Urban beekeeping poses a threat on wild bee species

Urban areas as a refuge
Cities provide a diverse set of habitats that have the possibility to house many wild bee species [1]. Urban green spaces such as gardens, parks and yards provide nesting and foraging resources for many bee species and often are seen as a refuge for many wild bee species that are unable to exist outside of these urban spaces due to land use changes [1]. Wild bee species are often solitary, fly small distances to find resources and are essential for the pollination of native flowers and crops [1, 2].

Urban honey bees

Due to their small foraging ranges, these solitary species are easily outcompeted by bee species that form colonies, such as Apis mellifera, also known as the western honey bee, that are able to fly large distances to forage and are able to use a variety of floral resources [1]. These social bees form colonies in apiaries that can contain up to 50.000 bees that are cared for in the winter by beekeepers and thus do not reduce heavily in numbers in the spring [1, 3]. Honey bees have been introduced in many ecosystems [2]. The number of colonies in and around cities has also steadily grown to where some cities can house up to 6 colonies per square kilometer, each colony competing with each other and wild bees for the same resources [1, 3]. Many municipalities and local authorities have limited knowledge on the diversity of bee species in their region and see the increase of pollinators in the area as a positive for the pollination services that they provide. But they are not regulating the interspecific competition between bees, as can be seen in the absence of a registry of bee keepers and their hives in certain cities [1, 3].

Interspecific competition
The presence of honey bees deters many wild bee species from foraging in certain locations, as honey bees often forage for the same resources as wild solitary bees [1]. Honey bees are generalist species and are able to forage on many different flowering plant species, whilst many wild bee species do prefer native plants or forage for a specific flowering plant species [1]. These native plants are often harder to come by in the urban environment, with exotic plant species in gardens and parks [1]. Native wild bee species are often not familiar with exotic plants and only generalists are able to use these plants for foraging resources [1]. The size of the honey bee tongues makes it easier for this species to forage on exotic flowers as they’re capable of reaching nectar the nectar that is available in deep calyxes [1]. Therefore, the honey bees outcompete native bees for floral resources.

Aid of wild bee species
To aid in foraging for wild bee species, and other pollinator species in general, native flowering plants are planted [2]. Wild bee species are able to overcome to the negative influences of honey bee competition, but still have to alter their visitation patterns and their foraging behavior to find these planted flowers [1, 2]. Depending on the ecosystem or niche, some wild bee species become more specialized, whilst other become more generalized [2]. Additional native flowering plants do seem to reduce the competition between honey bees and wild bee species, but it remains unclear what other measures need to be in place to minimize the negative effects of honey bees [2]. It is also difficult to place enough flowers to minimize competition urban environments where green spaces are relatively hard to come by [1, 2].

Management of honey bees
Beekeepers are not required to plant more native flowering plants to provide for their honey bees, which means that additional beehives in any location puts more pressure on the local ecosystem [1]. The competition for the already present foraging resources grows without additional resources being sown [1]. A change is needed in the protection strategy of pollinators and, in particular, wild bee species [3]. Strategic planning of the placement of apiaries and possible caps on the number of apiaries per square kilometer could be introduced in cities to protect wild pollinators from being outcompeted by honey bees [3]. This does mean that cities and municipalities have to calculate what the carrying capacity is for their urban areas, but it does reduce additional pressure on wild bee species to thrive in the urban environment [3].

1. MacInnis, G., Normandin, E., & Ziter, C. D. (2023). Decline in wild bee species richness associated with honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) abundance in an urban ecosystem. PeerJ, 11, e14699. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14699
2. Page, M. L., & Williams, N. M. (2023). Evidence of exploitative competition between honey bees and native bees in two California landscapes. Journal of Animal Ecology, 92(9), 1802–1814. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13973
3. Lanner, J., Unglaub, P., Rohrbach, C., Pachinger, B., Roberts, S., & Kratschmer, S. (2025). How many bees fit in the city? A spatial ecological case study to conserve urban wild bees. Urban Ecosystems, 28(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-024-01666-3