Missouri Bumble Bee Atlas
  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
    • Requirements
    • Instructions
    • Adopt a Grid Cell
  • Events
  • Data
    • Submit Data
    • Data Entry Help
    • Explore Data
    • 2022 Highlights
  • Resources
    • Online Training
    • Training Packet
    • Survey Types >
      • Point Surveys
      • Roadside Surveys
      • Habitat Assessment
      • Incidental Observations
    • Photo Tips
    • Habitat Guidance
    • FAQs

2021 Highlights

Collective Impact of Community Scientists

Picture
The Missouri Bumble Bee Atlas had a great second season in 2021—Thank you to the many participants!

​Including both 2020 and 2021:
  • Num. of Participants: 164
  • Num. of Grids Surveyed: 68/78 or 87%
  • Num. of Habitat Surveys Conducted: 289
  • Num. of Bumble Bee Observations: 2,389
  • Num. of Unique Bee Species Detected: 8


Effort by Grid Cell

The two maps below display the number of surveys per grid cell (left) and the number of bee observations per grid cell (right). The pattern tends to follow human populations; areas with more people tend to have more surveys, which tend to lead to more bumble bee observations. A goal of the Atlas is to reach more rural areas of the state to understand the bumble bee dynamics outside of major cities. In the coming season, after you've conducted two surveys in your own grid, consider visiting one of the grid cells with less than two surveys and help fill in a knowledge gap!
Picture
Picture

Bumble Bee Observations

This season alone 1,742 observations were shared to Bumble Bee Watch; 1,398 of those were part of a formal Atlas survey and the remaining 344 were incidental observations. Including the 2020 season, 2,389 bumble bees have been observed during the Atlas. 

Eight species were observed between 2020-21 (listed in order from most-to-least observed in the pie chart).
​
Of the 2,389 bee observations, we were able to verify 98% (2,339) of those, which means you all did a fantastic job taking clear photographs.
Picture

Noteworthy Finds

Half-black Bumble Bee
Bombus vagans

The Half-black bumble bee is an uncommon bee in Missouri and not typically found in large numbers. Atlas participants observed this species 7 times in 2021, five of those observations were new county records (i.e. the first observation of this species in a particular county)!

New county records (​map): Benton (G. Miller), Clinton (K. Lafolette), Cole (B. White), Greene (T. Franklin), and Harrison (K. Lamke).

Keep an eye out for this species in 2022! View photographs on Bumble Bee Watch to learn what it looks like.
Picture
Southern Plains Bumble Bee
Bombus fraternus

The Southern Plains bumble bee is a large, distinctive bee scattered throughout Missouri. This species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species, meaning it is at-risk of facing extinction. Encouragingly, this species was observed 45 times by 18 different participants between 2020-2021, which lead to 10 new county records.

New county records (map): Adair, Benton, Boone, Cass, Chariton, Dekalb, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, and Platte counties.

Keep an eye out for this species in 2022! View photographs on Bumble Bee Watch to learn what it looks like.
Picture
Yellow Bumble Bee
Bombus fervidus

The Yellow Bumble Bee is very uncommon in Missouri. During the Atlas, there has only been one verified observation from Buchanan county and two additional observations that are tentatively of the Yellow bumble bee (see map). All observations were male bees, which display a lot of overlap with male American bumble bees in terms of color pattern. For that reason, and the fact that Missouri is outside of the Yellow bumble bee's historic range, we are taking a cautious approach before we verify observations of this species.

Keep an eye out for this species in 2022! View photographs on Bumble Bee Watch to learn what it looks like.
Picture
Bumble Bee Watch / Dave Prescott

Flowering Plant Observations

Understanding which plants bumble bees utilize throughout the season and across the state is a valuable source for conservation practitioners wishing to support these imperiled pollinators. Between 2020-2021, nearly 97% (2,316) of all Atlas observations were submitted with a floral host! Bumble bees were observed on 136 different plant genera, though 55% of visits were to ten genera. 
​
​On the charts below, we've listed all plant genera that had been visited by at least 4 different species of bumble bees. The blue bar represents the number of bumble bee visits to each genus, while the orange dot represent the number of bumble bee species that visited each genus. 

Photography Highlights

Taking high quality photographs of chilled bumble bees is no easy task, but Atlas participants did a fantastic job! Below we've selected a few photos taken in 2021 that display clear detail for identifying. Notice how each photo has a high-contrast (light or dark) background and the bee is positioned in a way that provides clear views of the head, thorax, and abdomen. 
Two-spotted Bumble Bee (Male)
Bombus bimaculatus
Bumble Bee Watch / D. Getman
Picture
Southern Plains Bumble Bee (Female)
Bombus fraternus
Bumble Bee Watch / B. Widmar
Picture
American Bumble Bee (Male)
Bombus pensylvanicus
Bumble Bee Watch / L. Williams
Picture
Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Male)
Bombus impatiens
Bumble Bee Watch / K. Suedmeyer
Picture
Brown-belted Bumble Bee (Female)
Bombus griseocollis
Bumble Bee Watch / D. Bernskoeter
Picture
Two-spotted Bumble Bee (Female)
Bombus bimaculatus
Bumble Bee Watch / M. Crowell
Picture

Thank you for a great season! We hope you'll continue to participate in 2022!

Project Partners

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
All photography by The Xerces Society, unless otherwise noted. 
  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
    • Requirements
    • Instructions
    • Adopt a Grid Cell
  • Events
  • Data
    • Submit Data
    • Data Entry Help
    • Explore Data
    • 2022 Highlights
  • Resources
    • Online Training
    • Training Packet
    • Survey Types >
      • Point Surveys
      • Roadside Surveys
      • Habitat Assessment
      • Incidental Observations
    • Photo Tips
    • Habitat Guidance
    • FAQs