Endangered species of bumblebee confirmed found in Michigan
A photo of a bumblebee found near Kalamazoo, Michigan, was used to confirm the presence of a species rarely seen in recent decades.
The photo of the rusty patched bumblebee was reported to iNaturalist and has since been shared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Facebook.
"While Michigan was part of this bee's historic range, since 2000 this bee has only been reported in 13 states and 1 Canadian province: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada," the fish and wildlife service said. "Shout out to Nathan Rank for sharing this amazing discovery!"
It does not seem likely, based on the information available about the discovery, that the particular bee hitched a ride on an out-of-state vehicle.
That being said, researchers have not found any additional bees from that species in Southwest Michigan. It can often be mistaken for another species. Those who have seen a bee they can't identify are invited to send the images via a message to the fish and wildlife agency.
This particular bee species has two distinguishing visual features: specifically, a rusty patch on its abdomen and a T-shaped area of black hairs.
There are 46 species of bumblebees considered native to North America, the agency explained to its Facebook followers. The rusty patched bumblebee historically lived in parts of the eastern and midwestern United States and parts of southern Canada.
The population experienced a noticeable decline for reasons that researchers haven't confirmed. By 2017, the rusty patched bumblebee was listed as an endangered species.
"To successfully identify bumblebees, you should become familiar with the bumblebee species found in your area along with their distinguishing features," the agency said.