The Maine Bumble Bee Atlas (MBBA) is funded by Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (State Wildlife Grant program), and contributions to the Maine Endangered and Non-game Wildlife Fund (loon license plate and Chickadee Check-off on Maine state income tax form). MBBA is designed as a multi-year, statewide survey of bumble bees using citizen scientists. The Maine Department of I
nland Fisheries & Wildlife (MDIFW) is partnering with the University of Maine at Orono and Farmington to coordinate and train volunteers, maintain and analyze survey data, and assess the current status of all Bombus spp. documented to occur in Maine. Of the 17 species of bumble bees known to have occurred in Maine, three are ranked as globally rare by NatureServe (2014): the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis) (G1), the American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) (G3G4), and the Yellowbanded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola) (G2G4). A fourth species, Ashton’s Cuckoo Bumble Bee (Bombus ashtoni), has not been found in over a decade and is currently ranked GH (historic - possibly extinct). In 2013, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation filed a petition to list the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee as an Endangered Species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This species has not been observed in Maine since 1983 and is possibly extirpated. Ten of our 17 species are currently proposed as Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the 2015 update to Maine’s State Wildlife Action Plan. Because comprehensive statewide occurrence data is lacking, MDIFW does not have the ability to confidently assess status and trends in the face of regional and rangewide conservation concerns. In 2013, NatureServe partnered with MDIFW and other northeastern fish and wildlife agencies to develop state species lists and ranks based on the limited data that was available. They also provided training in bumble bee identification and monitoring, and showcased the successful Vermont Bumble Bee Survey (http://www.vtecostudies.org/vtbees/). This alliance built a foundation for MDIFW from which the Maine Bumble Bee Atlas is an essential next step. MBBA also specifically addresses directives outlined in a recent Presidential Memorandum (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/20/presidential-memorandum-creating-federal-strategy-promote-health-honey-b) to promote pollinator health, and recommendations from The Heinz Center (2013) for incorporating native pollinators into State Wildlife Action Plans
