What is the Bees and Heatwaves Project?
Heatwaves pose significant challenges to many animals, causing them to adapt their activity patterns to avoid thermal stress. For example, some animals shift their activities from daytime to dawn or dusk. However, it is unclear if bees can adopt similar strategies during hot days. This project aimed to explore how bees, including bumblebees, honey bees, and solitary bees, respond to high temperatures and identify the plant species that support them during such extreme conditions. With your help we wanted to answer the following questions:
​
a) Do bees change their activity patterns in response to high temperatures?
b) Which plants do they visit during hot days?
​
This data improved our understanding of the real-time impacts of heatwaves on bee populations and helped to create practical guides to support them in a warming world.
Findings
Watch our EntoLive on the pilot year's Bees and Heatwaves results here.
As mentioned above, one of the outcomes of this project was to create a practical guide of how we can support pollinators in our gardens in a warming world. ​Dr. Yanet Sepulveda has produced this guide using the data collected in the 'Bees and Heatwaves' project.
​
"In 2023, we asked participants to observe bee activity before, during, and after a heatwave. In 2024, we shifted to weekly observations, so we could track patterns across a range of temperatures – not just the extremes. In both years, participants helped us learn if bee activity changes during hot weather, how many bees they observe visiting their flower patch at different temperatures during the day, and which plants they turn to for food and shelter. And thanks to these amazing contributions, we now have created a practical guide to help support pollinators and build climate-resilient green spaces."