LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Mojave desert has some new tiny residents — and their presence has removed concerns about their endangerment.
On Friday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) shared with Channel 13 that new populations of the Mojave poppy bee were recently discovered.
The Service said that the bee's "small range and reliance on the blooms of just a few host plants during its brief, days-to-week-long lifespan" caused concern, and research into whether or not the insect required protection under the Endangered Species Act.
According to officials, this new discovery allowed the Service to make the call that the bees' resilience did not make their protection necessary.
The Mojave poppy bee has made its home in Clark County, Nevada, as well as in Arizona and California, and feed only on prickly popppies and the Las Vegas bearpoppy, making them floral-specifists.
You can learn more about the bees by clicking here.
