the non-native honey bees hunt and kill native bees in their vicinity, so people bringing bee-boxes around, thinking they're being helpful by pollinating the flowers, are often just systematically killing off the local pollinators and by extension, the native plants they pollinate
I tried googling tickle bees but nothing (revelant to actual bee biology) came up but im curious! what region is this specific to? what bee classification is it "technically" so i can learn abt it? ty!!!
Texas. They're just little bees without stingers that tickle in your hand if you catch one. No idea about the taxonomy. They're like the one yellow and black flying thing around here that isn't packing heat.
https://txmg.org/resources/pollinators/the-trouble-with-bees
This article identifies them as adrena bees, says they lack stingers, thus, lacking the ability to pack heat, and having an 'exhilarating vibration of wings.' so, tickling. Super cool to learn, didnt know any honey bee types could not have the suicidal feature until now lol!
While this is good news, we really need to stop conflating human-kept honeybee numbers with populations of wild, native pollinators. (Not just in the US. Everywhere.)
My dad's been keeping bees now for over 40 years, and in that time he's seen it change from maybe losing one or two hives over the winter to losing at least half.
I remain annoyed at the reporting on this. The number of European honey bee colonies in the US has been about constant since the mid-1990s. Losses increased, which increases costs, but managed bees have never been in danger of true collapse.
Important to note that while honey bees are important for pollination, they're just a fraction of the bee population, and we need habitat restoration and pesticide regulation & reduction to reduce overall population decline and stressors; haven't had a chance to read yet, so forgive me if redundant.
Muting this thread, cause I'm kind of overwhelmed by all the RTs rn (especially since I'm kinda realizing that I was unintentionally greenwashing an issue) so here's a zine about how to help bees who are actually still in trouble: https://bsky.app/profile/soren-lorenson.bsky.social/post/3la2udjwidi25
Absolutely. The way I've thought about this is honey bees are the bee representatives with a PR team so we get the news,but (most of) the same environmental factors that impact their health impact native bees, so seeing the trends reverse is still good news. Still lots of other factors & work to do
In slightly less good news: cross-border traffic in adulterated or industrially-produced "honey" is undercutting real honey rices to such a degree that even commercial-scale honey production is becoming economically unviable.
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One knock-on effect of that is that if commercial honey producers go out of business, their colonies will no longer be providing a pollination service.
NB - mass, monoculture pollination is by no means great, but there are comsequences to ending it.
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So this ain’t good news
America doesn’t have a honeybee shortage, we have a native pollinator shortage
And honeybees’re an invasive species that helps drive native pollinators away
An increase in honeybee populations in America ain’t somethin’ we should cheer for
european honeybees are invasive to the americas and have directly caused the decline of native pollinators/bees. hobby beekeepers are causing the extinction of native pollinators/bees.
Almost started at least one hive last year but when my next door neighbor's died in two unusual freezes last winter, thought better of it. Floriduh and the climate crisis are quite synonymous.
Just wanted to say; plant native and leave parts of your yard to grow wild. Move leaves to an area of your yard if you can’t just leave them where they fall. Native pollinators are threatened too.
I’m a very casual gardener but leaned into perennials and herbs that bring the bees. My neighbors complain about all the bees in my yard and I love it 🐝
Depends on the wasp species, really. We have scads of solitary wasps that don’t bother anybody and won’t sting unless you accidentally put your hand on one, but yellowjackets are still dicks.
There was a huge bald-faced hornet nest in a tree by my mum's garden this year, unfortunately discovered the hard way by the tree trimmer guy. Aside from that incident they were perfectly lovely neighbors, and mum made a point of saying hi to/checking on the nest every time she went by
Eh, I've been swarmed. The event that turns things from fine to not-fine can happen without any intent or any way of realizing it for several seconds. They can kill people.
It's extra frustrating when the home owner goes on about how environmentally conscious they are, but then refuses to plant anything that might attract a bee because the neighbor could be allergic.
Not to be a Daniel Downer but it was my understanding that collapsing honey bee populations weren't ever the problem; it was all the other kinds of bees, which pollinate the vast major of food crops, and which are still in trouble. (Source: they said it on Some More News, and I trust them :P)
I think I need to play my part in this. I need to look into getting a bee-hive. And not because I want to make mead with my own honey... and definitely not because my neighbours annoy me when they make a noise in their garden.
Worldwide, there has not been a major issue with honeybee numbers. It is other bees and other pollinators that have been, and continue to be, in serious decline.
Correct! Most beekeepers utilize the european honeybee. Most people do not realize the majority of species of bee in North America are migratory and cannot be utilized for anthopogenic industrial uses. This is a big reason it's important to add more native habitat and not just more hives.
Just adding a minor correction that the vast majority of bees are *not* migratory. (And depending on the definition of "migration" one favors, none are)
They are "wild" and do not take well to captive rearing. Perhaps that was the intention, but just adding that small clarification. :)
I meant more nomadic/not affixed to one location than migratory, I was meaning to express that the majority of bee species do not utilize hives and as such are not as solitary. That beekeeping doesn't necessarily assist in biodiversity. Thank you for the correction good looking out
Comments
What about other types of bees?
https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/2024-antarctic-ozone-hole-ranks-7th-smallest-since-recovery-began
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
This article identifies them as adrena bees, says they lack stingers, thus, lacking the ability to pack heat, and having an 'exhilarating vibration of wings.' so, tickling. Super cool to learn, didnt know any honey bee types could not have the suicidal feature until now lol!
The bee was an invasive species.
Still a lot of native bee species needing help too, don't forget.
My dad's been keeping bees now for over 40 years, and in that time he's seen it change from maybe losing one or two hives over the winter to losing at least half.
https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/2023/1/19/23552518/honey-bees-native-bees-decline
It’s native bees we need to worry about.
Don't use pesticides and plant native plants to your area! (Plus, it's just a good thing to do anyway!)
Texas : 😠
https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/who-can-stop-the-killer-bees/
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NB - mass, monoculture pollination is by no means great, but there are comsequences to ending it.
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America doesn’t have a honeybee shortage, we have a native pollinator shortage
And honeybees’re an invasive species that helps drive native pollinators away
An increase in honeybee populations in America ain’t somethin’ we should cheer for
I'll have to redraw this but more appropriate and more Christian wording (Save the God bless bees)
People don't want bees or insects bothering them outside, so they only plant things that won't attract them.
I've seen desolate neighborhoods that look like they've got a lot of greenery, but it's just leaves, no pollen, no sugar
Although ironically, a lot of those plants do still attract insects, but they’re mostly flies
I'm really not a fan of the suburbs
They are "wild" and do not take well to captive rearing. Perhaps that was the intention, but just adding that small clarification. :)