I heard recently that Honey Bees are not native to the Americas… so why people complain about their demise?
Question by : I heard recently that Honey Bees are not native to the Americas… so why people complain about their demise?
they are invasive species to begin with. I’m not just talking about killer bees, but ALL honey bees.
What do you think? Answer below!
4 Responses to I heard recently that Honey Bees are not native to the Americas… so why people complain about their demise?
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The African Killer Bees were transplanted in the Americas.
Honey bees are a part of our ecosystem. While you probably think they’re a pest, bees cross pollenate flowers and plants. Without them, there would only not be any honey, there would also be less fruit on the trees.
Uncle Bob
January 28, 2014 at 4:52 am
Because a great many of our crops are dependent upon them for pollination. In cases where bee populations fall too far, there is a corresponding reduction in crop volume. Less crops means higher cost at the market, and means more land is necessary to feed our swelling population, thus less goes to wildlife.
Just because an animal or plant is introduced, does not automatically make it a problem (although it usually does).
The bees of the Yucatan pennisula are not honey bees in the sense we know as honeybees. They are from a different group all together. They are known as melipona bees. They can NOT sting and they do not form the large colonies. Though they do make honey, they do not produce enough for commercial honey production and they do not overwinter since they are tropical.
No Apis mellifera originated in the new world. The bees that produce honey from the Yucatan are a different group entirely.
BTW Honeybees are far more efficient at taking advantage of large quantities of flowers in an area than native pollinators so even in a healthy ecosystem there are not enough native pollinators to assure large crop volumes.
Jeff Sadler
January 28, 2014 at 5:26 am
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) apparently originated in south east Asia, but evidence based on mitochondrial DNA suggests that one strain may have originated in the Yucatan peninsula – in which case they are ARE native to the Americas.
You raise an important point: providing plenty of healthy habitats are preserved there will be plenty of pollinating insects such as hover flies (aka Flower Flies), beetles. butterflies and moths as well as other bee species to do the bulk of the pollinating. What we won’t get is a harvest of honey for our own use. There may also be some crop losses particularly from orchard fruits. We are right to be very concerned about the problem of bee colonies being lost but it probably won’t be the catastrophe that some people are predicting.
spiderman
January 28, 2014 at 5:33 am
Because they’re dying worldwide.
Elaine M
January 28, 2014 at 5:39 am