The Search for the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee () on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge- Winona District Michelle Turton, Wildlife Biologist USFWS, Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge-Winona District, Winona, MN: [email protected]

Introduction Methods Rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) was listed as endangered ○ USFWS Survey Protocols for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus under the Act on January 11, 2017. Its affinis) Version 1.2 population has decline by 87% since the 1990s due to habitat loss, disease, , and climate change [1-6]. -Protocol 2 -Presence/Absence Data

B. affinis is a eusocial bee species forming colonies consisting of a ○ This non-lethal protocol involved capturing bumble bees and single queen, female workers, and males. B. affinis has an annual photographing them before releasing. Common Eastern Bumble Bee () Two-Spotted Bumble Bee (Bombus bimaculatus) Half-Black Bumble Bee () colony life cycle with only new fertilized queens going into diapause Sampling time was one person-hour per three acres of quality (a form of hibernation) over the winter months [6] . Native to a variety ○ of habitats in the Midwest and Northeast of the United States, B. habitat. affinis can be found in prairies, woodlands, and urban areas [1-2]. B. affinis is dependent on diverse and abundant flowering species from ○ Each site was sampled three evenly spaced times during field season. mid-April to mid-October [1]. builds nest 1-3ft below ground B. affinis ○ Data was collected with ArcGIS Collector using three different feature often in abandoned rodent or similar cavities. In order to be classes. successful, B. affinis requires adequate overwintering sites. Queens overwinter a few centimeters below the surface in uncompact soil -Habitat data (site size, number of forbs, etc.) or leaf litter with a preference of sandy northwest exposures [1 & 4]. -Day of survey data (date, temperature, number of surveyors, etc.)

The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is Black and Gold Bumble Bee (Bombus auricomus) American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) -Individual bee data (species, sex, plant species used, etc.) Northern Amber Bumble Bee (Bombus borealis) around 240,000 acres located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and along the Mississippi River. The Refuge has prioritized maintaining and improving pollinator habitat. In order to properly improve and pollinator habitat, the Refuge needs a pollinator species inventory. The Winona District of the Refuge (Pool 4-6) currently lacks a comprehensive pollinator species inventory for its prairies.

There are over 400 native bee species in Minnesota, and a current two-year backlog for external native bee identification from the National Protocol Framework for the Inventory and Monitoring Bees. With the listing of B. affinis under the Endangered Species Act, this lethal bee protocol is not appropriate for all locations. With only 21 Red-Belted Bumble Bee (Bombus rufocinctus) Brown-Belted Bumble Bee () Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis) species of native bumble bees in Minnesota, conducting a non-lethal survey for bumble bee species is more feasible with Refuge resources. Discussion Figure 4: Prairie Island B. affinis was present on two of the three sites. Question: What species of bumble bees are present on the Winona District of the Refuge? A 2018 survey season is planned for the same three sites to continue to build a Figure 3: Wabasha Prairie North and Wabasha Prairie South bumble○ bee inventory. It is advisable to sample the same sites for at least three ○consecutive years . Results Conducting surveys to look at population trends of B. affinis is the next stage after completing a bumble bee inventory. Sampling season was June 15, 2017 through August 31, 2017. ○ The survey was easy to teach adult volunteers and would make a great outreach Three sites selected for sampling (figure 3 and 4) ○ tool to get more individuals involved with the Refuge. -Wabasha Prairie North (22.68 acres) ○ ○ -Wabasha Prairie South (44.78 acres) Acknowledgements -Prairie Island (9.07 acres) 567 individual bumble bees were captured and documented. Data collection, entry, and survey coordination were conducted by numerous Refuge staff and volunteers. Special thanks to BumbleBeeWatch.org for helping with identification and 9 different species were recorded including B. affinis. USFWS Minnesota-Wisconsin Field Office for guidance. ○ ○ -8 species on Wabasha Prairie North For more information on USFWS Survey Protocols for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Figure 1: Refuge volunteers collecting and recording bumble bees during Figure 2: Rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus ○ the 2017 field season. affinis) on prairie ( purpurea). -8 species on Wabasha Prairie South (Bombus affinis) Version 1.2 ○https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/pdf/SurveyProtocolRPBB6June2017. -6 species on Prairie Island pdf

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