UW Biodiversity Institute Sponsors Bumble Bee Atlas Training

For community scientists interested in helping map data about bumble bees, the University of Wyoming’s Biodiversity Institute is sponsoring a Mountain States Bumble Bee Atlas training Sunday, June 1, from 1-4 p.m. in the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center, located at 365 N. Ninth St. on the Laramie campus.

Bumble Bee Atlas is a community science program organized by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. The organization is a donor-supported nonprofit organization that protects the world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. The Xerces Society expanded the program into Wyoming last year through the new Mountain States Bumble Bee Atlas.

Volunteers can adopt a grid in Wyoming and identify public land within that grid that might be good bee habitat, such as an area that hosts a variety of wildflowers. Volunteers then survey their grid twice -- typically between June 1 and Aug. 31 -- in most of Wyoming. Bees are collected and photographed before being released.

“Last year, we collected numerous bees and identified five different bumble bee species that were using the Berry Prairie during the training,” says Mason Lee, senior project coordinator of the Biodiversity Institute.

Training is required of volunteers before participating in a Bumble Bee Atlas survey. The June 1 training workshop will teach attendees about bumble bee ecology and identification of species. To register, go to www.lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/KBbGZ9h. Space is limited to 30 volunteers. Anyone with an interest in bees and a desire to help them in a hands-on way is encouraged to attend. No experience is required.

Amy Dolan, an endangered species conservation biologist with the Mountain States Bumble Bee Atlas and the Xerces Society, will head the training session.

Volunteers will learn how to catch, photograph and release bumble bees; conduct habitat surveys; and upload data to Bumble Bee Watch, an online data platform. After the classroom training, volunteers will then go out into the Berry Prairie, the on-site botanical pollinator garden, for hands-on practice, including netting and photographing bumble bees.

These volunteer efforts will help scientists map data about the area’s native bumble bees to prioritize on-the-ground conservation actions.

For more information, go to www.bumblebeeatlas.org.

About the University of Wyoming Biodiversity Institute

The UW Biodiversity Institute fosters conservation of biodiversity through scientific discovery, creative dissemination, education and public engagement. In this setting, scientists, citizens, students and educators come together to share a wealth of perspectives on the study and appreciation of biodiversity -- from microbes to poetry and ecosystems to economics. For more information, go to www.wyomingbiodiversity.org.