They're an important pollinator group - along with moths, flies, wasps, butterflies, bugs, beetles - and, in the tropics, birds, bats and occasionally lizards.
They are also a flagship species. People jump on board for a bee more quickly than they do for a fly, and any insect pollinator is just as dead as a dead bee if it gets hit with a dose of Neonicotinoids...
I'm a pessimist, by the way. I believe that - although pesticides have been known since their first usage to cause long term losses in productivity - farmers will continue buying up the latest pesticide that hasn't been banned quite yet. But that doesn't make historic bans any less important - from DDT then to neonicotinoids today.
Well, yesterday, in most of Europe, where this applies...
If you're outside of Europe, just smile and nod. If you're inside Europe, enjoy the feeling of hope that we may see some recovery in our pollinators.
And enjoy all the pictures of bees.
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| clockwise, spiralling in from top left: Xylocopa (Mesotrichia) flavorufa, Nomada goodeniana, Bombus (Bombus) terrestris, Thyreus sp., Bombus (Pyrobombus) hypnorum, Amegilla (Zebramegilla) sp., Andrena (Trachandrena) haemorrhoa, Andrena (Melandrena) cineraria, Andrena (Melandrena) nigroaenea (See own page), Bombus (Melanobombus) lapidarius, Nomada ruficornis, Sphecodes sp. (also seen on the Metadon inermis page), Xylocopa (Xylomelissa) erythrina, Euaspis abdominalis, Apis mellifera scutellata, Anthophora (Clisodon) furcata (See own page), Anthidium manicatum, Andrena (Melandrena) nitida, Megachile chrysorrhea, Xylocopa (Xenoxylocopa) inconstans, Osmia rufa, Megachile centuncularis, Megachile sp., and Xylocopa sp.. |
And yes, these are all bees.
I'll expand in their individual posts, in the future...
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