Many concerned beekeepers warn about “bee-washing”, a term that marketers use to persuade the public to think that a product is environmentally friendly. For example, many seed companies run campaigns to plant wildflowers to help the declining bee populations. These campaigns neglect to mention that there are many kinds of bees and that native bees do not benefit from wildflowers because they pollinate native plants.

Another example is the Bee Hotels which are marketed to help native bees, though they can harm bees. There are many bee hotels for sale online, and we now have designer beel hotels, like the one designed by Boleslave Daska for Dilna Hammer in the Czech Republic. The Bee Hotels are attached to trees; most species of native bees nest in the ground. The Conversation argues that Bee nesting boxes may even be detrimental to bees because they may carry diseases if not cleaned properly. Many Bee Hotels are hard to dismantle and clean.