Honeybees linked to Bumblebee's being "undersized"

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Worrying news ...

Evidence from the USA and now the UK indicates that honeybees are linked to American and European bumblebee workers being "undersized". This may have profound impacts on the success of bumblebee colonies and the queens that will emerge to form next years bumblebee colonies in late summer. Bumblebee queens require substantial pollen resources to build up fat reserves prior to hibernation. Honeybees are somehow causing an already impoverished environment, lacking appropriate nectar and pollen resources, to be even harder still for our native bumblebees. It is not thought that this is through competition directly, but that bumblebees being non aggressive bees are easily disturbed by honeybees and displaced from preferred floral resources. It is recommended that honeybees not be kept in proximity to rare bumblebee colonies.

The UK study surveyed all 6 of the common species of bumblebee and found that workers of all species were "significantly" undersized in areas were honeybees where present compared to areas were honeybees where not present. These findings were statistically significant. Seemingly honeybees are another part of the problem for the bumblebees and linked to the declines. The UK has already lost 98% of its wildflower meadows.