many other species that respond to a warming climate by mi-
grating northward toward the polar regions, bumblebees are not
moving. Biologist Jeremy Kerr, who led the study, says that he
and the other researchers were shocked that the bees had not
moved. “We thought bumblebees would do that,”
63
he says. One
reason Kerr and his colleagues assumed the bees would move is
because of the behavior of butterflies, which migrate north when
southern climates are not habitable. Even though it seems like
bees could easily do the same, the scientists are puzzled about
why this is not happening. It could be that the habitat farther north
is not suitable for them, although that is only speculation.
Bumblebees (pictured) perform a vital function by pollinating many
agricultural crops and other plants, including wild owers. Scienti c studies
show that the warming global climate is killing enormous numbers of bees.
