bumblebees, it has a round, black face and a U-shaped marking on
its back, right between the wings.
As far as bumblebees go, Franklin’s isn’t remarkable, except for
one thing: it has gone missing. Once common in alpine meadows
like this one, the bee seems to have vanished. Thorp hasn’t seen
one in ten years.
Slowly, Thorp walks from flower to flower, shoes crunching on the
craggy ground. In one hand, he holds a white net and in the other,
a device like a squirt gun. But this device doesn’t shoot water. It
slurps bees.
As he walks, he peers at each clump of flowers and inspects the
bees that are busily looking for food there. When he sees a bee that
deserves a closer look, he pauses, leans forward, raises the bee
vacuum, and takes aim.
ZEEEEEOOOP!
A bee flies through a meadow, looking for the nectar it needs to survive.
7
The Last Franklin’s Bumblebee
