"“Native bees” is a buzzword and is becoming more and more a synonym for all bee species except honey bees. Not even all honey bees: Generally, it’s used to contrast Western honey bees, Apis mellifera. It mainly comes from North American and Australian bee researchers. In these regions, honey bees aren’t native. Therefore, the contrast is totally legitimate. However, it’s a simplification and several things get mixed up here. I’ve already had questions and requests here in Europe calling non-managed bees “native bees”. But guess what. Honey bees are native in Europe. And in Africa. In addition, there are eight more honey bee species in Asia.
Sometimes people roll their eyes because I can be a bit pedantic about words. But believe me: I don’t say anything in 90% of the cases… only when I think that the specific word is important, and it really bugs me. This “native bees versus honey bees” is such a thing. I understand the motivation behind the wording. So, let’s get into that first. Introduced, invasive species are a problem for biodiversity. I once made a whole series about that. Only the introduction is still online, but if you want a relaunch, let me know."
Source: Dr. Claudia Garrido, BeeSafe, 21 May 2021
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