Bees are vital to our lives; without them, there would be no almonds, and few apples, onions, blueberries, carrots, or even, perish the thought, coffee. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, "more than half of North America’s 4,000 native bee species are in decline, with 1 in 4 species at risk of extinction.” The standard narrative in the words of Food and Water Watch is that “Bee colonies are in the midst of a massive die-off, thanks to dangerous pesticides that poison them and destroy their habitats.” A new study in Nature debunks that belief.
honey bees
How did the honeybee go, in one year, from poster insect for environmental concerns to invasive species? It's because environmental groups change the story as they are debunked.
On average, across natural habitats all over the world, the western honey bee is the most common pollinator, responsible for 13 percent of flower visits. Researchers also found that 5 percent of the plant species they studied were exclusively visited by the western honey bee.