Distribution widening of a ground-nesting social bee across Europe favored by climate change and urban setting

Abstract

Climate change and/or land use change were repeatedly reported as important for both range expansion of alien bee species and range shrinking for native bee species. However, environmental changes may also positively affect native species that may expand across contiguous areas to their native ones. Here, we focused on Halictus scabiosae (Rossi, 1790) (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), a ground-nesting, primitively eusocial wild bee that has its primary distribution in Western-Southern Europe but that was recently recorded in Eastern-Central Europe. In particular, we studied the range expansion patterns of H. scabiosae, and we hypothesized that previously unsuitable areas may be currently colonized because of environmental changes. In the last 5 years, H. scabiosae moved its densest record areas to North-Eastern Europe, but its ecological niche remained almost unchanged from 1970 to date, suggesting that this bee species is following its preferred conditions (high temperature, high temperature seasonality, and low precipitation seasonality). Potential distribution models revealed high suitability in still unoccupied North-Eastern areas, with urbanization increasingly important as potential stepping stones towards the expansion. The relevant role of urbanization is confirmed by the increase in the number of urban records through time and by the fact that cities with greater population density and greater fragmentation are more likely associated with this species’ occurrence. Halictus scabiosae is thus expanding its range because climate change is producing—and urban environment is offering—suitable conditions in areas previously inadequate for its establishment.