Pollinator Patch - Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

Many of you can likely identify a bumblebee in the garden. Its characteristic bumbling flight and fat, fuzzy body are unique in the bee world. But how many of you can identify any of the ~40 species that live in Canada?

Highly effective pollinators, bumblebees are usually the first bees active in the spring and the last bees active in the autumn. Their claim to fame is "buzz pollination," also called sonication. In order to be successfully pollinated, some flowers - like those of tomatoes, peppers, cranberries & blueberries - must be vibrated or shaken, similar to the action of a salt shaker. Bumble bees are very efficient buzz pollinators. The bees grab the flower and vibrate (sonicate) their flight muscles at roughly the same frequency as a middle C musical note. There is an audible buzz as the bees enable pollination, hence the name.

The Rusty-patched Bumble Bee is one example of a Canadian bumblebee. Although it was once very common throughout southern Ontario, extensive searches for it by scientists have resulted in the observation of only three specimens in Canada over the past 6 years. The decline in its population has been so drastic that in April 2010, it was added to the Canadian Species At Risk registry as an endangered species, giving it the dubious distinction of becoming the 1st federally listed bee in North America.

Identifiable by the rusty patch (not bands) on its abdomen, this bee is a habitat generalist - active in mixed farmland, savannah, sand dunes, wetlands, urban environments, and lightly wooded areas from April to October. Sue Chan writes that the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee is thought to be an important pollinator of both agricultural and native flowering plants because it forages for a longer period than most other bumble bees and is found in such varied habitats.*

This summer, the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee Project will be searching for suitable habitat to locate populations where they can begin a captive breeding and re-release program which will be the first of its kind in North America. Like many bumblebees, the rusty-patched bumblebees are easily reared in captivity - one reason that bumblebees are used globally to pollinate food crops. Once they establish good numbers of disease-free captive colonies, mated queens will be released in the fall to good quality habitat so they can overwinter and establish new colonies in the spring time.

Want to Help?

  • Make a contribution towards Wildlife Preservation Canada
  • Help reverse the loss of native pollinator habitat by protecting or planting native flowering plants on your property.
  • Let colonies of native bees exist on your property - bumblebees and other bees are quite docile when undisturbed and usually will only sting when trapped.
  • Support organic agriculture in Ontario

Be a citizen-scientist! Pay attention to the flowering plants around you - if you think you see a Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee, take a photograph and take note of the date, time and place that you observed the bee. Send photographs with time & place information to info@beefriend.org or post the photos and information to the project’s facebook page or Wildlife Preservation website.

Photo Credit: Johanna James-Heinz

References and Further Resources:

Sue Chan’s website: Beefriend.org

*Sue Chan, A Landowner’s Guide to Conserving Native Pollinators in Ontario

Wildlife Preservation Canada website

Rusty-Patched Bumblebee Project facebook page

Rusty-Patched Bumblebee Ontario Recovery Strategy Series, MNR Ontario



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