[Pollinator] The Xerces Society asks U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Protect the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

Thu Jan 31 10:46:50 PST 2013

For immediate release: January 31, 2013

Contact: Sarina Jepsen, Endangered Species Program Director, The Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation; 503-232-6639 ext. 112,
sarina at xerces.org 

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Threatened with Extinction

The Xerces Society asks U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Protect this
Important Pollinator

PORTLAND, Ore.--- The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation filed a
petition today with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking Endangered
Species Act protection for the rusty patched bumble bee. This animal was
once very common from the Upper Midwest to the East Coast and was an
important pollinator of crops and wildflowers. Recently it has undergone a
precipitous decline. 

Historically known from more than twenty-five states, a recent study
estimates that the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) has disappeared
from 87 percent of its historic range. Where it is still found, this bee is
much less abundant than it was in the past. 

"The charismatic and once common rusty patched bumble bee has suffered
severe and widespread declines throughout its range in the eastern U.S.
since 1997," said Dr. Robbin Thorp, professor emeritus of the University of
California - Davis. Dr. Thorp is a nationally recognized expert on bumble
bees and coauthor of the petition. "The few scattered recent sightings
thanks to intensive searches are encouraging, but the species is in critical
need of federal protection." 

The cause of the rusty patched bumble bee's decline has not yet been fully
determined. However, in related bumble bees that also are declining,
researchers at the University of Illinois have recently found higher levels
of a fungal pathogen and lower levels of genetic diversity. Notably, the
rusty patched bumble bee was too scarce in the landscape to be included in
these analyses. 

The leading hypothesis suggests that this fungal pathogen was introduced
from Europe by the commercial bumble bee industry in the early 1990s, and
then spread to wild pollinators. Although it has not been proven, the
hypothesis is supported by the timing, speed and severity of the decline-a
crash in laboratory populations of bumble bees occurred shortly before
researchers noticed a number of species of formerly common bumble bees
disappearing from the wild. 

"The remaining populations of the rusty patched bumble bee are small and
isolated, and continue to be threatened by diseases from a largely
unregulated commercial bumble bee industry, as well as by disease from other
sources, habitat degradation, pesticide use and climate change," said Sarina
Jepsen, endangered species program director at the Xerces Society.

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.   

Pollinators are critical components of our environment and essential to our
food security-providing the indispensable service of pollination to more
than 85 percent of flowering plants and contributing to one in three bites
of the food that we eat. Bumble bees are among the most widely recognized
and well understood group of native pollinators in North America and
contribute to the pollination of food crops such as squash, melon,
blueberry, cranberry, clover, greenhouse tomato and greenhouse pepper, as
well as numerous wildflowers.

"Large areas of insect-pollinated crops, when combined with appropriate
pesticide use practices, can contribute to a sustainable landscape for
bumble bees," said Jennifer Hopwood, Midwest pollinator conservation
specialist with the Xerces Society. "If the rusty patched bumble bee is
listed as an endangered species, private landowners who take actions to
enhance habitat for this bee on their land may be eligible to enter into
Safe Harbor agreements with the Fish and Wildlife Service or get funding
through USDA conservation programs for habitat improvements." 

A Safe Harbor agreement provides assurances that private landowners will not
have restrictions placed on their property if they create or improve habitat
for an endangered species, and can serve as an incentive to encourage
individuals to become involved in restoring habitat to benefit endangered
species.

###

To download the ESA petition and see photos,
http://www.xerces.org/2013/01/29/rusty-patched-threatened/  

For more information about the rusty patched bumble bee, visit
www.xerces.org/rusty-patched-bumble-bee/ 

For more information about the Xerces Society's bumble bee conservation
efforts, visit www.xerces.org/bumblebees/  

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
<http://www.xerces.org> www.xerces.org.

________

Matthew Shepherd

Communications Director

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

628 NE Broadway, Ste 200, Portland, OR 97232-1324, USA

 <mailto:mdshepherd at xerces.org> mdshepherd at xerces.org 

Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 110

Toll free: 1-855-232 6639 ext. 110

Cell: (503) 807-1577

Fax: (503) 233-6794

Stay in touch:

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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international
nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their habitat.

To join the Society, make a donation, or read about our work, please visit
<http://www.xerces.org/> www.xerces.org.

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