ARKANSAS, USA — A species of bee native to many U.S. states, including Arkansas, is at risk of landing on the endangered species list.
The Southern Plains bumble bee was recently evaluated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after a petition to list it under the Endangered Species Act.
After the FWS completed its 90-day findings on the petition, the group found that the petition to list the bee as an endangered species "may be warranted," and a status review will now be held.
The bee was one of 10 species that came under review by the FWS and had warranted findings, including the betta hendra, betta rutilans, Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, pygmy rabbit, Railroad Valley toad, southwest spring firefly, white-margined penstemon, and yellow-spotted woodland salamander.
The petition to get the bee on the endangered species list was filed in 2022 by the Center for Biological Diversity.
“Southern Plains bumble bees have already disappeared from six states and desperately need Endangered Species Act protection to survive,” the petition said. “The Act has an incredible track record of keeping species from going extinct and putting them on the path to recovery.”
The Southern Plains bumble bee is described as being a "large black and yellow bumble bee identified by its short hair, short head and typically yellow coloring between the head and thorax, between the wings. The species inhabits open prairies, meadows and grasslands of the Midwest, mid-Atlantic states, and the Plains states from Texas to North Dakota, as well as to the grasslands and pine savannas of Florida and the southeast," the FWS said.
The center for biological diversity says that the species has disappeared from Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Ohio in recent years. It's now found in just about 24 states.
"Grasslands across the species’ range are plagued by multiple threats that contribute to the bee’s decline. Conversion to crops, heavy grazing and pesticides destroy and degrade the bee’s grassland habitat. Degraded grasslands limit nutrition from diverse pollen and nectar sources," the petition said. "Pesticides also pose a grave threat by reducing survival rates, harming the bees’ immune systems and hindering reproduction."
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