First Bumblebee Declared Endangered in U.S.
The rusty patched bumblebee population has declined 87 percent over the past two decades.
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 protection under the Endangered Species Act. (Read “For the First Time, Bees Declared Endangered in the U.S.”)
The threats facing those seven species are similar to
