Endangered status: critically endangered

Region: Eastern North America

Threats: habitat degradation, pesticides, disease, climate change

References:

• Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (2018) Species Profiles: At-Risk Invertebrates: Rusty Patched Bumble Bee. From xerces.org

• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (2018) Species: Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Bombus affinis. From fws.gov

• IUCNRedList (2018) Species: Rusty Patched Bumble Bee. From icunredlist.org

• USDA U.S. Forest Service (2018) Why is pollination important. From fs.fed.us

The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee is considered critically endangered by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List and endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These little workers of nature are responsible for the pollinating of plants. What that means is, when the bees are ingesting nectar and pollen from a variety of plants they also spread pollen which plays an important role in the reproductive cycle of plant life. So without these little guys, along with the other species of bees that are endangered, we could be seeing loss of crops such as: blueberries, cranberries, tomatoes, and wild flowers.