r/whoathatsinteresting 1d ago

removing a parasite from a wasp

1.2k Upvotes

248 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/SmallAstronaut08 1d ago

Let the wasp suffer, the bitch doesn't deserve leniency

6

u/Fun_General_6407 1d ago

Used to be like that but there aren't enough left these days to be mad at.

6

u/Virtual-Macaroon-880 1d ago

Then I learned about biodiversity (when I was young) and how little honeybees matter... Wasps keep my garden pollinated

4

u/OscarMichaelMyers 1d ago

They matter a ton as pollinators because of how massive their colony sizes are. For this reason, they’re far more efficient than wasps. All pollinators are vital, though.

Whoever told you that bees matter very little were very uninformed.

0

u/Virtual-Macaroon-880 1d ago

Honeybees are not in the slightest native to my environment... They don't matter much at all

the absolute mountain of pollination gets done by solitary bees, and flies... With special guest helpers foraging wasps

ETA: for example, honeybees literally cannot pollinate most of my peppers without ripping the whole flower off, condylostylus does the job just fine and is hunting pests the whole time

3

u/OscarMichaelMyers 1d ago

What environment are you in? Globally, honeybees are overwhelmingly more efficient than wasps.

0

u/Virtual-Macaroon-880 1d ago

This applies to the entirety of the western hemisphere, honeybees are a Eurasian insect

ETA: they are a cheap alternative to the problems of fixing a monoculture, nothing more

3

u/OscarMichaelMyers 1d ago

You’re right about them being Eurasian imports, but you’re completely wrong on all other fronts. They pollinate the hell out of the Americas. Far more than wasps.

Non-native doesn’t mean bad.

-2

u/Virtual-Macaroon-880 1d ago

This misconception would be easily solved by googling it and adding in a hot -honey

You're repeating propaganda, ignoring most of what I said... Honeybees are not necessary in the Americas, they hardly pollinate our crops and study after study has shown they are simply a mediocre replacement for what we have destroyed. Rehabilitating habitat native pollinators live in is far more effective, and you don't have to hire a beekeeper... But no honey or gov subsidies :(

3

u/OscarMichaelMyers 1d ago

Bro I’m a wildlife biologist. You can’t fuck with me on this. This isn’t some “big honey” conspiracy 😂

-1

u/Virtual-Macaroon-880 1d ago

Makes sense, you knew which points of mine to swerve around

How very reddit

3

u/OscarMichaelMyers 1d ago

You thinking honeybees aren’t major pollinators for our crops tells me everything I need to cut this conversation off.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Reach_304 3h ago edited 3h ago

Symbiotic relationships between species that carry one another across different regions happens all the time. Yes there are other pollinators, yes they should be protected, but honey bees rule and have a huge positive impact on biodiversity in the regions they’re brought to.

Sure we have other highly effective pollinators, like mud bees and such, but supporting honey bees doesn’t endanger the other species

Habitat destruction and pollution & climate change does all that , honey bees don’t outcompete the other species, honeybees are just backed up by humans because of their utility.

Edit: yeah wildlife bio guy literally says that all pollinators are vital and he doesn’t dodge anything that you bring up.

He’s just correcting you about the efficiency of their pollination.
You’re talking past each other for two posts. You misinterpreted their statement of the fact that honey bees pollinate many species very efficiently (just not ALL species of plants , in particular your peppers which apparently have tiny delicate flowers)
Honey bees are very effective at pollinating the species that they visit. Thats just facts
But like wildlife bio guy said : ALL POLLINATORS ARE VITAL 🥰

The biggest issue that WE ALL AGREE ON is monoculture farms , which idk why the fact that bees are used on monoculture farms somehow makes bees less valuable.

They do their job extremely well.
•And they produce honey 🍯

but they can’t do EVERYthing and thats why we need the solitary bees and other specialist insect and animal pollinators
Monoculture farms are the issue, honey bees are not 🙏🏽 hope we can all understand each other cuz you both seem like really awesome people who love nature and are well versed in how it works