The bumble bee population is declining and some species are teetering on the brink of extinction.

That's the gist behind why three conservation groups and bumble bee researcher Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, are asking the federal government to impose regulations on the movement and health of commercial bumble bees to protect the declining native/wild  bumble bee population.

A Jan. 12th press release issued by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is drawing worldwide attention. The latest coverage came from the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Take Franklin's bumble bee. That's a bumble bee found only in a small stretch of southern Oregon and northern California. Robbin Thorp, a member of the Xerces Society, hasn't seen it for several years and fears it may be extinct.

You'll want to read the article on "Bumble Bees in Decline" on the Xerces Society Web site and look at the photos of the bumble bees that could be nearing extinction.

Two recent studies provide a direct link between diseases in commercial bumble bees and the health of wild bumble bees:

--Otterstatter, M.C., and J.D. Thomson. 2008. Does Pathogen Spillover from Commercially Reared Bumble Bees Threaten Wild Pollinators? PLoS One. Available online at http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0002771

--Colla, S.R., M.C. Otterstatter, R.J. Gegear, and J.D. Thomson. 2006. Plight of the Bumblebee: Pathogen Spillover from Commercial to Wild Populations. Biological Conservation 129: 461-467.

Otterstatter and Thomson note that wild bumble bees near greenhouses have higher pathogen loads (of Crithidia bombi and Nosema bombi) than bumble bees farther away from greenhouses.

Thar’s gold in them thar hills.

And also bumble bees.

If you visit the Sonoma County coastal town of Bodega Bay, and drive up to Bodega Head overlooking the ocean, you’ll see a carpet of gold flowers known as coastal goldfields or Lasthenia minor.

And you’re certain to see bumble bees nectaring those flowers.

Noted bumble bee expert Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor at UC Davis, says the most common species of  bumble bee at Bodega is the yellow face bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii.  The second most common? Bombus bifarius.

Goldfields are natives and so are bumble bees. Goldfields belong to the Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy or sunflower family.

Want to learn more about bumble bees? Bumble bees are very much in the news. Thorp wrote a piece for a UC Berkeley publication. He recently addressed the Smithsonian Institute on the plight of the Western bumble bees and gave a Webinar at the UC Davis Department of Entomology on Franklin's bumble bee, an insect he fears may be extinct.

Gordon Frankie, Robbin Thorp and colleagues also wrote the lead story on native bees, featured in the latest edition of California Agriculture.

It's good to see the plight of the bumble bees drawing so much interest and it's good to see all the bumble bees at Bodega Bay.

BB at BB.

The Smithsonian Institution is the place to "bee" on Monday, June 22.

UC Davis pollinator specialist and researcher Robbin Thorp will join other bumble bee experts from across the country in a "Plight of the Bumble Bees" public symposium from 10 a.m. to 12:30

The location: Baird Auditorium, National Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian is located at the corner of 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington D.C.

Thorp will discuss "Western Bumble Bees in Peril." Sydney Cameron and Jeff Lozier of the University of Illinois will examine "The Status and Trends of Midwestern and Southern Bumble Bees." Then Leif Richardson of the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife will cover "Bumble Bee Trends in Northeastern North America."

Other speakers:

• Stephen Buchmann, University of Arizona, "USA Native Bee Diversity: Rarity, Threats and Conservation Ideals"
• Paul Williams, Natural History Museum, London, "A Global View of Bumble Bees and Their Conservation Status."

Michael Ruggiero of the Smithsonian Institution will moderate. He's the senior science advisor of the Smithsonian's Integrated Taxonomic System (ITIS).

Following the symposium, bumble bee experts and other scientists will continue to meet at the Smithsonian for the next two and a half days to discuss concerns about the declining bumble bee population.

The symposium is part of  National Pollinator Week, which starts Monday, June 22 and continues through Sunday, June 28.

Thorp delivered a presentation on Franklin's bumble bee May 27, during one of the UC Davis Department of Entomology's noonhour sessions. Franklin's bumble bee, feared extinct or nearing extinction, is found only in one part of the world:  southern Oregon and northern California. Thorp's talk was Webcast.

Thorp, a member of the California Academy of Sciences since 1986, says that the loss of a native pollinator "could strike a devasting blow to the ecosystem, economy and food supply."

Locally, we've noticed far fewer bumble bees than in past years. Last summer we spotted a few in the UC Davis Arboretum (see below). This is the yellow-faced bumble bee or  Bombus vosnesenskii, the most common Califonria bumble bee.

Not so common any more.

“I've got black bumblebees buzzing around our backyard like crazy,” the caller said. “They're loud. Very loud. They're dive-bombing and scaring the cat and dog. I've never seen anything like this before.”

The unwelcome visitors were not bumblebees. They were carpenter bees.

Carpenter bees? No, they don't know how to read blueprints or frame floors and walls. They nest in weathered wood, like your fence posts, utility poles or firewood. They tunnel into your deck, railing, shingles and shutters. 

They are pests.  But they're also pollinators. Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, professor emeritus at the UC Davis Department of Entomology, fields many calls about carpenter bees.

This one pictured below is a male carpenter bee,  Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex Smith NB, Thorp says. It is stealing nectar from the base of the flower.  They also spend a lot of time cruising around chasing everything that enters their territory.”

Contrary to popular opinion, carpenter bees don't consume wood.  If you don't want them around, paint or varnish your wood. You can also plug their (unoccupied) holes with steel wool or caulk, or screen the holes so they don't return.

The female and male carpenter bees that nectar the salvia (sage) in our bee friendly garden are about the size of bumblebees. “Robust” comes to mind.  Okay, fat. They're fat.  

Their abdomens are bare and a shiny black. If you photograph them, you'll see your own reflection. It's like seeing your reflection in a black Lamborghini.

The female carpenter bees are a solid black, while the male carpenter bees are lightly colored around the head.

In comparison, bumblebees have hairy abdomens with at least some yellow markings.

If I were a carpenter and you were a…nah, I'd rather be a bumblebee.