A Conservation Spotlight: The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

The rusty patched bumble bee is a gorgeous bee, richly colored in yellow and black with a distinctive rusty brown marking on its back. It holds a special place in history: In January 2017, it became the first bee in the continental U.S. to be listed under the Endangered Species Act, and in May of this year, 1.5 million acres of land were designated as critical habitat, the largest area of critical habitat ever declared for an insect. To tell us the story of how this bumble bee went from...