Operation PollinationSetting the Record Straight We have more than a few educational hurdles to jump when it comes to encouraging support for pollinators as part of a mainstream mindset. The thought of thriving bee populations in our backyards is often where attentions stray. Bees, after all , can sting. Saying we must save bees because they pollinate a third of our crops is true, but it is only part of our motivation. As prolific pollinators, they are essential to life as we know and love it on planet Earth. So, let’s set the record straight.
1. Male bees have no stingers. Female bees will sting but only in self-defense of in defense of their hive. Out of 4,000 species of native bees only bumblebees (46 species) have hives - though they are tiny compared to honey bee hives. The other species are solitary and therefore do not have a home space to aggressively defend.
2. While foraging at flowers bees are not aggressive at all. They are focused only on gathering as much pollen and nectar as possible. This was demonstrated to us last year when we toured Bob Coggeshall’s gardens on Old Furnace Road. We can walk content among flowering plants crawling with bees. They may fly off, but they are passive and will not sting.
3. The most common misconception about the cause of painful bee stings is often a case of mistaken identity – yellowjackets instead of bees. Yellowjacket are NOT bees. They are NOT pollinators! They ARE predatory wasps/hornets. The one thing they have in common with honeybees is that they are social and do construct large hives usually in the ground or in trees – which they defend aggressively! Bald-faced hornets (white and black instead of yellow and black) are included here. Unlike honeybees, each individual yellowjacket or hornet can sting repeatedly.
The endangered Rusty Patch Bumble Bee Take away: Yellowjackets are not a protected species – just saying. The solitary bees that we need to share our yards and parks with are harmless.
Footnote: Beekeepers tend to the domesticated European honey bee brought to North America with the early colonists because they could be managed and deployed as needed. They are “generalists” pollinators – good at pollinating a wide variety of crops.
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