The widespread effects of climate change continue to baffle and cause alarm around the world. A recent study looked into the effect on bumblebees, and findings showed the tongue of two bumblebee species have shrunk by 25 percent in the past 40 years.
The two species of bumblebees reside in the Rocky Mountains in the United States. While this recent discovery seems such a small feat compared to climate change's more pressing aftermath, this miniscule detail can affect the flowers and the bees, literally speaking.
A bumblebee's tongue size is crucial in the pollination process. Longer tongues mean they can collect nectar from floral species with longer corollas. Bumblebees with long tongues are hailed as specialists in the field.
These "superior" bumblebees tend to pollinate only a specific breed of flora. This arrangement set by Mother Nature is beneficial to both insect and plant. The bees have fewer competitors when it comes to food hunting, while the flowers are safe because of the fact that the bees that come to them only visit flowers of the same caliber. This means that their pollen remain in the same species.
Bumblebees with average-sized tongues tend to "play the field" by going from one flower to another in search of nectar, which is not a good setup for both. When there is an abundant amount of flowers to choose from, the "average bees" won't feel much pressure.
For them, however, there has been a decline in the number and species of flowers found in the mountains. This means less food for the bumblebees on top of their tongue shrinkage problem.
The research team measured the tongue size of bumblebees from two time periods: museum specimens of bees collected between 1966 and 1980 and bees collected between 2012 and 2014. Focusing on two of the most popular bumblebee types found in the Rocky Mountain, the Bombus balteatus and Bombus sylvicola, the team meticulously measured the tongue length. Findings showed a 25 percent shrinkage in the past 40 years. That is about a 0.61 percent yearly reduction.
The research team came up with several theories on the cause of the phenomenon. The strongest evidence points to the change in floral density in the mountains due to the rising temperature.
On the brighter side, the researchers believe that the phenomenon is a natural occurrence that will help in the survival of bumblebees in the mountains. With less food to choose from and a shrinking tongue, bumblebees of all sizes will be less frilly when it comes to the flowers they choose to visit.
When there are fewer flowers to choose from, it might not be necessary to be so specialized, believes lead author Nicole Miller-Struttmann, who works as an assistant biological sciences professor at State University of New York (SUNY) College at Old Westbury.
Perhaps it is nature's way to strengthen the bumblebee's survival in the next few years, but one's survival can lead to the extinction of another. With bumblebee tongues getting shorter by the year, it could signal danger to the long-tubed flowers in the Rocky Mountains.
