I have a few ground-nesting bees buddies in the yard.
They’re chill and I see them pollinating my garden now and then.
They’re now part of the family and I’ll knock some sense in any guest who tries to harm them.
EUROBEE
Submitted 2 weeks ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/b4469a22-ab27-485f-941f-b6ffcf2505e1.jpeg
Comments
InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk 1 week ago
I was planning to keep bees, until someone informed me that honey bees outcompete native bumbles.
And I fucking love bumbles.
So now I’m modifying the garden to be bumble friendly, and living without enormous amounts of honey.
Napain@lemmy.ml 1 week ago
i wonder what other invasive from europe endangers natives
flora_explora@beehaw.org 1 week ago
Cannot tell if a serious statement or sarcastic. But sure, there are many invasive species from Europe all over the world. Just as there are many invasive species from all over the world in Europe. And they threaten native species all over the globe. Habitat loss and climate change are probably much bigger concerns to endangered species though… What’s so insidious about honeybees is what’s mentioned in the meme as well, that they are easily economically exploitable so that companies like to focus their environmental programs on them instead of actually endangered species. Also, people tend to like relatable animals much more so most public campaigns to save endangered species are related to cute or anthropomorphized animals.
alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 1 week ago
It’s a joke, they’re talking about white people.
Bakkoda@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
It probably doesn’t happen too often… Right?
veganpizza69@lemmy.world 1 week ago
deegeese@sopuli.xyz 1 week ago
That seems a bit like complaining that cattle are replacing native deer.
They may occupy the same niche, but one feeds people and the other does not.
fireweed@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Yeah but people don’t make a big deal about “save the deer!” and then start a cattle ranch
SparrowRanjitScaur@lemmy.world 1 week ago
When people talk about saving the bees they usually mean the ones responsible for feeding us.
flora_explora@beehaw.org 1 week ago
Well, I think the insidious problem about honeybees is that people often say “save the bees” and mean only honeybees. But it is a domesticated species that doesn’t need any saving. Meanwhile endangered species get forgotten altogether.
1rre@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Idk, last I checked the European Honey Bee was native, but I guess you could prefer bumblebees?
prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
They’re “invasive” if you’re not on Eurasia.
Humans took them everywhere else.
1rre@discuss.tchncs.de 1 week ago
They’re native to Africa, Europe, West Asia & Central Asia, which covers around 3 billion people
East & South Asia have the Asiatic Honey Bee which is closely related enough that their introduction wouldn’t disrupt the ecosystem as they fill the same niche in the same way
That leaves only around 15% of the global population somewhere European Honey Bees even have potential to become invasive, so it’s a safe bet that they aren’t for most people
BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.world 1 week ago
That brings up an interesting point, they’ve been here 400 years, at one point does something stop being classified as invasive?
If we say never, then the term invasive kind of loses all meaning, but I wonder where the logical cutoff might be.
flora_explora@beehaw.org 1 week ago
From Wikipedia:
“The western honey bee can be found on every continent except Antarctica. The species is believed to have originated in Africa or Asia, and it spread naturally through Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Humans are responsible for its considerable additional range, introducing European subspecies into North America (early 1600s), South America, Australia, New Zealand, and eastern Asia.” So, depends where you live. Especially South and Central American honey bee populations have been overtaken by the africanized honey bee though, which is a feral human-bred hybrid that escaped the lab in Brazil.
Ephera@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
[deleted]Scrawny@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Bees collect nectar for nutrition and they collect pollen as their protein source. These activities pollinate as a by-product. Honey bees collect a lot of nectar to refine into honey to survive the winter months. This makes the honey bee ideal for some flowering plants which have a lot of nectar that the honey bee needs. Many native species have short lifecycles. Some only during a bloom of a particular flower. This is why native bees make better pollinators as a whole. Honey bees pass up many flowers that have little benefit to them as a nectar source. Native bees collect the pollen that would be undisturbed by the honey bee.
ExFed@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Invasive honey bees are less effective pollinators for most native species. However, they indeed consume a lot of nectar, leaving little for the more effective native species to survive.
fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
“Ecosystem Services” as an industry term makes me see red.
uienia@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Peak US defaultism going on in here.
lseif@sopuli.xyz 1 week ago
op is anti honey bee …
Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.de 1 week ago
good
veganpizza69@lemmy.world 1 week ago
OP is correct
Welt@lazysoci.al 1 week ago
Varroa mite has entered the chat
fireweed@lemmy.world 1 week ago
This is one reason why I love my native lupine plants. They occasionally get honeybee visitors, but I’ve noticed honeybees struggle with getting the flowers open to access the nectar. Bumblebee lands and his big fat body causes the flower to open right up. Gee it’s almost like they co-evolved!
usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Not only that but honey bees also threaten native bees
Fun fact, most North American native bee species don’t even live in hives or produce honey for themselves at all. They also almost never sting too
www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/…/Honey-Bees
DumbAceDragon@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
So just like European settlers they took all the resources and gave the natives bee smallpox.
Random_German_Name@feddit.de 1 week ago
Just like me fr fr
chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I’ve seen some of these tiny bees pollinating my tomato plants!