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Feral != Native. There are no honeybee species native to North America; all honeybees, including the feral ones, are descended from colonies imported from Europ
by nathanrf 2y ago
Feral != Native. There are no honeybee species native to North America; all honeybees, including the feral ones, are descended from colonies imported from Europe (e.g. the "Western honeybee" apis mellifera).
There are a lot of non-honeybee bee species native to North America though, and they now face competition from feral domesticated honeybees. It's unclear exactly how much impact they have- some research does treat honeybees as a harmful invasive species (similar to many other human-introduced species).
Native bee species have a harder time getting good PR because they don't directly work for us, even though they are important pollinators for some native plants.
- giantg2 2y agoI think there at least used to be honey producing bee species in the southern US. I believe some are extinct now and others are only present in South America now.
- mattmaroon 2y agoSouth America has the stingerless variety and I’m very jealous.
- Baeocystin 2y agoMayan honeybees are native to the Yucatan, FWIW. They've also spread to Cuba.