[Pollinator] for discussion: should honeybees be allowed into conservation/protected areas?

[Liz Day]

Might these results have been different in areas 
of scarcer resources (such as Indianapolis(?)?
I find it hard to imagine that honeybees do not 
affect bumblebees in places where Bombus forage appears rather scant.
Liz D.


 >Here, one of the most invasive species, the non-native African honey
 >bee, failed to impact native bee populations in Panama:
 >
 >> To provide replicate samples of local bee populations in a nature
 >preserve, light traps operated continuously on Barro Colorado Island
 >(BCI), Panama, collected bees for 17 years, including 10 years
 >following invasion by African Apis mellifera. Honey bees appeared in
 >light traps as the first swarms colonized the Panama Canal area. Their
 >numbers followed seasonal trends shown in independent studies, thus
 >indicating bee abundance and activity in a large area.
 >
 >> No measurable population-level impact of competition between this
 >invading honey bee and native bees, despite many demonstrations of
 >resource competition at flower patch and colony levels, changed annual
 >abundances of all 15 native bee species. Native bee abundance did not
 >decrease, nor did native bees show substantial reciprocal yearly
 >change with honey bee abundance. Native bee populations did not
 >decline during the 10 years after arrival of honey bees. In fact, the
 >15 species jointly showed a slight increase during the entire 17-year period.
 >
 >Do competing honey bees matter? Dynamics and abundance of native bees
 >before and after honey bee invasion. David W. Roubik · Henk Wolda.
 >Popul Ecol (2001) 43:53­62
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