Thank you to everyone who participated in the fourth year of the Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas! We continue to make impressive strides towards understanding the state's native bumble bees and how we can best support them. As you'll see in the graphics that follow, every single grid cell has been surveyed, almost 7,000 bumble bees have been observed, and 600+ habitat surveys have been conducted! This year we also released two new publications resulting from your hard work: A Guide to the Bumble Bees of Nebraska and Habitat Management for Bumble Bees in Nebraska. Whether this was your first time participating or you're a seasoned veteran, we cannot thank you enough for the time you have contributed towards the Atlas.
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Atlas Overview (2019-2022):
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Four Years of Surveying!
As of 2022, every grid cell has been surveyed! This is an AMAZING milestone to have reached and it would not have been possible without each of you. On top of that, 91% of grid cells have accumulated at least two years worth of survey data, nearly 50% have three years of data, and 10% (8 grids) have been surveyed all four years! Take a look at the map below for a visual breakdown of our effort: the darker the grid, the more years it has been surveyed.
Effort to Date
Over the last four seasons, Atlas participants have covered a lot of ground. Between 2019-2022, more than 160 people have logged 6,865 bumble bee observations of 13 species, and have conducted 662 habitat surveys! It is truly incredible what a motivated group of folks can accomplish in such a short amount of time.
There are two grid cells with over 600 bumble bee observations: NE_79 with 633 observations and NE_37 with 630 observations! This is followed closely by NE_33 with 525 observations, NE_36 with 465, and four grid cells with 250-350 observations (NE_80, NE_86, NE_48, NE_64)! At the other end, there still remains one grid cell without a single bumble bee observation: NE_39 in the panhandle, although the cell has been surveyed twice.
The highest number of species in a single grid cell was 10 species, in NE_79, in the northwest corner, though NE_80 and NE_78 followed closely with 9 species. Nebraska's northwest corner has historically held the highest diversity of bumble bees due to the rich habitat mosaic that weaves forested areas in with grasslands of the high plains. Multiple bumble bee species that typically occupy the western United States, like the white-shouldered bumble bee or central bumble bee, make infrequent appearances in this part of the state.
On the maps below, habitat surveys (squares) and bumble bee observations (dots) gathered between 2019-2022 are shown against the grid cells or county boundaries.
There are two grid cells with over 600 bumble bee observations: NE_79 with 633 observations and NE_37 with 630 observations! This is followed closely by NE_33 with 525 observations, NE_36 with 465, and four grid cells with 250-350 observations (NE_80, NE_86, NE_48, NE_64)! At the other end, there still remains one grid cell without a single bumble bee observation: NE_39 in the panhandle, although the cell has been surveyed twice.
The highest number of species in a single grid cell was 10 species, in NE_79, in the northwest corner, though NE_80 and NE_78 followed closely with 9 species. Nebraska's northwest corner has historically held the highest diversity of bumble bees due to the rich habitat mosaic that weaves forested areas in with grasslands of the high plains. Multiple bumble bee species that typically occupy the western United States, like the white-shouldered bumble bee or central bumble bee, make infrequent appearances in this part of the state.
On the maps below, habitat surveys (squares) and bumble bee observations (dots) gathered between 2019-2022 are shown against the grid cells or county boundaries.
Transforming our effort into new materials
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In 2022, Xerces Society and University of Nebraska-Lincoln released A Guide to the Bumble Bees of Nebraska! This guidebook uses all of Nebraska's historical bumble bee data, as well as the Atlas data gathered between 2019-2021, to form 20 species profiles complete with range maps, ID features, natural history notes, and more. The guide is freely available online and Xerces Society has a small quantity of hardcopies available. Anyone who conducted a survey should have received a hardcopy, if you did not, please contact katie.lamke@xerces.org. |
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In addition, Xerces Society released Habitat Management for Bumble Bees in Nebraska. The recommendations in this guide combine the latest understanding of bumble bee habitat with lessons learned from the Atlas. The document details common management practices used in Nebraska—grazing, haying and mowing, pesticide use, fire, etc.—and provides land stewards with the ability to tailor their practices to create or support bumble bee habitat. The guide is freely available online and Xerces Society has a small quantity of hardcopies available. |
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Trainings, trainings, and more trainings!
In 2022, Xerces Society was happy to tour around the state and provide a series of field days for volunteers and bumble bee habitat management workshops for natural resource professionals. At four field trainings, volunteers were able to practice swinging nets, handling bumble bees, and had a chance to interact with fellow participants. The three habitat management workshops provided an opportunity for conservation professionals, biologists, and private land stewards throughout Nebraska to learn how to incorporate bumble bee-friendly practices into their management regimes.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to the those that helped us deliver the field trainings and workshops last year, either by providing space and/or expertise: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Prairie Plains Resource Institute, The Nature Conservancy, Northern Prairie Land Trust, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon, and University of Nebraska-Omaha.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to the those that helped us deliver the field trainings and workshops last year, either by providing space and/or expertise: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Prairie Plains Resource Institute, The Nature Conservancy, Northern Prairie Land Trust, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon, and University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Bumble Bee Observations
Of the 6,865 bumble bee observations, experts were able to verify 6,631 of them. By "verify," we mean experts were able to assign a species-level identification to 96% of observations thanks to the high-quality, in-focus photographs associated with each observation—Great job taking photos in the field! The remaining 4% of observations have been assigned a tentative species classification or have been classified as "Bumble bee (Bombus sp.)."
The table below breaks down species observations by year, listed in order from most- to least-observed. Despite the 50% decrease in observations relative to 2021, we recorded the highest amount of Central bumble bees (Bombus centralis) in the project's history, and recorded fifty observations of the Southern Plains bumble bee (B. fraternus), one of Nebraska's Species of Greatest Conservation Need.
Explore the observations on Bumble Bee Watch: Photo Gallery, Map, or List.
If you still have data to submit, even if you observed 0 bees, it's not too late: Submit Data
The table below breaks down species observations by year, listed in order from most- to least-observed. Despite the 50% decrease in observations relative to 2021, we recorded the highest amount of Central bumble bees (Bombus centralis) in the project's history, and recorded fifty observations of the Southern Plains bumble bee (B. fraternus), one of Nebraska's Species of Greatest Conservation Need.
Explore the observations on Bumble Bee Watch: Photo Gallery, Map, or List.
If you still have data to submit, even if you observed 0 bees, it's not too late: Submit Data
Who's missing?
In addition to gathering thousands of bumble bee observations—or "presence data"—our monitoring effort has simultaneously been gathering information on species that have not been detected: "absence data." Historically, there have been 20 bumble bee species observed in Nebraska, yet the Atlas has only detected 13 species. Some species that have not been detected are uncommon visitors that show up in western Nebraska from time to time, and more commonly occupy a range just west or north of us, like the red-belted bumble bee. Other species however, are likely undetected as a result of population decline. One such species is the Western bumble bee, which frequently occurred in the state but has not been seen in Nebraska since 2001 despite our intentional search effort in 2021.
Presence and absence data work hand-in-hand to aid Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in figuring out which species need our help (learn more here). This type of data also extends beyond our state border to assist the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in determining which species should be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. It is certainly no easy task to prioritize species that are in need of protection nor design plans to help those species recover, but the data we are gathering through the Atlas is helping to inform those decisions. So the next time you conduct a survey and don't observe any bumble bees, remind yourself that your effort is still extremely valuable!
Scroll through the seven undetected species below to see a map of their historical range, a photograph, a count of historical occurrences (number of times a species has been observed in the Nebraska), and a the year each species was last observed in Nebraska.
Presence and absence data work hand-in-hand to aid Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in figuring out which species need our help (learn more here). This type of data also extends beyond our state border to assist the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in determining which species should be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. It is certainly no easy task to prioritize species that are in need of protection nor design plans to help those species recover, but the data we are gathering through the Atlas is helping to inform those decisions. So the next time you conduct a survey and don't observe any bumble bees, remind yourself that your effort is still extremely valuable!
Scroll through the seven undetected species below to see a map of their historical range, a photograph, a count of historical occurrences (number of times a species has been observed in the Nebraska), and a the year each species was last observed in Nebraska.
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Suckley cuckoo bumble bee (B. suckleyi)
BBW/Jack Bowling
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Variable cuckoo bumble bee (B. variabilis)
USGS Bee Monitoring and Inventory Lab
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What's next? 2023 Survey Season
Having gathered substantial data on Nebraska's bumble bees that spans the entire state, it is time for us to shift gears. Our new focus for the next three years will be to survey for (1) Nebraska's Species of Greatest Conservation Need and (2) species that have been petitioned to gain federal protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This suite of target species includes the American, Southern Plains, Western, Suckley cuckoo, and Variable cuckoo bumble bees.
In Spring 2023, Xerces Society will release a new grid map that includes High Potential Zones (HPZs) and it is likely we will clear the adoption map to start fresh. HPZs will be smaller 10km polygons within the existing grid cells and serve as our priority areas for 2023-2025. These polygons will be generated using historic locations of our target species, taking into account suitable bumble bee habitat of the surrounding area. The goal will be to survey within each of the HPZs, using the existing protocol, over the next three seasons.
That being said, traditional surveys within grid cells are still welcomed. We recognize that not everyone will have the ability to travel to an HPZ, or would prefer to continue monitoring their original site, and that is perfectly okay. This project would not have been successful, nor continue to be, without your contribution and we are greatly appreciative of your past, present, and future participation.
Please stay tuned for the new grid map release and additional instruction for the upcoming season set to start June 1, 2023. Announcements will be made via email (join the email list) the Facebook group (groups/nebumblebees).
In Spring 2023, Xerces Society will release a new grid map that includes High Potential Zones (HPZs) and it is likely we will clear the adoption map to start fresh. HPZs will be smaller 10km polygons within the existing grid cells and serve as our priority areas for 2023-2025. These polygons will be generated using historic locations of our target species, taking into account suitable bumble bee habitat of the surrounding area. The goal will be to survey within each of the HPZs, using the existing protocol, over the next three seasons.
That being said, traditional surveys within grid cells are still welcomed. We recognize that not everyone will have the ability to travel to an HPZ, or would prefer to continue monitoring their original site, and that is perfectly okay. This project would not have been successful, nor continue to be, without your contribution and we are greatly appreciative of your past, present, and future participation.
Please stay tuned for the new grid map release and additional instruction for the upcoming season set to start June 1, 2023. Announcements will be made via email (join the email list) the Facebook group (groups/nebumblebees).
