Standardized Bumble bee (Bombus) Surveys Conducted in Vermont in 2019

Study Extent

Vermont

Sampling

Records are either specimens, photos, or expert ID's done in the field with binoculars. These surveys were repeats of standardized surveys done in 2012 and 2013. Roadside surveys were done along routes of 7 to 10 stops on stretches of town roads in ‘priority survey blocks’, 1/8th of an USGS topographic quadrangle randomly selected for previous Vermont citizen science inventories (Renfrew 2013), where traffic was generally light and floral resources were often available. In most every case, the sites in this survey correspond directly to sites visited in the 2012/13 effort at roughly the same time of year. All roadside surveys were 10 minutes long, with observers collecting every bumblebee using a net and collecting vial with soapy water. Experienced observers comfortable with field IDs of most Bombus used binoculars to count and ID Bumblebees that otherwise would have been caught (ie. within reach of the road). In these cases, unusual species or individuals not immediately identifiable were caught with a net and either photographed or collected.

Quality Control

Most specimen and field IDs by Spencer Hardy

Method steps

1. Sampling and specimen preparation methodology identical to surveys for the Vermont Bumble Bee atlas. Full details available in the survey manual: https://figshare.com/articles/Vermont_Bumble_Bee_Survey_-_Manual_for_Participants/6327230/1

1. Bombus
   rank: genus

Vermont