The Disappearing Bumblebee

By Dennis O'Brien and Agricultural Research Service News Service
Published on August 16, 2011
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The western bumblebee, Bombus occidentalis.
The western bumblebee, Bombus occidentalis.
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Hunt's bumblebee, a native of the intermountain west, is being studied as a potential crop pollinator for greenhouses in the western United States, as an indigenous replacement for declining bumble bee species.
Hunt's bumblebee, a native of the intermountain west, is being studied as a potential crop pollinator for greenhouses in the western United States, as an indigenous replacement for declining bumble bee species.
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ARS entomologists James Strange, left, and Terry Griswold, right, and Utah State University graduate student Jonathan Koch inspect a nest of the western bumblebee, which is being reared as part of an effort to understand the effects of the pathogen Nosema bombi on colony development.
ARS entomologists James Strange, left, and Terry Griswold, right, and Utah State University graduate student Jonathan Koch inspect a nest of the western bumblebee, which is being reared as part of an effort to understand the effects of the pathogen Nosema bombi on colony development.

A
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist is trying to learn what is
causing the decline in bumblebee populations and also is searching for a
species that can serve as the next generation of greenhouse pollinators.

Bumblebees, like honeybees, are important pollinators of native plants and are used
to pollinate greenhouse crops like peppers and tomatoes. But colonies of Bombus occidentalis used for greenhouse

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