Current Events: Wings of Gold

In Hawaiʻi, bees play a big role in pollination, both native and introduced. If you’re thinking of a bee eating pollen (really it’s collecting pollen and sipping nectar), here are a few things to note.. Hawaiʻi has only one native bee species (Hylaeus, the yellow-faced bee), which is tiny, solitary, and endangered. Most of the bees you see buzzing around hibiscus, plumeria, and tropical flowers are introduced honeybees (Apis mellifera) or carpenter bees.