New research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

has found that another vitally important pollinator, the bumblebee, is in serious decline. According to the figures, there has been a shocking 96 percent decline in four major species of the bumblebee, and an up to 87 percent decrease in their overall geographic coverage.

‘We provide incontrovertible evidence that multiple Bombus species have experienced sharp population declines at the national level,’ explained researchers in their report. And in a phone interview with Reuters, study author Sydney Cameron from the University of Illinois, Urbana, explained that these bumblebee species are ‘one of the most important pollinators of native plants.’