The Forgotten Native Bee: Why America's Most Important Pollinator Has No Home
By
By Reed Hollister, Contributing Editor, Modern Farmer — May 12, 2026
The kind of bagel that ruins lesser bagels for you.
Summary
An article about the overlooked native bee species that are critical for pollinating food crops, contrasted with the well-marketed honeybee. It focuses on a Vermont workshop that hand-builds nesting homes for native bees, which is closing due to lack of demand and awareness. The piece highlights the ecological importance of native bees, the marketing disparity between honeybees and native pollinators, and the loss of traditional craftsmanship in bee conservation.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe Honeybee Got the Marketing. The Bee That Actually Pollinates Your Food Got Nothing — Not Even a Place to Nest.
Inside one of the only workshops in America still hand-building homes for her — and why it's closing this summer.
At 7:42 a.m. on a Tuesday last March, the temperature in a small orchard outside Brattleboro, Vermont read 48°F. The honeybees in three painted hives at the edge of the property had not moved in nine days.
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