2019 Highlights

2019 Survey Season - Thank You!

Thanks to all of you, 2019 was a great first year! Together, made some pretty impressive strides towards bumble bee conservation in Nebraska! As you'll see in the graphics to follow, nearly half of all grid cells have been adopted, over 600 bumble bees were observed on 68 different plants, and 60 valuable habitat surveys were submitted!

We know many of you were unable to complete formal surveys in 2019 due to the late season start, but hopefully this summary will help inspire you for 2020!

Photos: Nebraska Department of Transportation / Mercy Manzanares; Xerces Society / Jennifer Hopwood, Katie Lamke

Grid Adoption & Survey Submissions

71 people have adopted one (or more!) grid cells - Exciting to see so many people eager to help conserve bees!
39 out of 78 total grid cells have been adopted - Amazing, that's nearly 50%!
26 of the 39 adopted grid cells are classified as High Interest - Very good to see, as these "High Interest" cells are our sampling priority!
60 habitat surveys were submitted from 23 different grid cells - This is valuable information that will improve our conservation strategies!
600+ bumble bee observations were made, representing 10 different species - See more in the following section!
If you still have data submit, it's not too late: Bumble Bee Data or Habitat Data

Map: January 2020

Bumble Bee Observations

Of the 670 individual bumble bees observed and submitted to Bumble Bee Watch, our experts were able to verify 663
10 different species were observed in 2019
The average number of bumble bees observed per person was 11
The highest number of bumble bee observations collected by a single participant was 96
Half of all bumble bee observations were associated with a habitat survey
If you still have data submit, it's not too late: Bumble Bee Data or Habitat Data

The heat map displays where the majority of observations were collected. While we did a fantastic job collecting observations, our goal for 2020 is to venture westward. This will allow us to gain a a better understanding of bumble bees throughout Nebraska.
Consider adopting a grid cell out west for the 2020 sampling season!

Flowering Plant Observations

Some plants attracted lots of bees...

Bumble bees were observed on 68 different types (genera) of plants!
Bumble bees visited sunflowers the most, followed closely by thistles!

Other plants attracted lots of different species...

Aster, Clover, Sage and Thistle attracted the most species of bumble bees.
Lots of plants attracted at least 3 different bumble bee species
If you still have data submit, it's not too late: Bumble Bee Data or Habitat Data

Photography Highlights

Taking high quality photographs of chilled bumble bees is no easy task, but Atlas participants really improved their skill in 2019! Below we've selected a few photos taken in 2019 that display proper detail for identifying. Note how each photo has a high-contrast white background and a top-down, or side, view of the bee. Click each photo to see the full submission on Bumble Bee Watch!

Southern Plains Bumble Bee
Bombus fraternus
Bumble Bee Watch / K. Hayden

American Bumble Bee
Bombus pensylvanicus
Bumble Bee Watch / S. Jenkins

Brown-belted Bumble Bee
Bombus griseocollis
Bumble Bee Watch / T. Kyster

Common Eastern Bumble Bee
Bombus impatiens
Bumble Bee Watch / A. Stevens

Hunt Bumble Bee
Bombus huntii
Bumble Bee Watch / K. Lamke

American Bumble Bee
Bombus pensylvanicus
Bumble Bee Watch / P. Slatin

Fun Finds!

Surveying the natural world creates space to observe some pretty neat things. Below, we've highlighted a few photographs of noteworthy observations from Atlas participants. Click each photo to see the full submission on Bumble Bee Watch!

A queen Two-spotted Bumble Bee (Bombus bimaculatus) emerging in early spring!
Bumble Bee Watch / M. Pecha

A male Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee (Bombus citrinus) observed in north east Nebraska!
Bumble Bee Watch / A. Dather

A male American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) interacting with a male mining bee!
Bumble Bee Watch / N. Bjorklund

Cover Photo: Nebraska Department of Transportation / Mercy Manzanares