Critically Endangered
The Rusty-patched Bumblebee lives in the Northeastern US and a small area of Southeast Canada. They have lost an alarming amount of their grassland habitat, and have completely vanished from some of their former range. They used to live in 28 states and 2 Canadian provinces. Now though, they are only in one province and 13 states. There are measures in place to hopefully keep them from going extinct.
I'm allergic to bees but I love them, especially fuzzy clumsy looking bumblebees. I was at the lawn and garden store with my best friend before Covid hit, and there was what was the biggest bumblebee I'd ever seen. I swear the squeee noise I made was only heard by dogs up to a mile away. I instantly didn't hear anything my best friend said and was focused on tailing the bee in the hopes that it would decide I was as interesting as a flower and it would check me out. I didn't really get close to it, I'd never want to bother a wild animal, but I'm eternally optimistic that all the animals will love me as much as I love them.
You just posted about your project in a group, and with a little FB stalking, I found your page. I added it to my home screen so I can look through it. I am really looking forward to seeing what you have published here.
As a beekeeper, I have a love of all pollinators, and I am especially enamored of bees. I don't get to do anything with Bumbles, but it brings my heart such joy when I see them doing their thing among the flowers. Honeybees, they are very meticulous in their attention to the flowers them minister to, so you can watch the process. Bumble bees have a whole other way of working, so it's a quick bounce…