Honeybees push wild pollinators away from flowers to secure food, study finds

Honeybees are actively outcompeting wild pollinators for food by aggressively bumping into them and chasing them off flowers, according to the Guardian. A study led by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University showed that managed honeybees are driving away rival species as their population increases due to a rise in beekeepers. [1]

Researchers observed that areas with higher concentrations of honeybees contained fewer wild insects, including bumblebees, solitary bees, and hoverflies, the Guardian reported. The study found that honeybees were the most likely species to start and win competitive interactions over flower nectar and pollen. [1]

Honey bees are eusocial flying insects belonging to the genus Apis within the Apidae family. They construct perennial wax nests in cavities and store surplus food by regurgitating digested carbohydrates as honey, which distinguishes their large colonies as key targets for foraging animals and human gatherers. [2]