Bumblebee Has Officially Been Added To The Ever-Growing List Of Endangered Species
Wednesday, March 27, 2019 IST
Definitely not something to be proud of, as the bumblebee, once very frequent in the American mainland, has been admitted to the endangered list of animals. This list comprises of several other rare animals such as the grizzly bear, the grey wolf, and other such animals that are slowly dwindling in their numbers. This bee, with its rusty patch, has been restricted and protected under the continental USA.
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According to several reports, there are just a few pockets where you can find these bees and most of them are in Ontario, Canada. Although this bee, known for its brownish-red pigment under the abdomen was supposed to be put up on the list way back in 2018, turmoil in the present US administration led to it being put in only this year.
Many ecologists involved in this are of the opinion that human intervention and encroachment have been the major factors in their decline. They believe that protection of tall grasslands would not only help the bumblebees but will also help all the other winged pollinators that balance their life and survival through this.
But, like every decision, this too has met with some opposition. Many corporations and big farm owners believe that listing this bee without proper knowledge or without the information of its importance on human society would create a lot of problems in the near future. For, most of the farmlands in the USA depend on such pollinators to grow. Experts estimate that bumblebees deliver almost 3 billion dollars to the US economy per year. And this is despite the ongoing deterioration in its number.
One might think that the petition of the corporations against this listing might actually be ludicrous. Why?
For, in one scenario, bumblebees make up a huge part of the American farmland, but also, they are continuously depleting in numbers. So, even if they are still utilized without discrimination, it would simply lead to their extinction while human beings run after wealth. Wouldn’t it be better to protect it until the population balances out and they can be used again? Also, in this era where everything is scientific, can’t science find an alternative to this little bee?
Many ecologists consider that this decision is one of the most important and necessary decisions to take with regard to wildlife conservation. Not simply because they are bees and deserve protection, but because these bees make up almost 33% of the food supply. And such a number can’t go to waste simply because some food suppliers and farmhands believe that they would lose margins of their wealth.
When we say human intervention, we ought to be clear on that. The overuse of pesticides, herbicides, and artificial fertilizers has led to their depletion. Also, monoculture has been a major factor in them being listed as endangered.
It goes without saying that if we don’t take measures now, there would be a bigger problem than the simple loss of wealth. For, if the bumblebee were to completely go extinct, it might actually lead to famine.
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