What we get wrong about saving the bees

Honeybees get a ton of attention, but theyre not the ones who need help.

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Every year there are alarming headlines about honeybees in the US. Each one highlights some grim facts about the fate of these insects and the subsequent fallout: Colonies are collapsing, beekeepers are struggling, and farming is at risk. The stakes are high. Honeybees are estimated to pollinate up to $15 billion worth of food in the US. Its safe to say that without them our plates and farms would look very different. Naturally, theyve become the face of a larger movement to save the bees, but the truth is theyll be fine.

Honeybees are domesticated animals being cared for by a billion-dollar agriculture industry. Theyre so ingrained into American life that it might surprise you that theyre not even from the US they were brought here by settlers in the 1600s. We give them a ton of attention, and the species as a whole isnt threatened or even at risk but other species are.

There are 20,000 other species of bees in the world over 4,000 in the United States. Theyre incredibly diverse, unique, and also important for pollination. Unfortunately, hundreds of these bee species are at risk of being lost forever, but you rarely see those headlines. Watch the video above to learn more.

Read our original article by Benji Jones here: https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/2023/1/19/23552518/honey-bees-native-bees-decline

You can find Krystle Hickmans website and Instagram here:
https://beesip.com/
https://www.instagram.com/beesip/?hl=en

If, after all this, you still want more information on honeybees (I get it), you can read more about colony collapse and other facts here:
https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/are-honey-bees-native-north-america

For more on native bees, I highly recommend the US Geological Survey they have stunning imagery:
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-many-species-native-bees-are-united-states
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eesc/science/native-bee-inventory-and-monitoring-lab

These articles highlight some of the problems honeybees, hobby beekeeping, and more:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-with-honey-bees/
https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2021/June-July/Gardening/Honey-Bees
https://pollinators.ie/too-many-honey-bees-can-threaten-wild-bees/

https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/legal-petition-urges-us-forest-service-protect-native-bees-stop-rubber-stamping-commercial-beehives-federal-lands-2020-07-29/

And finally, you can find some amazing footage of Buzz pollination from PBS and the Smithsonian Channel:
https://youtu.be/J7q9Kn1rhRc
https://youtu.be/SZrTndD1H10

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