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| Dino impact also destroyed bees, says study | Dino impact also destroyed bees, says study |
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| Scientists say there was a widespread extinction of bees 66 million years ago, at the same time as the event that killed off the dinosaurs. | Scientists say there was a widespread extinction of bees 66 million years ago, at the same time as the event that killed off the dinosaurs. |
| The demise of the dinosaurs was almost certainly the result of an asteroid or comet hitting Earth. | The demise of the dinosaurs was almost certainly the result of an asteroid or comet hitting Earth. |
| But the extinction event was selective, affecting some groups more than others. | But the extinction event was selective, affecting some groups more than others. |
| Writing in Plos One journal, the team used fossils and DNA analysis to show that one bee group suffered a serious decline at the time of this collision. | Writing in Plos One journal, the team used fossils and DNA analysis to show that one bee group suffered a serious decline at the time of this collision. |
| The researchers chose to study bees within the subfamily known as Xylocopinae - which included the carpenter bees. | The researchers chose to study bees within the subfamily known as Xylocopinae - which included the carpenter bees. |
| This was because the evolutionary history of this group could be traced back to the Cretaceous Period, when the dinosaurs still walked the Earth. | This was because the evolutionary history of this group could be traced back to the Cretaceous Period, when the dinosaurs still walked the Earth. |
| Previous studies had suggested a widespread extinction among flowering plants during the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event 66 million years ago. | Previous studies had suggested a widespread extinction among flowering plants during the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event 66 million years ago. |
| And it had long been assumed that the bees that depended upon these plants would have met the same fate. | And it had long been assumed that the bees that depended upon these plants would have met the same fate. |
| Yet, unlike the dinosaurs, "there is a relatively poor fossil record of bees," said the paper's lead author Sandra Rehan, a biologist at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, US. This has made the confirmation of such an extinction difficult. | |
| However, the researchers were able to use an extinct group of Xylocopinae as a calibration point for timing the dispersal of these bees. | However, the researchers were able to use an extinct group of Xylocopinae as a calibration point for timing the dispersal of these bees. |
| They were also able to study flower fossils that had evolved traits that allowed them to be pollinated by bee relatives of the Xylocopinae. | They were also able to study flower fossils that had evolved traits that allowed them to be pollinated by bee relatives of the Xylocopinae. |
| "The data told us something major was happening in four different groups of bees at the same time," said Dr Rehan. | "The data told us something major was happening in four different groups of bees at the same time," said Dr Rehan. |
| "And it happened to be the same time as the dinosaurs went extinct." | "And it happened to be the same time as the dinosaurs went extinct." |
| The findings of this study could have implications for today's concern about the loss in diversity of bees, a pivotal species for agriculture and biodiversity. | The findings of this study could have implications for today's concern about the loss in diversity of bees, a pivotal species for agriculture and biodiversity. |
| "Understanding extinctions and the effects of declines in the past can help us understand the pollinator decline and the global crisis in pollinators today," Dr Rehan explained. | "Understanding extinctions and the effects of declines in the past can help us understand the pollinator decline and the global crisis in pollinators today," Dr Rehan explained. |