Submit Your Bumble Bee Data

We will be collecting all bumble bee data using the citizen science website Bumble Bee Watch. You can either submit data using our Android or Apple apps, or online using the web app. 

• Curate your photos and gather your data.
  1. Make sure you know which photos belong to which individual bee. All of this information should be on your datasheet, so have that nearby.
  2. Each observation can only include 3 photos – pick your best three (it is fine if you have fewer than 3). If you do have fewer than 3, including a photo of the plant on which it was seen visiting is very helpful!
  3. Make sure you know at which site each bee was caught (exact location within a site is not important, just the site).
• Login to Bumble Bee Watch and follow these steps:

1. Choose Record a Sighting, then click Bumble Bee Sighting (see images below for step-by-step guidelines)

2. Upload photos (maximum of 3)

3. Enter your location 

• Select the center of your survey area by zooming in on the map -OR-
• Directly enter your coordinates and name your location to be saved for a later date

4. Enter the location accuracy by estimating how far you traveled from the center of your survey area to collect a bumble bee

5. Enter floral host, observation notes, AND please be sure to select Nebraska Bumble Bee Atlas in the project box. Then click Next.

6. Using your photos, select the features that best match your bee to narrow down the species you observed, then select the best-match bumble bee. 

Don't worry if you're unsure or incorrect on the identification, an expert will verify your observations once submitted.

Then complete the observation by clicking Submit.

• You’ll need to repeat this procedure for each observation/individual bee that you captured. When you go to submit your second observation, you will enter the same site name in the “Your locations” box, and the lat/long and date and pin will automatically be entered, speeding up the process. We realize this may be time consuming, but each observation needs to be photo documented to ensure a high degree of fidelity in the dataset.
• After you have submitted all of your bumble bee data, you'll need to submit your Habitat Data.

Other Questions? Contact us!

Submit Your Habitat Data

The best way to submit your habitat data is by directly entering your information to the form provided on this website. The following images provide step-by-step guidelines on how to do so.

1. Start by filling out the Basic Information sections which includes your Name, Email and Bumble Bee Watch Username. Please make sure this information matches the information used for your Bumble Bee Watch Account.

2. Next, fill out the remaining boxes, each corresponds with a field from your Rapid Habitat Assessment form. Be sure to complete all sections:

• Bumble Bee Data
• Habitat Data
• Notes
• Floral Resources
  • ​This section corresponds to Plant Species in Bloom and you may enter a maximum of 16 different species per site. If you have more than 16, you may scan your datasheets (or take a clear picture of them) and email them to bumblebees@xerces.org and we will enter the remaining plant data.​​

Click for more detail.

3. Lastly, please enter your Volunteer Data so we can keep track of the collective time and energy spent on this effort.

When finished, click Submit, and you should be directed to a Thank You page. If you do not see the Thank You message, your data was not successfully submitted and we ask that you try again.

Other Questions? Contact us!

Using the Mobile App to Submit Bumble Bee Data

1. Select your region by clicking the globe icon, tap Nearby.

2. Next choose the species observed. Click the funnel icon to use filters if you need help selecting the species.

3. Click the plus sign to add a sighting

4. Enter all necessary information as seen in the labeled image: 

1. Touch here to select a location on the map
2. Touch here to select the accuracy of the map pin (values are in meters)
3. Change the date and time
4. Add any observation notes
5. Add the floral host
6. Add up to 3 photos of the bumble bee - if you have fewer than 3 photos of the bumble bee, include a photo of the floral host.
7. Touch to submit

Other Questions? Contact us!

Mailing in Datasheets

We greatly prefer that you try to submit your data online. Similar research projects have found that this ultimately increases accuracy, and improves the quality of the information collected. We also understand that sometimes this is not possible, or there is something about your data that is unique and may not fit into the web-based forms that we've established. If you have questions about data entry, you may send them to bumblebees@xerces.org. If help just will not solve the problem, you may send in your datasheets in one of two ways.

​You may scan them - or take a clear digital photo of them - and send them via email as an attachment to: bumblebees@xerces.org. 

You may also send in paper copies of your data sheets. If you do this, please include your phone number and/or email address so that we can contact you with any questions about the information on your datasheets. Please make a copy of the datasheets in case they are lost in the mail. You can direct all postal mail to:

Katie Lamke
C/O NE Bumble Bee Atlas
1700 East Campus Mall 
Entomology Hall, Rm 103
Lincoln, NE 68583