Bees of New York State
Table of Contents
	New York Species	Research Needs

CONSERVATION

Pollinators in peril?

There is much concern about the potential detrimental effects humans may be having on naturally occurring pollinator species, including native bees (Buchmann and Nabhan 1996, Allen-Wardell et al. 1998). Much of our food and economy depends on pollinators, and yet we pay little attention to the long-term conservation of pollinating insects. So much concern has been raised about the potential catastrophic effects of pollinator loss that an entire issue of the journal Conservation Ecology was devoted to this issue:

http://www.consecol.org/Journal/vol5/iss1/index.html

Given that much of the New York State economy is based on agriculture and that much of the state has been altered by human activities, including urban, suburban, and agricultural development, we believe native bee conservation is of considerable importance. Approximately 25% of New York State is agricultural land. Agricultural land, while obviously important, replaces natural plant communities, and some agricultural plants (such as corn and wheat) are incapable of sustaining pollinator populations. In Germany, agricultural development and pesticide use are believed to have led to dramatic declines in the native bee fauna there (Westrich 1989, Williams 1991, Osborne et al. 1991). Conservation of habitats such as hedgerows, fallow fields, forest fragments, and embankments can be very important in preserving native bees. Urban and suburban development undoubtedly effects native bee populations by directly eliminating natural habitats, as well as by fragmenting bee populations. Finally, widespread pesticide use is certainly detrimental to native bees, and can lead to economic and environmental damage. In one famous example (Kevan 1977), widespread pesticide use led to a decline in native bee populations and a subsequent multimillion-dollar loss in the blueberry crop in New Brunswick, Canada.

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