Article (from earlier this year):
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hobbyist-beekeepers-buzzing-reversing-america-212213119.html
Article (from earlier this year):
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hobbyist-beekeepers-buzzing-reversing-america-212213119.html
Honeybees are unfortunately only a very small part of pollinators. There’s a LOT of other bees, as well as other insects that pollinate. And honeybees even often outcompete native pollinators, which is bad for biodiversity.
About 6000 species of solitary bees in North America. Providing them habitat by planting the flowering species they visit is a huge first step. Additionally making ‘space’ for their larva is enormously helpful. Many are ground dwelling, so getting rid of ‘landscape cloth’ which blocks them from burrowing is useful.
Check with your local cooperative extension service for information about the bees in your area.
Here’s an article from OSU on the topic: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/pollinators/nesting-habits-solitary-bees
Xerces Society: https://xerces.org/publications/brochures/save-the-stems
World Bee Project: https://worldbeeproject.org/2023/11/15/solitary-bees-their-crucial-pollination-role-and-diverse-habitats/
Here in Brazil we have native stingless bees, they are awesome and very cute, but European honeybees do outcompete them.
Thankfully there are beekeepers that work with the native species, but as they produce way less honey, it’s less lucrative.
Just make suburban mom’s believe it’s special somehow. Manuka honey goes for like $40/lbs at Costco vs regular honey at like $5-10.
Of course, Texas has to incentivize this type of destruction:
"In Texas, the law qualifies people who own between five and 20 acres of land for tax breaks if they rear bees for five years. "
Yeah we had shit tons of wasps in central Alberta at least last year. I felt bad for people that are scared of them but I was happy to see at least one pollinator thriving.
And that includes a lot of random flies, including those that people don’t like.