Species Status Assessment (SSA) Report for the Yellow Banded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola) Version 1.1 Kent McFarland October 2018 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region Hadley, Massachusetts 1 Acknowledgements Gratitude and many thanks to the individuals who responded to our request for data and information on the yellow banded bumble bee, including: Nancy Adamson, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS); Lynda Andrews, U.S. Forest Service (USFS); Sarah Backsen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); Charles Bartlett, University of Delaware; Janet Beardall, Environment Canada; Bruce Bennett, Environment Yukon, Yukon Conservation Data Centre; Andrea Benville, Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre; Charlene Bessken USFWS; Lincoln Best, York University; Silas Bossert, Cornell University; Owen Boyle, Wisconsin DNR; Jodi Bush, USFWS; Ron Butler, University of Maine; Syd Cannings, Yukon Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada; Susan Carpenter, University of Wisconsin; Paul Castelli, USFWS; Sheila Colla, York University; Bruce Connery, National Park Service (NPS); Claudia Copley, Royal Museum British Columbia; Dave Cuthrell, Michigan Natural Features Inventory; Theresa Davidson, Mark Twain National Forest; Jason Davis, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife; Sam Droege, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); Daniel Eklund, USFS; Elaine Evans, University of Minnesota; Mark Ferguson, Vermont Fish and Wildlife; Chris Friesen, Manitoba Conservation Data Centre; Lawrence Gall, Yale University, Peabody Museum of Natural History; Robert Gegear, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Lea Gelling, British Columbia Ministry of Environment; Jason Gibbs, University of Manitoba - R. E. Roughley Museum of Entomology; Jennifer Heron, British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy; Krista Holmes, Canadian Wildlife Service Ontario, Environment and Climate Change Canada; Molly Jacobson, USFWS and University of New Hampshire; Rob Jean, Environmental Solutions & Innovations, Inc.; Guy Jolicoeur, Environment Canada, Quebec Colin Jones, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; Ann Juette, South Dakota Department of Agriculture; Lara Katz, NPS; Cherry Keller, USFWS; John Klymko, Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre; Eric Lofroth, British Columbia Ministry of Environment Cynthia Loftin, University of Maine; Rebecca Longnecker, USFWS; Suzanne Mason, North Carolina Natural Heritage Program; Bryce Maxell, Montana Natural Heritage Program; Marge Meizer, Alberta Canada Conservation Data Centre; Joan Milam, University of Massachusetts; Amy Nicholas, USFWS; Becky Nichols, NPS; Judith Ratcliffe, North Carolina Department Natural and Cultural Resources; Eric Rayfield, Appalachian State University Sandra Rehan, University of New Hampshire; Leif Richardson, University of Vermont and all of the contributors to the unpublished database ‘Bumble Bees of North America’. The list of data sources and their organizations for this database is at http://www.leifrichardson.org/bbna.html and in Williams et al. 2014; Lindsay Ries, NPS; Myra Robertson, Environment Canada Laura Russo, Pennsylvania State University; Laura Saucier, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; Jennifer Selfridge Frye, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Cory Sheffield, Royal Saskatchewan Museum; Derek Sikes, University of Alaska Sven-Erik Spichiger, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; Beth Swartz, Phillip DeMayndier, Charlie Todd, Maine Department of Inland Fish and Wildlife; Todd Tisler, USFS Lisa Twolan, Environment Canada Quebec; Dragomir Vujnovic, Alberta Environment and Parks; J.B. Wallis, University of Manitoba-R. E. Roughley Museum of Entomology; Jay Watson, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Rachael Winfree, Rutgers University. 2 Thanks to Leif Richardson, University of Vermont and all of the contributors to the unpublished database ‘Bumble Bees of North America’. The list of data sources and their organizations for this database is at http://www.leifrichardson.org/bbna.html and published in Williams et al. 2014, which states the following: In order to produce the book's maps, graphs of seasonal activity patterns and lists of host plants, Leif Richardson gathered digital records of bumble bee specimens from museums, academic collections and private collectors. They also received some larger, aggregate datasets from individuals who had collected bee data for other purposes. The database included nearly 275,000 records of bumble bee specimens collected around North America from 1805 to the present. Leif Richardson continues to add to the database in order to use it for additional research and conservation projects, and as of August, 2018, it contains more than 500,000 specimen and observation records for North American bumble bees. This effort has benefited from contributions by more than 100 individuals and/ or institutions, and the data describe bee specimens held in more than 150 collections around the world. Below is a partial list of individuals and institutions that Leif Richardson gratefully acknowledge as direct contributors to this resource and to publications that are based on it. A full list of collections in which the specimens reside is available upon request. Data contributors to the Bumble Bees of North America: an Identification Guide (Williams et al. 2014) include: James Strange and Jonathan Koch, USDA-ARS Bee Biology and Systematics Lab; Doug Yanega, University of California, Riverside (NSF-DBI #0956388 and #0956340); John Ascher, American Museum of Natural History; Illinois Natural History Survey; Canadian National Collection; Lawrence Gall, Peabody Museum, Yale University; Rachael Winfree, Rutgers University; Sheila Colla, Wildlife Preservation Canada; Lawrence Packer Lab research collection, York University; Virginia Scott, University of Colorado, Boulder Museum of Natural History; Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra, Vermont Center for Ecostudies; Zuzu Gadallah, Environment Canada; Sam Droege, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; Ohio State University; Cory Sheffield, Royal Saskatchewan Museum; Douglas Golick, Nebraska Bumbleboosters; Jennifer C. Thomas, Snow Entomology Museum, University of Kansas; Rob Jean, Saint Mary of the Woods College; Rebecca Irwin, Dartmouth College; Elaine Evans, University of Minnesota; Heather Hines, North Carolina State University (now at Penn State University); Kyle Martins, McGill University; Neal Williams, University of California, Davis; Sherry Surrette, University of Mississippi; Caroline Scully, Antioch University New England; Joel Gardner, University of Minnesota; James Thompson, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory; Derek Sikes, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Karen Wetherill, Valles Caldera National Preserve; Jessica Beckham, University of North Texas; Leif Richardson, Dartmouth College; Michael Arduser, Missouri Department of Conservation; Rich Hatfield and Sarina Jepsen, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Paul H. Williams, Natural History Museum; Michael Veit, Lawrence Academy; Joseph Moisan-DeSerres , Université Laval; David Fraser; Robbin Thorp Research Collection; John Klymko, Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Center; Kevin Matteson, Fordham University; Joan Milam, University of Massachusetts; J. Ogden, Nova Scotia 3 Department of Natural Resources; Insectarium René-Martineau, Canadian Forestery Service, Quebec City; Michael Warriner, Texas Parks and Wildlife; University of Guelph; McGill University; Anna Beauchemin; Patricia Hinds; L'Association Le Balbuzard; Michel Savard; Jamie Cromartie, Stockton College; Victoria Macphail; Nacho Bartomeus, Rutgers University; Doug Gill, University of Maryland; Dan Fiscus, Frostburg University; Norwich University; Fred Morrison; Nova Scotia Museum; Gary Antweiler; Royal Ontario Museum; Liz Day; Bernd Heinrich, University of Vermont. Thanks to John Fisher, USFWS National Conservation Training Center for his technical support. Thanks to the Region 3 Rusty Patched Bumble Bee SSA Team and contributions from Andrew Horton, Tamara Smith, and Jennifer Szymanski. Thank you to the individuals who provided review, comments, and expertise for the YBBB SSA Report including: Jim Boyd, Curtis Bradbury, Sydney Cannings, Louise Clemency, Sheila Colla, Phillip deMaynadier, Elaine Evans, Danielle Flynn, Jason Gibbs, Krishna Gifford, David Goulson, Anna Harris, David W. Inouye, Eva Lewandowski, David Lincicome, Kristin Lohr, Rebecca Longenecker, Bryce Maxell, Martin Miller, Karen Newlon, Neil D. Niemuth, Robyn Niver, Jon Regosin, Leif Richardson, Rex Sallabanks, R. Todd Shaw, Beth Swartz, Paul Thompson, Charlie Todd, Allan Trently, Pandy Upchurch, Kristen Voorhies, Nathan Webb, and David Withers. Contributing YBBB SSA Report Authors (listed alphabetically): K. Hastie, E. Knoll, S. Lary, E. LeFlore, D. Smith, C. Snyder, and L. Stevenson. Suggested reference: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2018. Species Status Assessment for the Yellow Banded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola), Version 1.0 October 2018. Hadley, MA. 4 Executive Summary This species status assessment reports the results of the comprehensive status review for the yellow banded bumble bee (Bombus terricola) and provides a thorough account of the species’ overall viability. The yellow banded bumble bee (YBBB) is a bumble bee species native to the United States and Canada. The species occurs primarily in mixed woodland and wetland habitats. To evaluate the biological status of the YBBB both currently