THREATS TO TEXAS BUMBLEBEES: Our native bees are in danger [08 ��like bumblebees.�]� ahead on Passport to Texas. This is Passport to Texas We all know about colony collapse disorder whereby colonies of European honeybees seem to vanish. 05�Less well known are the threats facing a lot of our native bumblebees. Michael Warriner is an invertebrate biologist with a soft spot for native bumblebees. Like other native wildlife species in Texas, habitat loss is taking its toll on native bumblebees. 09�Bumblebees need open, flower-rich habitat�like grasslands. And, a lot of that habitat�s been converted to agriculture. Warriner says pesticide use is another concern, but the threats to these big black and yellow insects doesn�t stop there. 12�And also, there�s been the importation of bumblebees from Europe into this country which has brought in parasites and diseases that may be impacting them. So, there�s a lot of concern how they�re faring in North America. One of the threats to Texas bumblebees might actually be honeybees, which have colonies in the tens of thousands compared to the hundreds of insects in a bumblebee colony. 19�Honeybees have these tens of thousands of workers, and so they can go out and monopolize a flower resource�like nectar or pollen�and that reduces what�s available for our native bees. And there�s some research that suggests that the presence of honeybees in natural sites can reduce native bees. We�ll have the potential impact from bumblebee decline tomorrow. That�s our show for today�The WR program supports our series�For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I�m Cecilia Nasti Total sound bite time: 0:45:0 Maximum Script time: 0:40:0 Suggested show time: 86.0 = 1:26