Why Getting a Honeybee Hive Won’t Save the Bees
Did you know that honeybees are not at risk of extinction? There are likely more honeybees on the planet now than ever before, thanks to their widespread, managed cultivation for honey and for pollination of flowering food crops. The Save the Bees movement was started in the early 2000’s as a result of managed honeybee declines due to colony collapse, a complex set of honeybee difficulties brought about by parasites, viruses, exposure to pesticides, and limited forage opportunity. The Save the Bees movement has since expanded to raise awareness about the importance of wild bees and other pollinators, and promotes ecological integrity as well.
While honeybees are not endangered, the focus should still be on protecting the habitats and ecosystems that all bees, including wild bees, need to survive. While we want to support our food-producing crops, it is important to understand that 80% of all plants rely on pollination. Think about the diverse natural ecosystems that Alabamians enjoy. Alabama is the 5th most ecologically diverse state in the nation! It's the most biodiverse state east of the Mississippi River, even surpassing Georgia and Florida. Alabama is comprised of 64 types of terrestrial ecosystems, including forests, wetlands, and glades, and all of these habitats require pollination by bees - - primarily by native, wild bees!
There are 4,000 native, wild bee species in North America; and 700 of these inhabit our ecosystems east of the Mississippi River! Sadly, many North American native bee species are facing declines and some are at risk of extinction due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and a diminishing supply of native forage. One of the contributing stressors on native bees is forage competition from managed honeybees. Contrary to popular belief, adding more honeybees to the landscape is not the answer to wild pollinator decline. In fact, it may do more harm than good.
Conventional beekeeping guidelines suggest that 1-2 acres of blossoming trees, shrubs, and flowers are required to support one honeybee hive (20,000-60,000 bees); and BTW an acre is the size of a football field, minus the end zones… that’s a lot of flowering forage! While this might be easily accomplished in a rural landscape, the same may not be said for a suburban setting such as Mountain Brook. The average suburban lot in the U.S. is 15,000 square feet (1/3 of an acre). Think about how little forage is actually provided on suburban lots; about 2/3 of which are primarily covered with grass, concrete, and building footprints. To offset the limited forage provision on suburban lots, the Xerces Society indicates that 5 acres of suburban land is needed to support one honeybee hive.
Honeybees will travel up to 5 miles to provision their colony; so multiple hives on one suburban lot can easily deplete the forage resources of dozens of adjoining properties, some of the owners of which may be attempting to provide habitat for wild bees and other pollinators. Native bees, on the other hand, can only travel up to 300 feet from their nesting cavities, so their nearby foraging habitats are critical to their survival.
In the face of ongoing reports of pollinator decline, a tangible goal for many conservation-minded people has been to get a honeybee hive and raise honeybees. This is obviously well-intentioned and driven by a true desire to help pollinators. And there is no question that beekeepers enjoy a deep connection with nature, and are in the same “camp” with native bee conservationists on many levels! But honeybee keeping means beekeepers need to “Bee-sponsible!” If you’re considering starting a beekeeping practice, having an honest conversation with yourself and other beekeepers about how honeybees may negatively impact wild pollinators is the good place to start. If you are already a hobby beekeeper consider reducing the number of hives on your property to match your ability to provide blossoming plants that will support your colonies without causing floral depletion on surrounding properties. As an alternative to honeybee keeping, consider supporting native wild bees through the establishment and care of bee hotels. Bee hotels don’t require nearly the attention that honeybee hives demand, but care in bee hotel selection and maintenance is important. Read more about how to provide safe, effective bee hotels on your property.