WINTERSVILLE -- Bee populations across the country are facing survival threats, and one Ohio species, the rusty patched bumble bee, has recently been listed as federally endangered.
Ohio State University and partner agencies hope to jump start public input through the Ohio Bee Atlas, a new statewide citizen science project, according to Erika Lyon, Jefferson and Harrison county agricultural and natural resources educator.
Ohioans can upload bee images from phones or other devices to include in the atlas, Lyon noted.
Experts will weigh-in to identify the images. The effort was launched jointly by several local organizations using the iNaturalist platform to document the distribution and identity of bumble bees and other Ohio bees.
The rusty patched bumble bee once was common throughout Ohio. The species occupied a variety of habitats, including prairies, woodlands, marshes, agricultural landscapes, residential parks and gardens.
"Bees, including bumble bees, honey bees and many other species, are facing threats such as loss of nesting and food, habitat, diseases, pesticides, intensive farming and global climate change," said Denise Ellsworth of the OSU Bee Lab.
"These threats have contributed to the decline of the rusty patched bumble bee, which is now in danger of becoming extinct," she said.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, bumble bees are not only important pollinators of crops and necessary for native wildflower reproduction, but also for creating seeds and fruits that feed wildlife.
The Ohio Bee Atlas project is the joint effort of the Cleveland Metroparks, Lake Erie Allegheny Partnership for Biodiversity, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OSU, Summit Metro Parks, University of Akron and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Participants can upload images of bees to the iNaturalist project site. Bee experts then will identify bees based on the images.
For information on the Ohio Bee Atlas project, visit go.osu.edu/ohiobeeatlas.
To receive a free Common Bees of Ohio identification card, send a business-sized self-addressed envelope to Denise Ellsworth, OSU Entomology, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691.