For the first time in the continental United States, a bee species has been added to the endangered species list.

The rusty patched bumblebee joins seven other bee species native to Hawaii that are now protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The rusty patched bumblebee lives in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada.

According to the American Beekeeping Federation, bees contribute over $14 billion to the value of U.S. crop production, which means that many of the goods you see at your local grocery store would not exist without them. Some crops like blueberries and cherries are 90 percent dependent on honey bee pollination and other crops like almonds depend entirely on it.

Having bees on the endangered species list is making local beekeepers nervous, and not for their own business, but for the fate of our nation.

"It's out of sight, out of mind," said Michael Hott, beekeeper and owner of Hot Apiary, LLC. "A lot of people just think you can go to the grocery store and pick up your vegetables. They don't understand that they're there for a reason. Farmers, yes, but farmers pay us to pollinate their places so they have the yields that they look for."

Hott hopes that through education, people will understand that bees do more than just produce honey.

Hott Apiary will host a Honeybee Festival on May 13, 2017. The festival will consist of backyard beekeeping workshops, live bee hive demonstrations and more.

WHSV will provide you with more information on the event as the time gets closer.