RT Journal Article
T1 Distribution widening of a ground-nesting social bee across Europe favored by climate change and urban setting
A1 Gil Tapetado, Diego
A1 Ferrari, Andrea
A1 Ronchetti, Federico
A1 Polidori, Carlo
AB 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.
PB Springer
SN 0044-8435
YR 2024
FD 2024-06
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/118676
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/118676
LA eng
NO Gil-Tapetado, D., Ferrari, A., Ronchetti, F. et al. Distribution widening of a ground-nesting social bee across Europe favored by climate change and urban setting. Apidologie 55, 35 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-024-01077-5
NO Funding:Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi di Milano within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.
NO Università degli Studi di Milano
DS Docta Complutense
RD 26 dic 2025