Gone Native

They may look like animatronics, but they're real. Our Michigan native sweat bees - green eyes and all - are pretty cool. Bumble bees, with their heavy, furry bodies, are also native to Michigan, and also pretty cool.

Sweat bee
courtesy of Steve Parrish

Bumblebee courtesy of Steve Parrish

My question - does the fact that honey bees pollinate 30% of agricultural crops mean that 30% of our food produce depends on honey bees? - is still out there. 

Native bees don't produce enough high quality honey for us to manage them as livestock. They do, however, help pollinate the agricultural products we eat. Like honey bees, native bees are in decline due to loss of green space, monoculture farm practices and increased use of pesticides.

Dr. Roger Hoopingarner, a large-scale blueberry farmer and retired MSU entomology professor, says that blueberries are "designed for bumble bees." He goes on to say that honey bees prefer dandelions over apple trees. Another MSU entomology professor, Rufus Isaacs, says that 80% to 90% of Michigan blueberries are pollinated by honey bees. He's working on a project to encourage and increase the wild bumblebee population.

I especially like the use of the electric toothbrush as a field research tool.