We see almost no real honey bees in our garden 'til late summer, early fall when the sedum blooms, when they practically swarm.
However, we see lot of other bugs doing what appears to be exactly the same things that the honey bees do.
Are they actually performing a useful function in the sense of pollination, or are they just taking stuff for their own use?
Honey bees are not native to North America, so, native pollinators are far more efficient in pollinating native plants. By the time honey bees visit t he squash and cucumbers the squash bees have been there and gone. Don't get me wrong, honey bees do help a lot now that native bee populations have be en devastated by pesticides, pollutions, etc.. Right now the honey bees are collecting pollen from my sweet corn and I'm sure that helps pollinate the corn.
Any insect that is even slightly fuzzy that visits more than one flower of the same species is polinating the flowers. Actually, this also applies to humming birds, certain small bats, and a few other non-insect creatures.
Yes, hornets/wasps, etc. perform the same function as honeybees, even hummingbirds and butterflys pollenate.
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