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10-Minute Presentation

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-min: P-IE, Conservation and Pollinators

Misidentified and unverifiable records impede conservation of the declining bee Bombus suckleyi (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Tuesday, November 11, 2025
10:00 AM - 10:12 AM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, E147-148, OCC
Oral Presentation
The cuckoo bumble bee Bombus suckleyi has experienced massive declines and currently inhabits only a fraction of its former range. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found that endangered species status is warranted for B. suckleyi. However, efforts to assess and conserve B. suckleyi have been hampered by uncertainty about the current status and historic range of this species due to the lack of verified records and identification difficulties. For example, there is uncertainty about the northern and southern limits of the historic range of B. suckleyi. Focusing on the United States, we set out to verify all recent records of B. suckleyi, confirm the historic range, and to better pinpoint when exactly B. suckleyi experienced declines. Although B. suckleyi persists in Canada, we have determined that the last time B. suckleyi was seen in the U.S. was in 2015 in northern Montana. All other recent (post-2010) records that we have been able to assess have been based on misidentifications or are unverifiable due to a lack of specimens or photos. Overall, historic and recent erroneous records have served to obscure the extent of the decline of B. suckleyi and hindered our ability to make informed conservation decisions.