The search for Maine’s missing native bumble bees

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 17, 2026

This summer, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is once again asking residents to look out for one of Maine’s most elusive native species: the rusty patched bumble bee. It’s one of two native species of bumble bee that hasn’t been seen in the state in years. It’s considered a rare species of special concern by the state, and was the first bumble bee species to be added to the U.S. Endangered Species List. It’s hard to know exactly what caused the decline, said Beth Swartz, a wildlife biologist specializing in invertebrates at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. But it was likely a combination of factors: diseases, pesticides and habitat loss.