Managed honey bees have the potential to affect native bee populations when they are introduced to a new area, but a study led by researchers at Penn State suggests that, under certain conditions, the native bees can bounce back if the apiaries are moved away.
Managed honey bees have the potential to affect native bee populations when they are introduced to a new area, but a study led by researchers at Penn State suggests that, under certain conditions, the native bees can bounce back if the apiaries are moved away.
The research, published in the Journal of Insect Science, examined the effects of migratory beekeeping — the practice of moving honey bee colonies to a different location for part of the year — on native bee populations.
The researchers found that when managed honey bees were moved into an area, the population of native bees decreased in abundance and diversity. However, in places where apiaries were kept for years and then removed, the native bee populations once again increased in both total numbers and species diversity.
Margarita López-Uribe, the Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor of Entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences and co-author of the paper, said the findings suggest that while migratory beekeeping can be a disturbance to native bees, it may also be possible for those populations to recover.
Read more at Penn State
Image: A native bee sits on a purple flower on the left, while a honey bee sits on a yellow flower on the right. (Credit: Provided by Margarita López-Uribe)
