Canada is world-renowned for its vast expanse of natural resources – freshwater, arable land for crops and livestock, and in the animal kingdom, various wildlife species. Although there are many different types of wildlife in Canada’s forests, plains, rivers, and mountains (such as grizzly bears in the west or caribou in the north), it is not that easy to find native bee species living within these regions.
Honey bees are not native to Canada, although many imported species are able to live wild in the Canadian cold. the most common bees in Canada came from Europe because European bees are better adapted to cold than other species. Aggressive southern bees cannot survive in Canada.
Even though approximately 4000 Canadian bee species are known so far, only 6% are considered “native.” The other 94% were either accidentally or purposefully brought to Canada by human beings at some point during the last 500 years.
Are honey bees native to Canada?
No, though some people may believe they are native because they see them on flowers all over Canada, bumblebees originate from the Northern United States and Northern Mexico. The Canadian bumblebee (Bombus impatiens), an invasive species to Canada, arrived in Nova Scotia in 1956 and remains only in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. This bee is the only one that has adapted well to Canadian conditions.
There are about 250 species of bumblebees worldwide. The Bombus impatiens lives out its days between May and September, feeding on flowers such as sweet clover, alfalfa, white clover, and wild strawberry flower. It has no nest or honey pot but instead builds a small grass-like nest to protect its larvae. Unfortunately, this bee can be found almost anywhere in Canada because it will compete with the native bumblebees for food or nesting space, which often leads to their decline.
This bee also spreads diseases that affect the native Canadian bumblebees. Therefore, it is recommended that the Canadian bumblebee should be controlled – not eradicated. That is because it feeds on agricultural pests such as red clover and white clover seed production. Additionally, this bee pollutes greenhouse tomato crops in New Brunswick and cucumber crops in Prince Edward Island. If any steps are taken to control the population of this invasive species, then these actions must be carefully considered because they could harm our agriculture industry. The consensus so far seems to be that we should monitor the spread of the Canadian bumble bee and control its populations – but not eradicate them.
Do native Canadian bees make honey?
Yes. There are numerous types of wild bees living in Canada. Most people would recognize the European Honey Bee, but many other varieties have been purposefully or accidentally introduced from other countries worldwide, including some domesticated by First Nations peoples before contact with Europeans occurred. The Honey bee has been kept and bred on a large scale since ancient times for its delicious product, one of only two produced by insects (the other being wax). However, most Canadian wild bees do not make honey at all – they tend to store their nests with their larvae and pollen grains.
Other wild native bees tend to collect nectar rather than producing it themselves. They visit many flowers to gather their ‘honey.’ When the bees collect nectar, they convert it into honey through a complex process that involves removing most of the water content by placing the honey in cells exposed to air allows yeast to ferment it.
And just like any other beehive, there needs to be an opening at the bottom for drainage. The bees make their hives out of wax, which they produce from glands on their abdomen. Honeybees also have these glands but usually store some extra wax along with their honey. Bees may collect more than one kind of material for making hives. In reality, many different types of insects produce silk of various qualities, some are excellent for weaving nests while others are poor, and the silk glands of certain spiders may also be used.
These bee nests can be found in several surprising places: abandoned rodent burrows, under rocks and exposed tree roots, and even hanging from the branch of a tree! These nests contain up to 1000 cells each, house one egg, and enough food to grow into an adult bee. On average, there is only one larva per cell – usually just enough to fill it.
Most wild bees live for less than one year. The queens survive over winter by entering hibernation, but they generally die before their first broods reach adulthood. Many other types of insects, such as wasps, will provide food for their young throughout this period by either taking over nests abandoned by other types of bees or producing their nests to house their larvae.
Although native bees do not make honey like the European Honey Bee, they still pollinate insects! They play a critical role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Apart from feeding on pollen and nectar from flowers, many insects feed on fruits, vegetables, and crops grown for human consumption. Without these wild pollinators, it would not be easy to maintain this food source.
Where are honey bees native to?
Honey bees are native to Asian, African, and European continents. As humans traveled, they took bees with them, and thus honey bees are now naturally found on every continent except for Antarctica.
Honey bee distribution by country varies based on several factors, including climate, availability of resources (including food sources), and human impact. In recent centuries, human intervention has been responsible for a significant redistribution of honey bee colonies worldwide. This increase in movement is not unique to humans. However, the species can also be observed between different locations or regions where individual colonies may travel looking for better conditions (for example, food sources). On average, though, these movements happen at smaller scales than those created by humans.
Two of the most influential factors which control honey bee distribution are climate and the availability of nectar-producing plant species. Honey bees have even been referred to as ecological indicators, meaning that their presence is closely linked to critical environmental conditions. Such conditions are thought to contribute to shifts in bee distribution over time, leading to population declines or expansions depending on their current location.
For example, humans had kept the Eurasian honey bee (Apis mellifera) throughout most of European history, though it was not native there. Throughout history, this allowed colonies to expand into northern Europe, where winters were cold with few flowering plants. However, by artificially keeping honey bees in areas where they would not naturally live, some people put them at risk for certain diseases by introducing them to non-native pathogens.
Are honey bees non-native to North America?
Honeybees (scientific name: Apis mellifera) are not native to North America. Europeans first introduced them as early as 1622, and despite those early colonists’ best efforts, they remain an invasive species.
There is no evidence to indicate there were honey bees in North or South America before European arrival. Both historical records and current research have confirmed that. Native Americans did not keep any animals other than dogs (and maybe llamas). We know this because the only animal bones found during archaeological digs come from things like turkeys (and man’s best friend, dogs). There just wasn’t anything else out there that would leave a bone, like a cow or bear or pig. The honey bee was NOT among those animals because the Native Americans weren’t beekeepers and didn’t have anything to do with bees.
Bees showed up in America (North and South) about Europeans and other immigrants about the same time. Honey bees were brought over intentionally by early colonists and perhaps some stowaways on ships that arrived later. Honey bees quickly spread wherever people settled, following their preferred forage sources of nectar & pollen back to the colonies they established near humans (farmers).
Beekeeping in North America developed rapidly during colonial times. It was vital for two reasons: 1-the colonies needed to be self-sufficient in food; 2-they wanted to produce certain items to trade for things they couldn’t make themselves. But it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that beekeeping became a primary industry in America when European honey bees were moved into the American mid-west to help with orchard pollination.
That is known as the “Industrial Revolution” in beekeeping history. In summation, the early European settlers brought the European honey bee to North America with the hope of exploiting the continent’s vast natural resources – particularly its honey – and eventually establish a lucrative trading industry. Though this dream never came to fruition, there remained a strong demand for the bees and their products.
Conclusion
Canada is home to many bee species, including the western honey bee, and bumblebees. The native bee, “Apis mellifera,” is a social creature that has been imported from Europe and is commonly sold for its pollination services. The ‘European’ Honey bee was brought to North America by European settlers in the seventeenth century. However, in the early 19th century, it declined due to the importation of honeybees from other countries. In any case, the presence of honey bees foraging for nectar and pollen in flowers does not indicate that they are not native to an area. There is a possibly incorrect idea that a species needs to be part of an area’s original fauna (native) to be considered native.
