Bumble bees are charismatic and easily recognizable pollinators thanks to their large size, beautifully loud buzz and distinctive color patterns of black and yellow, though often red, orange, or white too. They play an incredibly important role in sustaining the health of our environment by pollinating flowers in natural and urban areas, and by contributing to successful harvests.
To help understand and conserve bumble bees, the Xerces Society has created the Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas. This is a community science project in which local people are provided the opportunity to work alongside researchers to better understand the distribution, status, and habitat needs of Nebraska’s bumble bees.
Nebraska is home to ca. 20 different bumble bees and includes a mix of species found in both the eastern and western United States. However, many of our bumble bees are in trouble and face an uncertain future. Nebraska Game and Parks has identified four of the state’s bumble bees as Species of Greatest Conservation Need: the western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis), southern plains bumble bee (Bombus fraternus), Suckley cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi), and variable cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus variabilis). Bumble bee declines are not restricted to this state. A recent study led by the IUCN Bumble Bee Specialist Group—supported by studies led by Dr. Sydney Cameron—and a status review by the late Dr. Robbin Thorp and the Xerces Society, demonstrate that over one quarter of North America's nearly fifty species of bumble bees are facing some degree of extinction risk.
The causes of these declines are not fully understood, but the following are likely playing a role: loss or fragmentation of habitat, pesticide use, overgrazing, climate change, low genetic diversity, and the introduction and distribution of pathogens through commercial pollinators. Regardless of the ultimate cause of bumble bee declines, protecting existing habitat while creating and maintaining new habitat are some of the most immediate and productive steps that can be taken to conserve these important pollinators. This will require widespread participation and collaboration by landowners, agencies, and scientists.
In addition to identifying areas of habitat to protect, the Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas will help us to understand how bumble bee distributions have changed over time. Nebraska is in a unique position to investigate this because we have a rich history of documenting bumble bee distributions dating back to the 1960s. This historical data will allow us to assess the effects of land use change on bumble bee populations. Furthermore, Nebraska is a prime location to address this quesiton as it has a diversity of ecosystems; the sandhills, shortgrass, mixed-grass and tallgrass prairies, as well as wetlands and woodlands. While some of these habitats are still intact, many of them have undergone dramatic land use changes over the past 150 years, where once-productive bumble bee habitat has been converted into corn and soybean production. The effect that this land us change has had on native pollinator populations has not been thoroughly investigated, yet will provide important information on the status of the an essential ecosystem service: pollination.
More detailed habitat associations, data about currently occupied (as well as unoccupied) habitat, and knowledge about potential shifts in range will help conservation biologists and restoration practitioners to do a better job protecting, restoring, and creating effective habitat in areas that support healthy bumble bee populations, and generate recommendations for areas that may be experiencing pollinator declines.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has partnered with the Xerces Society to help gather this knowledge to address the needs of our native bumble bees. However, because Nebraska is large and diverse, professional scientists will have a limited reach which means the missing partner is you! With your help we can recruit and train a large number of volunteers equipped with cameras and simple equipment to observe and record bumble bees. Then, together we can quickly cover the entire state, collect scientific-quality data, and contribute to bumble bee conservation.In addition to identifying areas of habitat to protect, the Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas will help us to understand how bumble bee distributions have changed over time. Nebraska is in a unique position to investigate this because We have a rich history of documenting bumble bee distributions dating back to the 1960s. This historical data will allow us to assess the effects of land use change on bumble bee populations. Furthermore, Nebraska is a prime location to address this question as it has a diversity of ecosystems; the sandhills, tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, wetlands and woodlands. While some of these habitats are still intact, many of them have undergone dramatic land use changes over the past 150 years, where once-productive bumble bee habitat has been converted into corn and soybean production. The effect that this land use change has had on native pollinator populations has not been thoroughly investigated, yet will provide important information on the status of the important ecosystem service of pollination.
Ready to get involved?
To help understand and conserve bumble bees, the Xerces Society has created the Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas. This is a community science project in which local people are provided the opportunity to work alongside researchers to better understand the distribution, status, and habitat needs of Nebraska’s bumble bees.
Nebraska is home to ca. 20 different bumble bees and includes a mix of species found in both the eastern and western United States. However, many of our bumble bees are in trouble and face an uncertain future. Nebraska Game and Parks has identified four of the state’s bumble bees as Species of Greatest Conservation Need: the western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis), southern plains bumble bee (Bombus fraternus), Suckley cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus suckleyi), and variable cuckoo bumble bee (Bombus variabilis). Bumble bee declines are not restricted to this state. A recent study led by the IUCN Bumble Bee Specialist Group—supported by studies led by Dr. Sydney Cameron—and a status review by the late Dr. Robbin Thorp and the Xerces Society, demonstrate that over one quarter of North America's nearly fifty species of bumble bees are facing some degree of extinction risk.
The causes of these declines are not fully understood, but the following are likely playing a role: loss or fragmentation of habitat, pesticide use, overgrazing, climate change, low genetic diversity, and the introduction and distribution of pathogens through commercial pollinators. Regardless of the ultimate cause of bumble bee declines, protecting existing habitat while creating and maintaining new habitat are some of the most immediate and productive steps that can be taken to conserve these important pollinators. This will require widespread participation and collaboration by landowners, agencies, and scientists.
In addition to identifying areas of habitat to protect, the Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas will help us to understand how bumble bee distributions have changed over time. Nebraska is in a unique position to investigate this because we have a rich history of documenting bumble bee distributions dating back to the 1960s. This historical data will allow us to assess the effects of land use change on bumble bee populations. Furthermore, Nebraska is a prime location to address this quesiton as it has a diversity of ecosystems; the sandhills, shortgrass, mixed-grass and tallgrass prairies, as well as wetlands and woodlands. While some of these habitats are still intact, many of them have undergone dramatic land use changes over the past 150 years, where once-productive bumble bee habitat has been converted into corn and soybean production. The effect that this land us change has had on native pollinator populations has not been thoroughly investigated, yet will provide important information on the status of the an essential ecosystem service: pollination.
More detailed habitat associations, data about currently occupied (as well as unoccupied) habitat, and knowledge about potential shifts in range will help conservation biologists and restoration practitioners to do a better job protecting, restoring, and creating effective habitat in areas that support healthy bumble bee populations, and generate recommendations for areas that may be experiencing pollinator declines.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has partnered with the Xerces Society to help gather this knowledge to address the needs of our native bumble bees. However, because Nebraska is large and diverse, professional scientists will have a limited reach which means the missing partner is you! With your help we can recruit and train a large number of volunteers equipped with cameras and simple equipment to observe and record bumble bees. Then, together we can quickly cover the entire state, collect scientific-quality data, and contribute to bumble bee conservation.In addition to identifying areas of habitat to protect, the Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas will help us to understand how bumble bee distributions have changed over time. Nebraska is in a unique position to investigate this because We have a rich history of documenting bumble bee distributions dating back to the 1960s. This historical data will allow us to assess the effects of land use change on bumble bee populations. Furthermore, Nebraska is a prime location to address this question as it has a diversity of ecosystems; the sandhills, tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, wetlands and woodlands. While some of these habitats are still intact, many of them have undergone dramatic land use changes over the past 150 years, where once-productive bumble bee habitat has been converted into corn and soybean production. The effect that this land use change has had on native pollinator populations has not been thoroughly investigated, yet will provide important information on the status of the important ecosystem service of pollination.
Ready to get involved?
Contact Us
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Project Coordinators:
Katie Lamke Bumble Bee Conservation Specialist The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation 1700 E. Campus Mall Lincoln, NE 68583 Phone: (707) 477-2224 katie.lamke@xerces.org Rich Hatfield Senior Conservation Biologist The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation 628 NE Broadway, Suite 200 Portland, OR 97221 Phone: (503) 232-6639 x115 rich.hatfield@xerces.org |
Project Partners:
Doug Golick Associate Professor of Entomology University of Nebraska-Lincoln 1700 E. Campus Mall Lincoln, NE 68583 Phone: (402) 472-8642 dgolick2@unl.edu |
Supported by:
The Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas is funded through a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust. The Trust is funded by proceeds from the Nebraska Lottery and has awarded more than $305 million to more than 2,200 conservation projects across the state of Nebraska since 1994.
The Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas is funded through a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust. The Trust is funded by proceeds from the Nebraska Lottery and has awarded more than $305 million to more than 2,200 conservation projects across the state of Nebraska since 1994.
