News

MSU study confirms bumble bee population decline

A recent study by Michigan State University finds bumble bee populations have declined by at least half over the past century.

Entomologist Rufus Isaacs tells Brownfield his team has been researching wild bees in Michigan for the past decade, finding more than 440 species of bees.

“Some have moved further north, some are only showing up in a couple of counties, and one of the species is completely gone from the state.”     

The study also analyzed the pollen on bumble bee collections and if the changing landscape could be a reason for declining populations.

“We have a correlation between the number of species [of plants] bumble bees visit and whether they’ve declined, but we can’t definitively say that that’s the cause.”

The next phase of the research will focus on why some bumble bee species aren’t able to adapt their diet.

Isaacs recommends farmers and homeowners incorporate plants that flower from spring to fall to help provide habitat to pollinators throughout the year.