As numbers dwindle, how you can help preserve the Beehive State's 1,100 bee species

Utah may have gotten its nickname for the importance it places on industry, but did you know the Beehive State has more than 1,000 species of bees — more than any other landmass east of the Mississippi River?

And many of them can now be spotted at the University of Utah, which recently became the state's first school to be named a "Bee Campus USA" by insect conservation nonprofit Xerces Society due to the university's work creating bee-friendly environments and fighting to save dwindling bee populations.

The effort is happening even as a study this year by researchers at Indiana University found that many species are dying off worldwide — about 25% fewer species were found between 2006 and 2015 than before 1990.

Forty percent of the country's honey bee populations are also in decline, said Amy Sibul, instructor in the U. School of Biological Sciences and adviser for the student Beekeeper's Association.

"When people think of the word bee, they think of honey bee, but they don't understand that there are so many other species of bees in Utah," Sibul said.

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