Are we witnessing the extinction of bees ?

[yortsed snacilbuper]

It’s official. As tragically revealing as the move might be, the rusty patched bumble bee has now joined the grizzly bear, gray wolf, northern spotted owl, and some 700 others on the endangered species list — the first bee ever to garner those protections in the continental United States.

Once abundant in the grasslands and prairies in 31 states in the East and Midwest, the rusty patched bumble bee’s population has been decimated by as much as 95 percent by some estimates, and now exists only in isolated pockets in 12 states and the province of Ontario, Canada.

“There are a few little spots where we know they are,” James Strange, a research entomologist and bumble bee ecologist with the USDA, told Forbes.

“But only a really few spots.”

Getting this bee — Bombus affinis, scientifically speaking, so named for the red patch on its abdomen — onto the endangered species list took longer than originally expected, thanks to hemming and hawing by the Trump administration and its fealty to corporate influence, with the original listing date of February 10 ultimately delayed until yesterday.

In fact, the campaign to list the rusty patched bumble bee as endangered took years and a Herculean effort by entomologists and environmental groups — but the resulting historic precedent highlights the precarious state of vital pollinators.

“Listing the rusty patched bumble bee was historic because this is the first bumble bee species, and the first bee found on the continental United States, to ever be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. This listing is the result of a five-year campaign by environmental groups such as the

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, and based on input from tens of thousands of citizen scientists and private citizens,” Forbes reports.
NRDC had filed a lawsuit over the six-week postponement of the listing, calling the move illegal because it came without notice or period for public comment — but Tuesday’s listing rendered it effectively moot.
Xerces Society director of endangered species Sarah Jepsen said of Tuesday’s announcement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

“We are thrilled to see one of North America’s most endangered species receive the protection it needs. Now that the Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the rusty patched bumble bee as endangered, it stands a chance of surviving the many threats it faces — from the use of neonicotinoid pesticides to diseases.”
Loss of habitat and human encroachment played a role in the bee’s decline as well, but the classification as endangered will assist in conservation of the tall grasses and open fields where the rusty patched bee — and other pollinators — should thrive.

“While this listing clearly supports the rusty patched bumble bee, the entire suite of pollinators that share its habitat, and which are so critical to natural ecosystems and agriculture, will also benefit,” asserted Rich Hatfield, a Xerces Society senior conservation biologist. “This is a positive step towards the conservation of this species, and we now have to roll up our sleeves to begin the actual on-the-ground conservation that will help it move toward recovery.”

https://mindfoster.co/1251/bees/

[erinlough]

1. That would be terrible, but here in Michigan among the grape orchards

The fruit trees and the hopp farms bees are plentiful. I think we need to grow more in more places and the species will come back. Also stop using chemicals to treat weeds.

[NutmegYankee]

2. Not likely. Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumble bee is doing very well.

Likely because it can live in many types of habitat, including suburbia.

[crazycatlady]

3. This is what should be done

There are certain plants that attract bees that require little to no maintenance (mint comes to mind). Plant these instead of grass on the medians of highways (I cringe when I think of how much taxpayer $$$ is spent on mowing the grass).

[shanti]

4. Tore out my front yard last year

and did xeriscaping. I'm in Northern California, and it is not naturally meant for lush green lawns, like in Oregon or Washington. I replaced it with mostly flowering plants, bushes and grasses (plus a lemon tree, just because), and the bees and butterflies are plentiful! Really happy with this decision too.

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. It's been an increasingly alarming problem

For some people, bees are simply an annoyance. They buzz around, crawl inside soda cans, chase people down the street and sometimes even sting. If you're unlucky enough to be allergic, bees can literally be a lethal threat.

Yet, the simple fact is, if bees didn't exist, neither would humans. Accordingly, it's extremely disconcerting that honeybees have been dying at an alarming rate over the past decade or so.

At present, the honeybee population in the United States is less than half of what it was at the cessation of World War II.

This past winter, 23.2 percent of America's managed honeybee colonies were lost. The figures were worse during the year prior, but bees are still dying at a disturbing rate, and something needs to change.

The US government has stated that bees are now dying at an economically unsustainable rate. Indeed, in the United States alone, bees contribute to $15 billion in crop value. Without them, agriculture as we know it would collapse.

[GulfCoast66]

7. The bee mentioned in the article is a native bee

The Honeybee is an exotic import from Europe. The causes of colony colaspe are probably multiple. But a big part imay be the way we are shipping commercial hives around the country on flatbed trucks and feed them on monocultures.

Meanwhile backyard beekeeping is exploding with generally good results.

In the gulf south wild hives are doing well. Granted most are Africanized. But after all they are no more or less exotic than the European bees.

And agriculture as a whole would not collapse. Row crops are mainly wind pollinated. Any bee pollinated old world crop would be in trouble. But new world crops did not evolve with the honeybee.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Yes, because EPA won't do anything to ban or restrict the use of pesticides. The

chemical industry has spent $millions lobbying against restrictions.