Bees underwent massive extinction 65 million years ago -- the same time a massive event triggered the end of the dinosaurs.
The international team of researchers uncovered widespread die-offs in the bee group Xylocopinae, or carpenter bees, at the end of the Cretaceous and beginning of the Paleogene eras, a period known as the the K-T boundary.
Flowering plants also underwent major losses at the K-T boundary, suggesting the bees who relied on them followed a similar pattern. Up until now, no determination was made, however, due to a lack of fossil records.
In order to overcome this obstacle, the researchers analyzed the DNA sequences of four "tribes" of 230 species of carpenter bees from every continent except Antarctica. Doing so allowed them to detect patterns indicative of a mass extinction. Combining what fossil records are available to this DNA analysis, a clear picture of timing began to materialize.
"The data told us something major was happening in four different groups of bees at the same time," Sandra Rehan, an assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of New Hampshire said in a statement.
The findings, Rehan believes, may help to solve a current puzzle.
"Understanding extinctions and the effects of declines in the past can help us understand the pollinator decline and the global crisis in pollinators today," she mused.
Furthermore, a better understand of the bee's story may help engender more interest in the insect, Rehan argues.
"If you could tell their whole story, maybe people would care more about protecting them," she said.
Michael Schwarz at Australia's Flinders University and Remko Leys at the South Australian Museum also contributed to the report published by PLOS One.