[APWG] European honey bees as exotics and as exotic enablers

[Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company]

Dear Robert and All,

I have been a bee keeper for over 30 year, when my hive swarmed a few
years ago, I did not replace the colony, and noticed a big difference in
who was polinating the local native wildflowers.

Previously, the European honey bees were the big pollen and nectar hogs,
and when gone, a huge number of native bees, wasps and bee fly species
showed up, that had not been seen for year when the honey bees were
present.

Honey bees may be making as big an impact on the native ecosystems as some
invasive exotic plants, as they may be a key factor in the exotics weeds
like Yellow Star thistle, being able to get pollinated and produce viable
seed?

Maybe we should look into honey bees, as exotic plant enablers?

In the future, we may need to establish European honey bee-free zones, and
keep bee colonies at a certain distance away from some of our North
Americas natural areas?

Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333