Subscribe Sign up to receive new posts by email. Email Subscribe Search Categories Call for Data (11) Contributor Spotlight (34) Education and Awareness (61) General (35) Monthly Updates (9) Partner Spotlight (2) Quarterly Updates (24) Semiannual Updates (3) Taxon of the week (13) Yearly review (4) CNDDB News Blog All CNDDB Blog Posts Legal status of Bumble Bees in California October 6, 2021 Bombus occidentalis photograph by iNaturalist user @johnccnd (CC BY-NC 4.0) from Plumas County, California The California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) tracks 6 bumble bees (Bombus sp.) that are identified as species of greatest conservation need. Four of these bumble bees were petitioned to the State of California in 2018 and the Fish and Game Commission advanced them to candidacy in June 2019 (B. franklini, B. crotchii, B. occidentalis, B. suckleyi). This was challenged in court and in November 2020 the Superior Court ruled that insects are not eligible for listing under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). Pending ongoing litigation, no bumble bees have legal status under CESA and none are currently considered candidates for listing by the State. However, effective 23 September 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) as federally Endangered. Franklin’s bumble bee has one of the smallest ranges of Bombus spp. worldwide, only known from the Klamath Mountains region of northern California and southern Oregon. Franklin’s bumble bee has faced precipitous decline. The last known detection of Franklin’s bumble bee in California was in 1998 and the last known detection in Oregon was in 2006, the latter despite regular survey efforts to historic sites. Some fear this species may already be extinct. Common Name Scientific Name State Status Federal Status NatureServe State Rank Other Status Franklin's bumble bee B. franklini None Endangered S1 IUCN Critical Crotch bumble bee B. crotchii None None S1S2 IUCN Endangered western bumble bee B. occidentalis None None S1 IUCN Vulnerable Suckley's cuckoo bumble bee B. suckleyi None None S1 IUCN Critical obscure bumble bee B. caliginosus None None S1S2 IUCN Vulnerable Morrison bumble bee B. morrisoni None None S1S2 IUCN Vulnerable Additional resources: Overview of the listing process under CESA, Weiland et al. 2021, California Fish and Wildlife Journal, Special Endangered Species Issue:28-40 (PDF) Almond Alliance of California v. California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sacramento Superior Court No. 34-2019-80003216. Franklin’s bumble bee, USFWS Environmental Conservation Online System Franklin’s bumble bee species status assessment, USFWS 2018 Nature Serve Conservation Ranks International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Pollinators US Fish and Wildlife Service: Pollinators Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Program Categories: Education and Awareness Tagged: