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> Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Idaho, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Oregon Are the eight states from the title. Though it seems New York should be
by update 5y ago
> Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Idaho, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Oregon
Are the eight states from the title. Though it seems New York should be included since it says "The bumblebee species have declined by 99 percent in New York."
Also noteworthy
> In the Midwest and Southeast, population numbers have dropped by more than 50 percent.
To nobodies surprise, the culprit is pesticides. Interestingly the west's bumblee population isn't listed as being in trouble.
- StanislavPetrov 5y agoAnecdotally I live in New York and have seen plenty of bumblebees this year.
- pc86 5y agoIs this type of comment helpfully, generally? Ancedotes are typically ignores because they don't show the full picture. If we have verifiable evidence of a staggering decline in population of a given species, "yeah well I've seen plenty of 'em!" doesn't seem particularly useful - to the larger discussion, toward any sort of objective "truth," or really... anything.
- C19is20 5y agoAs much for the full picture, i come to hn for the anecdotes. So yes, 'useful', to me. And, just to be super-clear, i come for the comments, and rarely the articles.
- msrenee 5y agoSo even though you have no way of knowing if the species of bee this person is seeing is the same one in the article, you find the information valuable?
- t-3 5y agoAnecdotes can be useful in aggregate, where they can validate or give reason to question a claim. There is a lot of sloppy science and reporting on environmental subjects like these - look at the stuff about feral cats being a danger to songbirds estimating annual predation levels higher than the regional songbird population.
- msrenee 5y agoCan I get a link to the feral cat info you're talking about? My Google skills are weak.
- msrenee 5y agoThere are a lot of species people call bumblebees. This one particular species, Bombus pensylvanicus, has disappeared from much of its range. You may be seeing insects that are called bumblebees, but not likely the species being talked about in the article. If you do have the knowledge and experience to be certain that you are seeing lots of Bombus pensylvanicus in particular, get in contact with your nearest Fish and Wildlife Service office. That's a big deal.
- gerdesj 5y agoQuite. Also its way more complicated than that. I'm not an apiarist per se but I am interested in them - an interested amateur if you like. To me there are roughly three classes of bee: There are honey bees, which are the ones that are farmed by humans ie domesticated. They live in colonies of around 50,000 in mostly man made hives. There are wild bees that naturally form colonies. Bumblebees for example, live in colonies of around 20 to 2000 individuals. Finally we have the solitary bees. These do not form colonies at all. What is happening is that various species of really useful insects are being wiped out. This isn't just in the US but everywhere. This is perhaps the situation in the UK: https://post.parliament.uk/research-briefings/post-pn-0619/ https://post.parliament.uk/research-briefings/post-pn-0619/ feel free to grab the report and read it. It's not pretty reading.
- pfdietz 5y agoProbably Bombus impatiens. I see them all over my property in the Finger Lakes.
- devb 5y agoThere are at least 17 species of bumblebees in New York.
- cratermoon 5y ago> the west's bumblee population isn't listed as being in trouble What do you call Idaho, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Oregon?
- bombcar 5y ago“The West” means “California” to many.
- update 5y agoi actually was just thinking of the west cost. i'm a los angeles native, guess that shows. sorry.
- ISL 5y agoWell, that's incorrect :).
- whartung 5y agoWell, at one point, "West" meant Ohio.
- seanmcdirmid 5y agoAlso Illinois. Why else would northwestern university be in Chicago and not Seattle?
- speedybird 5y agoNorth Dakota is generally considered the mid-west, no? I suppose mid-west is a sort of west, but I tend to think "the west" starts when the Rocky Mountains start; about half-way through Montana.
- cratermoon 5y agoSo New Mexico is not part of the West? There's a definition based on climate that's used widely https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/04/11/the-100th-meridian-where-the-great-plains-used-to-begin-now-moving-east/ https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/04/11/the-100th-merid...
- olah_1 5y agoI read somewhere that we used to use nicotine-based pesticides in the past and the bee issue happened when we switched away from that. I guess China still uses nicotine-based pesticides?
- ambientenv 5y agoNeonicotinoids - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonicotinoid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonicotinoid
- 5faulker 5y agoThis is another example of "progress trap" that we didn't see coming until it's too late to act.
- metagame 5y agoWe've known what we're doing to all types of bees for a long time. Here's a paper from 01999 talking about pesticides and their toxicity to bees: https://ucanr.edu/sites/uccemerced/files/40411.pdf https://ucanr.edu/sites/uccemerced/files/40411.pdf There are many articles that have found viral audiences throughout the 02000s about how other bee species are on extinction spirals because of the American agriculture industry's lack of regulation. This happening to the bumblebee is not a real surprise and we've definitely seen it coming within the window to act.
- JoeAltmaier 5y agoIowa, haven't seen one in years.
- taeric 5y agoPer Wikipedia, the American bumblebee doesn't live in the west. Such that the Midwest states listed are as far west as it goes. Or am I reading the page wrong?
- Tagbert 5y agoThere are other bumble bee species in “the west”. that seems likely to be true in other areas. In the Seattle area there are: yellow bumble bee tricolored bumble bee yellow-faced bumble Western Bumble Bee Franklin's bumble bee Rusty patched bumble bee I have seen reports that at least some of these species ranges are greatly reduced.
- taeric 5y agoRight. I didn't mean to imply there are no bees here. My question/point was more on it most folks were getting distracted by other species. I've also heard most bees are effectively invasive, at this point. And now they we have murder hornets... I really don't know what to think we far as actionable things. Not that I'm arguing for giving up. Or rampant insecticide.
- bitcurious 5y ago> To nobodies surprise, the culprit is pesticides. Interestingly the west's bumblee population isn't listed as being in trouble. To my surprise. There is very little farm land in New Hampshire. For the East Coast, it’s very wild.