Bees Are Now Fish In CA: Court Ruling

CALIFORNIA — Four species of bees were legally designated as fish, according to a ruling from a California appeals court.

Officials weighed whether the bumble bee could be defined as a fish in order to become eligible for a list of endangered species under the California Endangered Species Act.

The state had not previously identified insects as eligible creatures for protection, just "birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles and plants," according to court documents.

The California Court of Appeal in Sacramento reversed a lower court's ruling for agricultural groups that argued that bees should be protected.

As a terrestrial invertebrate, bumblebee species may now be listed as endangered or threatened.

The fight to reclassify bees started in 2019 as a lawsuit between large agricultural groups in the state, particularly almond and citrus growers, and the California Fish and Game Commission.