Think+of+Honeybees+as+Livestock+Not+Wildlife,+Argue+Experts

Think of Honeybees as ‘Livestock’ Not Wildlife, Argue Experts Science Daily - Accessed 01/27/2018

Because honeybees are treated like livestock and not a wild species, thus when addressing bee survival, agricultural bees cannot be considered a conservation issue. Domestic bees attribute to the decline of wild bees. "Levels of wild pollinators, such as species of solitary bumblebee, moth and hoverfly, continue to decline at an alarming rate. Currently, up to 50% of all European bee species are threatened with extinction." Honeybees are vital for many crops, and their decline can harm crop pollination rates. The wild bees roam free, thus upsetting the dynamics and disrupting ecosystems through competition and disease.
 * Summary: **

Keeping domestic honeybees is more disruptive to the environment than helpful. They take the resources of the wild bees and spread diseases. This relates to the course through community interactions. The bees struggle to coexist while competing for the same resources. This is called interference competition (Miller Chapter 9). Both types of bees limit the other, and the introduction of pesticides has resulted in the decline of both domestic and wild bees.
 * Relation to Course: **

I think that there needs to be a balance between domestic and wild bees in a way that does not ruin the survival of the bees. As the article states, I think there should be limits on the number of hives in addition to the amount of hive management.
 * My Opinion: **

This relates to the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 because it supports methods of wildlife conservation through law enforcement. This would apply if limits were put on domestic bees.
 * Environmental Law: **

