Have you ever been enjoying time in the outdoors and been shocked into exclaiming loudly “what was that?!?” as an enormous black and gold fuzzball  buzzed past your head? You may have had a close encounter with a Black and Gold Bumble Bee queen!

Or maybe you’ve enjoyed a quiet half hour among the flowers and been astounded by the busy-ness, concentration and grace of a few fat fuzzy bees? These could have been any of Iowa’s roughly 15 species of Bumble Bee.

Notice I said roughly 15 species? We aren’t very confident about just how many species of Bumble Bee call Iowa home and where precisely they like to reside. And that is where you come in - we need your help! Iowa’s Bumble Bee Atlas turns 2 years old this summer and this is your opportunity to expand your world by learning and collecting data about these important pollinators.

Get Involved!

• WHAT?: Iowa's Bumble Bee Atlas! This is a volunteer community science project with a goal of learning everything we can about Bumble Bees in Iowa, particularly what species we have in Iowa, where they are in the state and what kind of habitat and flowers they like?
• WHO?: You! Do you enjoy hiking in areas with lots of flowers during the summer? Do you want to connect with nature more deeply and learn something new? Do you appreciate all that pollinators do for the world? Want to get involved in conservation? Then this is for you! Older kids are welcome to participate as well under the supervision of an adult.
• WHY?: Because you will make a significant contribution to what we know about bumble bees in Iowa. And because it’s so much fun and bumble bees are delightful!
• WHERE?: Anywhere in the state but we especially need folks who live in or are willing to drive to survey in rural areas! The map below shows where no one surveyed last year and we’d love to fill in those gaps! However, we do also need more bumble bee data in all the areas that were visited during last year’s survey. TAKE NOTE: Some areas, mostly in the eastern part of the state, are off limits to most surveyors because of the presence of the Endangered Rusty-patched Bumble Bee.
• HOW?: Visit the Iowa Bumble Bee Atlas site and register to get trained! There are two initial trainings that will be held on ZOOM.
• WHEN?: Training Part 1 is on April 19^th (2pm-3:30pm) and Part 2 is on May 10^th (10am-Noon). Not available on those dates? No sweat! Go ahead and register for the trainings and you’ll be notified when the recordings are posted which you can then watch at your leisure!

These are the Bumble Bee Atlas Survey Grid cells. Solid brown cells had at least one survey in 2024. Striped cells have had no survey yet. Be the first one!

What do you need to participate in The Atlas?

Time is the first thing! Hopeful new participants need to have the time to get through the required trainings (all online) and, if they want to, a field training where they can get some practice at catching and handling Bumble Bees. They then need to commit to conducting at least two 45-minute surveys within one of the survey grid cells.

Participants also need a camera (the one on your phone is likely fine), an aerial insect net, some bee-holding containers, and a cooler.

Once you have all those supplies, all you need is an adventurous and curious spirit and a will to find some Bumble Bees!

What has been learned so far?

2024 was the first atlas year and 36 participants conducted 148 surveys! Sites within 57% of the survey grid cells in the state were surveyed and over 800 Bumble Bees representing 10 species were recorded.

Atlas participants also record data on the flowers Bumble Bees use for nectar and pollen and over 100 genera of plants were noted to be used for foraging in 2024. 

If you’d like to read all about the 2024 season, you can visit the Iowa Project Highlight page for lots of fun graphics and pictures.

Not yet convinced? This video about The Atlas, featuring some of our star surveyors from 2024, will give you an idea how atlas surveys work and will hopefully get you excited to join us!

Register for the Online Trainings

• April 19 | 2:00pm to 3:30pm Central | On Zoom | Registration Link
• May 10 | 10:00am to 12:00pm Central | On Zoom | Registration Link

Not sure you are ready to go chasing Bumble Bees but still want to help them? How about planting some habitat! Bumbles Bees are some of the earliest insects to become active during the year and nectar and pollen can be scarce. Early blooming spring wildflowers and native shrubs are both great options to add to your home landscape to make it more bee friendly! Here's a great resource on trees, shrubs and woodland habitat for pollinators put together by Iowa DNR's foresters!