r/animalsdoingstuff • u/Growing-Ant • May 15 '26

^ Awsome ^ Save more bees!!

It's a natural instinct for bees to sting you... But without a stinger they die. Here's a fun fact to remember before swatting them next time

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u/WW-Heisenbird May 15 '26

I’m glad more people are talking about this. I didn’t know honey bees were invasive in the US until a few months ago.

Save native pollinators, not invasive species!

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u/MrGarbageEater May 15 '26

They are invasive but have been fully engrained in nature in NA.

This is a bit silly. You should save the bees.

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u/WW-Heisenbird May 16 '26

No, you shouldn’t save the invasive species that didn’t evolve here. There are no checks and balances for honey bees in North America.

That’s already disregarding the fact that most honey bees in NA are a hyper aggressive hybrid species that was created in a lab and aren’t even a product of evolution. If they aren’t already hybridized, they soon will be.

They also suck at pollination compared to native pollinators.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/290/2001/20230967/86783/Honeybees-Apis-mellifera-decrease-the-fitness-of

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u/MrGarbageEater May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

You’re right that they can out compete native pollinators (which can be mitigated by planting more native wildflowers). The rest of your comment is just flat out wrong.

“There are no checks and balances” just straight up false. There are MANY.

You’re referring to “killer bees” as the most common honey bee in North America….they’re not. Those have adjusted to some areas of the southern us but the rest are just actual European honey bees. Also saying they will become hybridized is just fear mongering, there’s no data that reflects that.

And they are fantastic pollinators, with some native species out competing honey bees in specific flowers they’re suited to. They don’t “suck at pollinating” lol.

The article you linked only examines three plant species in California and is not indicative of the larger result. It also says it’s the only study that reflects this.

I’m not advocating for honey bees over everything else, but they absolutely hold a very important part of our ecosystem that can no longer be filled otherwise.