Bee-hold, the future of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

Bee-hold, the future of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

By: Caitlin Minnick

Background Information:

On February 10th, 2017, the first species of bumble bee, the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, was placed on the endangered species list in the continental United States. This species which was once prevalent in 28 states spanning from the Midwest over to the East Coast and down to the South has dwindled down to populations in 13 states.

                  Figure 1: This diagram shows the historical and present range of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee in our region.

The life history of Bombus affinis could be a key aspect in its downfall. This specific species of bumble bee is active for a longer period, spanning from early spring to late fall. This makes them very vulnerable, especially with weather patterns becoming more infrequent and the effects of climate change. This adaptation of longer activity could have once been a great benefit, is now taking a toll on the size of the populations. Human activity is not helping these numbers either due to the removal of flowers that are in bloom during the time the Rust Patched Bumble Bees are active and are heavily relied upon.

Unlike the extended season activity, the life span of this bumble bee is not exclusively associated with this species. Like many other bee species, a new generation is established in spring when a queen creates a working colony from fertilized eggs of the previous year. In the late summer, a new population of queens are established which will then be mated soon after and enter a hibernation during the winter months. During the beginning of the new colonies, the older generations of bees will slowly die off (Scharping, 2017).

Perhaps one of the biggest factors to the decline of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee is the lack of research being conducted on them. Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation encouraged the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, also known as USFWS, to organize a survey to calculate approximate population numbers. This was made possible through the involvement of researchers, civilian scientists, published reports and museum collections. When this had been completed, it was evident that the bumble bees were in danger and then placed on the endangered species list.

                      Why should we care about bee populations?

Many view these attempts at conserving bee populations as futile, but they are imperative to the growth and health of ecosystems. Bees, as well as many other insect species and mammals, have a crucial role in pollination. This allows many species of plants to reproduce and sustain the habitat for many other organisms. In fact, without bees, we would not be able to fertilize crops that are used to sustain human populations. Especially when statistically speaking, 75-95% of all the world's flowering plants need to be pollinated in order reproduce and live sustainably. If you would like another way to look at it, we could place an economic valuation on pollination and its role in our ecosystem and come up with 217 billion dollars to the global economy. In either case, pollination is an asset provided by the natural world and this bee species carries it out (Pollinator Partnership, 2017).

Preventing the extinction of a small insect species may seem like a daunting task, but I believe it is crucial to the health of our ecosystems and the species that rely on the process of pollination such as ourselves. When we put this into perspective, we can see how much of a large scale effect3 this would have and why even one species of pollinator in danger should be taken seriously. One initiative we have taken to slow down the decline of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee was to place the species on the endangered species list. This will gain more attention from organizations and partners who want to help in the stabilization on this species and focusing resources to make a difference.

                    

                                                   How you can help:

You don’t have to be a researcher or involved in an organization to make a difference in the rapid decline of pollinators in general. The USFWS has made a recommendation for citizens of the United States to reduce the use of pesticides or reduce the number of applications. This is especially true for neonicotinoids, which have been recently proven to diminish bee colonies (Scharping, 2017). Another way we can help is to plant native species, but when targeting the Rusty Patched Bumble Bees it is suggested to plant native species that are in bloom from early spring to late fall when they are active.

Sources:

Bolt, Clay. A Rusty-patched Bumble Bee. 2014. National Geographic.

Bombus affinis Range Map and Observations. Xerces Society.

Scharping, Nathaniel. 11 Jan. 2017 "The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Is Disappearing in the US." Weblog post. Discover. Web.

"Pollinators." Pollinators | Pollinator Partnership. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.