Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Pollen Metagenome

Publication Date

2020-12-22

Start Date

1913-08-04

End Date

2013-08-01

Cornman, R.S., Iwanowicz, D.D, and Simanonok, M.P., 2020, Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Pollen Metagenome: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P921C7I9.

In 2017 the rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) became the first bee species listed under the Endangered Species Act in the continental United States. Listing was due to population declines and an 87% reduction in the species’ distribution across the Midwest and Eastern U.S. The timeline of B. affinis range contraction predates modern bee surveying initiatives, thereby obfuscating drivers of decline and knowledge of their foraging ecology. While understood to be a highly generalist forager, little is known on the role that limited floral resources or shifting floral community composition could have played in B. affinis decline. Furthermore, determining which floral species provide suitable B. affinis forage could assist conservation efforts where B. affinis persists, identify floral species for restoration efforts, or highlight regions to search for cryptic populations.

• Eastern Ecological Science Center
• USGS Data Release Products