The Great Backyard Bird Count, which takes place every February, taught us something about the birds.
Now, with the help of 100,000 volunteers, a California scientist is trying to learn more about the bees.
Bee-counters around the U.S. and Canada are taking a census of the winged creatures twice a month, for 15 minutes each time, to add to our knowledge of the distribution and vigor of wild bee populations.
Apparently Atlanta is buzzing with “citizen-scientists” willing to help.
When San Francisco State University associate professor of biology Gretchen LeBuhn began seeking volunteers four years ago, she contacted the Master Gardeners of Georgia.
"They must have gotten the word out immediately," said LeBuhn. "We had more people sign up from Atlanta than any other city in the country."
Dale Davis Sikes, 72, a master gardener from Loganville, was among the early volunteers and she was pretty disappointed from the start. Like 20 percent of volunteers, she counted zero bees her first year. The experience made her want to help boost the bee population by keeping hives of her own.
Another volunteer, Kerstin Liberty, 34 of Dallas, Ga., was also worried about diminishing bee populations.
"The kids wanted to do something," said Liberty, who incorporated the bee census into their home-school curriculum. "We found that counting in our area would at least be something useful."
The census will help LeBuhn and other environmental scientists create a snapshot of bee populations from various moments in time. Volunteers are encouraged to plant the same breed of sunflower, called Lemon Queen, and to observe the number of bees pollinating the blossoms during 15-minute periods twice each month. All are urged to make sure not to miss July 16, the "Great Bee Count Day," when LeBuhn hopes to have every volunteer counting at the same time.
Unlike the bird studies, volunteers aren't expected to be able to name the species of bee sighted. There are 4,000 different bees in the U.S. and many appear identical. But LeBuhn will happily accept data on sightings that distinguish between bumblebees, honeybees, carpenter bees and other easily-recognized species.
She hopes to determine whether wild bees are capable of taking over some of the pollinator services formerly provided by honeybees. Colony Collapse Disorder, in which entire hives lose their population, has begun to decimate honeybee populations. She has already learned that urban bee populations are, strangely enough, not that different from rural populations.
LeBuhn said that in the U.S., crops pollinated by bees are valued at an estimated $4 to $6 billion per year. Most volunteers report seeing a bee pollinate their plants every 2.6 minutes.
Some counters have noticed a decline in the wild bee populations as well, though Becky Griffin and her daughter Madison, of Holly Springs, have seen an increase. Madison, 16, incorporated bee counting into one of her Girl Scout projects.
"Madison is a big environmental girl. She was all over that as a cool project to do," said her mother. Madison also helps out with the yearly bird count and water monitoring.
LeBuhn hoped that having every volunteer use Lemon Queen sunflower would provide uniform results, which is why they call it the Great Sunflower Project. But LeBuhn has recently expanded the plants that counters should use to include beebalm, cosmos, rosemary, tickseed and purple coneflower.
Information for those interested in the project is at www.greatsunflower.org/
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