>Doug, I'm much interested in the possible adverse effects that
>introduced bees may have on indigenous life, especially bees.
>Could you elaborate please on the negative side effects you mentioned
>that have resulted from the importation of Osmia cornifrons to the
>United States?
>
>Barry J. Donovan
 
Well, once again I read too much into some earlier comments by Karen
Strickler I'd seen on the Bombus mailing list - there are apparently no
clearly-documented negative impacts of any solitary bee species, only Apis
(which is what I'm familiar with in this context, from work in Panama).
Karen responded:
 
"Let me get this straight.  When you wrote in your BEE-L message that
introductions of Osmia cornifrons "have also apparently had negative
side effects" you were thinking of something I said?  I don't
remember saying any such thing, and I don't know of any specific
negative impacts of the introduction of Osmia corniforns.  I also
don't know of any studies to determine if there have been any such
negative effects, eg. competition with native bees."
and went on to add
"I asked Phil Torchio about the native bee fauna of New Zealand,
thinking it might be unique like that of Australia, but he informed
me that New Zealand has a very depauparate bee fauna and that several
species have been introduced there for pollination purposes, with no
known negative effects.  I doubt that the introduction of Osmia
cornifrons would cause any more negative effects than the
introduction of orchards.  Perhaps Osmia diseases might transfer to
Bombus or another of the introductions, but we have no evidence that
such a transfer could take place."
 
Apologies for my error here. Though I still have qualms about introducing
exotic congeners, if there is no evidence one way or the other, I suppose
the scientific grounds for my objections aren't substantial - though I'd
still maintain that quarantine procedures and testing are warranted in such
cases. I realize that habitat destruction is probably a greater threat to
native bees than exotic bees, but I'm not in a position to stop habitat
destruction (much as I wish otherwise).
Cheers,
 
Doug Yanega      Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA     phone (217) 244-6817, fax (217) 333-4949
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82