藝術家用幽默漫畫的方式詮釋了為什麼我們要開啟獨居蜂旅館計劃的初衷。
全世界都在擔心蜜蜂消失的問題，越來越多人把蜜蜂當成寵物在飼養，不停地從各處引進蜜蜂。但，大多數人沒有想過的是，你引入的每一箱蜜蜂對於現階段的城市來說他可能都是一個相當強力的外來生物。我們都忘記原來的環境裡其實有上百種的原生蜂類同樣在這為數不多的綠地裡與蜜蜂搶食僅有的食物。所以利用獨居蜂旅館或是改善環境棲地才會是一個相對友善幫助原生授粉者的方法唷！
🤓漫畫裡的小問題：漫畫中，畫家所用的原生蜂種為熊蜂，她一樣是社會性的蜂。但其實這張圖在台灣比較不適用，因為台灣熱得要死，台灣的熊蜂基本上多在較高的海拔生活，與蜜蜂直接對衝的機會不高，反而是原生的獨居蜂有非常大的比例是與蜜蜂共域生活的。我們光是頂樓蜜蜂花園裡一個夏天就可以看到超過十種的獨居蜂了誒，很驚人吧！😎
I wanted to do something a little more serious today... Native pollinators mean a lot to me! Please PLEASE save your native species of bees, wasps, and other pollinators, they are the ones that really truly need it!
Entomological basis for the comic: Apis mellifera, the Western honeybee, is not native to the United States or in fact most of the planet, but they are a hugely economically valuable farmed species, so they are everywhere! In the US alone there are around 3 million hives registered with the USDA, with 20-80,000 members per hive, the species is in no way in trouble. Nor do they pollinate all of the food we eat. They are useful in pollinating some crops, especially large scale monoculture farms. However many many wild species of bee, wasp, butterfly, etc that are pollinators, are in serious trouble. Bombus affinis, in North America, is now listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. Please try and plant native wildflowers, build bee hotels, and use a lot less pesticides to help out native species, they need the help more!
