Bees!

I've discovered that one of my favorite things is sitting in the forest on a mountain on a sunny afternoon.  I love the smell of pine forests (that's been true for awhile), but lately I can't get enough of listening to and watching the activity of the bumble bees as they work their way from little flower to little flower... the sound of their industrious buzzing helps me notice the tiniest flowers that I never would have paid attention to.  Warm sun, pine smell, the hum of bees = pure contentment.

It was not until fairly recently that my knowledge of bees was at about the same level as most everyone else that I meet:
"Isn't a bee just a bee?"
"Aren't all bees honey bees?"
"Giant bumbling bee!  Watch out! It's going to sting!"

Here's what I've learned.  A bee is not just a bee.  There are over 20,000 species of bees in the world and over 3,500 species in the U.S.  The honey bees in the U.S. are just one species and they are not native to North America, they were brought from Europe for their honey-making and pollination abilities.  In the world there are 250 species of bumble bees.  Only 46 have been identified in North America.

I do not study honey bees.  They're definitely interesting and important to agriculture in the U.S., but that's not what I do.  Are honey bees in danger?  Yeah, probably, because we overuse them, stress them out with endless road trips, take away their habitat and food, and harm them with chemicals and pathogens.  This, however, is a topic for another day.

I do study bumble bees and other native bees.  Most of these are solitary ground or cavity dwellers. Many times when you see bees, you probably don't even realize that you're seeing a bee! Each group has a fascinating way of life and natural history that I'll share at another time.  What you should know though is that none of these native bees are out to get you.  Yes, the females can sting.  But this is a defense mechanism, not a weapon for chasing and attacking humans.  So if you don't mess with them, they won't mess with you. Stings happen when you accidentally scare or squish a bee or threaten a nest.  Honey bees are more likely to sting (because they are social bees and are protecting the hive) and many times the aggressive "bees" that people are afraid of are actually wasps.   Please try to stop being afraid of bees!

Are native bees in danger?  Maybe.  That's a much harder question to answer because we don't even know which bees live where and what their current numbers are.  Tiny solitary bees are way tougher to study than honey bees that are raised by humans in hives...  Studies have shown that populations and ranges of many native bees, including bumble bees, actually are declining.  However, much more information is needed.  And that's part of why I'm working on the Bumble Bees of Montana Project.  :-)

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“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don't they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” 
― Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine