Bee Species Put on Endangered List for First Time

In the past year, seven species of bees, and one species of bumble bee, the Rusty Patched Bumblebee (Bombus affinis), have been declared endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and are being placed under the protection of the endangered species act. These are the first species of bees ever to be declared endangered by the United States. All of these species have been severely impacted by habitat loss, diseases, pesticides, changes in farming practices, and climate change. This is not something to be taken lightly, as honeybees and bumblebees have a profound impact on man and many other organisms at the many levels of the food chain, in fact Albert Einstein once said, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live.”

A decline in the bee population should worry more than just conservationists, as the pollination services provided by bees have a major impact on agricultural food production, in fact, 75% of food producing agriculture is dependant on pollination services provided by insects (mainly bees). This means that dramatic decreases in bee populations could cause global food-shortages, and food prices to sky -rocket, which, in turn, would lead to widespread economic turmoil and recession. Even in just the United States (the third largest agricultural producer in the world, behind China and India), “The economic value of pollination services provided by native insects (mostly bees) is estimated at $3 billion per year in the United States.” (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

In the past twenty years, populations of the Rusty Patched Bumblebee have decreased by nearly 87% (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service), A completely unsustainable rate. One of the main ways advocates of bee protection suggest heading off this trend is by banning certain chemical pesticides, and placing usage caps on others. A second major threat to bee populations is habitat loss and fragmentation. Increased industrialization, and widespread infrastructure have divided bee colonies, and forced them to travel longer distances to mate and find flowers. Because they are isolated from other colonies, their genetic diversity decreases rapidly, making them less able to adapt to an ever changing environment, forcing them to the precipice of extinction.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/bumblebees-endangered-species-rusty-patched/

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/03/496402620/bee-species-added-to-u-s-endangered-species-list-for-1st-time

https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/factsheetrpbb.html