We Rusty Patched Bumble bees were listed as endangered in 2017. Our numbers have dropped by 87% and we are found in less than .1% of our historical range. Originally, we lived in much of the eastern and midwestern United States and a bit of Canada. As more and more people moved to these places, the prairies and grasslands where we used to live were turned into farms and cities (habitat destruction). The first farms that people built where I lived were small and had many types of crops. I could still find food in or around the fields in hedgerows. Most farms are now much bigger and use practices that produce more crops for people but mean that there is nothing for me to eat. Pesticide and chemical fertilizer use is also deadly to me (habitat degradation). I can absorb these toxins directly through my exoskeleton and through contaminated nectar and pollen. 

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The little bit of grassland that remains is split up and far apart (habitat fragmentation). I am small, so I can’t fly too far from my nest. I need a variety of food available near me. Global climate change is altering where I live. When snow melts early or frost happens late, the flowers I rely on for food for me and my children may bloom early, late or not at all. It may be hotter, wetter or drier than I can tolerate. If it gets too hot during the day, I cannot go look for food. I cannot change fast enough. [12]