Native solitary and bumblebee species face population declines from habitat loss, pesticides, and disease; conservation efforts benefit both populations and the welfare of individual bees.
Native bee welfare at the individual level is shaped by the availability of floral resources throughout the active season and the absence of harmful pesticide exposure. A bumblebee queen that cannot find sufficient early spring flowers to establish a colony is nutritionally stressed; a worker exposed to neonicotinoids and unable to navigate back to the nest dies from exposure or starvation. The collapse of native wildflower habitats has removed the resource base on which bees depend for their entire lifecycle. Restoring this habitat, and reducing pesticide pressure, addresses welfare at both individual and population levels simultaneously.