Bumble Bees as an Endangered Species

Abstract

Bumble bee species are on the verge of extinction due to the rapid decline in endemic North America. B. affinis are significant pollinators, hence, they play a critical role in the production of many types of crops including pepper, tomato, apple, blueberry, clover among others. The historic distribution of B. affinis extended from the Upper Northeast, Midwest to the Eastern parts of the seaboard. However, the decline of the historic range and relative abundance to alarming levels has occurred due to the use of habitat loss, and poisoning from pesticides. Therefore, there is a need to protect B. affinis.

Introduction

The Bombus bee (Bombus affinis), also known as patched bumble bee, is an insect that belongs to the order hymenoptera. E. T Cresson discovered the B. affinis which is an endemic species to North America in 1863 (Cameron, 2011). Further, B. affinis is classified to belong to the Apidae family and it is one of the bees of genus Bombus that are collectively known as bumble bees.

The B. affinis are known to have a historic range throughout most parts located in North America. Notably, the range of B. affinis includes the Midwestern and Eastern parts of the United States, it extends northward to Maine, northern and southern parts of Texas panhandle, western Dakota, as well as into Quebec and Ontario found in the North of Canada (Cameron, 2011). It is evident from historic record that before the year 2000, the B. affinis occurred in abundance as well as was evenly distributed throughout its endemic range.

Make sure your essay is 100% unique

Our experts will write for you an essay on any topic, with any deadline and requirements from scratch

127 our experts are available
right now

Get custom essay

B. affinis thrives in a wide range of habitats including prairies, cultivated lands, parking lots found in residential areas, marshes, as well as woodlands (Colla, & Dumesh, 2010). B. affinis carries out a wide range of activities including hibernation for new queens, colony founding, and nesting in special microhabitats within the natural habitat (Colla & Packer, 2008). The organism builds and lives in nests in underground pre-existing cavities. However, others build nests above the ground. The bumble bees prefer to build nests underground where the temperatures are relatively low as they are intolerant to intense heat that occurs when the surface temperatures are high.

Conversely, cool weather provides favorable conditions for the emerging of the queen which usually occurs at the beginning of spring (Colla & Packer, 2008). Moreover, the thoracic muscle shivering enables the bees to regulate body temperature, thus, tolerating low temperatures. The B. affinis queens are known to create hibernating chambers in soft soil to escape from adverse weather conditions during the winter season (Williams et al., 2014). The B. affinis is highly vulnerable to extinction due to the need for several microhabitats with plenty of flowering plants.

In fact, the B. affinis requires a wide variety of floral resources. However, this excludes the over-wintering queens. The colony usually operates for several months, hence, it nests close to a diverse supply of floral resources that source for the bees. Studies show that Bombus species’ foraging workers travel within a radius of 1 km in search of food. Notwithstanding, some research has shown that the bees may travel as far as 10 km for food (Wolf & Moritz, 2008).

Furthermore, B. affinis usually accesses nectar in shallow corollas, thus, it only forages from specific flower species. The bumble bees are known to rely on most of the wildflowers that are native to North America throughout the year. Bombus spp is an efficient pollinator of a variety of commercial value crops including Solanum lycopersicum, Allium cepa, and Daucus carota. The organisms also pollinate animal forage plants such as Trifolium spp. and Medica sativa (Steffan-Dewenter et al., 2005). Thus, the bees are outstanding pollinators.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation began petitioning for the identification of the B. affinis as an endangered species in 2013. In 2015, B. affinis was included in the IUCN Red list among the critically endangered species (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2018). Later, on 11 January 2017, the ruling by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) gave a verdict that mandated the protection by the federal government under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, the listing of the B. affinis as an endangered species was delayed for two months due to regulation issues regarding the federal register. Nevertheless, the federally endangered status for B. affinis was fully granted on 21st March 2017.

The Importance and Decline of Bumble Bees

B. affinis is an important pollinator of both native plants and cultivated crops. Markedly, the Bombus are known to visit a vast number of flowers of both indigenous and exotic plants (Williams et al., 2014). Studies have shown that generalist pollinators such as bumble bees play a significant role in maintaining the network of pollinators and the flowering plants. In fact, an empirical study that was undertaken in Europe affirmed that there was a decline in the abundance of plants that depend on insect pollinators following the extirpation of native bees and in particular the bumble bees (Schweitzer et al., 2012).

The pollination behavior of the B. affinis is unique as the organism uses jaws to hold the flowers and vibrate the muscles of the wings, hence, plenty of pollen is released on the plants (Griti et al., 2009). Due to this fact, the bumble bees increase the quality of fruits such as tomatoes and peppers due to their unique pollinating behavior. The pollination behavior of bumble bees that is termed as “buzz pollination” works effectively in growing of greenhouse gases. The decline of bumble bees can be explained using various hypotheses such as direct cause.

As aforementioned, the decline of bumble bees could be occurring due to direct or indirect causes. The direct and indirect causes include changes in climate, the degradation of land due to excessive agricultural practices, as well as habitat loss. The second cause is centered on the restricted decline that endemic North American Bombus spp faces. B. affinis usually forages in the open, hence, the organism depends on natural habitat for survival (Schweitzer et al., 2012).

The bumble bees can also forage on pastures and meadow. Additionally, they can thrive in parks and garden located in urban setup. Notably, vetches and Eurasian found in these setups are beneficial to the B. affinis. Regional decline is evident in Europe and Midwest due to the intensification of agriculture. Nevertheless, the North America species are declining at an alarming rate relative to the habitat loss’s time scale, hence, B. affinis decline may not be explained explicitly based on habitat loss.

Similarly, the decline of bumble bees may not be directly related to climate change. The bees occur in a wide variety of climates of North America spread over latitudes at a difference of 10 degrees. Markedly, the species of North America that had wide ranges have undergone a sharp decline. In addition, the range of B. affinis stretched from Dakotas and Georgia to Maine (Schweitzer et al., 2012).

The vulnerability of the species to climate changes is higher when the range is narrow as seen in the coastal parts of the Pacific. The example of the genus Bombus that is vulnerable to climate change includes B. sitkensis, B. caliginosus, and B. crotchii. Moreover, the decline may be explained by the phenology of the queen emergence.

According to Schweitzer et al. (2012), the delayed action of the queen may increase the vulnerability of B. affinis to food loss and sites for nesting which are basic within and after the mid-stage of colony development. Notwithstanding, there is no science that links the decline of B. affinis to phenology. For instance, the attempts to link the tongue length to the decline patterns of bumble bees remain futile due to the weak relationship between foraging specialization measures and the decline of B. affinis.

B. affinis workers and queens die when exposed to harmful pesticides. In addition, pesticide-contaminated food can cause detrimental effect to the larvae. The toxicity of pesticides on bumble bees is similar to that observed in honey bees. Some pesticides reduce the efficiency of forging, hence, resulting in an indirect mortality to the B. affinis. In some instances, the reduction of B. affinis due to the use of pesticides led to a decline of wild berry resulting in an increased number of birds foraging on planted blueberries (Wolf & Moritz, 2008).

The reduction of the number of workers due to pesticide poisoning threatens the survival of colony during spring. Pathogen spillover is also implicated as one of the contributing factors to the decline of B. affinis. For example, Nosema bombi and Crithidia bombi have been identified to threaten the survival of B. affinis.

In the United States, the USFWS has begun a combination of programs aimed at accessing, protecting, and providing restoration to B. affinis and its native habitats. The listing of the B. affinis as an endangered species signaled the need to find ways of conserving the species to protect it from going into extinction (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2018). The service incorporates other partners in the quest to restore B. affinis and plants that are insect pollinator-dependent.

The decline of B. affinis and other important pollinators led to the constitution of the North America Pollinator Protection Campaign which educates the public and participates in the conservation of insect and other pollinators (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S Department of the Interior, 2018). The collaboration of the Pollinator Partnership and the USFWS has increased the efficiency of the restoration initiative of pollinators. The growing and conserving plants that support the survival of B. affinis have also boosted the restoration and conservation initiatives. For instance, landowners in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota have been advised to include native grass, wildflowers, and cover crops in the farms.

Conclusion

The public has barely responded to the urgent need of conserving the bumble bees before and after it was listed as an endangered species. There is a huge threat to the balance in the ecosystem due to extinction of certain animals and plants species (Cameron, 2011). Nevertheless, the decline of B. affinis poses a serious threat to all organisms including humans. Bumble bees are the primary pollinators for crops that are main sources of food all over the world.

The extinction of B. affinis would lead to the reduction of food as the global diet will be obtained from the crops that depend on wind for pollination. The production of cash crops such as cotton, almonds, and coffee will dwindle drastically in the event of B. affinis extinction. Consequently, humanity will be in a great danger if the decline of B. affinis is left to persist. The listing of B. affinis as an endangered species forms the basis for policy creation.

However, community members have to contribute to the initiative at personal-level and from their homes. Planting plants such as sunflower and milkweed as well as minimizing or avoiding the use of pesticides would help bumble bees to thrive. It is evident that simple initiatives at the individual level will create a friendly environment for B. affinis, hence, decelerating the insect’s decline.

References

1. Cameron, S. A., Lozier, J. D., Strange, J. P., Koch, J.B., Cordes, N., Solter, L.F., & Griswold, T. L. (2011). Patterns of widespread decline in North American bumble bees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (USA) 108(2), 662-667.
2. Colla, S. R., & Dumesh, S. (2010). The bumble bees of southern Ontario: notes on natural history and distribution. Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 141, 39-68.
3. Colla, S. R., & Packer, L. (2008). Evidence for decline in eastern North American bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with special reference to Bombus affinis Cresson. Biodiversity and Conservation, 17(6), 1379-1391.
4. Griti, J. C., Wong, L. T., Cameron, S. A., & Favret, C. (2009). Decline of bumble bees (Bombus) in the North American Midwest. Biological Conservation, 142, 75-84.
5. Schweitzer, D. F., Capuano, N. A., Young B. E., & Colla, S. R. (2012). Conservation and management of North American bumble bees. Retrieved from USDA Forest Service and NatureServe Website.
6. Steffan-Dewenter, I., Potts, S. G., & Packer, L. (2005). Pollinator diversity and crop pollination services are at risk. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 20, 651–652.
7. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (2018). Endangered species. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/factsheetrpbb.html.
8. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S Department of the Interior. (2018). Conservation management guidelines for the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis). Retrieved from https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/pdf/ConservationGuidanceRPBBv1_27Feb2018.pdf.
9. Williams, P. H., Thorp, R.W., Richardson, L. L., & Colla, S. R. (2014). The bumble bees of North America: an identification guide. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
10. Wolf, S., & Moritz, R. F. A. (2008). Foraging distance in Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Apidologie, 38, 419-427.