And in the Southwest, many surviving honeybees are being hybridized by Africanized bees sweeping north from Latin America. Native bees don t belong to the same species as Africanized bees, so they don t mate with them. Nor are they vulnerable to varroa or tracheal mites. In fact, they are already valuable crop pollinators. This isn t just because they are disease-resistant.
Some wild bees can pollinate specific crops much better than honeybees do.
About 5,000 female sunflower leafcutters can do the work of 50,000 honeybees. About 250 female blue orchard bees can do the work of 30,000 to 40,000 honeybees on a one-acre apple orchard. Parker was one of the discoverers of Osmia sanrafaeli , a native bee that may become yet another viable pollinator of alfalfa. He s well aware of the commercial potential of wild bees. But he isn t in it for the money he s in it for the wonder.