Since the feds are playing games with the Endangered Species Act, it might be up to states to offer protection. Even though many at-risk species don’t remain within one state, protecting some of populations and their habitat will help. Conservation and food safety groups petitioned California to list four bumble bee species as Endangered under the California ESA —western bumble bee, Franklin’s bumble bee, Crotch’s bumble bee and Suckley cuckoo bumble bee.1
Franklin’s might already be extinct.2 Despite thorough surveys of its small historic habitat area in the Siskiyou Mountains (CA and southern OR), the species hasn’t been seen since 2006 and that was just one individual. The Suckley cuckoo can only live where its host, the western bumble bee, lives and the western’s abundance has decreased by 84%.3 Three of them are listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered by IUCN, but the western bumble bee proposed for CESA listing is a subspecies not yet formally listed by IUCN.
Along with other types of bees, bumble bees are essential to the reproduction of many of California’s specialty crops, including tomatoes, peppers, melon, squash, cotton and almonds, as well as to native ecosystems—from the flower fields of the Carrizo Plain to the montane meadows of the Sierra Nevada. Conserving a diversity of native pollinators within the state is paramount to maintaining the state’s natural heritage, as recognized in California’s new Biodiversity Initiative, which calls for fallowed agricultural land to be transformed into habitat for bees, creating a “pollinator highway” across the state. They are also essential for food production. [...]
Together, the historic ranges of the western bumble bee, Franklin’s bumble bee, Crotch’s bumble bee and the Suckley cuckoo bumble bee cover much of the state, but currently populations persist in very few areas. The western bumble bee, for example, was one of the most common bumble bees within its range prior to the late-1990s, but in California is now found only in a few sites in the Sierra Nevada and the northern coast. These four species of bumble bee are primarily threatened by habitat loss, diseases and pesticides.
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Bumble Bee Profiles
- Crotch’s bumble bee (Bombus crotchii), a bee with yellow, black and often orange on its abdomen, is considered Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); it only persists in 20% of its historic range, and has declined by 98% in relative abundance (its abundance relative to other species of bumble bees). This bee historically occurred from the northern Central Valley to Baja Mexico, but currently persists primarily in southern coastal habitats and some areas to the north and southwest of Sacramento.
- The western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis occidentalis) has a range that extends across the western U.S. and southern Canada. In California, it was historically known from the northern part of the state, the coastal region, and the mountains. It currently persists primarily in the Sierra Nevada; its relative abundance has declined by 84%.
- The Suckley cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi) was historically found throughout the western U.S. As a cuckoo bumble bee, it is found only where its host species of bumble bees, including the western bumble bee, remain. It is considered Critically Endangered by the IUCN and its range has declined by 58%.
- Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini), which historically occurred in an area about 60 miles wide in the Siskiyou Mountains of northern California and southern Oregon may already be extinct. Despite extensive annual surveys by Dr. Robbin Thorp, professor emeritus at the University of California–Davis, Franklin’s bumble bee has not been seen since 2006.
1. Here is a pdf of the actual petition.
2. Franklin’s bumble bee survey results. It’s a Species of Special Concern under ESA.
Known only from southern Oregon and northern California between the Coast and Sierra-Cascade Ranges, Franklin’s bumble bee has the most restricted range of any bumble bee in the world. Its entire distribution can be covered by an oval of about 190 miles north to south and 70 miles east to west. Populations of Franklin’s bumble bee have declined precipitously since 1998; this bee is in imminent danger of extinction. Franklin’s bumble bee was readily found throughout its range throughout the 1990s, but subsequent yearly surveys by Dr. Robbin Thorp have suggested this bee is nearly extinct. No Franklin’s bumble bees were observed during surveys in 2004, 2005, 2007, or 2008, and only a single worker was found in 2006.
3. Learn more about the natural history of cuckoo bumble bees here.
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