Global Warming

Global warming affecting phrenology

Phenology is the study of how plant and animal life cycles are influenced by seasonal variations in climate.

It is one of the most cunning and elaborate reproductive deceits: the early spider orchid (Ophrys sphegodes) wafts a floral bouquet into the air that mimics the irresistible scent of a virgin female solitary mining bee, tricking gullible male bees into attempting intercourse with several flowers, thereby ensuring the plant’s pollination.

But the sexual success of this rare and declining orchid in Britain is imperilled by climate change, researchers have found.

The orchid’s ruse only works if a female mining bee, Andrena nigroaenea, has not emerged from hibernation, because as soon as this happens, the orchid cannot compete with the alluring scent of the real thing – and the plant is ignored by the male bees.

While warmer springs cause the early spider orchid to flower earlier in May, climate warming is also causing female bees to emerge from hibernation even earlier – confounding the orchid’s attempts to dupe the male bees.

Ecologists have been saying for a long time that if phenologies are changed by changing climate this might disrupt important interactions in communities of species. This study provides the strongest evidence we have that something nasty is happening. There are probably lots of other undocumented cases where similar detrimental effects on species are occurring.