BBKA Forum

Farmed bees used to pollinate crops in
commercial greenhouses are interbreeding with the local bees — and the potential consequences could be dire.

Every year, more than one million commercially reared bee colonies are used in greenhouses around the world to help pollinate crops. But these are typically non-native bees, and introducing them to new areas is risky



Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2220430-farmed-bees-are-mating-with-native-bees-and-that-could-endanger-them/#ixzz62oudObaW

I must admit to getting blinkered by the honey bee and forgetting about other species.
I hope no-one is farming ants,having has to dig up hundreds of nest's recently

I have seen boxes of bumblebees in greenhouses to aid pollination. They are in a cardboard box with some syrup feed. They are not supposed to be released into the wild - but how do you stop that when you open a greenhouse window?

AdamD wrote: ↑

21 Oct 2019, 16:42

I have seen boxes of bumblebees in greenhouses to aid pollination. They are in a cardboard box with some syrup feed. They are not supposed to be released into the wild - but how do you stop that when you open a greenhouse window?

That's how the tree bumbles got here, there is a map showing their expansion across England.
great for swarm calls those little things are.

Surely for them to interbreed and produce viable offspring those imported bumbles must be of a very very similar subspecies.

I don't suppose that bumblebees will cross-breed, but the rapid spread of the tree bumblebee is an interesting thing; they are doing well - possibly better than our native species. As they live off the ground (should be called the tit-box bumblebee rather than the tree bumblebee) they won't be competing for nest space with our natives. And provided there's enough food for both, shouldn't cause any particular harm to the natives?

The spread of the tree bumble bee has been impressive. I don't understand though that a lot of conservationists see it as a good thing but surely it's an invasive species

Chrisbarlow wrote: ↑

23 Feb 2020, 10:35

The spread of the tree bumble bee has been impressive. I don't understand though that a lot of conservationists see it as a good thing but surely it's an invasive species

Its a good point Chris. I suspect it may be the difference between non-native and invasive. It is a species that I understood found its way here by accidental transport from the Continent. There is little evidence I have seen that the rise of tree bumbles has caused the decline of any other species can be demonstrated to have declined as a consequence. Perhaps we just haven't found it yet. We already have a long list of non-native "wildlife" in the UK and with climate change that is only increasing for mobile species. Some like great white egrets are welcomed, others like leek moth not so much.

The question is - what makes the tree bumblebee so successful when our other social bumble native species are struggling? I suspect that their defensive nature and habit of nesting off the ground in any suitable cavity is a large part of it. Oddly, I saw far fewer nests last year and had only one call from one in a bird box - compared with the dozen or more I usually get. Was that just me?

I haven't had a call regarding Hypnorum's for about 3 years now, at one stage nearly every bumble call was because of them.

nealh wrote: ↑

26 Feb 2020, 16:26

I haven't had a call regarding Hypnorum's for about 3 years now, at one stage nearly every bumble call was because of them.

They've quite prolific round me.