Wild honeybees in Southern California are devouring the food supplies of native pollinators — posing a potential threat to the region’s natural ecosystems, a new study has found.

These feral insects, which have greatly proliferated in Southern California, remove about 80 percent of pollen during the first day a flower opens, according to the study, published on Monday in Insect Conservation and Diversity.

But all bees in the region, along with most bee species worldwide, rely on pollen to raise their offspring, the study authors noted.

The amount of pollen consumed by honeybees from just 2.5 acres of native vegetation is enough to satiate thousands of native bees per day during peak bloom seasons, per the study.

“Although honeybees are rightly considered an indispensable asset to humans, they can also pose a serious ecological threat........

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