Article: Are Honeybees Bad for Native Bees?

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Are Honeybees Bad for Native Bees?

Pollinators are having a moment — and for good reason. Bees are essential to healthy ecosystems and food systems, especially here in Vermont where farms, forests, and wildflower-rich landscapes define much of the state. But not all bees are the same, and a growing question is whether honeybees, often seen as environmental heroes, may actually be harming native bee species.

So, are honeybees bad for native bees? The answer, like most ecological questions, is: it depends.

Honeybees vs. Native Bees: What’s the Difference?

When most people think of bees, they picture the European honeybee (Apis mellifera). Honeybees are not native to North America; they were introduced by European settlers in the 1600s and are now managed worldwide for honey production and crop pollination. Honeybees live in large colonies, often with tens of thousands of individuals, and depend heavily on human management to stay healthy.

Vermont’s native bees, by contrast, have coevolved with local plants for thousands of years. The state is home to more than 300 native bee species, including bumblebees, mason bees, mining bees, and leafcutter bees. Most native bees are solitary, nest in soil or plant material, and are active for short periods during the year. They do not produce honey and are not managed by humans.

Both honeybees and native bees pollinate plants — but they do so in very different ways, and they play different roles in ecosystems.

Do Honeybees Compete with Native Bees for Resources?

One of the main concerns is whether honeybees outcompete native bees for food, especially nectar and pollen.

Honeybees are extremely efficient foragers. A single honeybee colony can contain 20,000–60,000 bees, all drawing from the same surrounding landscape. In areas with limited floral resources — such as during early spring, late summer, drought conditions, or in heavily developed or agricultural landscapes — this can create real competition.

Research suggests that:

Honeybees can reduce the amount of nectar and pollen available to native bees.
Some native bees may forage less, reproduce less, or avoid areas with high honeybee densities.
The effects are strongest in resource-poor environments and near large apiaries.

In Vermont, this competition is most likely to matter in places where flowers are already limited: roadside edges, fragmented forests, monoculture farmland, or small conservation areas hosting many hives.

Disease Spillover

Perhaps the most serious — and least visible — risk honeybees pose to native bees is disease transmission.

Honeybees can carry parasites and pathogens such as viruses, fungi, and mites. When honeybee colonies are poorly managed — overcrowded, untreated, or stressed — disease levels rise. These pathogens don’t always stay in the hive. They can spread through shared flowers and contaminate the broader environment, where native bees may be exposed.

This is why responsible beekeeping is so important.

Poor beekeeping practices can lead to:

Sicker honeybee colonies
Higher pathogen loads in the environment
Increased risk of disease spillover to native bees, which have no human support or treatment

In other words: unhealthy honeybees can cause more harm than healthy ones. The issue is not honeybees existing — it’s honeybees being mismanaged.

Honeybees Are Not the Enemy

It’s important to be clear: honeybees are not always the problem, and they are not villains in this story.

Honeybees play a valuable role in agriculture, including many Vermont crops. They also provide livelihoods, connect people to nature, and often spark broader interest in pollinator conservation.

The real challenges facing native bees include:

Habitat loss
Pesticide exposure
Climate change
Limited floral diversity

Honeybees can add pressure to these already stressed systems — especially when apiaries are poorly managed or placed in sensitive habitats — but they are not the root cause of native bee declines.

These are separate problems at play, and conflating them helps no one.

What Responsible Beekeeping Looks Like in Vermont

Supporting native bees doesn’t mean opposing beekeeping. It means practicing — and encouraging — thoughtful, responsible beekeeping, such as:

Actively monitoring and managing hive health
Preventing overcrowding and excessive hive density
Avoiding placement of apiaries in high-quality natural habitats
Supporting habitat restoration and native plant diversity
Recognizing that more hives do not automatically mean better outcomes for pollinators

When honeybees are healthy and kept in appropriate places, the risks to native bees are significantly reduced.

Supporting All Pollinators

Honeybees and native bees can coexist — but only if we give native bees the space and resources they need. If you want to help, planting native flowers, leaving some bare ground or stems for nesting, and learning about local bee species can make a real difference. 🐝🪰🦋