In the winter of 2006-2007, some beekeepers reported unusually high losses (30-90 percent) of their hives. This alarmed governmental and university communities, triggered numerous studies into the causes, and led to the term “Colony Collapse Disorder.” Today, experts believe many factors, including pests and diseases, habitat loss, stress, and pesticides, all contributed to CCD.

This news of declining bee populations raised public awareness, with news stories focusing on honey bees that are important to pollinate crops. Indeed, honey bees are likely the bees people notice in gardens. In response, many urban landowners began keeping honey bee hives to help save the bees.

This article looks at the bigger picture of bee conservation by gardeners.

What do we know about European honey bees?

  • The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a nonnative bee that lives in colonies. Hives were imported to the US in the early 17th century to produce honey for food and wax for candles. Later, honey bees were bred to pollinate crops.
  • As agriculture expanded across the US, millions of acres of vegetation were cleared. This removed habitat for native bees and other pollinators and increased the demand for honey bee pollination of crops.
  • Honey bees then became domesticated livestock, with their hives moved across the country with little regulation.
  • The honey bee agriculture business grew exponentially and today has an annual value of $18 billion in added crop revenue. Honey bee products are valued at $700 million (USDA, 2025). 
  • Honey bee populations are not at risk of extinction, although the health of honey bees kept as livestock is of concern from an animal welfare perspective.  There is evidence that transportation of hives can spread parasites and disease to native bees.

What do we know about native (or wild) bees?

  • There are over 900 documented wild bee species in Oregon.
  • About 77% of the wild bees are solitary, with a single female creating a nest dug in the ground or built in a hollow twig.
  • Most hibernate over winter, then emerge as adults in the spring and early summer and forage close to where they emerge.
  • About one-third of native bees are specialists, feeding on a few specific plant species or genera to which they have adapted.
  • Some of these bee species are at risk of extinction from habitat loss and lack of food, pesticide use, and diseases, among other threats.
  • Xerces Society has suggested, based on published reports, in some situations, honey bees are one of the threats to native bees, through competition for nectar and pollen, and disease transmission.       

Conservation Strategies to Support Bees

We can save the bees that live near us. Rather than raising honey bees, anyone interested in saving bees can provide habitat by:

  1. Growing lots of flowers: Grow flowering pollinator plants so that there are lots of blooms from early spring to late fall, providing food for bees. Include a variety of flower colors and shapes for bee species with different mouthparts and tongue lengths. Native bees generally prefer native plants.
  2. Providing nest sites: Most native bees need bare ground to access the soil for digging nest tunnels. Some species need hollow stems where they lay their eggs, which pupate, and turn into adults. Most of a bee’s life cycle is spent dormant in a nest. Leave bee nests alone so that their life cycle is not disrupted.
  3. Avoiding pesticides: Pesticides are designed to kill and can affect bees through direct contact or indirectly through plants that absorb the pesticide. Learn to solve pest problems using Integrated Pest Management. It begins with frequent observations of plants to identify a problem early and correctly. When a problem occurs, use the most benign approach first. Pruning off infested portions of the plant, squirting off offending pests with water jets, and replacing a sickly plant with something better suited for the space are options.

Sources:

1/ Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder#

2/ The Impact of Honey Bees on Native Bees in Urban Settings: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/node/249766/printable/print

3/ Why Getting a Hive Won’t Save the Bees: https://xerces.org/publications/fact-sheets/why-getting-hive-wont-save-bees

4/ Garden Ecology Lab: https://gardenecology.oregonstate.edu/gardenecology/gardeners

Click here for a printable pdf of this article. Written by Carole Hardy, June 2025   

Photos: 1)Yellow faced bumble bee and 2)mason bee on Varileaf Phacelia, a great native plant that supports wild bees. Photo source: Carole Hardy