Bombus (Bombus) affinis Cresson, 1863

Bombus (Bombus) affinis Cresson, 1863 View in CoL

Rusty-patched Bumble Bee

Notes: This once-familiar species, now listed as “Federally Endangered” in the United States ( United States Fish and Wildlife Service 2017) and “Special Concern” in Connecticut (Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 2015b), is evidently extirpated from the state. The last known specimen was a female collected between 3–5 June 1997 in the town of Guilford (New Haven County) by C. T. Maier. Host records for Connecticut include greater burdock ( Actium lappa ), summersweet ( Clethra alnifolia ), quince ( Cydonia sp. ), golden currant ( Ribes auruem ), white clover ( Trifolium repens ), apple ( Malus spp. ) and cranberry ( Vaccinium macrocarpon ), in habitats such as agricultural land, school grounds, a red maple swamp, and among ericaceous shrubs in an acidic bog with red spruce ( Picea rubens ). Wagner et al. (2014a, 2019) reported the absence of B. affinis in their studies of ROW in Connecticut, and CAES wild bee surveys conducted from 2010–2021 throughout Connecticut (unpublished), and the lack of records on community science portals from Connecticut and vicinity (see Veit et al. 2022[“2021”]) reaffirm its absence in the state. Its distinct coloration make it a likely candidate to be detected if it reappears here, as an increasing number of community science “bee watchers” on biodiversity portals such as iNaturalist and BugGuide routinely report it from where it persists such as the Upper Midwest and more locally in West Virginia and western Virginia.