Feds float bumblebee protections

Bumblebees are set to receive new protections from the federal government.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed Wednesday to list the rusty patched bumblebee as an endangered species because the population has declined by more than 90 percent over the last two decades.

“Since the late 1990s, rusty patched bumblebee abundance and distribution has declined significantly,” the FWS wrote in the Federal Register.

These bumblebees are found in the Midwest and along the East Coast, but they have disappeared from many states.

According to the federal government, the bee population has declined by 91 percent to 69 remaining colonies, most of which contain no more than five bees. By comparison, “healthy colonies consist of up to 1,000 bees,” the agency said.

There is not end in sight for these declines, it added.

The biggest threats to these bumblebees include pesticides, habitat loss and climate change, according to the FWS.

“The pesticides with greatest effects on bumblebees are insecticides and herbicides,” the agency said. “Insecticides are specifically designed to directly kill insects, including bumblebees.”

The protections stem from a lawsuit against the FWS filed by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

The public has 60 days to comment.