Gulf Coast solitary bee needs our help to survive | Southern Perspective

One may be the loneliest number, but when you get enough ones put together, that can still be a majority. Such is the case with solitary bees and colony bees. I'd never heard of solitary bees until I started doing research for this column. I thought all bees lived in colonies. It was simply one of the things that made them bees.

That shows you what I know. It turns out that roughly 90% of all bees are solitary bees. They don't live together, though they do closely neighbor at times. They're non-aggressive, because they don't make honey or wax and have nothing to guard. That means they're normally safe around kids and pets.

As a person who's moderately allergic to stings, that's my kind of bee. It's even more my kind of bee when it's a bee native specifically to this area, like the Gulf Coast solitary bee. "What? We have a bee?"

Gulf Coast solitary bee:Pensacola area's Gulf Coast solitary bee could be added to endangered species list

We do have a bee. It's a normal looking one of the black and yellow variety with hairy feet. The hair on females is different from the males, because it's needed to dig nests in the sand and carry pollen. I'm sure the bees can tell the difference, but me? Not a chance.

I can, however, spot the one and only plant they pollinate, the Coastal Plain honeycomb head, also called a "yellow button." I didn't know that's what it's called, but I recognized the flower from the dunes when I saw a photo.

Sometimes known as the Gulf Coast evening bee, it can now only be found in the coastal dunes and barrier islands of Florida's northern Gulf Coast. In 2012, scientists counted only 47 individual bees spotted within six sites. Can you imagine? That's a sad, little number of any one species of anything, especially something so small and vulnerable.

In late March, the Center for Biological Diversity filed for endangered Species status for the Gulf Coast solitary bee with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Representatives of the Center for Biological Diversity say if current trends continue, it won't be long before the bee is extinct. This seems so unacceptable for a member of the oldest family of bees on earth.

More Southern Perspective:Should we bother to correct stereotypes about Southerners?

I don't know how long the review process for these things is, but the Gulf Coast solitary bee doesn't have a lot of time. When it was originally described in 1993, there were 15 habitats scattered from Mississippi to the Panama City area. That was halved in less than 20 years.

Let's hope that 20 years from now, our Gulf Coast solitary bee is still buzzing strong. It will only happen with attention and intent on our part, so let's do what we can for this tiny introvert of a bee. We can start by sharing our space.

Southern gal Linda Barry is a freelance columnist for the News Journal.