There are many questions we still need to answer about bees and you can contribute to efforts to gather data to answer these questions.
Honey bees
If you are a beekeeper, help us monitor mite loads by participating in Mite Check
Bumble bees
If you are anywhere in MN, you can help us monitor bumble bees by taking a class and adopting a bumble bee route for the MN Bee Atlas
If you are anywhere in North America, pick up your camera and share photos of bumble bees with the Bumble Bee Watch app for you phone or web app.
We need your help finding rusty patched bumble bees in some of the Twin Cities metro neighborhoods. Join the "Search for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee" project on iNaturalist.
Cellophane bees
Keep your eyes open for Colletes inaequalis! Researchers at the UMN Bee Lab are curious about where these spring-emerging bees are nesting in and around the Twin Cities metro area. If you see nests while walking around the parks in Ramsey, Hennepin, Washington, Dakota, and Anoka counties this spring, please let us know. Of course, we value your health and wellbeing and ask that you minimize risk of spreading covid-19 by avoiding crowded parks and trails.
What to look for:
- About the same size as honey bees
- Heart-shaped faces
- Mostly found in sparsely vegetated areas
- Groups of bees flying low to the ground near open holes and not visiting flowers
- Nest mounds resemble ant nests but have larger entrance holes
- Nest in groups on south-facing, sandy slopes
Share your finds. Think you've found Colletes? Share information on your sighting here
All pollinators
Monitor bees and other pollinators in your garden with the Great Sunflower Project
In you are anywhere in the world, share photos with iNaturalist to help us track distributions and phenologies of pollinators.