Though they haven't been seen west of the Cascades in 15 years, a dozen rare western bumblebees have recently been spotted in Oregon's Mount Hood National Forest, the discovery of the bees suggesting they have a shot at regaining their missing populations, the Epoch Times reports.
Thanks to grant money from the Oregon Zoo Foundation's Future for Wildlife program, biologist Rich Hatfield of The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation was able to spend six weeks surveying bumbleblees, which led to his exciting rediscovery of the western bumblebee in Mount Hood, writes the Oregonian.
Western bumblees are important to agriculture in the western U.S., acting as pollinators for crops. Twelve of them were found by Hatfield near the Timberline Lodge in the National Forest, recognizable by their inch-long size and white bottoms.
"In the last 15 years there have only been about 15 sightings of this bumblebee west of the Cascades," Hatfield said a public statement. "This discovery suggests that this species might have a chance to repopulate its range. One out of every three bites of food that we eat comes from a plant that was pollinated by an animal, and usually those animals are bees. The fact that any bee could disappear is a scary proposition. We're approaching a tipping point where our food security will be at stake."
Hatfield's recent survey has generated the first official list of bee species in the area, which will prove helpful to the U.S. Forest Service so that they can better protect the animals.
According to the Seattle Times, scientists blame a number of factors on the dwindling populations of both wild and domesticated bees, including a commonly used pesticide that is believed to be responsible for the death of 50,000 bumblebees in Wilsonville, Ore. back in June. Disease among bee populations has also affected their shrinking numbers.
Hatfield's survey also produced another first: the first high-speed photo of a western bumblebee in flight, taken using a camera with a laser-triggered shutter by Oregon Zoo photographer, Michael Durham, who posted the photo to the zoo's official Facebook and Twitter.
