The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is studying the populations of two species of bumblebees found across North America which are under consideration for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Western bumblebees and yellow-banded bumblebees can be found from Alaska to North Carolina and in Canada.
The study to investigate if their populations warrant protection was spurred by the Environmental Defense Fund who says the bees are important pollinators for native plants as well as commercial crops.
The group says those populations are being threatened by pesticides and a parasite which was introduced by commercially raised bees that were brought to the U.S. from Europe to pollinate greenhouses.
The environmental group says the bees are declining mostly along coasts and in river valleys where commercial farming is widespread.