Examining Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Dominance Patterns Within Urban Bee Communities Worldwide

Urban ecosystems can host diverse bee communities. However, the increasing prevalence of urban honeybees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus 1758) raises concerns about their ecological impact. Using a systematic review of published studies, we obtained 68 datasets representing 46 cities in 15 countries and five continents to test the extent to which honeybees are dominant in urban bee communities worldwide. Honeybees ranked as the most abundant species in ca. 70% of the datasets and accounted for more than 10% of all individuals in ca. two-thirds of the datasets. Moreover, honeybees ranked among the top three abundant species in 70% of studies. Honeybee abundance patterns were consistent across regions and sampling designs, independent of whether honeybees were native or not. At the same time, the degree of dominance varied across cities. These findings highlight the need to address the ecological implications of honeybee dominance, including assessing the effects on wild bee communities and populations and defining strategies to enhance, preserve wild bees, and enhance coexistence with honeybees.