WATCH: How do extreme weather shifts impact bees?

When you put some blueberries on your cereal in the morning or brew your morning cup of coffee, do you ever think about how bees played an integral part in the production of what you are eating?

It is easy to see the world of bees to be something separate from human life and which only results in the production of honey. However, this is far from the truth.

About one third of what humans eat are dependent on the pollination of bees, including almonds, avocados, blueberries, apples and pumpkins. This jumps up to about three quarters when considering all pollinators.

Just as we think they don’t impact us, it is also easy to think we don’t impact them, but the effects of our actions are continuing to impact them in a number of ways.

As Australia’s climate continues to change, bushfires and extreme heatwaves will become more frequent and severe, and the increasing prevalence of bushfires will also impact local wood-nesting bee populations and their habitats.

The Climate Council reports the ongoing burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas as key instigators of this extreme weather.

Higher temperatures will also impact the country’s flowers, and could lead blooming seasons to occur weeks or months earlier than expected.

In 2024, Victorian botanist and beekeeper Doctor Anna Carrucan told the ABC the hotter weather will “affect how well trees flower and therefore how much pollen and nectar they provide for insect foragers or even if certain plant varieties and landscapes persist.”