A new study by Anglia Ruskin University researchers has found that honeybees are aggressively outcompeting wild pollinators for nectar and pollen. The research indicates that honeybees actively bump into and chase away other species from flowers.
The study observed that areas with higher numbers of honeybees also had fewer wild pollinators, such as bumblebees, solitary bees, and hoverflies. Honeybees were frequently the instigators and winners in competitive interactions, allowing them to gather more resources.
This direct competition, termed "interference competition," was documented over a two-year period in Cambridgeshire. Researchers noted that honeybees displaced or chased away other flower visitors in approximately 20% of competitive interactions they won.
The number of managed honeybees in the UK has increased significantly, with registered beekeepers rising from 19,000 in 2010 to 47,000 in 2025, according to the National Bee Unit. Concerns are growing that this rise in honeybee numbers could negatively impact wild pollinators through increased competition for food and disease transmission.
Victoria Buckle, lead author of the study, suggested that honeybees' aggressive behaviour may be linked to their social organisation, including the capacity for guard bees to show aggression. The ivy bee was noted as the only pollinator able to displace and chase honeybees.
The study also indicated that higher temperatures led to more competitive interactions, potentially due to nectar drying up and plants experiencing heat stress. Buckle stated that such competition is likely to become more frequent as mean summer temperatures in the UK are predicted to rise by up to 4C by 2080.