With the objective of mapping out all local pollinators, the project aims to produce a complete 'bee atlas'.
Lincoln Best, a bee taxonomist at Oregon State University, retrieved a wooden box labeled "impressive bees" from his lab's shelves. He then delicately uncovered rows of brilliant, green-blue bees, each mounted on a pin and shining under the fluorescent lights as if in a gallery.
Native bees, like the one shown here, play a crucial role in pollinating 75% of all flowering plants. These courageous pollinators are widely distributed around the globe, from Alaska to the Arctic. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are approximately 4,000 native bee species in the U.S. alone. Sadly, many of these vital pollinators are facing challenges across the country.
Although honeybees are often the center of attention among pollinators, they are not native to North America. It was during the 17th century when European settlers introduced honeybees to the continent and established a food system that heavily relies on these artificially managed pollinators.
The long-standing relationship between humans and honeybees has led to a disproportionate amount of attention and resources being directed towards non-native bees, resulting in a lack of information about native pollinators, including their identity, location, and overall wellbeing.
Best has set his sights on altering this trend. As an expert in bee classification, he works as a bee taxonomist for Oregon State University, located in the quaint western Oregon community of Corvallis. His leadership has established the Oregon Bee Atlas; a project that educates ordinary citizens on identifying and documenting native bees and their associated plant pollinators throughout the entire state. Best has certified more than 200 of these volunteers as “Master Melittologists,” or bee researchers.
The Oregon Bee Atlas project by Best commenced soon after experiencing the most significant massacre of indigenous bees ever documented. In 2013, over 50,000 native bumblebees plummeted from the air following the application of the insecticide dinotefuran on linden trees in a Target parking lot located in Wilsonville, Oregon, near Portland.
"According to Best, there was a considerable uproar from the public as she observed "inches of deceased Bombus bees lying beneath these trees in the town."
In response to the extensive loss of life, the state of Oregon took action to enhance the condition of local pollinators and introduced the Oregon Bee Project, a comprehensive program that provides comprehensive backing to Best's ongoing work at the Oregon Bee Atlas.
Throughout the year 2018, Best and his team of volunteer Master Melittologists have amassed a vast collection of native bee specimens from all over Oregon. This has resulted in the documentation of over 600 unique bee species and more than 1,400 plants that they pollinate.
It was more than two decades ago when Best first became captivated by native bees. The unforgettable moment occurred on a beautiful spring day in British Columbia during a canoe excursion with friends. While traversing the dunes, Best stumbled upon native longhorn bees emerging from their sandy cocoons. He was particularly intrigued by the males and their distinctive horn-like antennae.
At the moment, Scott Sublette, a volunteer who has been a Master Melitollogist for three years, entered the lab sporting a worn-out Oregon Bee Atlas cap. Before, he used to tend to lambs until he received shoulder replacements. These days, he devotes himself entirely to gathering bees for the Oregon Bee Atlas, demonstrating great skill in doing so. In fact, he was one of the highest-ranking collectors for the Atlas during the previous year, locating more than 1,800 bees—a number that is typically only achieved by a graduate student of entomology.
Sublette captures the majority of these bees around his residence in The Dalles, Oregon, located on the eastern border of the Columbia River Gorge. Armed with vials in his pockets, he sets out with his butterfly net. Whenever he comes across a bee on a plant, he takes a picture to document which plants are being pollinated by which bees.
Following the capture of the bees, Sublette uses a butterfly net to swat at them before transferring them into a kill jar, which is a glass vial filled with ethyl acetate, a liquid with properties similar to nail polish remover.Information such as the town's name, longitude and latitude, date, and the specific plant species (if known) can be found on the label of each vial. Once the bees die, they are promptly brought back to the lab to be recorded.
Despite its harshness, eliminating the bees is vital for the Master Mellitologists to gain insight into their behavior. According to Best, the majority of insect species' statuses remain a mystery, making precision crucial.
To accurately identify the specimen, scientists such as Best must utilize either a microscope or perform a DNA analysis, both of which require the bee to be deceased. According to the Bee Atlas, a 2015 study showed that the repeated capture and death of bees at a particular location did not affect their populations.
Best opened his computer and accessed a map of Oregon, marked with red dots denoting the locations where volunteers have gathered bees in 2022. He specifically pointed to The Dalles, where Sublette resides, and observed the numerous red dots on the map. With the continuous expansion of the dataset, Best plans to incorporate additional data to generate a comprehensive map showcasing soil type, precipitation, and temperature for each region.
By compiling ample data on the locations of bees, Best has the ability to construct a prediction model that forecasts the potential distribution of each species and identifies hotspots of species richness. This valuable model can guide decision-making regarding land use, highlighting the importance of preserving habitats that sustain 500 species of bees and flowering plants rather than areas that only support 50.
While the computer model accurately depicts the diversity of native bee species, Best possesses an alternative tool that showcases the interdependence of these bees and the flowering plants they pollinate.
With a swift motion, Best retrieved a rolled-up scroll and proceeded to carefully unravel it. The scroll contained a comprehensive list of bee and plant names, along with an intricate web of interconnected lines representing the observed bee-flower interactions noted by the Master Melittologists in their field research.
As he rolled his desk chair backward, Best showcased an expansive network that covered the floor. The scroll boasted a volume of data equivalent to 20 Ph.D.s and extended a remarkable 80 feet in length.
For a long time, we have relied on native bees for natural pollination, recognizing their role in maintaining biodiversity within our ecosystems. However, our knowledge of their exact location and contribution remains limited. The continuously expanding scroll, which has surpassed 80 feet in length, provides a unique glimpse into the dynamic relationships between native bees and plants. It serves as a constant reminder of all that we take for granted and the things that we could potentially lose.
Best led me down four flights of stairs to OSU’s expansive assortment of arthropods, which encompasses a variety of invertebrate creatures such spiders, crustaceans, and, of course, bees. Inside, I met Christopher Marshall, a tall man with a striking handlebar mustache, who was preparing a metal cart to store his collection of specimens. Responsible for the 3 million arthropod specimens in the collection, Marshall is in charge of the largest collection in the Pacific Northwest, which incorporates specimens gathered by melittologists like Sublette.
Marshall claims that the Oregon Bee Atlas is capable of operating independently from the arthropod collection. However, due to the vast scale of species distribution, it is vital for researchers in the field of biodiversity to collaborate in order to fully understand the concept.
The Oregon Bee Atlas, paired with the expansive Oregon State Arthropod Collection, allows for a deeper examination of species patterns such as abundance and distribution over time and space, as well as physical adaptations in reaction to the surroundings. Every bee specimen collected by the melittologists becomes a unique data point in Best's map.
Marshall carefully set a box containing native Oregon bumblebees on the lab bench. Inside, Best extracted an inner chamber, revealing 46 pinned specimens of Franklin's bumblebees, a rare species native to the Southern region of the state.
The phrase "Save the bees!" has long served as a rallying cry for environmental and conservation causes. Despite the struggles faced by certain bees, like Franklin's bumblebee, labeling the situation as an "insect apocalypse" is an oversimplification, says Best. The true condition of most bee species remains unknown.
With thousands of species of native bees, each one has unique responses to stressors. The decline of these bees can be attributed to a range of factors such as the loss of their natural habitats, the application of insecticides and herbicides, changes in climate, and competition from non-native honeybees. It's a slow and steady decline for many native bee species, as they face various threats.
Currently, the EPA employs honeybees as a substitute for all bees in studies and assessments of toxicity. However, other indigenous pollinators such as bumblebees have different reactions to stressors, and the EPA's approach only considers mortality rates, neglecting the potential sub-lethal impacts of pesticides.
James Crall, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who focuses on the impact of human- and climate-induced pressures (such as pesticides) on native bumblebees, compares honeybees to chickens. Despite the misconception that raising backyard chickens is beneficial for birds, Crall insists that it is not a form of bird conservation.
Similarly, considering the well-being of honeybees is crucial as they play a vital role in our food systems. These remarkable creatures, however, are not typically included in discussions about preserving our native biodiversity and promoting its growth.
Crall remarks that native bumblebees have endured various weather conditions for millions of years, yet the rapid rate of climate change presents a new hurdle. To gain insight into the effects of heat stress and insecticides on different species of native bumbles, Crall and his team in Madison employ cutting-edge imaging technology and powerful computing methods.
Despite his field being described as "data limited" by Crall, the reality is that some native bees are facing critical danger while others are currently thriving. The status of native bees as a whole remains uncertain, with numerous questions remaining unanswered.
The threats to native bees are not lost on Best, given the possibility of another catastrophic event like the Wilsonville bee kill. Furthermore, the likelihood of Franklin's bumblebee making a comeback is slim.
But Best isn’t interested in the traditional model of pushing a specific species through the Endangered Species Act and pouring money and resources into saving that one animal. “It’s mostly a false narrative that you save species, one endangered species at a time,” says Best. Rather, he thinks about preserving entire native bee communities.
The goal of the Oregon Bee Project is to support the management of all bee species by obtaining relevant information. This project is focused on documenting and investing in biodiversity, as well as influencing decision-making and landscape management to "save the bees."