Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
PRATT–The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) is seeking volunteers to help protect Kansas bumble bees for the fifth year of the Great Plains Bumble Bee Atlas. The Bumble Bee Atlas is a community‑science project that trains volunteers to survey and document bumble bees and their habitats across the Great Plains.
With pollinator declines accelerating, the Bumble Bee Atlas gives people a way to take action conserving bumble bees. Training is available for anyone interested in getting involved.
The Bumble Bee Atlas is a nationwide effort spanning 21 states, where trained community scientists help researchers document bumble bees and the habitats they use. The data collected helps researchers, state and federal agencies, and policymakers better support these important pollinators.
Over the past four summers, Kansas participants have identified six bumble bee species, two of which are considered at risk of extinction. Since 2022, participants have recorded 2,300 bumble bees and conducted 263 surveys across the state.
This year, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and KDWP will host both online and in-person training events in May and June. The goal this summer is to survey unsampled areas in Kansas, particularly prairie habitat in the western part of the state.
“All you need to become a volunteer is an interest in pollinators and the ability to spare a couple of weekends between June and September,” said Katie Lamke, a conservation biologist for the Xerces Society. “We especially need volunteers who want to explore sparsely populated areas like the western prairies, where we have less information about bumble bees.”
To learn how to do bumble bee surveys, volunteers can watch the most recently recorded online training, review the project handbook, and attend one of the in-person training sessions. The in-person sessions provide hands-on experience with the project methods, including swinging a net and photographing bumble bees.
The two in-person training events will be held on June 6 at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and on June 7 at the Sandsage Bison Range Wildlife Area. The events are free, but preregistration is required. Visit BumbleBeeAtlas.org/pages/events to register. Participants are encouraged to view the recorded online training webinar, available on the Xerces Society’s YouTube page, before attending an in-person training session.
“We are excited that the Great Plains Bumble Bee Atlas is continuing in Kansas for the next two years,” said Diedre Kramer, wildlife diversity coordinator for KDWP. “This is a great opportunity for volunteers to get out and appreciate the wild spaces we have in Kansas while also providing valuable information that will help inform conservation efforts in the future.”