National Geographic reports that “it’s official: the first time in the United States, a bumblebee species has been declared endangered. The rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), once a common sight, is “now balancing precariously on the brink of extinction,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Once thriving in 28 states and the District of Columbia, but over the past two decades, the bee’s population has plummeted nearly 90 percent. There are more than 3,000 bee species in the United States, and about 40 belong to the genus Bombus—the bumblebees. Advocates for the rusty patched bumblebee’s listing are abuzz with relief, but it may be the first skirmish in a grueling conflict over the fate of the Endangered Species Act under the Trump administration.
“Bumblebees are among the most important pollinators of crops such as blueberries, cranberries, and clover, and almost the only insect pollinators of tomatoes,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In North America, out of the 46 bumblebee species, one in four are at risk of extinction and that includes the yellow-banded, the western and the rusty-patched bumblebees.
Endangered List
The bumblebee now sadly joins the expanding roster of endangered species, a list that includes the grizzly bear, the northern spotted owl, the gray wolf, and around 700 other animal species that have reached extinction. The rusty-patched bee, once prolific in the grasslands and prairies of the Eastern and Midwestern U.S., is now critically limited and under protections in the continental U.S. due to its rapidly declining population numbers.
According to a study handled by the Center for Biological Diversity published in February 2018, under the title ‘pollinators in peril,’ an astounding 347 species of bees native to North America and Hawaii are rapidly spiraling towards extinction. Considering pollinators are responsible for the propagation of around one-third of our food supply — the petition goes on to deem the listing of the rusty-patched bumble bee as “one of the most significant species listings in decades in terms of scope and impact on human activities.”
“The yellow-banded bumblebee has been declining throughout much of its range in North America, but we don’t know why,” says York U Associate Professor Amro Zayed, Research Chair in Genomics in the Faculty of Science. “We sequenced their genome so we can search for any clues of why the bumblebee is declining.”
Why?
““This particular bumblebee is down to about 10 per cent of its former numbers. It used to be one of our most common bumblebees in Southern Ontario. When we created the genome, we looked for signs of inbreeding and unfortunately that’s what we found. Bumblebees in Southern Ontario and mid-northern Quebec are becoming more inbred,” says York U biology researcher Clement Kent, who led the research. As bees become more inbred, they encounter difficulties maintaining their populations, but as their populations gets smaller, they have difficulties avoiding inbreeding. So that is one risk factor that could accelerate their decline. And finding as much inbreeding as we did, is a sure sign that this population is declining rapidly. With inbred bees, males can become infertile and when they mate with the queen, they often won’t produce any offspring at all or if the male genes are too closely related to the queen, they may produce sterile males instead of worker bees. “That means she may only have half as many workers to build the colony then needed,” says Kent.
But the other piece of the puzzle is disease. “If it is disease knocking down these bees, we should see signs of strong selection on genes that are involved with the immune system of bees, and that in fact is what we found,” says Kent.
Drive-Bye Exterminators offers home and commercial pest control services in Clearwater, Florida, and the surrounding areas. Family owned and operated for over 25 years, Drive-Bye Exterminators has state certified inspectors and exterminators provide roach, subterranean termite, dry wood termite, roaches, spider, ant and flea services to both commercial and residential clients. Whether a business owner needs help getting rid of a termite infestation, or a homeowner wants to rid their kitchen of ants, Drive-Bye Exterminators offers each client the same level of professionalism and excellence.
Request a FREE Pest Control or Termite Inspection today with the Professionals of Drive-Bye Exterminators. Contact Us Today at 727-787-2127.
