Are backyard beekeepers actually helping bees? Not necessarily. A growing concern is that keeping honey bees may hurt native wild bees that pollinate our local ecosystems. This is because popular European honey bees, with their large populations and generalist diets, compete heavily for shared flower resources. This places further pressure on the thousands of solitary and ground-nesting native bee species already in decline. Surprisingly, beekeeping aimed at “saving the bees” may unintentionally harm them the most. Growing Concern for Native Bees While honey bees face threats, an even greater crisis is unfolding among native bee populations. North America is home…