Local honeybees are fine, despite recent endangerment of Hawaiian bee species

Seven yellow-faced bee species in Hawaii have been placed under protection of the Endangered Species Act — but local bees are fine.

The yellow-faced bee species are the first bee species to make the list. It became endangered due to habitat loss, wildfires and invasive non-native insects and plants, according to the Guardian.

Michael Adamson, former director of research at Chapel Hill Bees, LLC, said the Hawaiian species has nothing to do with the Italian honeybees in Chapel Hill.

Chapel Hill Bees went out of business four years ago because it’s impossible to raise bees without chemicals, Adamson said.

“We always said if we couldn’t raise bees without chemicals, then we wouldn’t do it,” he said.

Randall Austin, certified master beekeeper, said the endangered species in Hawaii doesn’t pertain to local bee species.

“The species in Hawaii doesn’t exactly have any relevance locally, but it does bring to mind things and so in that sense, it’s interesting,” Austin said.

Liz Lindsey, N.C. certified master beekeeper, said beekeepers should eliminate or lower the use of pesticides when raising bees.

“Most of the studies done on pesticides are done by the pesticide industry itself which has a bias to keep its products on the shelves,” Lindsey said. “We need more regulation by the FDA and EPA, which are funded by our tax dollars to ensure the protection of our food and our environment.”

Lindsey said there is a need to create more genetic diversity in our bees and a need for more beekeepers who know how to raise their own queen bees. She said beekeepers shouldn’t rely on large-scale queen bee suppliers.

Adamson said queen bees are one of the most important factors in raising bees.

“Everything depends on the genetics of the queen — it’s quite common for people (in North Carolina) to buy a box of bees with a queen raised in Georgia,” Adamson said. “The bees are not adapted to the North Carolina environment — their genes are competing with the North Carolina genes.”

Adamson said honeybees have been in North America for about 300 years. Bees that are brought into the N.C. region have adapted or evolved to match the North Carolina environment.

“If you really want to help bees, raise bees, then make sure you get local queens raised by local breeders that have been here for a while,” Adamson said.

To prevent future bee endangerment, Lindsey encourages the planting of pollinator forage, which means flowers, trees and weeds.

“We must diversify the plantings in our yards and stop seeing a green lawn as a good thing because to wildlife — it is a desert,” she said.

Austin said he encourages people to be bee-friendly.

“Plant flower plants attractive to bees and other pollinators,” he said.

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