Join us in our quest to track and conserve bumble bees!
In recent years, the story of vanishing bees has become a common theme in news reports and popular culture. In most cases, these reports have focused on the disappearance of honey bees, a non-native species introduced to North America from Europe. The larger, undertold story is that while honey bees are a popular and iconic species, other important native bees are also suffering, and in some cases, their fates are far worse. This is particularly true of some of North America’s native bumble bees.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon State University, and the Xerces Society have partnered to support bumble bee conservation through a region wide project to collaborate with citizen scientists and collect current information on bumble bee species distribution. The missing partner is you - become a citizen scientist and join us! Washington, Idaho, and Oregon are large and wild, so we need an army of trained citizens equipped with cameras and vials to survey it. Then, we can cover all three states quickly, collect high quality data, and contribute to the global understanding of bumble bee distributions.
Our ask is pretty simple:
What you will need to participate:
What is helpful to participate:
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon State University, and the Xerces Society have partnered to support bumble bee conservation through a region wide project to collaborate with citizen scientists and collect current information on bumble bee species distribution. The missing partner is you - become a citizen scientist and join us! Washington, Idaho, and Oregon are large and wild, so we need an army of trained citizens equipped with cameras and vials to survey it. Then, we can cover all three states quickly, collect high quality data, and contribute to the global understanding of bumble bee distributions.
Our ask is pretty simple:
- Familiarize yourself with our project protocols and procedures. You can do this by attending a training - there are in person events, as well as online options, or reading through the material online. Once our webinar has occurred, the training will be available to watch any time. You'll find the link on our resources page (starting in late May 2018).
- Adopt a grid cell - you can do this alone, or with a group of friends or family (Bumble Bee Watching is more fun with friends!).
- Visit any location within that grid cell two times during the bumble bee season and use our standardized protocol to sample for bumble bees.
- Submit your data to Bumble Bee Watch online, or using our iOS mobile app.
What you will need to participate:
- A curiosity for insects and flowers.
- Transportation to your grid cell (or choose an area in which you live or work).
- A smartphone or camera to take high quality pictures.
- Access to a computer or smart phone where you can upload photos to Bumble Bee Watch and track your progress.
What is helpful to participate:
- An insect net and vials (glass jars from home work well).
- Basic knowledge of wildflower identification and where to find them!
- Local plant identification field guides
- Bumble Bees of North America
