June 17, 2009
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| Robbin Thorp with a photo of Franklin's bumble bee on his computer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
DAVIS—Native pollinator specialist and researcher Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, is one of the key speakers at a public symposium on “The Plight of the Bumble Bees” on Monday, June 22 at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Thorp, a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences since 1986, will speak on “Western Bumble Bees in Peril.”
“The loss of a native pollinator could strike a devastating blow to the ecosystem, economy and food supply,” he says.
He recently spoke at a UC Davis Department of Entomology seminar on Franklin’s bumble bee, a bumble bee historically found only in southern Oregon and northern California that he fears may be extinct. See link to Webinar to view the seminar.
The symposium, themed “Plight of the Bumble Bees” and part of the National Pollinator Week activities June 22-28, will take place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Baird Auditorium of the National Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian is located at the corner of 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
Other speakers are:
- 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”
- Sydney Cameron and Jeff Lozier, University of Illinois, “Status and Trends of Midwestern and Southern Bumble Bees”
- Leif Richardson, Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, “Bumble Bee Trends in Northeastern North America.’
Buchmann received his doctorate in entomology from UC Davis in 1978. Thorp was his major professor.
Moderator is Michael Ruggiero, senior science advisor, Integrated Taxonomic Information (IT IS) of the Smithsonian Institution.
The event is sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, Smithsonian Institution, National Biological Information Infrastructure, Pollinator Partnership and 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.
Bumble Bees in Decline (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation)
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
