[Pollinator] rusty patched bumble bee
Sarina Jepsen
sarina at xerces.org
Thu Feb 13 12:25:52 PST 2014
*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
Toll free: 1-855-232-6639, ext. 112
Fax: (503) 233-6794
Cell: (971) 244-3727
Connect with Xerces:
xerces.org <http://www.xerces.org>
Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Xerces-Society/193182577358618>
E-newsletter <http://www.xerces.org/enewsletters>
Twitter <https://twitter.com/xerces_society>
The Xerces Society is an international, nonprofit organization that
protects
wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.
_____________________________________________________________________
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/pollinator/attachments/20140213/68f9a869/attachment.html>
More information about the Pollinator
mailing list