--- title: Bumble Bee Species Is in Danger of Disappearing Forever description: For the first time, a bumble bee species has been listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service canonical: https://time.com/4631806/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-endangered/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-11T19:07:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:40:34.315Z article:section: Science og:title: This Bumble Bee Species Is in Danger of Disappearing Forever og:description: The rusty patched bumble bee could go extinct og:url: https://time.com/4631806/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-endangered/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Bumble Bee Species Is in Danger of Disappearing Forever twitter:description: The rusty patched bumble bee could go extinct twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Bumble Bee Species Is in Danger of Disappearing Forever > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Honey May Be a Natural Way to Beat Bacteria [Watch (HLS stream): Honey May Be a Natural Way to Beat Bacteria](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/W31iXlE4.m3u8) (0:55)  _Published 2016-09-28. In a lab, anyway_ by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jan 11, 2017 7:07 PM UTC by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jan 11, 2017 7:07 PM UTC For the first time, a [bumble bee](http://time.com/4518064/hawaii-bees-added-endangered-species-list/) species has been listed as [endangered](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/10/this-bumble-bee-was-everywhere-now-its-on-the-endangered-species-list/?utm%5Fterm=.69e45ce0f757) by the U.S. [Fish and Wildlife Service](https://www.fws.gov/endangered/). The rusty patched bumble bee used to be pervasive in the American Midwest, but now experts say it is extremely difficult to find. The designation will help protect the rusty patched bumble bees’ habitat in addition to raising awareness. Bumble bees play an important role as pollinators, and the decimation of their population could have grave repercussions throughout the ecosystem. “This bee is kind of like the canary in the coal mine,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Tamara Smith told the Washington _Post_. Its declining numbers could spell bad news for other species of bees and butterflies. > [](https://twitter.com/USFWSNews/status/818863160945938433) \[[_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/10/this-bumble-bee-was-everywhere-now-its-on-the-endangered-species-list/?utm%5Fterm=.69e45ce0f757)\] ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4631806/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-endangered/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4631806/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-endangered/"},"headline":"This Bumble Bee Species Is in Danger of Disappearing Forever","datePublished":"2017-01-11T19:07:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:40:34.315Z","description":"The rusty patched bumble bee could go extinct","url":"https://time.com/4631806/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-endangered/","keywords":["animals","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4631806/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-endangered/","name":"This Bumble Bee Species Is in Danger of Disappearing Forever"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Honey May Be a Natural Way to Beat Bacteria","description":"In a lab, anyway","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/W31iXlE4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-09-28T17:21:51.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/W31iXlE4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4631806/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-endangered/","duration":"PT55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4631806/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-endangered/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```