[Pollinator] rusty patched bumble bee

[Sarina Jepsen]

*Xerces and NRDC ask FWS to take legal steps to protect rusty patched 
bumble bee*

http://www.xerces.org/?p=18915

On February 13, 2014, the Xerces Society and NRDC filed a notice of 
intent to sue the Secretary of the Interior for failure to respond to a 
petition 
<http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Bombus-affinis-petition.pdf> 
to list the rusty patched bumble bee 
<http://www.xerces.org/rusty-patched-bumble-bee/> (/Bombus affinis/) as 
an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The rusty 
patched bumble bee is an important pollinator of cranberries, plums, 
apples, alfalfa, and numerous other crops and wildflowers. Historically, 
it was found across the Upper Midwest and Eastern Seaboard, but in 
recent years it has been lost from 87% of its historic range and its 
abundance relative to other bumble bees has declined by 95%.

The Xerces Society filed a petition to protect the rusty patched bumble 
bee under the ESA more than a year ago. Under the ESA, the Secretary of 
the Interior must make an initial response to a petition within 90 days 
(a simple statement of whether or not the petition presents sufficient 
information to support the requested protection), and if the Secretary 
finds that protection may be warranted, this law further requires her to 
decide within a year of the petition whether or not the species should 
be protected. Neither of these deadlines has been met, hence the Xerces 
Society and NRDC are taking the next step.

Meanwhile, the rusty patched bumble bee continues to face threats. 
Declines in some North American bumble bees have been associated with 
increased pathogen levels and reduced genetic diversity, and scientists 
are currently investigating the hypothesis that exotic pathogens were 
introduced to wild rusty patched bumble bees from commercial bumble bee 
colonies. The rusty patched bumble bee may also be threatened by other 
pathogens, pesticides, habitat loss or fragmentation, climate change, 
and competition with honey bees for nectar and pollen.

With Endangered Species Act protection, remaining populations of this 
species could be protected from site specific threats and the bee's 
habitat could be enhanced. Government agencies would also need to 
address issues such as the registration of new pesticides that may be 
harmful to this species and the movement of commercial bumble bees which 
may transfer disease to wild bumble bees.


_____________________________________________________________________
*Sarina Jepsen*
Endangered Species Program Director, The Xerces Society 
<http://www.xerces.org/>
Deputy Chair, IUCN Bumblebee Specialist Group | iucn.org/bumblebees 
<http://www.iucn.org/bumblebees>

*The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation*
628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232, USA
sarina at xerces.org <mailto:sarina at xerces.org>
Tel: (503) 232-6639, ext. 112
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protects
wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.
_____________________________________________________________________
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