‘Are Bees Fish’ Argument May Lose in Endangered Species Case (1)

It turns out bees may not be fish, at least in one California courtroom.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge on Friday took under reconsideration a tentative ruling that set aside a state Fish and Game Commission’s decision that would have considered four species of bumblebees for protections under the California Endangered Species Act.

Insects aren’t specifically protected under the state law. But proponents of listing the Crotch, Franklin’s, Western, and Suckley cuckoo bumblebees argued that the pollinators fell under the definition of fish—which are eligible, because they are invertebrates and don’t have backbones.

In a tentative ruling issued Thursday, Judge ...