The rusty patched bumblebee population has declined 87 percent over the past two decades.
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| The rusty patched bumblebee is the first bumblebee to be designated as an endangered species in the United States. PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAMY |
For the first time in the United States, a species of
bumblebee is endangered.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday on its website that the rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), once a common sight, is “now
balancing precariously on the brink of extinction.” Over the past two decades,
the bumblebee’s population has declined 87 percent, according to the
announcement.
The news comes
just a few months after the first ever bees were declared endangered in the
U.S. In September, seven species of Hawaiian bees, including the yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus anthracinus), received protectionunder
the Endangered Species Act. (Read “For the First Time, Bees Declared Endangered in the U.S.”)
“Bumblebees are
among the most important pollinators of crops such as blueberries, cranberries,
and clover and almost the only insect pollinators of tomatoes,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rusty patched bumblebee
profile. “The economic value of pollination services provided by
native insects (mostly bees) is estimated at $3 billion per year in the United
States.” (See seven intimate pictures that reveal the beauty of bees.)
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Once spread across half the U.S., rusty patched bumblebees are now found in only 13 states.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAMYSource:
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In its announcement about the rusty patched bumblebees’
endangered status, the department listed ways that individuals can help stop
the bees’ decline. These include planting native flowers, limiting or avoiding
pesticides, and fostering “natural landscapes and leave grass and garden plants
uncut after summer to provide habitat for overwintering bees.”
Unlike Stephen Colbert,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stopped short of telling people to teach the
bees about military history and engineering.