by MK Handley

Created on: June 11, 2008

Would the loss of honeybees really create a worldwide environmental emergency? So DreamWorks would have us believe. In its recent "Bee Movie", when the honeybees go on strike, plants start to wilt from lack of pollination and the entire eco-system of the earth begins to die. But where does the movie end and reality begin?

It is certainly true that American honeybees are currently suffering colony collapse, and that concerned scientists are searching for the reason. Honeybee populations in the US have fallen from 5.9 million in the 1940's to 2.7 million in 1995. Scientists and beekeepers believe pesticide use, genetic and immune system problems, bee parasites and diseases, or a combination of these factors, are among the possible causes of this dramatic decline. It is also true that should the decline continue, there is likely to be a substantial impact on American agriculture. Some believe it might create an environmental problem of great significance.

However, those who hold such opinions may be overlooking one very important detail: the honeybee is not native to America.

What we currently call the "American" honeybee was actually imported by colonists during the settling of Canada and the USA. Before the 1700s, honeybees were restricted to Europe, with a different species having developed in Asia 30 to 50 million years before. Feral honeybees spread to west and south until they became common throughout most of North and South America. Domestic honeybees also traveled west with settlers.

Obviously, plants throughout the Americas were being pollinated by SOMETHING before the introduction of the honeybee, and when the colonists arrived, they did not find an ecosystem teetering on the brink of disaster. It is therefore logical to conclude that the Americas do, in fact, have a population of native pollinators that assisted plants in pollen dispersal before the arrival of the honeybee. So perhaps the question we should be asking is not "Can we save the honeybees?" but "Can these indigenous pollinators save the day should the honeybee disappear?"

Native pollinators in America include more than ten families of native bees, many species of lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), as well as numerous varieties of wasps, beetles and flies. Hummingbirds and even some species of bats are also capable of pollination. In an earlier time, these lesser-known pollinators were able to support plants throughout the American eco-system. Would they be able of supporting agriculture at

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