Wild bumblebee populations are declining across the northern hemisphere from habitat loss, pesticide exposure, disease from commercially reared bees, and climate change warming their mountain refugia.
Wild bumblebee colonies experiencing pesticide exposure suffer reduced queen production and colony failure from impaired navigation and foraging. Individual bees exposed to sublethal pesticide doses may survive but cannot orient to return to their colony — effectively lost and unable to contribute to colony survival. Range compression from climate change limits access to suitable nesting and foraging habitat. Creating diverse native flower habitat, eliminating pesticide use, and supporting research into bumblebee disease management are the most impactful welfare actions available for wild bumblebee populations.