Wildlife & Habitat Protection
8/30/2009 8:46:42 PM EST
North America once had a native honeybee, contrary to popular belief
Partner, Ropers Majeski Kohn & Bentley
As noted frequently in prior posts, one of the beauties of science is the constant growth of new and interesting facts and theories. One of the accepted myths has been that, although North America has many types of native bees, the honeybee arrived with European colonists some 400 years ago.
A recently unearthed 14-million-year-old fossil (found in Nevada) shows that the bee was a member of the honeybee genus (Apis); it has been named Apis nearctica. The species is extinct. Researchers believe that it appears to be closest to another extinct honeybee once found in what is now Germany (Apis armbrusteri).
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