Friend,

When the trees start to bud and the birds chirp a little louder, rusty patched bumblebees are among the first to emerge from hibernation to search for plants to pollinate.

Known for the small pop of rust-colored fuzz on their backs, these bees have been performing this job for millions of years and have even evolved to have little pollen pouches to help them with their calling. They were the first bumblebee species to be listed as endangered in the continental U.S., and their numbers are still meager.1

We're calling on the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to establish critical habitat for the rusty patched bumblebee. Join our call and add your name today.

While they may be small in size, clocking in at just half an inch, rusty patched bumblebees' contributions to our planet are immeasurable.

They have a special bond with flowers and vegetables, one that scientists refer to as mutualistic. When these bees pollinate flowers, they're not only feeding themselves, they're spreading the flower pollen around to other plants -- a critical way that flowers reproduce.

And many flowers have evolved in turn to be more appealing to bees.2,3

And it's not just flowers that rely on our bees -- plants including tomatoes, squash, nuts and even cotton rely on bees for pollination.4

But things have taken a turn for the worse for our bees.

In 2017, rusty patched bumblebees made history, but not in a good way. Their population had plummeted by nearly 90% since the 1990s, making them the first bumblebee in the continental U.S. to make it on the endangered species list, a list that no animal wants to be on.5

The Fish and Wildlife Service can help protect the rusty patched bumblebees by protecting their critical habitat. Call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect bee habitat today.

The agency says that pesticides and an unknown pathogen are likely at fault when it comes to the bees' dramatic decline, and points to habitat loss and degradation as an ongoing challenge for survival. Yet, oddly enough, it chose not to protect habitat for the rusty patched bumblebee.6

Establishing protected habitat is crucial to ensuring the long term survival of our planet's pollinators.7 If our pollinators are to recover, they'll need the protected space to do so.

Tell the FWS: Give rusty patched bumblebees the habitat they need to help them make a full recovery.

Thank you for standing with us,

Ellen Montgomery

1. Gerardo Bandera, "The risks and dangers of bee extinction," Fair Planet, May 21, 2022.
2. "Rusty-patched bumble bee," Michigan State University, last accessed September 29, 2022.
3. Gerardo Bandera, "The risks and dangers of bee extinction," Fair Planet, May 21, 2022.
4. Gerardo Bandera, "The risks and dangers of bee extinction," Fair Planet, May 21, 2022.
5. Michael Greshko, "First U.S. bumblebee officially listed as endangered," National Geographic, March 22, 2017.
6. "Rusty Patched Bumble Bee," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last accessed October 19, 2022.
7. Michael Greshko, "First U.S. bumblebee officially listed as endangered," National Geographic, March 22, 2017.