KNOWABLE MAGAZINE - Domestic honeybees are pretty much synonymous with pollination in the public’s mind, particularly when it comes to crops, and the plight of wild bees has largely been overshadowed by concern about threats to the domestic variety. Many people don’t know the difference between wild and domestic bees, further obscuring both the troubles faced by many wild species and their value, says Hollis Woodard, an entomologist at the University of California, Riverside.
Researchers also stress the need to monitor native bees. Scientists lack data on species abundance, especially for solitary bees, which can be hard to find because they nest in places like leaf piles and can have small ranges. Woodard leads the National Native Bee Monitoring Network with the hope of fixing that by gathering and standardizing data on native bees across the US.
The data could show which bees are doing well. “Truly, I think there are going to be some bees that are doing just fine,” Woodard says. “And it would be really inspiring and hopeful for people to see that.”