Are scientists looking at how the climate affects the bees favorite flowers and food sources?
ESAIAS: That’s a good question. Most of the nectar sources in Maryland, my state, come from trees — tulip poplar, black locus and holly trees. There has been a great deal of research on plants and increased CO2 and warming. I tried to find out how temperatures would affect blooming dates, and there is virtually no information in the literature on how temperature affects blooming dates of our trees and how increased CO2 concentrations affect blooming dates. There’s lots of research that says it makes plants grow faster, and some of them, like poison ivy, become more toxic. But ecologists in general have not paid attention to the timing of blooming and nectar availability and quality of pollen. McDONALD: That is so true. The only number that I go on is that an apple tree will bloom after 40 days in 40-degree temperatures. That boils down that simple formula. ESAIAS: As a kind of a climatologist, I’m getting paid to study the impact of potential global warming scenarios on our ecology. T
