Honeybees Intensify Competition with Wild Pollinators Amid Warming

Research from Anglia Ruskin University shows honeybees aggressively displace wild pollinators from flowers, increasing competition for nectar and pollen, especially in urban areas with high hive densities. Climate warming and more managed honeybee colonies may worsen this resource struggle.

The two-year study at five sites around Cambridge observed pollinator interactions on blackberry and ivy flowers, recording 93 hours of activity. Insects were grouped as honeybees, bumblebees, solitary bees, syrphid flies, and others including butterflies, beetles, and wasps.