New, rare bees found in WA for statewide Atlas project
SEATTLE - Volunteers with the Washington State Department of Agriculture's Washington Bee Atlas say they have made significant discoveries in their first full year of documenting the state's native bees and their host plants.
Big picture view:
The program has uncovered many bees never before recorded in Washington, as well as rare native species. Some haven't been spotted in more than a century.
The Washington Bee Atlas aims to identify and document native bees to better understand their presence in the state, assess their well-being, and determine which species may require conservation efforts.
By the numbers:
In 2024, 67 volunteers collected over 17,000 bee specimens from more than 600 different host plants. While many of these bees are still being identified, several notable discoveries have already been made, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Among them is a bee species not recorded in Washington since 1917 and another species never found in Western Washington. Additionally, 15 species have been collected in the state for the first time.
Eight of these new state records were discovered in Chelan County as part of a graduate research project conducted by University of Washington student and Washington Bee Atlas volunteer Autumn Maust.
What they're saying:
"These are just our preliminary findings," Karen Wright, WSDA pollinator taxonomist, said. "There are still many more bees to identify from what has been collected, not to mention lots of opportunities to find new or rare species."
The Source: Information in this story came from
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