DOCSLIB.ORG

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Bombus Affinis the U.S

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Bombus Affinis the U.S U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Bombus affinis The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the rusty patched bumble bee as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Endangered species are animals and plants that are in danger of becoming extinct. Identifying, protecting and recovering endangered species is a primary objective of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species program. What is a rusty patched bumble bee? Appearance: Rusty patched bumble bees live in colonies that include a single queen and female workers. The colony produces males and new queens in late summer. Queens are the largest bees in the colony, and workers are the smallest. All rusty Photo courtesy of Christy Stewart patched bumble bees have entirely black heads, but only workers and Reproduction: Rusty patched males have a rusty reddish patch bumble bee colonies have an annual Why conserve centrally located on the back. cycle. In spring, solitary queens rusty patched bumble bees? emerge and find nest sites, collect As pollinators, rusty patched nectar and pollen from flowers Habitat: Rusty patched bumble bumble bees contribute to our food and begin laying eggs, which are bees once occupied grasslands and security and the healthy functioning fertilized by sperm stored since tallgrass prairies of the Upper of our ecosystems. Bumble bees mating the previous fall. Workers Midwest and Northeast, but most are keystone species in most hatch from these first eggs and grasslands and prairies have been ecosystems, necessary not only for colonies grow as workers collect lost, degraded, or fragmented by native wildflower reproduction, but food, defend the colony, and care conversion to other uses. Bumble also for creating seeds and fruits for young. Queens remain within bees need areas that provide nectar that feed wildlife as diverse as the nests and continue laying and pollen from flowers, nesting sites songbirds and grizzly bears. (underground and abandoned rodent eggs. In late summer, new queens cavities or clumps of grasses), and and males also hatch from eggs. Bumble bees are among the most overwintering sites for hibernating Males disperse to mate with new important pollinators of crops such queens (undisturbed soil). queens from other colonies. In as blueberries, cranberries, and fall, founding queens, workers and clover and almost the only insect males die. Only new queens go into pollinators of tomatoes. Bumble diapause (a form of hibernation) bees are more effective pollinators over winter - and the cycle begins than honey bees for some crops again in spring. because of their ability to “buzz pollinate.” The economic value Feeding Habits: Bumble bees gather of pollination services provided Illustrations of a rusty patched pollen and nectar from a variety of by native insects (mostly bees) is bumble bee queen (left), worker flowering plants. The rusty patched estimated at $3 billion per year in (center), and male (right) by Elaine emerges early in spring and is one of the United States. Evans, The Xerces Society. the last species to go into hibernation. It needs a constant supply and Bumble bees can absorb toxins Wisconsin to make bee-friendly diversity of flowers blooming directly through their exoskeleton conservation improvements to their throughout the colony’s long life, and through contaminated nectar land. Improvements include the April through September. and pollen. Rusty patched bumble practices of planting cover crops, bees nest in the ground and may be wildflowers, or native grasses and Range: Historically, the rusty susceptible to pesticides that persist improved management on grazing patched bumble bee was broadly in agricultural soils, lawns and turf. lands. distributed across the eastern United States and Upper Midwest, from Global climate change: Climate Research: Researchers are studying Maine in the U.S. and southern changes that may harm bumble bees and monitoring the impacts of Quebec and Ontario in Canada, south include increased temperature and GMO crops and certain pesticides to the northeast corner of Georgia, precipitation extremes, increased on pollinators. Efforts by citizen reaching west to the eastern edges of drought, early snow melt and late scientists and researchers to North and South Dakota. Its range frost events. These changes may lead determine the status of declining bee included 28 states, the District of to more exposure to or susceptibility species are underway throughout the Columbia and 2 provinces in Canada. to disease, fewer flowering plants, United States. Since 2000, this bumble bee has been fewer places for queens to hibernate reported from only 13 states and and nest, less time for foraging due to What can I do to help conserve the 1 province: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, high temperatures, and asynchronous rusty patched bumble bee? Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, flowering plant and bumble bee Garden: Grow a garden or add a Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, spring emergence. flowering tree or shrub to your yard. Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Even small areas or containers on Wisconsin – and Ontario, Canada. What is being done to conserve rusty patios can provide nectar and pollen patched bumble bees? for native bees. Why is the rusty patched bumble bee U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: declining? Several Service programs work Native plants: Use native plants in Habitat loss and degradation: Most to assess, protect, and restore your yard such as lupines, asters, prairies and grasslands of the Upper pollinators and their habitats. Also, bee balm, native prairie plants Midwest and Northeast have been the Service works with partners to and spring ephemerals. Don’t converted to monoculture farms or recover endangered and threatened forget spring blooming shrubs developed areas, such as cities and pollinators and pollinator-dependent like ninebark and pussy willow! roads. Grasslands that remain tend to plants. Concern about pollinator Avoid invasive non-native plants be small and isolated. declines prompted formation of the and remove them if they invade North American Pollinator Protection your yard. For more information Intensive farming: Increases in Campaign, a collaboration of people on attracting native pollinators, farm size and technology advances dedicated to pollinator conservation visit www.fws.gov/pollinators/pdfs/ improved the operating efficiency of and education. The Service has a PollinatorBookletFinalrevWeb.pdf. farms but have led to practices that Memorandum of Understanding with harm bumble bees: increased use the Pollinator Partnership to work Natural landscapes: Provide natural of pesticides, loss of crop diversity together on those goals. The Service areas - many bumble bees build nests resulting in flowering crops being is a natural collaborator because our in undisturbed soil, abandoned rodent available for only a short time, loss of mission is to work with others to burrows or grasss clumps. Keep some hedgerows with flowering plants, and conserve, fish, wildlife, and plants and unmowed, brushy areas and tolerate loss of legume pastures. their habitats. bumble bee nests if you find them. Reduce tilling soil and mowing where Disease: Pathogens and parasites Other Efforts: Trusts, conservancies, bumble bees might nest. Support may pose a threat, although their restoration groups and partnerships natural areas in your community, prevalence and effects in North are supporting pollinator initiatives county and state. American bumble bees are not well and incorporating native plants that understood. support bees and other pollinators Minimize: Limit the use of pesticides into their current activities. For and chemical fertilizer whenever Pesticides: The rusty patched example, the USDA Natural possible or avoid them entirely. bumble bee may be vulnerable to Resource Conservation Service Pesticides cause lethal and sublethal pesticides. Pesticides are used widely is working with landowners in effects to bees and other pollinators. on farms and in cities and have both Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, lethal and sublethal toxic effects. North Dakota, South Dakota, and January 10, 2017.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus Affinis) Voluntary Implementation Guidance for Section 10(A)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act
    The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis) Voluntary Implementation Guidance for Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act Version 1.1 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Regions 3, 4, 5 and 6 March 21, 2017 Contents Background and Purpose ................................................................................................................ 1 Current Versions of this Guidance .................................................................................................. 1 Range of Rusty Patched Bumble Bee .............................................................................................. 1 Brief Description of the Habitat Model ...................................................................................... 2 Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act and the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee .............. 5 Screening and Evaluation of Projects – A Stepwise Approach ................................................... 5 Step 1. Determine whether the rusty patched bumble bee is likely to be present in the project area. ............................................................................................................................ 5 Step 2 - Review the Project for its Potential to Incidentally Take the Species ....................... 8 Step 3 - Review Measures to Avoid Incidental Take of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee ...... 14 Conservation Measures ............................................................................................................ 15 Restore and Maintain High Quality Habitat
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing Bumble Bee Diversity, Distribution, and Status for the Michigan Wildlife Action Plan
    Assessing Bumble Bee Diversity, Distribution, and Status for the Michigan Wildlife Action Plan Prepared By: Logan M. Rowe, David L. Cuthrell, and Helen D. Enander Michigan Natural Features Inventory Michigan State University Extension P.O. Box 13036 Lansing, MI 48901 Prepared For: Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division 12/17/2019 MNFI Report No. 2019-33 Suggested Citation: Rowe, L. M., D. L. Cuthrell., H. D. Enander. 2019. Assessing Bumble Bee Diversity, Distribution, and Status for the Michigan Wildlife Action Plan. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Report Number 2019- 33, Lansing, USA. Copyright 2019 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. MSU Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status or family status. Cover: Bombus terricola taken by D. L. Cuthrell Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ iii Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Museum Searches ....................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bumble Bees Are Essential
    Prepared by the Bombus Task Force of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) Photo Sheila Colla Rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affi nis Declining North American Bumble Bees Photo David Inouye Western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis Bumble Bees Helping Photo James Strange are Pollinators Essential Thrive Franklin bumble bee, Bombus franklini Bumble Bee Facts Photo Leif Richardson Globally, there are about 250 described species Some bumble bee are known to rob fl owers of bumble bees. They are found primarily in the of their nectar. Nectar robbing occurs when temperate zones of North and South America, a bee extracts nectar from a fl ower without and Eurasia. coming into contact with its reproductive Yellow-banded bumble bee, Bumble bees are documented to pollinate parts (i.e. anthers and/or stigma), usually Bombus terricola many important food crops. They are also more by biting a hole at the base of the fl ower. Photo Ron Hemberger effective than honey bees at pollinating crops Bumble bees are effective buzz pollinators grown in greenhouses. of several economically important plants in When most insects are inactive due to cold the family Solanaceae such as tomato, bell temperatures bumble bees are able to fl y by pepper and eggplant. In buzz pollination warming their fl ight muscles by shivering, bees extract pollen from a fl ower by American bumble bee, enabling them to raise their body temperature vibrating against the fl ower’s anthers, Bombus pensylvanicus as necessary for fl ight. making an audible buzzing noise. Instead of starting their own colonies, some Currently, the Common Eastern bumble bee bumble bee species have evolved to take over (Bombus impatiens) is the only species being another species’ colony to rear their young.
    [Show full text]
  • Western Bumble Bee,Bombus Occidentalis
    COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Western Bumble Bee Bombus occidentalis occidentalis subspecies - Bombus occidentalis occidentalis mckayi subspecies - Bombus occidentalis mckayi in Canada occidentalis subspecies - THREATENED mckayi subspecies - SPECIAL CONCERN 2014 COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: COSEWIC. 2014. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Western Bumble Bee Bombus occidentalis, occidentalis subspecies (Bombus occidentalis occidentalis) and the mckayi subspecies (Bombus occidentalis mckayi) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xii + 52 pp. (www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/default_e.cfm). Production note: COSEWIC would like to acknowledge Sheila Colla, Michael Otterstatter, Cory Sheffield and Leif Richardson for writing the status report on the Western Bumble Bee, Bombus occidentalis, in Canada, prepared under contract with Environment Canada. This report was overseen and edited by Jennifer Heron, Co-chair of the COSEWIC Arthropods Specialist Subcommittee. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: 819-953-3215 Fax: 819-994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Également disponible en français sous le titre Ếvaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur le Bourdon de l'Ouest (Bombus occidentalis) de la sous-espèce occidentalis (Bombus occidentalis occidentalis) et la sous-espèce mckayi (Bombus occidentalis mckayi) au Canada. Cover illustration/photo: Western Bumble Bee — Cover photograph by David Inouye, Western Bumble Bee worker robbing an Ipomopsis flower. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2014.
    [Show full text]
  • Bumblebee Conservator
    Volume 2, Issue 1: First Half 2014 Bumblebee Conservator Newsletter of the BumbleBee Specialist Group In this issue From the Chair From the Chair 1 A very happy and productive 2014 to everyone! We start this year having seen From the Editor 1 enormously encouraging progress in 2013. Our different regions have started from BBSG Executive Committee 2 very different positions, in terms of established knowledge of their bee faunas Regional Coordinators 2 as well as in terms of resources available, but members in all regions are actively moving forward. In Europe and North America, which have been fortunate to Bumblebee Specialist have the most specialists over the last century, we are achieving the first species Group Report 2013 3 assessments. Mesoamerica and South America are also very close, despite the huge Bumblebees in the News 9 areas to survey and the much less well known species. In Asia, with far more species, many of them poorly known, remarkably rapid progress is being made in sorting Research 13 out what is present and in building the crucial keys and distribution maps. In some Conservation News 20 regions there are very few people to tackle the task, sometimes in situations that Bibliography 21 make progress challenging and slow – their enthusiasm is especially appreciated! At this stage, broad discussion of problems and of the solutions developed from your experience will be especially important. This will direct the best assessments for focusing the future of bumblebee conservation. From the Editor Welcome to the second issue of the Bumblebee Conservator, the official newsletter of the Bumblebee Specialist Group.
    [Show full text]
  • PETITION to LIST the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Bombus Affinis
    PETITION TO LIST The rusty patched bumble bee Bombus affinis (Cresson), 1863 AS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES UNDER THE U.S. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Female Bombus affinis foraging on Dalea purpurea at Pheasant Branch Conservancy, Wisconsin, 2012, Photo © Christy Stewart Submitted by The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation Prepared by Sarina Jepsen, Elaine Evans, Robbin Thorp, Rich Hatfield, and Scott Hoffman Black January 31, 2013 1 The Honorable Ken Salazar Secretary of the Interior Office of the Secretary Department of the Interior 18th and C Street N.W. Washington D.C., 20240 Dear Mr. Salazar: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation hereby formally petitions to list the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq. This petition is filed under 5 U.S.C. 553(e) and 50 CFR 424.14(a), which grants interested parties the right to petition for issue of a rule from the Secretary of the Interior. Bumble bees are iconic pollinators that contribute to our food security and the healthy functioning of our ecosystems. The rusty patched bumble bee was historically common from the Upper Midwest to the eastern seaboard, but in recent years it has been lost from more than three quarters of its historic range and its relative abundance has declined by ninety-five percent. Existing regulations are inadequate to protect this species from disease and other threats. We are aware that this petition sets in motion a specific process placing definite response requirements on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and very specific time constraints upon those responses.
    [Show full text]
  • Illegal Incidental Take of Rusty Patched Bumble Bee in Minnetonka: Notice of Intent to Sue for Violations of the Endangered Species Act
    Via Email and Certified Mail/Return Receipt Requested August 5, 2020 City of Minnetonka Brad Wiersum, Mayor, [email protected] Geralyn Barone, City Manager, [email protected] 14600 Minnetonka Blvd. Minnetonka, MN 55345 Re: Illegal Incidental Take of Rusty Patched Bumble Bee in Minnetonka: Notice of Intent to Sue for Violations of the Endangered Species Act To Whom It May Concern at the City of Minnetonka: On behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of Lone Lake Park, I hereby provide notice that the Center intends to bring a lawsuit against you (in your official capacity) and the City of Minnetonka (collectively, “the City”) for violating the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544. Specifically, the City has authorized a mountain bike course that has caused and will continue to cause unlawful “take” of the endangered rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), an animal protected under the ESA, without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”). To prevent further harm to bee and comply with the law, the City must immediately develop a “habitat conservation plan” and apply for an “incidental take permit.” If you do not do so within the next 60 days, you would be subject to a lawsuit in the United States District Court to enjoin construction of the mountain bike course. We provide this letter pursuant to the citizen suit provision of the ESA. 16 U.S.C. § 1540(g)(2). BACKGROUND I. The Endangered Species Act Prohibits Unpermitted “Take” of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Under Section 9 of the ESA, it is unlawful for any person to “take” an endangered species.
    [Show full text]
  • Bumble Bees of Virginia
    Many bumble bees WHAT CAN YOU DO? VIRGINIA WORKING LANDSCAPES are in decline. Plant native plants! Bumble bees need a stable source of nectar and pollen throughout the growing season, so plant a B u m b l e B e e s suite of native flowers that bloom from early spring to fall. Native plants are recommended because they are beneficial to other insects and wildlife as well. For tips on gardening with native plants, visit the of Virginia Virginia Native Plant Society’s website at: www.vnps.org Bombus impatiens colony, T’ai Roulston Reduce or stop using pesticides! If you use pesticides, visit www.xerces.org to learn Bumble bees are invaluable pollinators. We which chemicals are the most toxic to bees and rely on them to pollinate our fruits, vegetables, how and when to apply pesticides in order to and thousands of native plant species. minimize impacts to bees. Many of our North American bumble bees are Protect the nest! experiencing steep population declines. For Bumble bees nest in the ground during the summer example, the once common Bombus affinis, the and queens overwinter just an inch or two below the rusty-patched bumble bee, has declined by soil’s surface. If you see an area of your yard with a lot of bee activity, do not disturb it if possible. Post- roughly 80% and is only found in isolated areas pone tilling and other soil disturbance practices in within its historic range. Threats to bumble this area in the early spring to allow queens to bees include parasites, disease, habitat loss, emerge.
    [Show full text]
  • Conservation Management Guidelines for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus Affinis) Version 1.6 February 27, 2018
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Department of the Interior Conservation Management Guidelines for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis) Version 1.6 February 27, 2018 Photograph by Tamara Smith, UWFWS Table of Contents Background 1 Species Needs and Targets 1 Needs 1 Management Objectives and Targets for High Quality Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Habitat 4 1. Objective One – Create, enhance, or maintain foraging habitat 4 2. Objective Two – Create, enhance, or maintain nesting habitat 5 3. Objective Three – Create, enhance, or maintain overwintering habitat 5 4. Objective Four – Create, enhance, or maintain target habitat features 5 Actions that Could Cause Take 6 Conservation Management Recommendations 6 Protect, Create, Restore, and Maintain Habitats 6 Prescribed Fire 7 Mowing/Haying 9 Grazing 10 Pesticide Use 11 Insecticide Use 11 Herbicide Use 12 Commercial Bumble Bees 13 Commercial Honey Bees 13 Coordinated Management among Nearby Sites 14 Literature Cited 15 Background On January 11, 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published the final rule to list the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2017). The listing became effective on March 21, 2017. For more information about the species, as well as guidance under the Endangered Species Act, visit our website www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb. The purpose of this document is to provide voluntary management guidance to help FWS, other federal agencies, state agencies, private landowners and land managers manage their land to benefit the rusty patched bumble bee.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing the Potential for Deep Learning and Computer Vision to Identify Bumble Bee Species from Images Brian J
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Assessing the potential for deep learning and computer vision to identify bumble bee species from images Brian J. Spiesman1*, Claudio Gratton2, Richard G. Hatfeld3, William H. Hsu4, Sarina Jepsen3, Brian McCornack1, Krushi Patel5 & Guanghui Wang5,6 Pollinators are undergoing a global decline. Although vital to pollinator conservation and ecological research, species-level identifcation is expensive, time consuming, and requires specialized taxonomic training. However, deep learning and computer vision are providing ways to open this methodological bottleneck through automated identifcation from images. Focusing on bumble bees, we compare four convolutional neural network classifcation models to evaluate prediction speed, accuracy, and the potential of this technology for automated bee identifcation. We gathered over 89,000 images of bumble bees, representing 36 species in North America, to train the ResNet, Wide ResNet, InceptionV3, and MnasNet models. Among these models, InceptionV3 presented a good balance of accuracy (91.6%) and average speed (3.34 ms). Species-level error rates were generally smaller for species represented by more training images. However, error rates also depended on the level of morphological variability among individuals within a species and similarity to other species. Continued development of this technology for automatic species identifcation and monitoring has the potential to be transformative for the felds of ecology and conservation. To this end, we present BeeMachine, a web application that allows anyone to use our classifcation model to identify bumble bees in their own images. Bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) serve a critical role in most terrestrial ecosystems as pollinators of crops and natural plant communities e.g.,1–3.
    [Show full text]
  • Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge (Lake Huron Islands Managed by Shiawassee NWR)
    U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge (Lake Huron islands managed by Shiawassee NWR) Habitat Management Plan October 2018 Little Charity Island 2013. (Photo credit: USFWS) Michigan Islands NWR: Shiawassee NWR Habitat Management Plan Habitat Management Plans provide long-term guidance for management decisions; set forth goals, objectives, and strategies needed to accomplish refuge purposes; and, identify the Fish and Wildlife Service’s best estimate of future needs. These plans detail program planning levels that are sometimes substantially above current budget allocations and as such, are primarily for Service strategic planning and program prioritization purposes. The plans do not constitute a commitment for staffing increases, operational and maintenance increases, or funding for future land acquisition. The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the world's premier system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants. Since the designation of the first wildlife refuge in 1903, the System has grown to encompass more than 150 million acres, 556 national wildlife refuges and other units of the Refuge System, plus 38 wetland management districts. Michigan Islands NWR: Shiawassee NWR Habitat Management Plan Table of Contents Signature Page .................................................................................................................................ii Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Decline and Conservation Status of North American Bumble Bees
    Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-2011 The Decline and Conservation Status of North American Bumble Bees Jonathan B. Koch Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Koch, Jonathan B., "The Decline and Conservation Status of North American Bumble Bees" (2011). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 1015. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1015 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE DECLINE AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF NORTH AMERICAN BUMBLE BEES by Jonathan Berenguer Koch A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Biology Approved: ________________________ ________________________ Dr. James P. Pitts Dr. James P. Strange Major Professor Committee Member ________________________ ________________________ Dr. David N. Koons Dr. Byron R. Burnham Committee Member Dean of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2011 ii Copyright © Jonathan Berenguer Koch 2011 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT The decline and conservation status of North American bumble bees by Jonathan Berenguer Koch, Master of Science Utah State University, 2011 Major Professor: Dr. James P. Pitts Department: Biology Several reports of North American bumble bee (Bombus Latreille) decline have been documented across the continent, but no study has fully assessed the geographic scope of decline. In this study I discuss the importance of Natural History Collections (NHC) in estimating historic bumble bee distributions and abundances, as well as in informing current surveys.
    [Show full text]