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Bumblebees (Bombus Latreille 1802) are important native pollinators in North America. However, in the last decade at least six North American Bombus have experienced significant range contraction or population declines. A major limitation to studying species declines is the level of knowledge of historic occurrences and abundance. Here we review the current status of a bumblebee subgenus in North America, Bombus sensu stricto Latreille 1801, and present a method for generating a database and probable historic range maps from multiple museum collections. These databases and range maps can be useful tools when facilitating monitoring programs for at risk species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]