SOMETHING FISHY?
A look at bees and why they are now considered fish under certain circumstances in California
A ruling released May 31 by California’s Third District Court of Appeals ruled bees can legally be considered fish under specific circumstances.
The ruling reversed a 2019 judgment that found bumblebees could not be considered fish under the California Endangered Species Act.
Roughly 250 plant and animal species are protected by the act, which prohibits the import, export, possession, purchase or sale of listed species.
In 2018, several public interest groups petitioned to list four species of bumblebee as endangered species under the act: Crotch’s bumblebee, Franklin’s bumblebee, Suckley’s cuckoo bumblebee and the Western bumblebee. The potential listing prompted lawsuits from agricultural groups that were concerned about the costs of adherence to the new requirements.
California does protect some insects under the federal Endangered Species Act.
“Although the term fish is colloquially and commonly understood to refer to aquatic species, the term of art employed by the Legislature in the definition of fish in Section 45 is not so limited,” said the court in its ruling.
The California Endangered Species Act was designed to protect “native species or subspecies of a bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile or plant.”
Notably, invertebrates are absent from the list of protected species.
But in a loophole for insects, mollusks and other spineless creatures falling under the umbrella term “invertebrate,” the act itself defines a fish as “a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian or part, spawn or ovum of any of those animals.”
Expanding the definition of fish to include invertebrates makes them eligible for greater protection from the Fish and Game Commission, wrote the court.
Four of the top 10 pollinators are bee species, according to AgPollinators.org:
1. Wild honeybees. Native honeybees are the most commonly known pollinator. They are “volunteers” that work tirelessly pollinating a variety of crops. According to a Natural Resources Conservation Service publication, certain crops — such as blueberries, apples and cherries — are 90% dependent upon honeybee pollination.
2. Managed bees. Managed honeybee hives consisting mainly of European honeybees are kept commercially to serve the agriculture industry. Commercial beekeepers will bring their hives into a farmer’s field for a few days to a few weeks to pollinate the crop. California’s almond crop relies on 3 million honeybee colonies to pollinate over 615,000 acres of orchards every year.
Commercial beekeepers also use bumblebees to help farmers pollinate crops. Bumblebees are a necessity, because honeybees won’t work gathering pollen when it’s raining or even overcast.
4. Other bee species. There are approximately 4,000 bee species in the U.S. Many also visit flowers; they are gathering pollen and/or nectar as food, and pollination is simply a byproduct that nature has taken advantage of.
5. Butterflies. Butterflies are not as efficient as bees at pollination. Eight butterfly species are known to pollinate.
6. Moths. Moths are the unseen pollinators of flowers that open at night. Four kinds of moths act as pollinators.
7. Wasps. Several wasps are categorized as pollinators by the USDA’s Forest Service. The paper wasp, yellow jacket and Sphecidae wasp are examples of those needing pollen and nectar for survival.
8. Other insects. There is a handful of flies and beetles, and even one species of mosquito, that are pollinators.
9. Birds. The most common pollinating varieties throughout the U.S. are hummingbirds, which are key for wildflowers.
10. Bats. Two bat species, the lesser long-nosed bat and the Mexican long-tongued bat, drink nectar from flowers and act as pollinators.