Q&A: Where the wild bees are—and aren't—impacts food supply in Canada

Honey bees—plump, fuzzy, and famed for their honey-making—capture the popular imagination. Yet, wild bees are equally vital for pollination and, by some measures, outshine honey bees as pollinators. This is why UBC researcher Matthew Mitchell and his colleagues are deeply concerned about their declining populations.Dr. Mitchell, a landscape ecologist in the faculties of forestry and land and food systems, sheds light on the link between diminishing numbers of wild pollinators and reduced farm productivity in a recent study published in Environmental Research Letters. In this Q&A, he delves into the research findings and proposes ways the public can contribute to protecting wild bees.Native wild bees—which include mason bees, carpenter bees, sweat bees, and bumble bees—and other wild pollinators like moths, wasps, beetles, and flies are found everywhere: in parks and fields, near farms and forests. There are more than 800 species of just native bees in Canada, not counting other ...