1. The rusty patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis, is federally endangered in the United States and Canada. Information on natural history is crucial to conservation planning, but little is known about B. affinis nesting biology, habitat, overwintering, and mating behaviours. We report observations on three B. affinis nests in Minnesota and Wisconsin found in 2020. Previous to this report, there were only four published descriptions of B. affinis nests, with the last nest recorded nearly 30 years ago. Here, we share findings on nesting habitat, nest size, mating behaviours, and nest parasites.2. The nests were located in between the foundation and a layer of insulation in an urban residence, in an urban backyard near a house foundation, and in a degraded semi-wooded, riparian natural area.3. Colony size estimates ranged from 251 to 1341 bees. 4. We observed males chasing gynes near a nest entrance and one mating event approximately 5 m from the nest. 5. We documented the chalcid wasp, Melittobia acasta, as a new host association.6. These observations increased the known colony size range, documented a new host association, and indicate the potential importance of urban and degraded habitats for recovery of the endangered rusty patched bumble bee.

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The 2020 Student Debates of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) were live-streamed during the Virtual Annual Meeting to debate current, prominent entomological issues of interest to members. The Student Debates Subcommittee of the National ESA Student Affairs Committee coordinated the student efforts throughout the year and hosted the live event. This year, four unbiased introductory speakers provided background for each debate topic while four multi-university teams were each assigned a debate topic under the theme ‘Technological Advances to Address Current Issues in Entomology’. The two debate topics selected were as follows: 1) What is the best taxonomic approach to identify and classify insects? and 2) What is the best current technology to address the locust swarms worldwide? Unbiased introduction speakers and debate teams began preparing approximately six months before the live event. During the live event, teams shared their critical thinking and practiced communication skills by defending their positions on either taxonomical identification and classification of insects or managing the damaging outbreaks of locusts in crops.