The Rusty-Patched Bumblebee First of Species Declared Endangered in Continental United States of North Central America, Could Very Well be Extinct in Canada.

The Rusty-Patched Bumblebee first of species declared endangered in continental United States of North Central America, Could Very Well be Extinct in Canada.

Species has disappeared from about 90 per cent of its range in the past 20 years

The Associated Press Posted: Mar 22, 2017 8:54 AM ET

NOTE: The bee illustrated in The Free Thought Project’s Post is NOT a Rusty Patch Bumble bee.

Note also: Species Status: Endangered in Canada; Critically Endangered GLOBALLY (IUCN assessment)

Action Required: CONSERVATION BREEDING and Reintroduction

One of the most common species of bumble bee in southern Ontario as recently as the 1980s, this hard-working pollinator is now on the brink of extinction throughout its large range. Despite thorough surveys of historic sites across Ontario, THE RUSTY-PATCHED BUMBLE BEE HAS NOT BEEN OBSERVED IN CANADA SINCE 2009.

The Bumblebee Became the First Species on the Continental United States of North Central America To Be Declared Endangered.

The rusty-patched bumblebee became the first officially endangered bee species in the continental United States of North |Central America on Tuesday, overcoming objections from some business interests and a last-minute delay ordered by the Trump administration.

One of many bee types that have suffered steep population declines, in the United States of North Central America, the rusty-patched has disappeared—GUESS WHY-- from about 90 per cent of its range in the past 20 years. It previously was common across the East Coast and much of the Midwest, where it played a crucial role as a pollinator of crops and wild plants.

Scientists, in the United States of North Central America, say disease, pesticide exposure, habitat loss and climate change are among possible reasons for the decline of the bee, named for the rusty reddish patch on the backs of workers and males. Most of the grasslands and tall grass prairies where they once thrived have been converted to farms or urban areas.