Download the datasheet

Plan your visit
 
Take some time to investigate the grid cell that you’ve adopted, and ideally find an area that is within a High Potential Zone (HPZ). The grid cells are large with varied habitat, terrain and land ownership. You can survey anywhere in the grid cell (and ideally HPZ) for bumble bees, but taking some time to select potential locations and access routes will decrease travel time, and maximize the time you can dedicate to bumble bee surveys. We suggest you start with the project map, or Google Maps (or similar) with aerial photography to flag potential sites and plan travel routes. Getting familiar with your sites using maps will also help you when it comes time to submit your data; accurate locations are important! Many areas of all three states are remote, with limited travel routes – and potentially with limited cellular service. When surveying, please follow all rules, regulations and posted signs; respect private property and take all necessary safety precautions.

It is possible that you will find when you arrive at a pre-selected site that survey conditions for bumble bees may not be optimal. We encourage folks to be flexible, and opportunistic, but to ideally stay within their assigned grid cell. As such, bring resources with you to navigate, including printed maps as cell service is not available in many parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Resources to help you plan your trip (note: we do not guarantee the veracity of any of these resources, just provide them as tools for you to help plan your trip. These, to our knowledge are some of the best, and most reliable mapping resources available, though there are certainly alternatives):

• Google Maps with Overlaid Grid (you will be able to find the grid number of your adopted cell to help you plan a trip)
• Idaho Trails Map
• Washington Trails Association
• Travel Oregon
• Oregon Hikers Trail Guide
• Green Trails Maps (OR, WA) – available from many outdoor retailers and online
• USGS Topo Maps – available from many outdoor retailers and as downloads
• DeLorme State Atlas & Gazetteer Paper Maps

Considerations:

• Ideally you will survey in an open area with lots of flowers
• Unless you have explicit permission from the landowner, stay on public lands and public rights-of-way (roadsides)
• Good choices for surveys – be sure to follow local regulations:
  • State Parks
  • State Wildlife Areas
  • Your Backyard
  • U.S. Forest Service land
  • BLM land
  • Local parks​
  • Natural Areas
  • Your School
  • Roadsides

 *Some of these areas may require a permit to survey -- please check with the land manager before conducting a survey - especially on National Parks and Monuments and in National Wildlife Refuges

Things to bring with you:

• Paper Maps
• Camera (ideally with macro capacity) and/or smart phone
• Extra batteries
• Insect net
• Data sheets and pencil/pen
• Small cooler with ice/ice packs – or just a bag of ice
• Vials or insect viewing jar
• Sunscreen
• GPS Unit or similar Smartphone App
• Hat
• Timer
• Drinking water
• Field guides (plant and bumble bee)
• Field notebook
• Hand lens
• Friends!

• National Parks and Monuments, Washington State Parks, and Washington Department of Natural Resource Natural Areas often have many great locations for bumble bee surveys, but research in those parks requires a permit. There is no reason you cannot photograph a bumble bee on a flower in these areas, but you may not capture wildlife in a net or vial without appropriate research permits. As such, please see incidental surveys for surveying in these areas.
• Consult with local knowledge about road surfaces and do not always rely on GPS or Google/Apple Maps for travel planning. Many roads on Forest Service lands are dirt roads often with logging truck traffic with limited turn around and site distances; they may also require high clearance vehicles, and additional travel time, please use caution.
• Let someone know your travel plans, including expected return time/date.​

On Site

Official bumble bee surveys are 45 person minutes. This means that if you are alone you will survey for 45 minutes. If you brought one friend, you will each survey for 22.5 minutes, and if you brought two friends, you will each survey for 15 minutes, etc. You will also need to plan time to conduct a rapid vegetation assessment to gather information about the site that you surveyed and the surrounding habitat at each site. Conducting more than three surveys in a single day can be challenging.

Plan your survey area

Surveys should cover approximately one hectare or 2.5 acres (100m x 100m or 328’ x 328’). This does not have to be a square, but could be 20 m x 500 m along a roadside or any other similar area configuration. Mark the center of your location on a map (either paper or smartphone app). This will be very important later for data submission, please document the location of each survey accurately!

Fill out the data sheet

This will include date, time, surveyors, location, and basic weather information (approximate temperature, cloud cover, wind, etc.).

Phase 3: Begin your survey

Note the start time of your survey, start the timer and begin searching for bumble bees. When you find one, capture the bumble bee into a vial (either directly or using an insect net), and place the bee in a cooler. Note the plant species that each bee was visiting, and document that plant with a photo. A good way to do this is to number your vials, and then take a picture of the numbered vial next to the plant on which it was captured (see photos below). Take a picture of each plant (include flowers and leaves) to include with your data. Idaho, Oregon and Washington all have wildflower smartphone apps that can help you in the field, and there are many other resources available. Continue in this fashion for 45 person minutes (count only time searching for bumble bees - not time spent getting bees from net into jars/vials) or until you have run out of vials. If you run out of vials, stop the timer and continue to Step 4, and then return to Step 3 for the remaining amount of time. When your time is complete, note the end time of your survey.​​

Take a photo of the vial next to the flower on which you captured the bee.

Also include the vial cap in a photo of the bee to keep your data straight.

Phase 4: Document each bumble bee

After bees are cooled for a period of time (several minutes) they will slow enough to allow you to photograph them. You can do this using the provided photo chamber, or directly on another surface. Using a camera or smartphone take clear, in-focus pictures of the each bees’ head, thorax, and top and bottom of the abdomen (maximum of 3 photos for each bee - see photo tips and tricks in Appendix C). Be sure to document how many photos you take of each bee, and note the file names on the data sheet. Also, document the species of flower on which the bumble bee was captured (use the photos that you took while surveying). After you photograph the bumble bee it may still be a bit sluggish and may take some time to warm up. Place the bee in the shade and it will slowly acclimate and be on its way. Continue in this fashion until you have documented each individual bumble bee.

IF YOU RECORD ZERO BUMBLE BEES, THIS IS STILL VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE BE SURE TO RECORD THIS INFORMATION AND SUBMIT IT TO US.

Phase 5: Collect Habitat Information

Spend some time walking around your site collecting the data for the Rapid Habitat Assessment.

Phase 6: Complete Documentation
Ensure that all data sheets are complete and that you have collected all necessary habitat information. While it might be tempting to leave some of this information for later, or when you get home, taking the time to do it while on site will reduce errors and increase the quality of the data you collect.

Phase 7: Submit your data

After your survey, please sanitize your equipment!

The last thing that we want to do while conducting surveys is endanger the animals that we're trying to protect. For best practice, it is a good idea to sanitize your survey equipment in between each location. The best way to do this is with alcohol, alcohol wipes, or with a diluted (10%) bleach solution. Do not use sanitary wipes with a fragrance, etc. Apply the sanitizing liquid and let it dry completely.

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Photo by Rich Hatfield, the Xerces Society