The Plight of the Bumblebee

Often when speaking about bees, what springs to people’s mind is the European Honeybee, Apis mellifera. The European Honeybee was brought to North America from Europe in the 17th century for the American settlers to use the honey and wax that they produced. The honeybee is still a very important animal to agriculture, but native bees are an often-overlooked group of species. There are 400 plus native bee species that call Ohio home. These species can be broken up into 2 different groups.

We have the Ground Nesting Bees, as well as Structure Nesting Bees. 70% of bees worldwide are ground nesting bees. These types of bees are often not social at all or might be semi-social, meaning that they typically do not live as part of a large hive unlike the European Honeybee. Ground nesting bees are often very specialized, and it is possible that some species will only pollinate one or two types of flowers. These types of bees include Mining Bees and the Dull Green Bee. Structure Nesting Bees include Mason Bees, Carpenter Bees, as well as the Bumble Bee. Each of these bees can be found in different places. Carpenter Bees are well known as pests to homeowners who would like them to stay away from their wooden structures. However, Carpenter Bees are pollinators of many fruits and vegetables. Mason Bees are also known as Orchard Bees and can be found nesting in fruit trees. Bumble Bees find natural nesting places like leaf piles and branches and help to pollinate tomatoes.

Native Bees may number over 400 types, but they are being threatened. In just the past 2 decades the Rusty Patch Bumble Bee went from being a very common insect found throughout the country, to being put on the list of endangered species in the United States. Now this bee is only seen scattered across Ohio. The reasoning for this has many factors. The decline is believed to be caused by disease which can be spread from commercial bumble bee farming, as well as widespread pesticide use, and habitat loss.

There are some easy things that you can do to help the bumble bees. Plant native plants and try to have something that blooms early, but a good mix of plants that will span the growing season this helpful. Try to avoid pesticide use and leave some parts of your yard undisturbed. This gives many native bees a fighting chance.

By Taryn Diersing