“Who are you?”, You want to put this bee in your mouth while taking a almost curious look out of her bee hotel. The furry honey collector belongs to the Australian species Megachile Speluncarum – and is in danger.
In Australia and many other regions of the world, local bees are replaced by the western honeybee (Apis Mellifera) introduced from Europe. She often wins the struggle for food resources and indirectly decimates domestic species, as bee researcher Kit Prender guest from the Australian Curtin University and her team found out. The affected species also includes Megachile Speluncarum, a solitary wild bee from the family of abdominal collectors (Megachilidae). It transports the collected flower pollen using a special bristle under its fuselage. Our honey bee, on the other hand, uses pollen baskets on its hind legs.
“Many people believe that western honey bees are threatened with extinction, even though they are the most widespread bee species worldwide. In many places, even in Australia, they are either farm animals or overgrown animals and can compete with the locals. It is assumed that the honey bees will help the bees, but honeybees have a completely different ecology and can Suppress, ”emphasizes Prender guest.
The researcher therefore asks to make local bees as easy as possible, for example by planting local flowers and holding no European honeybees in areas where they naturally do not occur. “Every single kind is a unique product of evolution and, like a unique work of art, can never be replaced according to loss,” said Prender guest.
