It seems that this thread has strayed far from its title.
It's obvious that *A. mellifera *is an invasive species of pollinator in
North America, and is well established as feral or wild-type populations in
certain ranges. By this time, any remaining native pollinator species have
demonstrated their ability to coexist with a wild-living honey bee
population.
But as the demand for honey bee colonies for almond pollination increases,
migratory beekeepers are having trouble finding areas of good summer forage
in which to place large drops of hives, which raises the possibility of
*localized* (as opposed to landscape-wide) competition with other
pollinators.
In some areas, there is either an excess of floral resources underutilized
by local pollinators (such as non-native crops or introduced plants). And
honey bees, being "patch utilizers" may not be interested in the native
plant species with scattered distribution. In these cases, there is likely
little impact upon the native pollinators from placing loads of honey bee
hives.
But in other areas, especially where specific endangered pollinators are
barely hanging on, the benefit of the doubt should go to the native
species, at least until field data confirms a lack of competition.
But the subject of this thread was originally about the observation by Dr.
McAfee that: "I used to believe that honey bees were a gateway species, and
that concern over their health and prosperity would spill over onto native
bees, benefitting them, too. While this may have happened in some cases,
evidence is mounting that misguided enthusiasm for honey bees has likely
been to the native bees’ detriment."
Dr. McAfee's opinion can indeed be argued, as far as impact upon native
bees.
An ancillary observation is that the enthusiasm for hobby beekeeping
--especially urban and suburban "treatment-free" beekeeping -- as far as
being of benefit to "nature," ecosystems, and especially the honey bee,
could well be argued to be often "misguided." Putting a package of bees in
a hive may make one feel good about doing "something," but in reality it
might be better to put one's dollars and efforts into more difficult
issues, such as planting pollinator-friendly landscapes, preserving natural
landscapes, minimizing insecticide use, and addressing carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere.
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
530 277 4450
ScientificBeekeeping.com
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