Bumble Bee Species Found in 20 States Could Be Listed as Endangered

Bumble bees are synonymous with summer, buzzing about pollinating flowers and crops. Now, one common North American bee may be joining the more than 70 pollinator species listed as endangered.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has found that petitions for nine new animal species may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act, including the Southern Plains bumble bee.

Before federal wildlife officials make a final decision as to whether to officially list and protect the Southern Plains bumble bee, they will conduct a scientific assessment and hold a public comment period, a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity — who petitioned to have the bee listed as endangered — said.

“Southern Plains bumble bees have already disappeared from six states and desperately need Endangered Species Act protection to survive,” said Jess Tyler, author of the petition and an entomologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, in the press release. “The Act has an incredible track record of keeping species from going extinct and putting them on the path to recovery.”

One of North America’s largest bumble bee species, Southern Plains bumble bees have a less fuzzy appearance than some, owing to flat hairs on their abdomen, which look “slicked-back.”

Bumble bees live in colonies with one queen and as many as hundreds of worker bees. As “foraging generalists,” they gather nectar and pollen from a wide variety of flowers, meaning they can inhabit a broad range. They are essential pollinators for wild plants and crops that depend on insects to pollinate them.

Queen Southern Plains bumble bees can be as large as one inch, while workers can grow to three-quarters that size, reported The Guardian.

Southern Plains bumble bees were once found in 26 states in the Great Plains and southeastern Gulf coastal plain, the press release said. Half their population has been decimated over multiple decades, and they are no longer found in Maryland, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Indiana and New Jersey.

Ongoing threats to the bumble bees and their grasslands habitat include pesticides, heavy grazing and crop conversion. Pesticides hinder reproduction, harm bees’ immune systems and reduce their survival rates. When grasslands are degraded, it limits the bees’ access to diverse sources of pollen and nectar.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 12 species of bumble bee are threatened with extinction in the U.S., but just two — Franklin’s bumble bee and the rusty patched bumble bee — are currently receiving protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The other species the Fish and Wildlife Service found may warrant endangered species protection are the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, Railroad Valley toad, pygmy rabbit, Southwest spring firefly, yellow-spotted woodland salamander, white-margined penstemon and two fish species: Betta rutilans and Betta hendra.

“[W]e announce that we are initiating status reviews of these species to determine whether the petitioned actions are warranted. To ensure that the status reviews are comprehensive, we request scientific and commercial data and other information regarding the species and factors that may affect their status,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. “Based on the status reviews, we will issue 12-month petition findings, which will address whether or not the petitioned actions are warranted in accordance with the Act.”