For Your Information – As recently as 30 years ago, the rusty-patched bumble bee was one of the most common in TORONTO. In the past 15 years, it has become exceedingly rare and is listed as endangered in Ontario and Canada. Suspected causes of the species’ decline include climate change, pesticide use, spread of disease and loss of habitat. The rusty-patched bumble bee was once an important pollinator of wildflowers. – Chris Darling, senior curator, Entomology, Royal Ontario Museum, TORONTO.

Photo: Susan Day/UW–Madison, Wisconsin Arboretum – Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee