How to help the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
Narrow Leaved Coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia)
Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
Silky Aster (Symphyotrichum sericeum)
Spotted Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Our native plants and animals have evolved together for hundreds of thousands of years, sometimes to the point that they cannot survive without each other. Though your local garden center may have a coneflower that is beautifully colored, it will not be the same coneflower our native wildlife depends on. It may not provide the same nutrient values in its nectar, or not provide the right diameter hollow for a bee to overwinter in.

The Rusty-Patched Bumblebee overwinters underground in Minnesota hardwood forests. Their burrows have been reported to be as deep as four feet. Though we are unsure of what they do down there, we do know that in spring, they are one of the first insects to emerge.
We will be starting a large selection of native seeds in early 2024, purchased with the help of our farmers market sales. This planting will include important plants for the Rusty-patched bee and Monarch butterfly. We will also be planting native spring ephemerals to benefit the first emerging bees in our farm forest.

Don’t have a hardwood forest in your backyard or an acre to dedicate to flowers? There is still a lot you can do. Bees and other native insects travel far and wide for food, and just a few of the right plants go a long way to help them. We recommend starting with a square of three by three feet and trying to start some native seeds. If that feels too overwhelming, wild bergamot, a favorite of many locals, does amazingly in pots.
We will be planting native plants appropriate for the Rusty-patched bumblebee in clusters in both our farmland and our residential home starting in 2024. We purchased our native seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery, located in Winona, Minnesota, and highly recommend them.