[Pollinator] FW: Bumble Bee Watch Update, July 2015

Wed Jul 8 15:50:07 PDT 2015

Hi everybody,

We wanted to let you all know that Bumble Bee Watch has just launched a
monthly e-newsletter. Unfortunately, forwarding it like this may cause the
formatting to get quirky, so it might not look quite as nice as if you
received it directly. You can also see it online at
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs192/1102968923571/archive/1121603502767.html
.

To sign up for future e-newsletters, or to register with Bumble Bee Watch
and start submitting sightings, please go to http://bumblebeewatch.org/. A
link to register is at the top of the page and the place to sign-up for the
e-newsletter is at the bottom right.

Matthew

________

*Matthew Shepherd*, Communications Director

*The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation     *Protecting the Life
that Sustains Us

Stay in touch:     *xerces.org <http://www.xerces.org/>*          *Facebook
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Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 110; Toll free: 1-855-232 6639 ext. 110; Cell:
(503) 807-1577

mdshepherd at xerces.org

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international
nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their habitat. To join the Society, make a donation, or
read about our work, please visit www.xerces.org.

*Bumble Bee Watch Update*

*July 2015*

You're reading the first edition of what will be a monthly newsletter from
us here at Bumble Bee Watch. Since launching in January of 2014 we have
been busy improving user experience with the site and working hard to
verify the large number of photos that were submitted.

*2014 Highlights:*

   - Nearly 5,000 people have registered and just over 4,500 observations
   have been submitted.
   - We had observations from all 49 states with bumble bees (Hawaii has no
   bumble bees) and from 11 Canadian provinces and territories.
   - So far from our 2014 data, we have verified 37 different species of
   bumble bees, including several rusty patched bumble bees (a species of
   special conservation concern)!
   - We may be documenting the establishment of the common eastern bumble
   bee in western Canada and Washington state.

These data far surpassed our expectations for our first year. We are
admittedly still behind in our verifications, and apologize for our slow
response time. We're doing better with keeping up with our 2015
observations, but still owe many of you verifications from 2014. Rest
assured, we are still working our way through them, and will make good use
of all of those precious data. We truly appreciate the time that everyone
has taken to submit observations. What a tremendous response -- thank you!

This year is also off to a great start. Through early June, you submitted
over 1,100 photos, and we've already verified 32 species from 37 states and
9 Canadian provinces. We look forward to seeing more of your photos as the
summer presses on!

Thanks so much for a great first eighteen months of Bumble Bee Watch. All
of these observations will help us to better understand bumble bees and
their distribution, and they will aid us in better targeting our
conservation efforts. Please keep those observations coming, and we'll stay
busy behind the scenes with verifications and updates!

*In Your Garden*

Lavender is starting to bloom all over the continent, and makes a great
platform on which to photograph bumble bees. Often you will find several
species foraging on the blossoms at one time, and individual bees will
often stay on one floral spike for a long time -- giving you a prime chance
to snap a high quality photo. You may also find male bumble bees hanging
out on the blossoms, sometimes even staying there overnight!

*In the Colony*

This time of year, most bumble bee species have a well-established nest and
are quickly gathering resources to continue building the colony. Workers
are busy foraging, while the queen stays occupied in the nest laying eggs,
tending to her brood, and keeping things in order. The colony may be
starting to produce their first gynes (new queens that will form next
year's colonies) and males. If you're lucky, you might find a pair mating
on a plant, or even on the ground. We've had several of these photos posted
to the site in the last couple of days.

*Stay in Touch*

bumblebeewatch at xerces.org  |

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Content by Rich Hatfield, The Xerces Society, on behalf of Bumble Bee Watch
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.

PHOTOS

Western bumble bee (*Bombus occidentalis*) and bumble bee on lavender by
Rich Hatfield, The Xerces Society. Bumble bee nest illustration by Alix
Lukas.
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