native and are imported from Europe. They compete for resources with local solitary bees. Honey bees are also transported for commercial pollination. This stress reduces their disease resistance and they can spread diseases to other bees.