Buzzworthy: Listing the Franklin's bumble bee under the ESA, 15 years after it was last seen

Entomological Society of America
Symposium Section
Session: Conserving Insects in a Vertebrate-minded World by Sharing Stories of Challenges and Success Across Taxonomic Boundaries
ABSTRACT
Buzzworthy: Listing Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) under the Endangered Species Act, 15 years after it was last seen
Jeff Everett, Fish & Wildlife Biologist, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Orgon Fish & Wildlife Office, Portland, Oregon.
Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, in September of 2021. Franklin’s is only the second bumble bee and the ninth bee overall listed under the ESA. Bumble bees are relatively new to the ESA as compared to other taxa. Very little is known about Franklin’s bumble bee specifically, and little is understood about Bombus in general, which presents significant challenges to delivering meaningful conservation for Franklin’s bumble bee. Franklin’s is narrowly endemic relative to other North American bumble bees and the reasons for this are poorly understood. Franklin’s has always been rare on the landscape, and bumble bees are constantly on the move, making detection even more difficult. The most important thing we can do for Franklin’s bumble bee is to find it, and we are refining where and how we do exactly that combined with an increase in surveys and a groundswell of pollinator conservation.