We have a friend who is a master gardener and in charge of one of NYC's
parks. She says that in some areas around them there turned out to be
small populations on native bees who had been suppressed by the
presence of honey bees (which are an imported species) and that some of
the native species are making a comeback with fewer honey bees around.
Many of the native bees are also reasonable pollinators but their
populations have been reduced by suppression partly due to the imported
honey bee (which originated in Africa then spread to Europe):
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061025181534.htm
after which humans moved them around to places like North America,
South America, Australia, and New Zealand only in recent centuries.
Yes, honey bees are just recent immigrants to the U.S. just like all
people who are not Native Americans are (because a few hundred years is
a drop in the bucket and people whose families have been here just for
a few generations are practically newcomers) and just like all ferrets
who not BFFs are (but even the tiny bit of Native American in me loves
Domestic Ferrets and likes honey -- but likes real maple syrup and
birch syrup more). Whether honey bees moved to Asia on their own or had
human help I don't know because people have been using honey bees for
an incredibly long time, not only for their pollination and honey, but
also for their wax. Only colonizing bees make honey or wax in large
enough amounts to be harvested and the majority of Native North
American bees are not social bees.

BTW, non-social bees are less likely to sting than social bees, while
bees in general are less likely to sting than wasps or hornets. If
memory serves, Bumble bees can be social or are social and are more
likely to sting than non-social bees are, but like others I have
stroked busy bumble bees though they can give a decent sting if they
get overly worried. (BTW, This year has also seen a dearth of some
wasps and hornets (both of which are not bees), and of butterflies
around here locally while we are hearing more frogs this year than in a
while. What worries me more **long term** for our area than honey bees
(since native bees may be staging a gradual come back) are some other
animal losses such as the reductions of a number of butterflies and
also white nose in our region's bats, especially the Little Brown Bat,
since they are long lived slow reproducers and are currently dying at
a rate of about 76% a year with this epidemic.)

For some info on native bees:
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/nativebee.html
http://www.n8ture.com/natives.html
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=12050
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/index.shtml
http://www.grit.com/Wildlife/Native-Bees-in-America.aspx
http://www.nappc.org/

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

[Moderator's note: Topic is closed. BIG]

[Posted in FML 6786]