this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2024
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Science Memes

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EUROBEE (mander.xyz)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (2 children)

They're native to Africa, Europe, West Asia & Central Asia, which covers around 3 billion people

East & South Asia have the Asiatic Honey Bee which is closely related enough that their introduction wouldn't disrupt the ecosystem as they fill the same niche in the same way

That leaves only around 15% of the global population somewhere European Honey Bees even have potential to become invasive, so it's a safe bet that they aren't for most people

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

“Only the colonized need fear the colonizer”

Native to PARTS of Africa, PARTS of Asia.

Not native to any of the island nations.

Not native to the Americas.

More to the point they wouldn’t be as widespread as they are without human intervention.

I am generally all for the pollinators of any kind but this meme has a good point and few people actually know that the honeybee is only prominent in its place because of humans.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Apis mellifera is a much better pollinator for most cultivars produced by agriculture around the world, so it's been introduced into East, South and Southeast Asia too (and it's pretty closely related to Apis cerana anyway, and they get along OK).

Also, you're not accounting for species uniqueness, which is highest in Australia/NZ/PNG, southern Africa and parts of South America. These places also have native bees that are outcompeted and outright attacked by Eurobees.

The truth is complicated, but also simple - this invasive species we tolerate and even introduce because it massively benefits food production for humans.