As pollinators, bees play a vital role in sustaining our ecosystems and helping plants and food crops thrive and reproduce. Yet in North America, bees have suffered staggering losses in the last decade because of the abundant use of pesticides, the spread of parasites and habitat loss from industrial agriculture and expanding real estate. Seven of Hawaii’s yellow-faced bee species are officially listed as endangered. On the mainland U.S., the rusty patch bumblebee was supposed to be added to the endangered species list in February until the Trump administration ordered a temporary freeze on new federal regulations.
- The rusty patched bumblebee population has declined by a 90 percent, rendering them the first bee species to be declared “endangered” in the contiguous United States.
- There are many factors in the decline of bee populations: Habitat destruction, disease, pesticides and GMO agriculture.
- While many pesticide and herbicide manufacturers, like Monsanto, claim that their products are “bee safe,” it is clear that simply is not the case.
“Over the last two decades, the rusty patched bumblebee population has declined by a staggering 90 percent, rendering them the first bee species to be declared “endangered” in the contiguous United States.”