The unexpected downside of raising bees in your backyard (original) (raw)

If you think backyard and rooftop beehives are helping save the bees, think again, experts say.

A growing body of research suggests that the explosion of urban beekeeping involving honeybees in many cities and towns may be hurting critical local wild bee populations.

A recent peer-reviewed study conducted in Montreal found that places with the largest increase in domesticatedhoneybees also had the fewest wild bee species — with small bees, which are only able to fly shorter distances to find food, appearing to be especially at risk.