plantyhamchuk:

The Abstract: Are honey bees declining in the United States? What about wild bees?

David Tarpy: The wild natural pollinators are disappearing. There are about 4,000 native bee species in North America alone, and 20,000 worldwide. For wild bees, we do know that some species are more susceptible than others, but we don’t have as much information because there are so many species, and some of them live solitary lives.

All pollinators are in trouble, but it’s a mischaracterization to say the honey bee population in the United States is declining. Honey bees are managed by people. It’s more accurate to say honey bees are dying off in unsustainable rates. The number of managed beehives in the United States is fairly stable, but we see a higher than sustainable turnover rate. Honey bee colonies are dying, but the beekeepers are growing them back. The question is: what happens if they’re no longer able to?

I like to use the analogy that native bees are like songbirds. They’re diverse, and wonderful, and come in all different shapes and sizes. Honey bees are like chickens, since they’re managed by people. All are birds though, so they share a lot of the same common stressors.     

TA: What are some of the stressors for pollinators?

Tarpy: One of the stressors they have in common is nutritional deprivation. There are not enough flowers to provide nectar and pollen, their two food sources. That’s true for honey bees, just as it is for native bees. In addition to the lack of food, we also see overuse of pesticides, especially insecticides, as stressors, as well as threats from parasites and pathogens.

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