Honey Bees versus Native Bees

Every Third Bite from meerkatmedia.org on Vimeo.

During a presentation for the seminar “What’s Happening to our Native Plants and Animals” held at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science on September 22, 2010, Virginia’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services apiarist said that current bees and beekeepers in Virginia have encountered significant problems that could affect agriculture in the state. Keith Tignor said that this isn’t a problem in Virginia alone. Beekeepers around the world are having trouble keeping their populations of pollinators happy.

At first I was really worried about colony collapse because bees are responsible for the pollination act behind every third bite of food, he said. I was wondering if I should think about adding a beehive to my backyard menagerie. But suddenly, it occurred to me: this was a seminar about natives! Honey bees aren't native. How did this invasive fit into the program? 

Honey bees were brought from Europe to Jamestown in 1620. Historians tell us that beehives were sent to Jamestown with seeds and fruit trees that investors hoped to develop as an industry. The bees spread out and multiplied quickly, as is the case with many non-native species that are moved to another part of the world where no predators have co-evolved with them to keep their numbers in check.

I've noticed that there are lots of different looking bees in my garden and some Googling lead me to sites that discussed the various types of bees and groups working to cultivate the population of native bees. I'm comfortable now that I've been doing the right thing in my yard all along, for the most part. I've been doing away with my monoculture of grass. I have lots of native plants. Something is blooming year round. One thing I discovered I shouldn't have done: the five yards of mulch I've spread in the last two weeks was a no-no. Our native bees are ground colonizers who can't get to the ground if I hide it under 3 inches of mulch. Oh dear.

Anyway, I know there is a colony of ground bees in my back yard as they sting someone who is the unlucky lawn mower each year, usually in August. With the drought, though, no one has cut the back yard in a while. Perhaps they are thriving. I'll check it out soon.