Thinking beyond Western commercial honeybee hives: towards improved conservation of honey bee diversity

published on Biodiversity and Conservation 15 July 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1404-y
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A decline of wild pollinators, along with a decline of bee diversity, has been a cause of concern among academics and governmental organizations. According to the IPBES, a lack of wild pollinator data contributes to difficulties in comprehensively analyzing the regional status of wild pollinators in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Oceania. It may have also contributed to the prevailing lack of awareness of the diversity of honey bees, of which the managed European honey bee is often considered as “the (only) honey bee,” despite the fact that there are eight other honey bee species extant in Asia. A survey of 100 journal articles published in 2016 shows that 57% of the studies still identified the European honey bee as “the honey bee.” In total, 80% of studies were conducted solely on the European honey bee. This focus on the European honey bee has also caused the honey standard of Codex Alimentarius and the European Union to be based solely on European honey bee, causing improper evaluation of honeys from other species. We recommend adapting current standards to reflect the diversity of honey bees and in the process correct failures in the honey market and pave the way towards improved protection of honey bee species and their habitats.

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