I was recently sent an email by a friend of mine who is a botanist by trade but has entomological inclinations as well.He was interested if I had any encounters with what is believed to be a locally extinct form of Bumblebee. Insects are not exactly one of my areas of expertise and things that cause pain other then venomous snakes I tend to shy away from. I know there is no greater pool of knowledge on Barrens related topics then what exists here and I do remember at least on entomologist on site though I cannot remember the name of the individual.We are wondering if anyone here as recently seen Rusty or possible even been the recipient of His unwelcomed attentions.I only have been stung by a Bumblebee once and I was about ten at the time I still remember it being quite painful.It was technically my fault since I was playing Hide and Seek and I saw the seeker prowling around the wood edge looking for me.I was in a field of chest high weeds and asters.I dove into the weeds to escape detection and was promptly stung in the stomach by a Bumblebee.The instantaneous and extremely loud vocalizational protests on my part immediately resulted in my capture.At the moment all i was interested in was finding Mommy. I have no idea if this bee was Rusty or not.That would have been in Dividing Creek and i don't think Rusty was ever known to frequent the "Down Under" of the Barrens so it probably wasn't.In any case here is the info.Let me know if anyone has seen Rusty lurking in the Pines.He probably frequents iron springs hence the coloring.
The rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) was just listed as a federally-endangered species (links 1, 2). Based on specimens at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History (link 3), the species was historically reported from the New Jersey Pine Barrens, in Atlantic (east of Batsto), Burlington (Lebanon (Brendan Byrne) State Forest), and Ocean (Milepost 33 along Rt. 539) Cos. Those exploring the Pines should keep an eye out for this bee.
1. Status Report: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/pdf/SSAReportRPBB.pdf
2. Final Rule: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-01-11/pdf/2017-00195.pdf
3. New Jersey Collections at Smithsonian: http://collections.si.edu/search/re...w=&fq=place:"New+Jersey"&date.slider=&start=0
The rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) was just listed as a federally-endangered species (links 1, 2). Based on specimens at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History (link 3), the species was historically reported from the New Jersey Pine Barrens, in Atlantic (east of Batsto), Burlington (Lebanon (Brendan Byrne) State Forest), and Ocean (Milepost 33 along Rt. 539) Cos. Those exploring the Pines should keep an eye out for this bee.
1. Status Report: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/pdf/SSAReportRPBB.pdf
2. Final Rule: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-01-11/pdf/2017-00195.pdf
3. New Jersey Collections at Smithsonian: http://collections.si.edu/search/re...w=&fq=place:"New+Jersey"&date.slider=&start=0
