WISCONSIN—Even with snow on the ground, the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is all abuzz over rare bumble bees that call the David R. Obey Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center home. And, the return of the rare golden northern bumble bee, not seen in northern Wisconsin for almost 70 years, is cause for much excitement!

Sporting such common names as the lemon cuckoo bumble bee, the confusing bumble bee, the Sanderson bumble bee, the yellow-banded bumble bee, the northern amber bumble bee and the golden northern bumble bee, the presence of this bumble bee the visitor center is anything but common.

First recorded in Bayfield County in 1953, the golden northern bumble bee is typically found in the warmer climates of southern Wisconsin and as far south as Arkansas. In August 2021, during a seed gathering event in the center’s native seed orchard, the busy bumble bee was spotted pollinating flowers. It was spotted pollinating native plants that Interpretive Services Specialist and master gardener Susan Nelson along with volunteers and coworkers lovingly nurtured to maturity.

Bumble bees are extremely important pollinators for agriculture both in the field and in greenhouses. This makes them excellent pollinators for a variety of crops in temperate regions. But these minorities in the bee world are shrinking in occurrence on the landscape. “These species are seeing steep declines,” said Eric North, Forest Service ecologist. “Their habitat loss due is due to many factors. Urban sprawl, pollution, invasive species of plants choking out vital food sources, pesticide use, commercial honeybees’ diseases that also affect bumble bees and climate change all have an impact on the bumble bees’ niche.”

That is why this bumble bee discovery is so important. “What’s really exciting is that these bees are showing us that we are doing a good job of providing nectar sources and suitable nesting habitat through our restoration activities at the center,” said North.

The more biodiverse the plant community, the more niches for pollinator species.

But the habitat at the center was not always suitable. “When we first began this project in 2007 at the center, the area was overrun by a non-native invasive species including a species of reed canary grass from Europe,” said Susan Nelson.

European reed canary grass is a particularly aggressive species. It’s a cool-season perennial that invades wetlands and floodplains. It can also grow in dry soils in shady wooded areas. That’s when they went to work: mowing, tilling and seeding winter rye and applying chemical spray to eliminate reed canary grass and other non-native species. Weed barrier was installed in 2008 to smother remaining nonnative vegetation in preparation for planting.

The first planting of over 1,500 native plants in 2009 was successful with a 95% survival rate. The following summer, 4,500 plants were planted by Forest Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Youth Conservation Corps Crews. Today, more than 16,000 native plants provide food for pollinators. Even a solar-powered electric fence was installed to protect native plantings from deer browse.

“In just 14 years, we converted this area to a place that now sustains almost a hundred native plant species including forbs, grasses, and sedges,” said Nelson. Black-eyed Susan, giant sunflower, butterfly weed, pearly everlasting, prairie phlox and Michigan lily, once choked by the non-native invasive species, began to thrive in the soils in the Aldo Leopold Native Seed Orchard, part of the Children’s Forest at the center.

The native seed orchard also serves as a seed collection site, producing over 100 pounds of seed annually for ecosystem restoration projects. 
And this biodiverse habitat is attracting more than rare bees. The number of butterflies attracted to the plot continues to increase as the garden thrives. Helping to keep the garden thriving are citizen science volunteers, such as University-Extension certified master gardeners and master naturalists.

“Their involvement helps to maintain the area, collect and process seeds, rear native plants for other restoration sites, and conduct and report pollinator surveys,” said Nelson.

The seed orchard also provides opportunities to learn more about surveying natural resources. For instance, the center is planning a Bumble Bee ID and monitoring workshop in spring 2022 through a partnership with the Xerces Society. Participants will learn how to identify various bumble bees and specific monitoring protocols for doing surveys. Once those skills sets are shared with volunteers and the protocols adopted, North hopes to implement them in the Moquah Barrens Management area in a long-term data-gathering effort.