Bombus franklini
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin's_bumblebee
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Franklin's bumble bee faces extinction primarily due to habitat loss from agricultural conversion and urban development in its extremely limited range. Disease transmission from commercial bumble bee colonies used in greenhouse agriculture has severely impacted wild populations. Climate change compounds these pressures by altering the timing of flower blooms that the species depends on for nectar and pollen.
Habitat
Franklin's bumble bee inhabits high-elevation meadows, grasslands, and forest edges in the Cascade and Siskiyou mountain ranges of southern Oregon and northern California. The species requires diverse wildflower communities for foraging and suitable nesting sites in underground cavities or dense vegetation.
