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To be clear, no species of honey bee is native to North America. They were brought here by Europeans after 1600. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee#Origi
by jessriedel 10y ago
To be clear, no species of honey bee is native to North America. They were brought here by Europeans after 1600.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee#Origin.2C_systematics_and_distribution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee#Origin.2C_systematic...
North American has other types of bees, but they are not nearly as suitable for industrial pollination, and to my knowledge they are not effected by colony collapse disorder.
Whether the industrial monoculture model is robust, or could be improved, is certainly an interesting question, but it's not a matter of nature conservation.
- jly 10y agoNative bees in North America are affected by habitat loss and pesticides. The are many species in serious jeopardy because of that, even without the negative consequences of our direct management for honey or pollination. The industrial monoculture model is certainly one contributor to this problem, so it is a matter of conservation, separately from the issues of honeybees.
- jessriedel 10y agoHoneybees in North America could in principle be a canary in the coal mine for pesticide problems or other issues, but they are a bad one precisely because they are a monoculture; they are vulnerable to pathogens and toxins that natural species easily resist. Habitat loss and pesticides may be hurting native bees, but this is unrelated to honeybees. The issue is logically independent.