Bee and wildflower diversity decline together.

• Author: Herro, Alana
• Position: EYE ON EARTH - Letter to the editor

The diversity of bees and the wildflowers that depend on them for pollination are declining simultaneously, according to new research conducted in Britain and the Netherlands. While other studies have documented dwindling numbers of specific pollinating insects, this is the first to suggest largescale losses. "We were shocked by [the] decline in plants as well as bees," said Koos Biesmeijer, a research fellow at the University of Leeds and lead author of the analysis, published in the July 21 issue of Science. "If this pattern is replicated elsewhere, the 'pollinator services' we take for granted could be at risk."

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The researchers compiled biodiversity data from hundreds of sites in the two countries and found that bee diversity had decreased in nearly 80 percent of them...