Urban Beekeeping Can be Bad for Wild Bees

Urban beekeeping has been touted as a way to boost pollination and improve sustainability, food security and biodiversity in cities. Many people and businesses who’ve added beehives to their backyards and rooftops say they’re doing it to help fight declines in bee populations. But researchers say urban beekeepers are likely doing just the opposite when it comes to wild bee species.

The only bee species kept in beehives is the European honeybee, which is “a non- native species that’s essentially livestock managed by people,” said Charlotte De Keyzer, a Toronto bee researcher and founder of the site bee-washing.com, which fights misinformation about bees. “So it’s a bit like saying that you’re going to save the birds of Canada by keeping chickens in your backyard.”

Honeybees, which are kept in hives of 50,000 to 100,000, roam across the city and compete with native species for food — nectar and pollen from flowers. A recent study in Paris found fewer wild bees in areas with more beehives, and on average, studies have been finding managed honeybees have a negative impact on wild species.

Gail MacInnis is a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University who is studying

how beehives are affecting more than 170 wild bee species that live in Montreal, where about 2,000 honeybee hives have been added since 2013. She noted that most wild bees are solitary and some are only active and able to collect food for two or three weeks of the year, so competition from a hive of 100,000 honeybees can be a huge problem. She’s trying to figure out how many beehives Montreal can sustainably support without harming wild bees, and how many flowers are needed to feed them.

MacInnis and De Keyzer acknowledge that honeybees are important for agricultural pollination, and there are some benefits of urban beekeeping, too, such as honey production and providing an income for beekeepers. But they think governments should restrict urban hives to protect wild bees, as Ontario has done.

So, if you want to boost wild pollinator populations and improve sustainability and biodiversity, what should you do?

• Do less work in your garden, De Keyzer says. “You can mow less, which increases the flowers in that area. You can apply less pesticides.” Less mulching and tidying in your garden also increases the nesting areas available to wild bees, which often nest in the ground, dead wood or the hollow stems of some plants.
• Plant flowers, MacInnis suggests.
• Advocate for stronger urban bylaws and restrictions about wherebeehives can be kept, De Keyzer says.
  MacInnis agrees that municipal governments can have a greater impact than individuals when it comes to protecting wild bees. Both researchers point to Toronto, which is covered by Ontario restrictions that make beekeeping illegal in much of the city, and has itself moved toward more bee-friendly landscaping with native plants and offers grants to community groups for pollinator flower gardens.

  According to the City of Toronto, that’s had other benefits, too — the native plants are more resistant to pests and don’t require much maintenance, which lowers costs.

  — Emily Chung CBC newsletter “What on Earth”, August 6, 2020