RustyPatchedBumblebee
This linocut print rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) is handprinted on Japanese white and yellow papers, 8" x 8" or (20.3 cm x 20.3). The rusty-patched bumble is a pollinator native to North America and was common here in Ontario as recently as the 1980s. It is now sadly on the brink of extinction, designated federal Species at Risk in Canada. On January 10, 2017, it was the first bee to be placed on the endangered species list in the US. Historically it had a large range in the eastern US from Maine to Tennessee and in Canada in southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. Its rapid decline is likely due to habitat loss, pesticide use, disease, competition with other species like the European honeybee and may be exacerbated by climate change.
In Ontario we are working on habitat recovery and searching for a queen Bombus affinis to try and establish a new colony.
Like other bumble bees it is yellow and black. It is a medium to large bee and males and workers have a distinctive rusty-coloured patch on the second segment of the abdomen. It lives on the nectar of many flowers and can be found in open habitat such as mixed farmland, urban settings, savannah, open woods and sand dunes.
RustyPatchedBumblebee
This linocut print rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) is handprinted on Japanese white and yellow papers, 8" x 8" or (20.3 cm x 20.3). The rusty-patched bumble is a pollinator native to North America and was common here in Ontario as recently as the 1980s. It is now sadly on the brink of extinction, designated federal Species at Risk in Canada. On January 10, 2017, it was the first bee to be placed on the endangered species list in the US. Historically it had a large range in the eastern US from Maine to Tennessee and in Canada in southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. Its rapid decline is likely due to habitat loss, pesticide use, disease, competition with other species like the European honeybee and may be exacerbated by climate change.
In Ontario we are working on habitat recovery and searching for a queen Bombus affinis to try and establish a new colony.
Like other bumble bees it is yellow and black. It is a medium to large bee and males and workers have a distinctive rusty-coloured patch on the second segment of the abdomen. It lives on the nectar of many flowers and can be found in open habitat such as mixed farmland, urban settings, savannah, open woods and sand dunes.