Bumblebee nests are being cooked by climate change.

Bee colonies are at risk due to rising global temperatures

Bee colonies are at risk due to rising global temperatures

Rising temperatures have been pinpointed as a cause for the insect's decline in Europe and North America and the concerns have been heightened as new research has found that nests can only thrive in a narrow temperature window.

Boffins from Canada and Belgium reviewed 180 years of previous scientific study on more than two dozen bee species and found that temperatures of 36C and above were disastrous for the nests.

The optimum temperature range for bee colonies appeared to be between 28C and 32C, irrespective of whether the nests were located in the cold Arctic or the warm tropics.

Dr. Peter Kevan, of Guelph University in Canada, said: "It's remarkable that all the way from the high Arctic to the tropics, bumblebees seem to have the same sort of nest temperature requirements.

"If it gets too hot... it's quite likely that they will die."