Around 20000 species of bee still exist in the world, however, they are moving towards extinction quite rapidly. The credit for the declining bee species goes to climate change, pesticide poisoning, and loss of plants. Looking at the rising death of the species, experts have created the first modern map of bee species on a global level. It is considered the first step towards bee conservation. This study has been published in the journal Current Biology. Precise details of bee species and patterns have been quite inadequate especially across developing nations where publically available records are very few. The findings of the study have established an essential standard for further studies on bees in the future. The first author of the study, Michael Orr has said that they have developed this global map of bees to find out where the species live and save them.
Many experts have said that it is an essential first step towards the conservation of bee species. They have claimed that with the help of the global map, it will be easy to track the number of threats such as habitat destruction and climate change, which are harmful to bee species. The study will allow better incorporation of pollination services into ecosystem analyses. Scientists have acquired combined data of more than 5.8 million public bee episode records to come up with this global map. They as well have included a checklist of distribution of more than 20000 bee species available online at the biodiversity portal. The analysis of the experts has led to a clear account of the numbers and patterns of bee species dispersed in different geographical areas.
The study has found higher concentrations of bee variety in the northern hemisphere as compared to the southern hemisphere. The concentrations of bee diversity have been high in the desert and temperate atmosphere as compared to humid, tropical, and forest areas. The findings of the study coincide with a past hypothesis, which says that bee variety follows a bimodal latitudinal ascent, which means that higher counts of bees are found away from south and north poles. A fewer quantity of bees is found near the equator.
