U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Fails to Designate Critical Habitat for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee.
As reported by the Xerces Society on 9/1/2020:
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service decided to not designate critical habitat for the rusty patched bumble bee, despite its previous finding that habitat loss threatens the bee. Failing to designate critical habitat may hinder recovery of the rusty patched bumble bee, which has already been lost from more than three quarters of its historic range. Read more…
According to Xerces:
Bumble bees are important pollinators of wild flowering plants and agricultural crops. They are able to fly in cooler temperatures and lower light levels than many other bees, making them excellent pollinators — especially at higher elevations and latitudes. They also perform a behavior called “buzz pollination,” in which the bee grabs the flower in her jaws and vibrates her wing muscles to dislodge pollen, from which many plants benefit.