Description
Bumble Bee Watch is a collaborative effort to track and conserve North America’s bumble bees. Bumble Bee Watch is a citizen science project through the partnership of The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the University of Ottawa, Wildlife Preservation Canada, BeeSpotter, The Natural History Museum, London, and the Montreal Insectarium. Bumble bee species occurrence data included in this dataset is derived from photo-based observations of bumble bees collected and submitted by citizen scientists in the United States and Canada. These data will help researchers determine the status and conservation needs of bumble bees; Help locate rare or endangered populations of bumble bees; and Learn about bumble bees, their ecology, and ongoing conservation efforts.
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 128,364 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Hatfield R, Kerr J, Larrivée M (2024). Xerces Society - Bumble Bee Watch. Version 1.11. United States Geological Survey. Occurrence dataset. https://doi.org/10.15468/t4rau8
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is United States Geological Survey. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: f1a4ce9a-97cd-4d35-bf5e-561f2f1c6d91. United States Geological Survey publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF-US.
Keywords
Metadata; Keywords to go here once thesaurus is available again.; Observation; Occurrence
Contacts
- Senior Conservation Biologist, Endangered Species Program Red List Authority, IUCN Bumble Bee Specialist Group
- 628 NE Broadway, Suite 200
- +1 (503) 212-0540
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1231-9070
- Point Of Contact
- Executive Director
- 628 NE Broadway, Suite 200
- +1-503-232-6339
- Principal Investigator
- Assistant Professor
- Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, 4700 Keele Street
- (416) 736-2100
- Originator
- Professor
- Gendron Hall, Room 160, 30 Marie Curie
- 613-562-5800 ext.4577
- Originator
- Scientific Researcher
- 4581, rue Sherbrooke E.
Geographic Coverage
The United States and Canada.
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [25.857, -176.824], North East [79.619, -44.328] |
|---|
Taxonomic Coverage
Bumble bee species in the genus Bombus Latreille, 1802 and subgenus Psithyrus Lepeletier, 1833 observed in the United States and Canada., Bumble bee species in the genus Bombus Latreille, 1802 and subgenus Psithyrus Lepeletier, 1833 observed in the United States and Canada., Bumble bee species in the genus Bombus Latreille, 1802 and subgenus Psithyrus Lepeletier, 1833 observed in the United States and Canada.
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Family | Apidae |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 1969-12-31 / 2024-10-28 |
|---|
Project Data
What is Bumble Bee Watch? Bumble Bee Watch is a collaborative effort to track and conserve North America’s bumble bees. This community science project allows for individuals to: Upload photos of bumble bees to start a virtual bumble bee collection; Identify the bumble bees in your photos and have your identifications verified by experts; Help researchers determine the status and conservation needs of bumble bees; Help locate rare or endangered populations of bumble bees; Learn about bumble bees, their ecology, and ongoing conservation efforts; and Connect with other community scientists. How can you participate? We need your help! Because these animals are widely distributed the best way to keep track of them is with a group of volunteers across the country equipped with cameras. With any luck, you might help us to find remnant populations of rare species before they go extinct. Participating in Bumble Bee Watch is simple and you can get started now by creating an account via the “sign in” tab at the top of the page. Once you have an account, go out and check your garden, in parks, or any other natural areas you frequent for bumble bees. Remember not to trespass as you search for bumble bees. Be sure to snap a photo (learn more about how to photograph bees) and then sign in and submit your data via our Bumble Bee Sightings form. Have fun while learning more about bumble bees and the vital role they play in our environment! If you’re interested in conducting more in-depth surveys, see if our Bumble Bee Atlas program is active in your state! Other ways you can help: Create habitat! You can find more information about how to create bumble bee habitat at www.xerces.org/bumblebees. Support local and organic agriculture. Many pesticides are harmful to bumblebee colonies and many vegetable and fruit plants provide great food sources for bees. Spread the word! Many people are afraid of bumble bees and other insects. Let your friends and family know how important they are and encourage them to take photos too!
| Title | Xerces Society - Bumble Bee Watch |
|---|---|
| Identifier | BBW |
| Funding | Funding for the Bumble Bee Watch project is provided by the following: Ceres Trust; CS Fund; Disney Conservation Fund; The Dudley Foundation; Endangered Species Chocolate, LLC; Regina Bauer Frankenberg Foundation; The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust; Hind Foundation; Horne Family Foundation; J.Crew; Maki Foundation; Charlotte Y. Martin Foundation; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; The New-Land Foundation, Inc.; The Schad Foundation; Turner Foundation, Inc.; Alice C. Tyler Trust; W. Garfield Weston Foundation; The White Pine Fund; Whole Foods Market and its vendors; Whole Systems Foundation; Wildlife Preservation Canada donors; and Xerces Society members. |
| Study Area Description | United States and Canada |
| Design Description | Participatory Science. This dataset has a mix of incidental and survey-based records. Survey records align with bumblebeeatlas.org. |
The personnel involved in the project:
Sampling Methods
Participatory scientists submit digital photographs of bumble bees and/or bumble bee nest locations in the United States and Canada. A subset of records come from BumbleBeeAtlas.org. More information about survey protocols can be found here: https://www.bumblebeeatlas.org/pages/survey-protocol.
| Study Extent | Locations within the United States and Canada. |
|---|---|
| Quality Control | Individuals with significant expertise in the identification of bumble bees verify the identities of bumble bees in submitted photos. Contributing bumble bee experts include: Andre Payette of the Montréal Insectarium; Carol Kearns of the University of Colorado at Boulder; Cory Sheffield of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum; Doug Golick of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln; Elaine Evans of the University of Minnesota; Ethan Woodis of the Xerces Society; Hayley Tompkins of Wildlife Preservation Canada; Jay Watson of the Wisconsin DNR; Jason Gibbs of the University of Manitoba; Jeff Lozier of the University of Alabama; Jessica Beckham of the University of North Texas; Joe Engler formerly of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Jon Koch of Utah State University; Laura Burkle of Montana State University; Leif Richardson of Dartmouth College; Liz Day, formerly of the University of Illinois; Michael Otterstatter of the BC Centre for Disease Control; Michael Warriner of Texas Parks and Wildlife; Michele Blackburn of the Xerces Society; Mike Arduser of the Missouri Department of Conservation; Paul Williams of the Natural History Museum, London UK; Ralph Cartar of the University of Calgary; Rich Hatfield of the Xerces Society; Robbin Thorp of the University of California, Davis; Robin Owen of Mount Royal University; Sam Droege of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; Sarah Johnson of Wildlife Preservation Canada; Sarina Jepsen of the Xerces Society; Shalene Jha of the University of Texas at Austin; Sheila Colla of Wildlife Preservation CanadaYork University; Shelby Gibson of York University; Susan Carpenter of the UW Madison Arboretum; Syd Cannings of Environment Canada; Terry Griswold of the USDA Pollinating Insects Research Unit; Terry Harrison of the University of Illinois; and Victoria MacPhail of York University. |
Method step description:
- See Sampling Description.
Bibliographic Citations
- The Xerces Society, Wildlife Preservation Canada, York University, University of Ottawa, The Montreal Insectarium, The London Natural History Museum, BeeSpotter. 2017. Data accessed from Bumble Bee Watch, a collaborative website to track and conserve North America’s bumble bees. Available from http://www.bumblebeewatch.org/app/#/bees/lists (accessed *download date*). https://www.bumblebeewatch.org/sightings/bee/
Additional Metadata
We respectfully ask that data users consider the Bumble Bee Watch Privacy and Data Use Policy https://www.bumblebeewatch.org/privacy-policy/
| Acknowledgements | Partners: Wildlife Preservation Canada; The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University Founding Partners and Scientific Advisors: University of Ottawa; Montreal Insectarium; Natural History Museum, London; BeeSpotter Funders: Alice C. Tyler Trust; Charlotte Martin Foundation; Endangered Species Chocolate; Hind Foundation; Horne Family Foundation; Maki Foundation; The Weston Family Foundation; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); The New Land Foundation; Regina Bauer Frankenberg Foundation; The Schad Foundation; Wildlife Preservation Canada donors; Xerces Society members. Collaborators: Many individuals with significant expertise in the identification of bumble bees are helping to verify the identities of bumble bees in submitted photos. This project would not be possible without the contributions of these individuals. Many thanks to the following bumble bee experts: Jared Brabant of the University of Missouri; Sheila Colla of York University; Elaine Evans of the University of Minnesota; Doug Golick of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln; Laurie Hamon of the Xerces Society; Tiffani Harrison of Wildlife Preservation Canada; Rich Hatfield of the Xerces Society; Sarah Johnson of Wildlife Preservation Canada; Jon Koch of USDA Pollinating Insects Research Unit; Katie Lamke of the Xerces Society; Jeff Lozier of the University of Alabama; Sarah MacKell of Wildlife Preservation Canada; Molly Martin of the Xerces Society; Victoria MacPhail of Guelph, Ontario; Genevieve Pugesek of the Xerces Society; Leif Richardson of Xerces Society; Genevieve Rowe of Wildlife Preservation Canada; Cory Sheffield of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum; Jamie Strange of the Ohio State University; Hayley Tompkins of Wildlife Preservation Canada; Paul Williams of the Natural History Museum, London. |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Bumble Bee Watch is a collaborative effort to track and conserve North America’s bumble bees. Bumble bees are easily recognizable and iconic pollinators. They are also essential pollinators in agriculture, wildlands, and urban areas but evidence shows that many species are suffering alarming population declines. We need more information about the distribution and trends of bumble bee populations. Once we know the distribution of these animals we can more effectively target conservation efforts. Data from this project will be used to gather baseline data about the distribution and abundance of North America’s bumble bees. When appropriate, based on historical data this information will be used to target conservation efforts for at-risk species. Information from this project will also help answer questions about how environmental changes are affecting bumble bee populations throughout North America. |
| Alternative Identifiers | https://bison.usgs.gov/?providerID=440&resourceID=100068 |
| https://bison.usgs.gov/solr/occurrences/select/?q=resourceID:"40,100068" | |
| f1a4ce9a-97cd-4d35-bf5e-561f2f1c6d91 | |
| https://ipt.gbif.us/resource?r=xerces-bumblebeewatch |