What’s the U.S. Bee Lab, and why we should protect it

What’s the U.S. Bee Lab, and why we should protect it



Bee colonies across the country are collapsing and wild bee species are hurtling towards extinction.

And, the Bee Lab, a small but mighty department that helps research and protect bees, might lose its funding. If we want to have a fighting chance at saving the bees, we first need to save the Bee Lab.
What is the Bee Lab?

The Bee Lab is the only federal program that works to identify, study, and monitor American bee species.

Housed in the U.S. Geological Survey, the lab consists of two scientists working to understand bees, from their genetics to their ecological importance. However small, this duo has been the backbone of bee research for decades.
What does the Bee Lab do?

Nearly every bee researcher– and many advocates and conservationists– has relied on the lab for invaluable data. That’s because the Bee Lab is the only federal entity with the expertise to identify native bees.

The researchers catalogue and monitor over 4,000 bee species, studying their behavior and habitat needs. And, the Bee Lab documents species variations with stunning macro photographs.

To assist researchers, from students to scientists, the lab provides free online tools, including a database of all their activity that is open to public use. Around 500 publications have referenced it.

And, to study how bees interact with plants and other wildlife, the lab also cultivates a large and thriving pollinator garden that attracts bees, monarchs and many other species. It’s so successful that conservation groups, park departments, academics and more come to the garden to learn and to use samples native plants for their work.

Without the Bee Lab’s work, advocates and scientists will not have the resources they depend on to save the bees from extinction. Bees, wildlife and people will suffer without their work.
Brooke Alexander | Public DomainBrooke Alexander | Public DomainBrooke Goggins | Public Domain

Why is it more important than ever to protect bees?

There are over 4,000 species of bees in the U.S, but because of habitat loss, pesticide use and more, they’ve been dying at unprecedented rates. Since 1947, the U.S. honeybee population has declined by 60%.

Bees are lynchpins of our ecosystems— they’re essential to so many other types of wildlife. They pollinate the flowers and trees that provide shelter and fruit to other species.

And, bees pollinate many of the agricultural crops we eat every day, like tomatoes and blueberries. The plight of bees poses a gigantic threat to the wildlife around us, but also the food that nourishes us. That’s where the Bee Lab comes in.
What we can do to save the Bee Lab

As we’ve pointed out to Congress for years, there’s a lot of wasteful spending in the federal government, but this small program is just not an example of that. The small investment in bee research is hugely important.

That’s why we’ve been sending messages to U.S. House Representatives urging them to save the Bee Lab. But we need your voice to make our message clear to them: pollinator research matters, and we will not let the bees die.