BeeHave: Norwegian wild bee diversity and health assessed by spatiotemporal genomics and toxicology

Wild bumble bees are important pollinators that provide crucial ecosystem services for a wide range of wild plants and commercial crops. Nonetheless, the species richness and abundance of bumble bees is declining through to a combination of pesticides, parasites, invasive species, climate change and habitat loss, threatening agricultural productivity and the function and stability of plant communities. In Norway, nearly nothing is known about the long-term trends, causes of decline and spatial diversity of bumble bees.  In this project, we will study inter and intra-specific species diversity based on whole genome sequence data, toxicology and ecology of selected species of bumble bees in Norway using historical and modern specimens. This work provides an important first step towards a deeper understanding of pesticide use and long-term changes in the spatial distribution of bumble bee diversity in Norway. It aims to identify diverse, healthy bee populations in order to help manage, maintain or improve their ecosystem services as pollinators of wild plants and entomophilous crops in a changing environment. This project is led by Bastiaan Star in collaboration with Katrine Borgå (AQUA, IBV), Anders Nielsen (NIBIO) and Markus Sydenham (NINA).