Why are bumble bees endangered?

A bumblebee is now on the endangered species list for the first time in a "race against extinction," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday. A bumblebee is now on the endangered species list for the first time in a "race against extinction," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday. read more

The agency in September listed seven varieties of yellow-faced, or masked, bees in Hawaii as endangered. But Bombus affinis is the first bumble bee species to given that status, and the first wild bee of any kind to be listed in the Lower 48 states. read more

The rusty patched bumble bee gained federal protection Tuesday after the Trump administration removed its hold on listing the species as endangered. The listing, the first time a bumble bee species in the U.S has received protection under the Endangered Species Act, follows an 87% decline in the species population since the late 1990s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). read more