Study Reveals Striking Decline of Vermont’s Bumble Bees
December 10, 2018A new study examining 100 years of bumble bee records reveals that almost half of Vermont’s species, which are vital pollinators, have either vanished or are in serious decline. After conducting the state’s most extensive search for bumble bees, and combing through historical records from museum collections, the team has concluded that four of Vermont’s 17 bumble bee species appear to have gone extinct. The study, led by researchers from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) and the University of Vermont (UVM), was published in the Journal of Insect Conservation. Learn more on the VCE Blog »
Bill Considers Banning Some Neonicotinoid Use
February 07, 2018The most widely-used class of pesticides in the country may be banned for home use in Vermont, if a bill aimed at protecting the state’s pollinators becomes law. The bill, H.688, under consideration by the House Agriculture Committee earlier this week, would ban most household uses of neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides chemically related to nicotine that has come under scrutiny for its potential toxicity to bees and other pollinating insects. Read more at VTDigger »
Vt. adds to threatened, endangered species list
July 07, 2015Vermont has added nine species, including 3 bumble bees, to its list of threatened and endangered species thanks to data from the Vermont Atlas of Life. The additions also included four plants, one bird and one amphibian. Vt. Fish and Wildlife Biologist Steve Parren and Vt. Secretary of Natural Resources Deb Markowitz appeared on WCAX news to speak about it. Watch the story on WCAX »
Value of endangered bumblebees weighed in Vermont
April 09, 2015There are precious few — if any — rusty-patch bumblebees left in Vermont to benefit from its weeks-old protection as an endangered species. Ditto for the Ashton cuckoo bumblebee, which hasn't been seen in these parts in more than a decade.The yellow-banded bumblebee, also a once-common native species, has been freshly listed as threatened — a less dire designation. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources quietly added the three bees to its roster in late March, without so much as a press release. Read the story at Burlington Free Press »
A Bumble Bee Vanishes
August 29, 2014Almost every bumblebee you see this year will be dead before the year's end. That's normal. Bumble bees are burly — even brawny. But, with the exception of next year's queens, they are annuals. They end their lives with winter. What's not normal: The last living rusty-patch bumblebee — one of Vermont's more common species, once upon a time — was spotted in the Burlington Intervale on Aug. 31, 1999. Read more at the Burlington Free Press »
Plight Of The Bumble Bee: Species In Decline
December 03, 2013Vermont’s bumble bees are in trouble. A new investigation from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies has found that more than one quarter of the fuzzy bumbles have either vanished or are suffering a serious decline. And that’s bad news for all of us, as the species are vital pollinators. Kent McFarland, senior conservation biologist for the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, and field researcher Sara Zahendra spoke with VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb about the plight of the bumble bee. Listen to the VPR story »
In this State: The Buzz
May 12, 2012In the delicate and passionate matters of “the birds and the bees,” Vermont may have no greater authority than Kent McFarland. Courtship and reproduction occupy a good portion of McFarland’s workday. No breeding behavior is too racy, no animal instincts off-limits. Read more »