#bee conservation

[secularsasquatch]

[missedmilemarkers]

This close-up captures a beautiful honeybee hard at work, delicately gathering nectar from vibrant purple blooms. The contrast between the bee’s golden tones and the deep violet flowers is stunning, highlighting the intricate beauty of pollination in action. This snapshot is a reminder of the vital role bees play in sustaining our ecosystems, making it both visually captivating and environmentally significant.

[hope-for-the-planet]

"Great Day" For Bumblebees As Californian Court Rules That They Are Fish

It takes a bit of backstory to explain why this is good news.

Some endangered species laws were written before invertebrate conservation (insects, molluscs, etc.) was taken into consideration, so the language of the laws does not explicitly include these groups of animals. For example, the California Endangered Species Act states that endangered species can be mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, or fish.

Historically, aquatic invertebrates (lobster, clams, etc.) were included under the umbrella of “fish”, but courts have now ruled that terrestrial invertebrates can also be lumped into the “fish” category and therefore protected under the California Endangered Species Act.

Thanks to this ruling, threatened species of native bumblebee will now be able to receive legal protection.

[lilac-set]

Im a druid, all lives being treated equally and with respect is important to me, (im vegetarian), and im autistic with a special interest in bees, and i have thoughts about conservation and ethics i would like to share with you

First, conservation. If youre in north america, the bee crisis isnt a honeybee crisis, its a native bee crisis. Honeybees have taken a dip too, but native bees are the concern, and actually in some areas honeybees (which arent native, and the native ecosystem isnt dependent on them, but some crops that were also brought from europe are) out-compete native bees for food, and contribute to native bee decline. They kind of ideally should be confined to pollinating these crops, but feral or domestic honeybees arent too much of an issue in areas with lots of flowers. A responsible beekeeper makes sure there is lots of flowers, if not crops (its usually crops). But the classic advice of “support your local beekeepers” doesnt really do anything about the bee crisis. It doesnt really hurt (well… dont worry about it), but it doesnt help. The best way you can support the bees is to plant as many flowers as you can (a vegetable garden is also an option, but i do recommend at least some flowers), especially ones that pollinators particularly like, and especially especially ones native to your area. Dont use pesticides, they indiscriminately kill both bugs you dont like and bugs (bees) you do. You can plant other plants that repel the bugs you dont like. The other important thing you can do is make sure they have nesting sites, which are places people usually clean up: bare undisturbed soil, dead wood, hollow plant stems, brush piles. You can create these places or at least avoid removing them. I know this seems comparatively passive, it feels more like youre doing something if you spend money on a jar of honey and have less money in your account and a jar of honey in your pantry to prove to yourself that youre doing your part, and you can keep doing that if you want to, but i promise it means infinitely more to the bees to fill your backyard with wildflowers and set out some bamboo somewhere safe. Its small to you but its big to them

Now about the ethics of honey. While its true that honeybees are free to leave if they dont like their beekeeper, they dont usually do that, because leaving all their honey and comb starting over from scratch is a huge price to pay. Nothing about beekeeping *has* to be intrinsically unethical, bees arent harmed by the process of collecting honey when done responsibly, and they do create an excess, because they were bred to do that, honeybees are domesticated livestock. That being said, this is capitalism, and most beekeepers optimize for honey production, not bee wellbeing. Most (but not all) modern beehives arent well insulated, putting stress on the bees over winter (about 30% of hives usually die over winter, the past two winters for some reason it was more like 50%. This is partially, but not completely, preventable), and some (again, not all) beekeepers over-harvest honey, and then feed their bees a cheaper and less nutritious honey substitute. In my opinion, honey at its worst is more ethical than eggs at their worst, but both things can also easily be obtained ethically from well cared for animals if you can pay more for it, get it from a friend, or keep the animals yourself (but please dont keep honeybees unless you have enough flowers for the native bees too. I can give you more information on ethical beekeeping if youre interested). Do with this information what you will

[typhlonectes]

Upcoming webinar:  

Bring Back the Pollinators:  Providing Nesting Habitat for Bees

September 29: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PT / 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM MT / 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CT / 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET

The availability of nesting habitat is a critical yet often overlooked factor impacting native bee populations. In this webinar, Xerces Biologists, Leif Richardson and Sarah Foltz Jordan, will summarize nesting biology of major groups of bees, including leaf-cutter bees, mining bees, bumble bees, and many more. 

They will also offer numerous practical approaches to creating and managing nesting habitat features. Approaches are relevant to landscapers, farmers, gardeners, natural resource professionals, and anyone interested in taking the next step in supporting pollinators. Community science opportunities will also be discussed.

Register:  https://xerces.org/events/none/bring-back-pollinators-providing-nesting-habitat-for-bees

This is the fourth webinar in the four-part series Bring Back the Pollinators.

This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

[aaronstjames]

The World's Most Popular Weed Killer Has a Previously Unknown Effect on Bumblebees

The World's Most Popular Weed Killer Has a Previously Unknown Effect on Bumblebees

The world's favorite herbicide is making it harder for buff-tailed bumblebees to keep their hives warm enough to incubate larvae, new resear

Please don't use Round-up. Please.

[confused-bumblebee]

Unpopular opinion?

Honeybees shouldn’t be the focus of pollinator conservation. Take it from an entomology student, honeybees often times actually hurt native pollinator populations.

Some facts about honeybees and their ecology in the US:

In case you don’t know, the most common honeybee species in the Unites States is actually an introduced species from Western Europe. It’s not a native species.

Honeybees are vast in population, and often out-compete other native pollinators for resources, such as food and shelter.

Honeybees actually really suck at pollination in comparison to native pollinators. Like really. It’s been shown to be detrimental to local plant reproduction to rely on honeybees for pollination.

Honeybees out-compete birds for nesting spots.

Honeybees were brought to the United States to be used as an agricultural tool, not to help native species of plants or pollinators.

I’m not saying honeybees aren’t important in their own right. But what I AM saying is that conservation efforts need to be more focused on native pollinator populations which have been declining for decades now. Honeybees aren’t providing substantial ecosystem services, and, in general, aren’t even a part of the natural ecosystem. They’re an introduced species that’s forcing out native species of pollinators. So before you jump on the “Save the honeybees” train, stop and think about how much you really know about pollinator ecology in the United States.

[thehumblebumbles]

Hard worker