--- title: Bumble Bee Protected Under Endangered Species Act description: The rusty patched bumble bee gained federal protection Tuesday after the Trump administration removed its hold on listing the species canonical: https://time.com/4709114/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-22T16:26:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:58:15.719Z article:section: Science og:title: A Bumble Bee Species Is Now Officially Endangered in the U.S. og:description: The rusty patched bumble bee gained federal protection Tuesday after the Trump administration removed its hold on listing the species og:url: https://time.com/4709114/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7271c181b5f3747/6988bf6d8fd2ee45633563e1/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: bumble bee endangered species trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Bumble Bee Species Is Now Officially Endangered in the U.S. twitter:description: The rusty patched bumble bee gained federal protection Tuesday after the Trump administration removed its hold on listing the species twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7271c181b5f3747/6988bf6d8fd2ee45633563e1/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Bumble Bee Species Is Now Officially Endangered in the U.S. ## Video: More than 700 North American Bee Species Are Headed Toward Extinction [Watch (HLS stream): More than 700 North American Bee Species Are Headed Toward Extinction](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fpxjrjdZ.m3u8) (0:50)  _Published 2017-03-02. Population levels of more than 700 North American bee species are declining as habitat loss and pesticide use continue at a breakneck pace_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 22, 2017 4:26 PM UTC  Bumble bee at the fly. Bumble bee at the fly.Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 22, 2017 4:26 PM UTC The rusty patched bumble bee [gained federal protection](https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/) Tuesday after the Trump administration removed its hold on listing the species as endangered. The listing, the first time a bumble bee species in the U.S has received protection under the Endangered Species Act, follows an 87% decline in the species population since the late 1990s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Rusty patched bumble bees now remain in just 13 states, down from 28. The endangered species classification was supposed to take effect in mid-February by order of the Fish and Wildlife Service under former President Obama, but the Trump administration pushed back the date to March, calling for further review following complaints from agriculture and other industry groups. Tuesday’s decision to list the bumble bee species as endangered came after the National Resources Defense Council [sued over the delay last month](https://www.nrdc.org/resources/suit-filed-nrdc-protect-rusty-patched-bumblebee). **Read More:** [How the Endangered Species Act Helps Save Humans, Too](http://time.com/4671860/endangered-species-act-reform-climate-change/) Pollinators like the rusty patched bumble bee play an essential role in maintaining the food supply, with bees in the U.S. pollinating more than 90 commercial crops including nuts, fruits and vegetables, according to an Obama-era White House [report](http://time.com/3888147/white-house-honeybees-plan/). “Pollinators are small but mighty parts of the natural mechanism that sustains us and our world,” said Tom Melius of the FWS in a [press release](https://www.fws.gov/midwest/news/861.html). “Without them, our forests, parks, meadows and shrublands, and the abundant, vibrant life they support, cannot survive.” **Read More:** [Why Restoring Nature Could Be the Key to Fighting Climate Change](http://time.com/4070683/nature-climate-change/) The Endangered Species Act has protected more than 1,000 species since it became law in 1973, though many Republicans in Washington want to [revise it](http://time.com/4671860/endangered-species-act-reform-climate-change/), arguing that it has failed to protect endangered species while also hurting business interests. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4709114/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4709114/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump/"},"headline":"A Bumble Bee Species Is Now Officially Endangered in the U.S.","datePublished":"2017-03-22T16:26:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:58:15.719Z","description":"The Trump administration had called for further review","url":"https://time.com/4709114/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump/","keywords":["animals","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7271c181b5f3747/6988bf6d8fd2ee45633563e1/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7271c181b5f3747/6988bf6d8fd2ee45633563e1/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"bumble bee endangered species trump","caption":"bumble bee endangered species trump","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"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/4709114/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump/","name":"A Bumble Bee Species Is Now Officially Endangered in the U.S."}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"More than 700 North American Bee Species Are Headed Toward Extinction","description":"Population levels of more than 700 North American bee species are declining as habitat loss and pesticide use continue at a breakneck pace","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fpxjrjdZ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-03-02T18:07:07.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fpxjrjdZ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4709114/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump/","duration":"PT50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4709114/bumble-bee-endangered-species-trump/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```