Diario del proyecto Finger Lakes Bee Survey

Looking for a podcast this weekend? Check out this recent conversation I had with our local NPR station about bee basics, including: the wide variety of bees in North America, bee stings (noun and verb), the importance of bees to our food system, how to make space for bees in our yards and gardens, and how to recognize when something is not a bee (like a wasp or fly).

A couple corrections to note: In a brief comment, I mixed up the nesting habits of Diadasia with Agapostemon virescens. And I'm not a farmer (worked on farms, written about farms, not actually worthy of the title).

Here's what our informal survey of bees in the Finger Lakes looks like as of June 30.

Top 10 List of Bees, identified by genus or better:

Bombus impatiens 82
Apis mellifera 72
Xylocopa virginica 18
Ceratina 9
Augochlora pura 8
Nomada 7
Bombus griseocollis 6
Colletes inqequalis 5
Bombus bimaculatus 4
Bombus fervidus 3
Osmia 3
Bombus ternarius 3

The complete list includes 35 bees identified to the level of genus or better, drawn from 242 observations to date. Bumble bees (Bombus) made up 42 percent of the observations, and honey bees (Apis mellifera) made up 30 percent. Surprisingly, Ceratina (small carpenter bees) and Lasioglossum (small sweat bees) combined comprised only 5 percent of the observations to date; these two types of bees seem to be on every sort of flower everywhere I look this summer (daisies, chicory, clover and so on), not to mention landing on the occasional person. Have I just been in the right place at the right time? Or are these bees getting missed in observations because of how small there are?

The majority of observations to date have come from Monroe and Tompkins counties. There have been almost no observations from Ontario county.

Join the Finger Lakes Bee Survey and add your own observations.

• Sharply-focused, close up, high-resolution color photos.
• Show the features used in bee identification:
• a top view showing wing veins and abdomen details
• a front shot of the face
• a full side shot of the bee
• Take several photos from all different angles, then pick the best.
• iPhones can take really good photos, but zoom in on bees by getting as close as you can (not by using the digital zoom on the screen). And no filters; just raw photos.

With all that being said, don't let perfection get in the way of making a good observation. Just start shooting! If you're new to this, you'll get better as time goes on.

If you have any questions or are looking for tips, feel free to message me.

And please share any tips and tricks for taking great bee photos in the comments below!

The warm weather is here and the bees are out! Time to start documenting.

When you see a bee – or an insect you think might be a bee – snap some photos and upload it to Your Observations. Here's a few things to keep in mind when uploading:

• List the species of your observation as "Bees (Epifamily Anthophila). Be as specific as you can (for example, Hylaeus mesillae ssp. cressoni), but at the very least list your observation as a "Bee"; it will automatically be included in the survey. Even if you're unsure of what you saw or the insect turns out not to be a bee, no worries! The community here will help identify it and make sure only bees are included in the survey.
• List the location of your observation. Make sure you include as specific location as possible; if your observation falls within the ten counties of this survey, it will automatically be included. You can always "Obscure" your location when uploading the observation to make sure the general public cannot see it. At the very least, list the county where you made the observation.
• You can also specifically add your observation to this project under the Projects drop-down menu.

What makes a good photo? Check out the next News posting.