A pamphlet to help identify and conserve bumble bees in Iowa is available from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. The pamphlet includes an identification guide to 16 species of bumble bees that have been found in Iowa, including the rusty-patched bumble bee that is listed as Endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. A description of the importance of bumble bees and bumble bee conservation actions are included on the tri-fold brochure created with funding provided by the Iowa Living Roadway Trust Fund.
Copies of the pamphlet can be obtained by contacting Sarah Nizzi, the Xerces Society Farm Bill Pollinator Conservation Planner and NRCS Partner Biologist at sarah.nizzi@xerces.org. JPG files are attached below or the PDF can be downloaded here. https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/18-028_0.pdf
If you want to know more about bumble bees, see the Xerces Society webpage where you will find a link to join Bumble Bee Watch, a citizen science project to document species diversity and distribution.
Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Yard and Garden, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on May 10, 2019. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.