Wildlife Habitat_Content Page_Bumble Bee Brigade

Wisconsin Bumble Bee Brigade

Join the Wisconsin Bumble Bee Brigade (B3), a photography-based volunteer monitoring project, to help monitor bumble bees in your area.

Much remains unknown about the distribution and biology of Wisconsin's bumble bee species. Accurate information on species distributions, habitat requirements, phenology and population status is needed to improve conservation planning and to identify management actions for these important pollinators.

Wisconsin's Native Bumble Bee Species

Common NameScientific NameStatus
American bumble beeBombus pensylvanicus State Special Concern
Ashton's cuckoo bumble beeBombus bohemicusExtirpated
Black and gold bumble beeBombus auricomus 
Brownbelted bumble beeBombus griseocollis 
Common eastern bumble beeBombus impatiens 
Confusing bumble beeBombus perplexus 
Fernald cuckoo bumble beeBombus flavidusState Special Concern
Frigid bumble beeBombus frigidusState Special Concern
Half-black bumble beeBombus vagans 
Indiscriminate cuckoo bumble beeBombus insularisState Special Concern
Lemon cuckoo bumble beeBombus citrinus 
Nevada bumble beeBombus nevadensis(newly reported in 2025)
Northern amber bumble beeBombus borealis 
Redbelted bumble beeBombus rufocinctus 
Rusty patched bumble beeBombus affinisU.S. Endangered, State Special Concern
Sanderson's bumble beeBombus sandersoniState Special Concern
Southern plains bumble beeBombus fraternusState Special Concern
Tricolored bumble beeBombus ternarius 
Twospotted bumble beeBombus bimaculatus 
Variable cuckoo bumble beeBombus variabilisExtirpated
Yellow bumble beeBombus fervidus 
Yellowbanded bumble beeBombus terricolaState Special Concern

Submit a Bumble Bee Sighting

We need your help to monitor our native bumble bees! As a volunteer, you will submit photos and additional information on the bumble bees that you observe. You can start sharing your observations with the bumble bee community in four simple steps.

  • Step 1: Take a photo of a bumble bee. You can use a digital camera, cell phone or other device.
  • Step 2: Submit your sighting.
    • Sign in or create an account on Bumble Bee Watch.
    • Select the “WI Bumble Bee Brigade - Incidental” project in BBW to add your sightings (or, if doing a survey, see ‘Conduct a Survey’ instructions below and select the “WI Bumble Bee Brigade – Survey" project in BBW).
    • Enter site name and latitude and longitude.
  • Step 3: Identify your species.
    • When you submit your sightings, you can use the Bumble Bee Watch field guide or Bee Machine to assist with your species identification. We also recommend checking out the bumble bee identification resources.
  • Step 4: Your sighting will be verified by an expert.
    • You will receive a notification, generally through email, when your sighting is verified.

Conduct a Bumble Bee Survey

Surveys

Surveys are conducted when you purposefully look for, photograph, count and record the bumble bees you see at a location. Both incidental observations and surveys provide useful information about bumble bees. More information is provided by surveys, but it is not always possible to complete one. Wait to conduct surveys until you can identify bees in the field. Surveys are easiest when done with a partner or in a small group.

Submit your Survey Results

  1. Sign into your account on Bumble Bee Watch.
  2. Click “Add a sighting."
  3. Select “WI Bumble Bee Brigade - Survey” from the project list.
  4. Enter site name and latitude and longitude.
  5. On the checklist page, enter the accuracy of your coordinates along with the basic survey information, such as start and end times of the survey, number of surveyors, area surveyed and habitat.
  6. Add sightings of bumble bees. In the observation notes field, include the number of bees counted. If possible, add the name of the flower the bumble bee was visiting or include a photo of the bee visiting the flower.

Tips for Calculating Area Surveyed in Hectares

  • Hectares are a metric unit of square measure, equal to 2.471 acres or 10,000 square meters.
  • Traveling/meandering surveys can be calculated by multiplying distance traveled (meters) by average survey width (meters) and dividing by 10,000.
  • B3 Small Area Surveys are 30m diameter circles measuring 0.07 hectares.

If you are interested in conducting a survey, read the Wisconsin Bumble Bee Brigade Surveys and Reporting Manual.

Report a Nest Observation

By submitting a photo of the nest and a few additional habitat details, you are contributing to a large database of bumble bees in the United States and Canada that researchers use to improve conservation efforts. Please contact us immediately if you find a rusty patched bumble bee nest.

Add nest observations to the “WI Bumble Bee Brigade – Incidental” or if found during a survey, “WI Bumble Bee Brigade – Survey” project in Bumble Bee Watch.

Nest Information to Report

  • Photograph the nest, nest entrance and, if possible, the species.
  • Bumble bee species observed
  • Sex of bumble bees observed
  • Number of bees entering and exiting the nest per minute
  • Location of the nest (e.g., underground, hollow cavity)
  • Number of entrances to the nest
  • Direction the nest entrance faces
  • Previous nest use
  • Nest materials (e.g., grass, leaves, rocks, wood)
  • Nest use by other animals
  • Amount of sunshine and shade that the nest gets
  • Primary habitat around the nest (e.g., grassland, forest, wetland)
  • Main soil type around the nest (e.g., clay, loam, sand)

Attend an Event and Join the B3 Community

Explore B3 Observations

Download observations of bumble bees [Excel] documented through B3 to explore flight season phenology and to create species county checklists. The county checklists also include current and historic records from Bumble Bees of North America dataset, UW Green Bay Richter Museum, iNaturalist and DNR staff.

A screenshot of the Flight Season Phenology Pivot chart. The bar graph shows sightings report by month/weekly.

Learn How to Identify Bumble Bees

Field Guides and Identification Aids

Recorded Webinars

Quizzes to Test Your Knowledge

Books

Create or Improve Habitat for Pollinators

Community-Based Monitoring

The logo for the Citizen Based Monitoring Network that shows Wisconsin state shape filled in with blue with the letter CBM on the top of it.

The Aquatic and Terrestrial Resources Inventory is a program within the DNR that collects inventory and monitoring data to understand Wisconsin's natural resources better. Data is obtained through individual projects administered through Community-Based Monitoring projects and statewide surveys.