In a message dated 3/9/00 7:31:47 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<<True.  Nonetheless, the simple fact that is getting buried is that if one
moves
3 or more hives per acre into an area during a period when another competing
insect is active  you are going to have heavy competition.  I have understood
that some species only are active for a month or so a year and dormant the
rest.>>

Competing for what? An introduced plant species, since migratory beekeepers
(in the US) generally don't move honey bees into an area in that density
without a target crop nearby. Pollinators that are active for only a month
are probably specialists evolved to pollinate native flowers. It's likely
that the pollinator's target flower is evolved to discourage any other
pollinator but the one it co-evolved with over thousands of years. Regardless
of whether the insect you refer to is a specialist or a generalist, there is
no disruption of the natural habitat by a "dominant exotic," since the
competition, if any, is over an introduced species. It's a question of
habitat loss, not competition.