The Pacific Northwest is home to nearly 30 species of bumble bees and many of them face an uncertain future. As part of the Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas Project, Idaho Fish and Game and its conservation partners are collecting field observations of bumble bees. The goal is to map bumble bee populations in the Pacific Northwest, but they can’t do it alone.
“Washington, Idaho and Oregon are large, and we need an army of trained volunteers equipped with cameras to help survey the entire region,” said Rich Hatfield, Senior Conservation Biologist at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
To create this army of volunteers, Fish and Game and its partners is holding a bumble bee workshop in Idaho Falls on Saturday. The training is provided for anyone who has a curiosity for bumble bees and flowers, and an interest in contributing to this important citizen science project. The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fish and Game’s regional office. Go to the Xerces website to register at bit.ly/2IWofNy.
For more information on the workshop and other ways to participate, contact Fish and Game biologist Joel Sauder at 208-750-4223 or joel.sauder@idfg.idaho.gov
If you can’t go to the workshop, but still want to know how to collect bumble bee data? There are detailed instructions on the Xerces website including videos on how to net, handle and photograph bumble bees.
In recent years, all pollinators have been recognized for their essential role in keeping our environment healthy and contributing to successful harvests on farms. Much attention has been given to the plight of the introduced European honey bee. Less publicized, but no less important, is the parallel decline of native, wild bee populations, particularly bumble bees.
While this project will target all species of bumble bees, there are three species whose population declines are of particular concern: the western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis), Morrison’s bumble bee (Bombus morrisoni) and the Suckley cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi).
One of the goals of the project is to better understand where bumble bee species occur in remote parts of the region. Much of what we currently know about bumble bee distributions is focused on places where people live or travel, such as towns, cities and near roads.
Getting better information about which species of bumble bees occur in remote areas will help researchers track these species and understand what types of habitat they are associated with, ultimately supporting the conservation of the most at-risk species.
People can learn more about the project and how to contribute at the Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas Project website: www.pnwbumblebeeatlas.org.
