In a race against extinction, rusty patched bumble bee is listed as endangered

First bumble bee protected under the Endangered Species Act

Rusty patched bumble bee. Photo courtesy of Christy Stewart.

Just 20 years ago, the rusty patched bumble bee was a common sight, so ordinary that it went almost unnoticed as it moved from flower to flower, collecting nectar and pollen. But the species, now balancing precariously on the brink of extinction, has become the first-ever bumble bee in the United States — and the first bee of any kind in the contiguous 48 states — to be declared endangered. Read more.