[Pollinator] Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to track declining bumble bees

[Sarina Jepsen]

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For Immediate Release
February 4, 2009

Contacts:
*Eric Mader*, National Pollinator Outreach Coordinator, The Xerces Society;
(608) 628-4951
*Bill Smith*, Natural Heritage Inventory Program Zoologist, WI DNR; (608)
266-0924

WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

TO TRACK DECLINING BUMBLE BEES

Madison, WI: Two of Wisconsin's bumble bees have been added to the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources' Special Concern List.

This action, a response to dramatically declining populations of the
yellowbanded bumble bee (*Bombus terricola*) and the rusty-patched bumble
bee (*Bombus affinis*), will result in official monitoring of both species
through the DNR's Natural Heritage Inventory database. Field biologists will
now start keeping records of when and where these species are found. Over
time, this database will provide a picture of the bees' abundance and
distribution in the state.

"This is a very significant step", said Eric Mader, National Pollinator
Outreach Coordinator for the Xerces Society. "The Department of Natural
Resources has taken the first step in protecting these species."

Both species were once among the most common of state's bumble bees prior to
the late 1990's. In a 1995 survey, over 90% of all bumble bees collected in
the northern part of the state were the yellowbanded bumble bee.  Recent
surveys have found that the yellowbanded and rusty-patched bumble bees
represent less than 1% of all bumble bees observed in the region.

"This is really a very dramatic decline", said Sarina Jepsen, Endangered
Species Coordinator for the Xerces Society and co-author of a recent status
review of the species. "The two bumble bees have declined across the eastern
U.S. and a closely related species, the western bumble bee is experiencing
similar declines on the west coast."

This decline is especially alarming because bumble bees are important
pollinators of many native plants, as well as some of the state's high-value
agricultural crops, including cranberries. Several studies have shown that
on a bee-for-bee basis bumble bees are several times more efficient than
honey bees for some crops.

The exact reason for the decline of these species is unclear. The leading
theory is that one or more European bumble bee diseases were introduced to
North America during efforts by a European company to rear American bumble
bees for managed crop pollination in their European facility. However,
habitat loss as well as pesticide use are likely contributing factors. The
decline of these bumble bees does not appear directly related to similar
highly publicized declines of the non-native European honey bee
(*Apis**mellifera
*).

In 2007 and 2008, isolated populations of the yellowbanded bumble bee were
found around the towns of Mountain, Manitowish Waters, and Two Rivers in
northeastern Wisconsin. There is also a 2007 report from the UW-Milwaukee
Cedarburg Bog Field Station, in Ozaukee Co. These populations represent the
only remaining known yellow-banded bumble bees in the Midwest. While the
rusty-patched bumble bee has not been documented in the state in recent
years, some individuals have been found in isolated areas of Illinois.

The Status Review of Three Formerly Common Species of Bumble Bee in the
Subgenus Bombus<http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/xerces_2008_bombus_status_review.pdf>documents
the decline of these two species throughout their native ranges in
the eastern U.S. It also includes information on the decline of the western
bumble bee in the western U.S.

Download the report or read more about declining bumble
bees<http://www.xerces.org/bumblebees/>
 <http://www.xerces.org/bumblebees/>Read about the rusty-patched
bumble bee<http://www.xerces.org/rusty-patched-bumble-bee/>
 <http://www.xerces.org/bumblebees/>Read about the yellowbanded bumble
bee<http://www.xerces.org/yellow-banded-bumble-bee/>

PHOTO CREDIT
The rusty-patched bumble bee (*Bombus affinis*) by Johanna James-Heinz

###

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