DENTON, NEB – An ‘at-risk’ bumble bee has been found in Nebraska.

The Spring Creek Audubon Center reports a sighting of a Southern Plains Bumble Bee at the tallgrass prairie near Denton.

The bumble bee is classified as a Tier 1 at-risk species and Species of Greatest Conservation Need by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

The sighting was by Joel Sartore, a National Geographic photographer and founder of the National Geographic Photo Ark, which photographs species on the brink of extinction.

Sartore: “It was a surprising discovery. I always love visiting the prairie, but this identification made it that much more special. I’m excited to share the photos through the National Geographic Photo Ark.”

 

 

Katie Lamke, a bumble bee conservation specialist for the Xerces Society, said it is one of four bumble bee species listed as “at risk” in Nebraska.

She said Nebraska is on the edge of the bumble bees’ range.