This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Populations of the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) are under immense pressure in the wild in Europe. New research published in Conservation Science and Practice from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart and Agroscope in Zürich shows that there are frequent occurrences of honeybees in the wild in Europe.
However, the researchers estimate that the populations of these bee populations in the European Union (EU) will fall by about 56% within 10 years without the influx of swarms from beekeepers. Therefore, wild honeybees are now officially classified as "endangered" across the EU on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List. Many people see honeybees solely as commercial animals used in beekeeping to pollinate flowers and produce honey.
In fact, however, numerous wild populations nest in natural tree hollows, rock crevices and hollow walls and sustain themselves independently of humans. They account for about one-sixth of the entire European population of honeybees. However, little has been known about these wild honeybees and their ecological, economic and evolutionary importance.
"This means that, based on current data, a clear biological separation between honeybees in the wild and managed honeybees cannot be sustained," said Dr. Patrick Kohl of the Livestock Population Genomics Department at the University of Hohenheim. "Wild populations of bees have been a source for beekeeping for millennia.
The two groups still intermingle today, for example, when young queen bees from beekeeping operations mate with drones from wild bee colonies during their nuptial flights. Or when an entire swarm of bees leaves the hive, settles in an old woodpecker hollow in the forest and thus becomes part of the wild subpopulation once again." However, why are wild honeybees interesting if this species is the same as that maintained by beekeepers? "Wild honeybees enjoy tremendous genetic diversity," Kohl said.
"For example, we can find populations of bees in the wild in America that are able to handle the notorious Varroa mite. This blood-sucking parasite, which originated from Asia, is able to wipe out entire populations of bees. The lack of chemical treatment against the mite in the wild population has led to the natural selection of colonies resistant to these parasites.
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