The Chicago Botanic Garden last week announced a new visitor to its acres of plantings, and it comes with wings and a jaunty orange patch on its back.
The federally endangered rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis) was sighted this summer foraging at the gardens for pollen and nectar, a finding that suggests that private gardens could help support populations of native pollinators.
Nick Dorian — a Synthesis Center for Conservation and Restoration fellow in the Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action — was in the gardens with a student in July, collecting data for a research project for home gardeners about how they can support pollinators. Suddenly, he and his student both saw the bumblebee, sporting its distinct rusty patch, like a logo on a sports jersey. Later in the session, they saw it again and began snapping photos…