You’ve seen posters and read bumper stickers. You’ve watched news videos and opened colorful solicitations for money. Cries of “Save the bees!” and “Protect our pollinators!” are ubiquitous, having replaced pleas for pandas, whales, and spotted owls. But wait. How can you save a bee? The truth is, you can’t. Not really. If you catch […] Read more
We hear a lot about habitat loss, but what does that mean for pollinators? And what, if anything, can be done about it? Habitat loss comes in many forms, but it can be divided into three major types: habitat destruction, habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation. Let’s look at these one by one. Three types of […] Read more
A recent article in the BBC news reports that bumble bees in the UK may be experiencing increased susceptibility to parasites due to inbreeding. The inbreeding is due to habitat fragmentation. Habitat fragmentation causes populations of bees to be cut off from other populations, such that they cannot breed with each other. If this is […] Read more
Last week someone said to me, “Native bees don’t get colony collapse disorder, so it’s hard to believe they’re in trouble too.” Unfortunately, native bees are in trouble—and not just in the United States. Wild and native bees the world over are declining in numbers or disappearing completely. While it is true that native bees […] Read more