PNW Bumble Bee Atlas
  • Bumble Bee Atlas
    • About
  • Get Involved
    • 2023 Grid Cells
    • The Basics
    • Instructions
    • Finding Franklin's
  • Resources
    • Key Resources
    • Data >
      • Bumble Bee Data
      • Data Entry Help
      • Highlights
      • Explore Data
    • FAQs
    • Requirements
    • Survey Protocols >
      • Point Surveys
      • Roadside Surveys
      • Habitat Surveys >
        • Survey 123
      • Incidental Surveys
    • Photography Tips
    • Gallery
    • OR Bee Project
  • PNW Bumble Bees
    • Species Illustrations
    • Profile Pages
  • Training
    • Live Events
    • Recorded Trainings
    • Training Materials

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:
  1. 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).
  2. 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!).
  3. Visit any location within that grid cell two times during the bumble bee season and use our standardized protocol to sample for bumble bees.
  4. Submit your data to Bumble Bee Watch online, or using our iOS mobile app.

What you will need to participate:
  1. A curiosity for insects and flowers.
  2. Transportation to your grid cell (or choose an area in which you live or work).
  3. A smartphone or camera to take high quality pictures.
  4. Access to a computer or smart phone where you can upload photos to Bumble Bee Watch and track your progress.
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What is helpful to participate:
  1. An insect net and vials (glass jars from home work well).
  2. Basic knowledge of wildflower identification and where to find them!
  3. Local plant identification field guides
  4. Bumble Bees of North America

Project Partners

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Supported with funding from:

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About the Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas
The PNW Bumble Bee Atlas is a collaborative effort between the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to track and conserve the bumble bees of Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
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Record A Sighting
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Resources
Bumble Bee Species
Contact us
All photography by The Xerces Society, unless otherwise noted.
  • Bumble Bee Atlas
    • About
  • Get Involved
    • 2023 Grid Cells
    • The Basics
    • Instructions
    • Finding Franklin's
  • Resources
    • Key Resources
    • Data >
      • Bumble Bee Data
      • Data Entry Help
      • Highlights
      • Explore Data
    • FAQs
    • Requirements
    • Survey Protocols >
      • Point Surveys
      • Roadside Surveys
      • Habitat Surveys >
        • Survey 123
      • Incidental Surveys
    • Photography Tips
    • Gallery
    • OR Bee Project
  • PNW Bumble Bees
    • Species Illustrations
    • Profile Pages
  • Training
    • Live Events
    • Recorded Trainings
    • Training Materials