How Much do People Know About Native Bees? (Ep. 11)

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University and York University in Canada conducted studies to gauge the public’s knowledge and perceptions of bees. The studies found that people generally understand the importance of bees in pollination and honey production but are unaware of the diversity of bee species and their different characteristics. Many people mistakenly believe that honey bees are native to their country and that all bee species are endangered. The biggest perceived threats to bees were pesticide use and loss of floral resources. The studies suggest that more education and outreach services are needed to increase public understanding of bees and their conservation.

For a more detailed look at the studies discussed in this episode, read the Pennsylvania State University and York University findings.

Did you know?

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are native to some regions of the world. These include parts of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. As for the rest of the planet, honey bees were brought by settlers to South America in the early 16th century, North America in the early 17th century, and Australia in the early 19th century.

Transcript

Welcome to The Bee’s Knees; I’m your host, Jacy Meyer. Thanks so much for joining me today. It would mean a lot if you could tell a friend or two about the podcast, follow and rate it. It helps more people learn about the show and, more importantly, how to help the bees.

I started this podcast out of a deep love and respect for these quirky little guys. There’s a lot of info out there about honeybees, but native bees are often left out of the conservation conversation. The Bee’s Knees focuses on wild and native bees. It’s for people like you concerned about biodiversity and sustainability who want to know simple ways they can support their local ecosystems in the face of climate change. 

But how much do people know about and understand native bees? Two recent studies have tried to answer that question, and I want to share their findings with you today.

At Pennsylvania State University in the US, the Center for Pollinator Research and the College of the Liberal Arts joined forces to query US college students’ knowledge of bees. It’s an interesting collaboration because the researchers wanted to examine the messaging surrounding bees. Most people know that bee species are declining, and we need to participate in conservation efforts. But previous studies have also found that public awareness of the magnitude and diversity of bee species is low, and people tend to know more about honey bees than other bee species. 

Penn State researchers used two groups of undergraduate students. One group was considered a “high-interest group” as they were taking a class about honey bees. The second group was taking a psychology class, and they were termed “low interest.”

Researchers wanted to look at the students’ self-reported knowledge of bees and see if they could identify some central concepts that could form a base for creating effective messages on bee conservation. They also wanted to see if and how these primary concepts and the accuracy of bee knowledge differed in the two groups. 

Those surveyed had a basic and generally accurate understanding of honey bees and pollination services. Both groups focused mainly on the value bees provide to humans by producing honey and pollinating crops and flowers. What they tended to believe about honey bees though extended through to native bees, whose lives are pretty different. The biggest difference in the two groups’ reporting was the low-interest group mentioned stinging in relation to bees. 

Even though honey bees are a managed species and don’t need conservation, per se, researchers found because honey and honey bees featured so prominently in the students’ knowledge base, these pollinators could be an excellent introduction to the broader world of native bees and other pollinators.

In Canada, researchers out of York University in Toronto did a telephone survey of the general public to learn the level of knowledge and perceptions of native wild bees. Overall, researchers found a low level of bee knowledge among those surveyed. In general, though, most people thought bees should be protected, mainly for their pollination services. Of the 2,000 respondents, 51% believed the honey bee was a native Canadian bee. Canada does have more than 800 native bee species, but the honey bee is not one of them. More than 40% thought all bee species to be endangered. Regarding the top two ranked perceived threats to bees, 89% said pesticide use, and 79% mentioned loss of floral resources. From this study, researchers believe the scientific community, NGOs, and governments need to provide more education and outreach services. 

Both of these studies fill an important gap in our understanding of what people know about native bees. With this information we can hopefully target the right messaging to the right people at the right time. Thanks again for listening, I hope you enjoyed this mini-episode, and I hope it’s inspired you to do what you can for the bees. Until next time, keep buzzing.