Events

Creating Healthy Habitat for Bombus affinis, the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee
Presented by Fayette Aurelia Nichols

Photo: Joan Sayres

Bumble bee health depends on good nutrition.  In 2017, Bombus affinis, the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee, became our first bumble bee to be listed as federally endangered.  But it's not alone.  Many of our pollinators are dwindling as they face a cascade of synergistic stressors.  So, how can we help them?  What will work to stabilize and rebuild their populations?  Learn what ecosystems B. affinis inhabits, the stages of its life cycle, what its habitat needs are, and what specific plants in our area offer healthy bumble bee nutrition throughout its life cycle.  By learning how to support the recovery of B. affinis, we can also safeguard many of our other pollinators.