Tag Archives: bee atlas

95 Lincoln Best – The Oregon Bee Atlas (Year 1 Update).

Posted on by | 1 Reply

Although we estimate there are 500 species of bees in Oregon, there has never been a concerted survey of the state’s bees. Without even a checklist of species, it is very difficult to know whether the health of Oregon bees is improving or declining. The Oregon Bee Atlas represents the first steps towards confronting the gulf in our knowledge about the bees of Oregon.

The success of the Oregon Bee Atlas, like Oregon Flora, rests on the shoulders of committed volunteers. The Oregon Bee Atlas’ four year mission (2018-2021) is to train volunteers to explore Oregon Counties, to seek out new native bee records for the state, to boldly go where no amateur melittologist has gone before! These new specimen records will be added to newly digitized historic records from the Oregon State Arthropod Collection to build the first comprehensive account of the native bee fauna of Oregon.

Joining us to talk about the Atlas is Lincoln Best, the Atlas’ Lead Taxonomist. Lincoln was also featured on episode 50 last year.

“It’s easy to document common species; it’s really difficult to assess the extreme biodiversity that exists here.”
– Lincoln Best.

 

 

You can Subscribe and Listen to PolliNation on Apple Podcasts.

And be sure to leave us a Rating and Review!

Links Mentioned:

Oregon Bee Atlas Website

Oregon Bee Atlas Youtube channel

Follow Linc on social media (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook:) @beesofcanada

 

Contribute to our 100th episode:

Want to leave a question for our expert panel on the 100th episode?

Call in with your questions: 541 737 3139

Or email: info@oregonbeeproject.org

State your name and where you are from before asking your question.

02 Dr. Elaine Evans – Citizen Science and Surveying Bumblebees

Posted on by | Leave a reply

Today’s episode is all about getting the public involved in surveying and identifying different species of bees. Dr Elaine Evans is our guest. She’s the new Extensions Educator working on bee conservation at University of Minnesota.

Dr. Evans has been working on education and advocacy for native pollinators for a long time, and is the lead on a fascinating project called the Minnesota Bumblebee Survey.

Listen in to this episode to understand how you can get involved in some important citizen science initiatives.

You can Subscribe and Listen to PolliNation on Apple Podcasts.

And be sure to leave us a Rating and Review!

“We have really good evidence of decline in bumble bees. There are some bee species that seem to be stable though.” – Dr. Elaine Evans

Show Notes:

  • Why the University of Minnesota’s Extension decided to focus on pollinators this year
  • Getting citizens involved in monitoring bees
  • How Dr. Evans became interested in bees
  • About the book she wrote on bumblebees
  • How she started the Bumblebee Watch program
  • What’s going on with the decline of bumblebees in North America
  • How Citizen Science works in Minnesota to track bees
  • Ways that the Bumblebee Watch program uses pictures to identify bees
  • How to teach people to tell different bee species apart
  • How the program uses volunteers to track cavity nesting bees

“The Bee Squad is looking at using honey bees as a gateway to other pollinators.” – Dr. Elaine Evans

Links Mentioned: