🐝 How Many Bee Species Are There in Colorado and Why Most of Them Need Our Help 🌼

When most people think of bees, they picture the familiar honey bee buzzing around flowers or producing honey 🍯🐝. While honey bees are important, they represent only a very small piece of the story when it comes to pollinators in Colorado.

Colorado is home to nearly 1,000 different bee species, making it one of the most bee diverse states in the country 🌎🌸. These bees range from tiny ground nesting bees the size of a grain of rice to large bumblebees and striking metallic green sweat bees ✨🐝. Most people never notice them, yet they quietly pollinate native plants, gardens, and ecosystems across the state 🌻🌾.

🍯 Honey Bees Are Only a Tiny Fraction of Colorado Bees

Out of those nearly 1,000 bee species, only one species is a honey bee 🐝❗ Honey bees are not native to North America and were introduced by humans for agriculture and honey production 🚜🌼. They live in large managed colonies and are cared for by beekeepers.

The remaining 999 plus species are native bees 🐝🌿. These bees do not make honey. Most live solitary lives, nesting in the ground, hollow plant stems, old wood, or leaf litter 🍂🪵. Many of them are far more effective pollinators than honey bees for native plants and even some food crops 🌸🍓.

When conversations focus only on saving honey bees, they unintentionally leave out the overwhelming majority of bees that actually need the most help ⚠️🐝.

🚨 A Large Percentage of Native Bees Are at Risk

Native bees in Colorado are facing serious challenges 😔🐝. Habitat loss, pesticide use, climate shifts, and reduced plant diversity have put many species under stress 🌎🔥🌾. Scientists and conservation groups estimate that a majority of native bee species are experiencing population declines, and that as many as 70 percent may be at risk or vulnerable if current trends continue 📉⚠️.

Unlike honey bees, native bees cannot be replaced or managed by humans. When a native bee species disappears from an area, it is often gone for good 💔🐝.

🌼 Why Helping Honey Bees Is Not Enough

Planting flowers for honey bees or supporting local honey production can be positive actions 🌻🍯, but they do not solve the larger pollinator crisis.

Honey bees are already widespread and supported by human management. Native bees are not 🐝🌿. In fact, large numbers of honey bees can sometimes compete with native bees for limited pollen and nectar, especially in areas where habitat is already scarce 🌸⚖️.

If we truly want to protect pollinators, the focus must expand beyond honey bees to include the hundreds of native species that depend entirely on healthy ecosystems 🌎🐝.

🌱 Habitat Is the Most Important Solution

The single most effective way to help Colorado’s bees is to create and protect habitat 🌼🏡.

That means planting diverse native flowers that bloom from early spring through fall 🌷🌻🍁. It means leaving some bare ground, old stems, and natural areas untouched so bees have places to nest 🪹🌾. It means avoiding pesticides and choosing plants grown without systemic chemicals 🚫🧪.

Every yard, garden, school, and public space can become part of a connected network of habitat that supports bees of all kinds 🌍🐝.

💚 Protecting Bees Means Protecting Colorado

Native bees are essential to healthy landscapes 🌄🌸. They pollinate wildflowers, support birds and wildlife, and keep ecosystems resilient 🐦🦋🌿. Protecting them is not just about bees. It is about protecting the natural systems that make Colorado such a special place to live 🏔️💚.

When we shift our focus from saving a single species to restoring habitat for all pollinators, we give Colorado’s bees a real chance to survive and thrive 🌱🐝✨.