Bumble Bee Watch community science program increases scientific understanding of an important pollinator group across Canada and the USA.

In a time of increasing threats to bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus), it is important to understand their ecology and distribution. As experts are limited in resources to conduct field surveys, there is potential for community scientists to help. The Bumble Bee Watch (BBW) community science program involves volunteers taking photos of bumble bees in Canada and the USA and submitting them, along with geographic and optional plant information, to a website or through an app.

Training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat: Challenges and opportunities.

Bumble bees are among the most imperiled pollinators. However, habitat use, especially nest site selection, remains relatively unknown. Methods to locate nests are invaluable to better understand habitat requirements and monitor wild populations.

Using Bumble Bee Watch to investigate the accuracy and perception of bumble bee ( spp.) identification by community scientists.

Community science programs provide an opportunity to gather scientific data to inform conservation policy and management. This study examines the accuracy of community science identifications submitted to the North American Bumble Bee Watch program on a per species level and as compared to each species' conservation status, as well as users (members of the public) and experts (those with expertise in the field of bumble bee biology) perceived ease of species identification. Photos of bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: ) are submitted to the program by users and verified (species name corrected or assigned as necessary) by an expert.

Community science participants gain environmental awareness and contribute high quality data but improvements are needed: insights from Bumble Bee Watch.

Bumble Bee Watch is a community science program where participants submit photos of bumble bees from across Canada and the United States for expert verification. The data can be used to help better understand bumble bee biology and aid in their conservation. Yet for community science programs like this to be successful and sustainable, it is important to understand the participant demographics, what motivates them, and the outcomes of their participation, as well as areas that are working well or could be improved.

Conservation Genomics of the Declining North American Bumblebee Reveals Inbreeding and Selection on Immune Genes.

The yellow-banded bumblebee was common in North America but has recently declined and is now on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. The causes of s decline are not well understood. Our objectives were to create a partial genome and then use this to estimate population data of conservation interest, and to determine whether genes showing signs of recent selection suggest a specific cause of decline.