Petition filed to include bees on the endangered species list

CLAYTON, Ill (WGEM) – There is a new push to list the American bumblebee as an endangered species due to their dwindling numbers.

According to the petition, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Bombus Pollinators Law Students Association, the American bumblebee has all but disappeared from 8 different states. These include Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Idaho, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Oregon.

Northern Illinois has seen its bee population decline by 74% since 2004.

Local beekeepers say they’re not surprised by the drop in numbers, and they think adding the species to the endangered list might help.

Bruce Moechnig, president of the Mississippi Valley Beekeepers Association, says the loss of population is due in part to bees losing ground to humans.

“One of the biggest threats is habitat loss. We are seeing a lot of urban development, a lot of row crop monocultures where we disturb the soil every year. Because bees nest on the ground, it removes a lot of the soil that they could potentially use as nesting sites, ”Moechnig said.

He said there is still a long way to go to help save the bees, but there are things that ordinary owners can do.

“Leaving areas wild… leaving areas that I let grow every year, I don’t mow or burn. This provides a great place for bees to nest,” Moechnig said.

He also suggested that people plant flowers, shrubs and pollinating trees. He said people often think of flowers when it comes to the bee population, when in reality trees such as persimmon, button bush, service berry and gray dogwood are also beneficial. .

He said anyone interested in how she can help bees, and those interested in beekeeping, can attend classes run by the Mississippi Valley Beekeepers Association in February and March. You can find more information about these classes here.

The petition to put bees on an endangered species list is now being reviewed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

You can view the petition to list bees as an endangered species here.

About Sherri Flowers

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