2nd Place: Investigating bumble bee (Bombus) nesting in three different habitat types

Bumble bees (Bombus) are an important group of organisms responsible for the pollination of many crops and wild plants. However, many North American bumble bee species are facing wide-spread decline driven by habitat loss, pesticide drift, and infectious diseases. A large majority of bumble bee publications focus on foraging habitat and floral preferences. This leaves a large gap in our knowledge regarding another important aspect of bumble bee life history: Nesting habitat. Worldwide there are only ~60 published studies investigating bumble bee nesting. Only one of which takes place in the Midwestern US where the endangered rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) now primarily resides. My research focuses on investigating bumble bee species nesting habitat preferences and developing protocol to find bumble bee nests in an efficient and standardized fashion. I will survey forest, prairie, and edge habitats for nesting bumble bees from June to July during the 2022 and 2023 field seasons. These surveys will collect valuable natural history information on variety of bumble bee species regarding their habitat choices. The results of this study will inform management of bumble bee nesting habitat and help develop protocol for finding bumble nests more effectively.