We screened 8 microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial COI-COII intergenic region for amplification success in three species of pin-mounted bumble bee specimens from museum collections. The three species (Bombus huntii, Bombus occidentalis and Bombus appositus) represent three major subgenera of bumble bees (Pyrobombus, Bombus s. s., and Subterraneobombus) respectively. Over one hundred individuals from each species collected during the last one hundred years were assayed to determine amplification rates in the collection. We correlated the age of specimens to the age which loci fail to amplify and discuss potential impacts of using certain markers for studies of museum specimens. DNA fragments less than 120 base pairs amplified from over 90% specimens up to 70 years old, while fragments over 200 base pairs in length were obtained from 55.6% of the same specimens. Larger fragments appear to be most sensitive to degradation with age and should be used cautiously when surveying older museum specimens.