#pollinator conservation

It takes a bit of backstory to explain why this is good news.

Some endangered species laws were written before invertebrate conservation (insects, molluscs, etc.) was taken into consideration, so the language of the laws does not explicitly include these groups of animals. For example, the California Endangered Species Act states that endangered species can be mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, or fish.

Historically, aquatic invertebrates (lobster, clams, etc.) were included under the umbrella of “fish”, but courts have now ruled that terrestrial invertebrates can also be lumped into the “fish” category and therefore protected under the California Endangered Species Act.

Honeybees shouldn’t be the focus of pollinator conservation. Take it from an entomology student, honeybees often times actually hurt native pollinator populations.

Some facts about honeybees and their ecology in the US:

In case you don’t know, the most common honeybee species in the Unites States is actually an introduced species from Western Europe. It’s not a native species.

Honeybees are vast in population, and often out-compete other native pollinators for resources, such as food and shelter.

Honeybees actually really suck at pollination in comparison to native pollinators. Like really. It’s been shown to be detrimental to local plant reproduction to rely on honeybees for pollination.

Honeybees out-compete birds for nesting spots.

Honeybees were brought to the United States to be used as an agricultural tool, not to help native species of plants or pollinators.