[Pollinator] Conservation groups and scientists ask the USDA to protect wild bumble bees from disease

[Sarina Jepsen]

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CONSERVATION GROUPS AND SCIENTISTS ASK THE USDA TO PROTECT WILD BUMBLE BEES
FROM DISEASE
November 19, 2009
*Contact: *Scott Hoffman Black, 503-449-3792, sblack at xerces.org

In comments to the USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, the Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation, ten other conservation groups, and
several bee scientists have formally asked for protection of wild bumble
bees from the threat of disease.

Read the complete
comments<http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/xerces-bumble-bee-comments-to-aphis-2008-0076.pdf>

Recent work by Dr. Robbin Thorp and The Xerces Society has established that
at least four species of formerly common North American bumble bees have
experienced steep declines; two of those species teeter on the brink of
extinction. A major threat to the survival of these wild bees is the spread
of diseases from commercially produced bees that are transported throughout
the country.

“The federal government does not regulate the movement of bumble bees
throughout the United States, nor does it certify that bumble bees that are
moved be free of diseases,” said Sarina Jepsen, Endangered Species Program
Director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. “However, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
has the authority to regulate the interstate movement of bumble bees under
the Plant Protection Act.”

Bee pollination is essential to the reproduction of many crops and native
flowering plants, and pathogens of bumble bees can act as indirect plant
pests that pose a significant threat to agriculture and native ecosystems.

In order to prevent the spread of disease to wild populations of
agriculturally significant bee pollinators, the Xerces Society *et al*. has
asked the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) to
use its authority under the Plant Protection Act to regulate bumble bee
pathogens as plant pests. Specifically, USDA-APHIS should create rules
prohibiting the movement of bumble bees outside of their native ranges and
regulate interstate movement of bumble bee pollinators within their native
ranges by requiring permits that show that bumble bees are certified as
disease-free prior to movement.

“The rusty patched bumble bee, the western bumble bee, the yellow banded
bumble bee and Franklin’s bumble bee are all threatened by disease spread
from commercially reared bumble bees. Franklin’s bumble bee and the rusty
patched bumble bee may be headed for extinction,” said Scott Hoffman Black,
Executive Director of the Xerces Society. “We hope to work with USDA-APHIS
to enact common sense regulations that ensure these and other bumble bee
species are adequately protected.”

To read more about declining bumble bees, please visit our
website<http://www.xerces.org/bumblebees/>
.

Conservation groups supporting this request include: The Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pollinator
Partnership, Wild Farm Alliance, Endangered Species Coalition, The Center
for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, Center for Native Ecosystems,
Conservation Northwest, Native Plant Society of Oregon and Western Nebraska
Resources Council.

Bee experts supporting this request include: Robbin Thorp, Ph.D. (University
of California, Davis), Marla Spivak, Ph.D. (University of Minnesota) and
Claire Kremen, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley).

ABOUT THE XERCES SOCIETY
The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife
through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Established in
1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate protection worldwide,
harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to
implement conservation programs. To learn more about our work, please visit
www.xerces.org

PHOTO
Western bumble bee (*Bombus occidentalis*) by Alistair Fraser,
http://kootenay-lake.ca <http://kootenay-lake.ca/>

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