It’s a tough job, but native bees can do it
By Susan Milius
Conservationists fretting about the dwindling of North American bee species have new evidence of the insects’ importance.
North American farmers typically rely on a single European honeybee species to pollinate crops, explains Claire Kremen of Princeton University. This focus on one species for such a vital service raised alarms in the mid-1990s as diseases and other menaces attacked honeybees. Adding to the concern, biologists noted that native bee species, indeed, were disappearing.
Kremen devised a study to assess the pollinating capabilities of wild bee communities, which can include dozens of native species.