The Washington Bee Atlas (WaBA) is a WSDA Pollinator Program project that trains and partners with volunteers to identify and map existing native bee species in every county in the state. Volunteers commit to training and are provided supplies to collect native bees and process the specimens. The WSDA pollinator taxonomist then identifies the bee specimens and provides the data to the public, including researchers, agricultural stakeholders, and conservation groups. We plan several group collecting events each year, but volunteers are encouraged to collect independently as well after they have been trained.

Native bees include all species of bees except the honey bee. The European honey bee, Apis mellifera, is one species of domesticated bee. There are more than 20,000 other species of bees in the world, 4,000 in the United States, and an estimated 6-700 species in the state of Washington. These bees range from large bumble bee size to smaller than a grain of rice and they come in all different colors. Most of them nest in the soil by themselves, not in a hive.

Bees are vegetarian insects that feed their young pollen and drink nectar as adults. Therefore, they make better pollinators than other insects. They even have specialized hairs called scopae used to transport pollen. Native bees pollinate both wildflowers and agricultural crops. They contribute to our food resources as well as the beauty and health of our natural landscapes. Despite the importance of native bees, not much is known about these species, where they live, and what they pollinate.

If you are interested in helping with this important effort, please join us. No previous experience is necessary. New volunteers are expected to take the Master Melittologist (bee scientist) online course offered by Oregon State University, one of our close partners. This course provides training modules on how to collect bees along with background knowledge and basic biology of native bees. In-person training throughout the state will then help you learn hands-on techniques for collecting and identifying bees to genus. We use the iNaturalist smartphone app to document the GPS coordinates, dates, and host plants of the bees we collect. Contact the WSDA pollinator taxonomist, Dr. Karen Wright, to learn more about becoming a Washington Bee Atlas volunteer. karen.wright@agr.wa.gov