David Suzuki is a world-renowned scientist, broadcaster, activist, co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation and author of more than 30 books on ecology (written with files from Rewilding Communities program manager Jode Roberts).

For many people “bees” means “honeybees” — the prolific insects that flit from flower to flower, collecting nectar and pollen to take back to their hives. Their utility to people has heightened fears about “colony collapse disorder,” in which various suspected causes have killed off unusually high numbers of colonies.

Still, honeybees have proliferated, thanks in part to the growing popularity of urban beekeeping. That may sound good, but it poses problems. Honeybees, Apis mellifera, haven’t always lived in North America. They’re native to Europe, Africa and parts of Asia and were brought here by Europeans starting in the early 17th century. 

As the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation points out, “They became increasingly important with the advent of larger monocultures and the use of broad-spectrum insecticides. To fulfill the demand for crop pollination, millions of hives are managed in and trucked all over North America.”

Despite colony collapse, there are likely more honeybees on the planet now than ever before. But many of the estimated 3,600 native wild bee species in North America — including about 800 in Canada — aren’t faring so well. Most bees are solitary, nesting alone in crevices, hollow stems or underground burrows. None of the native species in Canada make honey. Unlike honeybees, solitary bees and bumblebees are vulnerable to habitat loss.

From shiny sweat bees to industrious mason bees, these native pollinators are quietly vanishing. From 2013 to 2020, as honeybee hives skyrocketed from 250 to nearly 3,000, native bee populations nosedived. Each hive can house up to 50,000 honeybees, leading to significant competition with solitary wild bees. 

It’s not just native bees that are declining, but also butterflies, moths and other key pollinators. In Canada, many butterfly and moth species are at serious risk, highlighting the urgent need to rethink our practices.

We need to shift toward more inclusive urban pollinator strategies. Instead of adding more honeybee hives, let’s turn our cities into pollinator paradises by planting native wildflowers, creating habitat corridors and conducting citywide pollinator health assessments.