Comment iNat (Score 1) 76
Browsing iNaturalist citizen-scientist data for Alabama, Bombus spp. are clearly in decline (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/52775-Bombus, click on History tab).
Normalizing by eye to Insecta or Animalia results in even starker declines, as this helps account for increasing use of iNat over time.
Other eastern states I looked at were less obvious, however insects are declining generally, normalized to observations.
I have not seen a bumble bee in two years in Chatham Co., NC. I am out in nature nearly every day. Formerly I saw bumblebees frequently in season. Carpenter bees, in contrast, are apparently replacing bumblebee as pollinators, although their life histories differ. Pollinators in general are in manifest decline here, as are insects in general. This is beyond ominous.