(Radio Iowa) Volunteers are needed across Iowa to help the state DNR survey the health of our bumble bee populations.
Stephanie Shepherd, a wildlife biologist with the agency, says Iowa’s taking part in what’s known as the Bumble Bee Atlas, a national survey collecting information on what types of bees are around and how they’re distributed.
“We need to know as much as we can about the pollinators in our state, and bumblebees are one of the most important,” Shepherd says, “and so volunteers help us to learn more about what species we have in the state, where they are, and what kind of habitats they’re using.”
Free training sessions for volunteers are being offered online starting next week (April 13th) that are sponsored by the Xerces Society, which is working with the DNR and Iowa State University.
“They will learn how to net bumblebees, how to safely get them into a vial and cool them down so they take a little nap, and then they can get really good close-up pictures of the species,” Shepherd says, “so experts can vet them and they can also get a good close look at them.”
The field work will start in June and it runs through October. There are at least 13 species of bumble bees in Iowa, and Shepherd says they’re all somewhat similar in appearance.
“Some of them are very easy to tell apart, but there’s a few species that are definitely a little tricky, but the more you look at them, the better it gets,” Shepherd says. “The great thing about this program is, even if you feel a little insecure about your ID skills, getting the pictures means that they’ll be vetted by an expert.”
Over many years, Shepherd says she’s handled hundreds of bumble bees and has only been stung once or twice, so put that out of your mind, though if you have a bee allergy, this probably isn’t for you.
“Bumblebees tend to be fairly docile, and it’s actually pretty easy to get them from the net into a container without ever touching the bee,” Shepherd says. “Then once they’re asleep, they are easy to handle. And then when they wake up, they just want to get away. They’re not aggressive.”
Surveys are expected to focus on the following counties: Cerro Gordo, Fremont, Hancock, Ida, Jones, Linn, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Winnebago, Woodbury and Worth.
During the 2024 count, Iowa participants conducted 644 surveys and counted 7,198 bees.
The Iowa DNR has a video of a survey on its YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@iowadnr/videos, then scroll to Iowa Bumble Bee Atlas.
Sign up here: https://www.bumblebeeatlas.org/
Iowa DNR Photo
