Bumblebee Has Officially Been Added To The Ever-Growing List Of Endangered Species

The bumblebee has been officially added to the list of endangered species along with the gray wolf, grizzly bear, the northern spotted owl, and about 700 other extinct animal species.

"While this listing clearly supports the rusty patched bumble bee, the entire suite of pollinators that share its habitat, and which are so critical to natural ecosystems and agriculture, will also benefit.This is a positive step towards the conservation of this species, and we now have to roll up our sleeves to begin the actual on the ground conservation that will help it move toward recovery." Yet, it is a fact that this move brings about new challenges. The petition from American Petroleum Institute, National Association of Home Builders, National Cotton Council of America, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and two entities to the Secretary of the Interior and Acting Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, aims at getting a year's delay in the listing, since "the implications of this hasty listing decision are difficult to overstate. " This petition goes on to deem the listing of this bee as "one of the most significant species listings in decades in terms of scope and impact on human activities. More than one-third of the plants grown in the United States depend on pollinators, and the population of this bee is drastically reduced due to the destruction of natural resources through monoculture and generous use of pesticides and herbicides on GMO crops. Hence, the opposition to the listing of this bee is counterproductive, since it is indeed an endangered pollinator. Many people actually believe that such conservation efforts should have started sooner, and signed an agreement urging the listing of the rusty-patched bumble bee.