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It's sad that most people are worried about saving invasive honey bee populations while ignoring the many wild bee species that are on the verge of extinction
by Steven420 4y ago
It's sad that most people are worried about saving invasive honey bee populations while ignoring the many wild bee species that are on the verge of extinction
- bilsbie 4y agoIt’s not common knowledge that they’re invasive. But I do find it interesting how we pick and choose which invasive species to villainize.
- WalterBright 4y agoI have no problem villianizing murder hornets.
- bilsbie 4y agoWhat about wild ponies?
- culi 4y agothey don't sting so they're fine. Also in North America horses lived here 10kya before going extinct so at least here they're resuming an ecological role that was once occupied by their ancestors
- civilian 4y agoAlso x2, horses originated in North America! They came to eurasia over the bering land bridge! So the horses that were released (and have thrived!) in north america are originally north american horses. It's part of why they do so well-- they can eat all of the native brush here. Whereas if a cow gets loose in n. america it's gonna poison itself. https://awionline.org/content/wild-horses-native-north-american-wildlife https://awionline.org/content/wild-horses-native-north-ameri... https://returntofreedom.org/new-research-proves-yet-again-that-modern-horse-originated-in-north-america/ https://returntofreedom.org/new-research-proves-yet-again-th...
- bitxbitxbitcoin 4y agoTrue, but the way their populations are managed now isn’t ecologically sustainable. That is to say, their natural predators are either not present, not present in large enough numbers, or forbidden by law to hunt them.[0] [0] https://priceonomics.com/when-americans-ate-horse-meat/ https://priceonomics.com/when-americans-ate-horse-meat/
- WalterBright 4y ago10 thousands of years is enough to change the ecosystems. Also, the predators that kept them in check are gone.
- WalterBright 4y agoThe Mustangs are an invasive species in the west and their population growth is devastating the local flora. "60 Minutes" ran an episode about it recently.
- bilsbie 4y agoBut we extincted bison. Don’t we need a grazing species in these areas?
- joecool1029 4y ago> But we extincted bison. I believe the word you are looking for is extirpated. They didn't go extinct, they just aren't there anymore. > Don’t we need a grazing species in these areas? Suppose that depends on your idea of what those areas should be doing.
- bitxbitxbitcoin 4y agoYou could say the previously bison populated areas have been replaced with their bovine cousins or the alfalfa to feed them.
- 11235813213455 4y agoIt's like villianizing sharks, and we know well how important they are Agreed for villianizing mosquitoes though
- 11235813213455 4y agoThe ones that were introduced by humans in massive quantities, we can add cats and dogs to the list of invasive spacies, and human itself
- kaikai 4y agoBlame media campaigns about the issue. I keep bees and most people I speak to about it seem to think it’s a noble defense of our insect population. I get to tell them how they should be worried about native bees and other pollinators including wasps and flies.
- xipho 4y agoI don't think blame is the best approach. The general public/media takes time to catch up with "current" science. First pollinator awareness, then, oh, there is more than just honeybees polinating Almonds, rinse, repeat, then at some point, oh, there should be thousands of species in my back yard. Regardless, I fear that until we put serious laws into regulating both pesticides and fertilizers (taxonomists anecdotally noticed diverity declines with the advent of fertilizers, think killing water quality, over 50 years ago), we're going to be fighting an uphill, if not impossible battle in this area.
- drzaiusx11 4y agoWe're on track to lose all our pollinating insects within a century with a steady 2% decline year over year (conservative estimate). It's true that European honeybees can displace native populations when nectar sources are tight so efforts to plant native plants can help both bee populations. I don't think we should vilify the European honey bee, but rather address the root problems affecting both native and non-native pollinators alike: over use of pesticides, lack of nectar sources, new disease vectors, etc
- darth_avocado 4y agoIt is not popular, but wasps are actually equally important to pollination as are bees. There are thousands of species of wasps declining at an unprecedented rate. Outside of farmers, us dept of agriculture and universities dedicated to this research, it’s barely even acknowledged because of the bad rep the wasps get.
- alar44 4y agoNo it isn't. Think of the average driver during rush hour. Now be happy that person gives a fuck about bees at all.