State of Vermont's Wild Bees

The State of Bees report represents countless hours of work from hundreds of people. Each of the nearly 60,000 bee records that form the backbone of this report are by themselves a collaboration of many individuals and organizations. Each record starts with either a photograph or specimen collected in the field, often by a volunteer or scientist working on their own project. Each record is identified by at least one expert taxonomist, who is basing their work on more than a century of prior taxonomic work. Finally, each record is digitized and shared as open data with the Vermont Atlas of Life and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

We acknowledge that the lands covered in this report are the traditional and unceded home of the Western Abenaki People and other Indigenous Peoples. These lands and waters have been a site of meeting and exchange among Indigenous Peoples for thousands of years. We honor, recognize and respect the Abenaki as the traditional stewards of this landscape. We strive to respect and protect this land, while continually honoring the legacy of Indigenous People across Vermont and beyond.

The following people were instrumental in getting this project off the ground, compiling the data that made it possible, and/or allowing access to the many special natural areas found throughout the state.

Collaborators

John Ascher, National University of Singapore
Sam Droege, USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Program
Tim Duclos, Merck Forest and Farmland Center
Mark Ferguson, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
Joan Milam, University of Massachusetts
Leif Richardson, Xerces Society
Michael Veit

Interns

Colin Brown, University of Vermont
Claire Contreras, Middlebury College
Katie McGranaghan, Community College of Vermont

Funding

Binnacle Family Foundation
Kelsey Trust
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge
NatureServe
Riverledge Foundation
Sarah K. de Coizart Perpetual Charitable Trust
UVM Apis Fund
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department State Wildlife Grant
Friends and supporters of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies

Collections

University of Vermont Natural History Museum - Zadock Thompson Zoological Collection
University of Vermont George D. Aiken Forestry Sciences Laboratory Collections
Middlebury College Insect Collection
Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium
and the many collections around the world that are digitized and shared with GBIF and the Vermont Atlas of Life.

Taxonomists

The following people have been instrumental in identifying bees from Vermont. Without their expertise and time (often volunteered), this project would not have been possible. And through iNaturalist, over 700 people from all over the world have contributed identifications.

John Ascher, National University of Singapore
Sam Droege, USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Program
Jason Gibbs, University of Manitoba
Joan Milam, University of Massachusetts
Max McCarthy, Rutgers University
Joel Neylon
Thomas Onuferko, Canadian Museum of Nature
Leif Richardson, Xerces Society
Michael Veit

VCE staff identifying bees in the lab

Field Work

The following people have added more than 100 records and/or volunteered for either the Vermont Bumble Bee Atlas or the Wild Bee Survey (names in bold). Asterisks indicate project staff and collaborators. View a complete list of more than 1,500 iNaturalist users who have submitted bee records for Vermont.

Betsy and Jim Bahrenburg, E. L. Bell, Karen Bourque, Neil Buckley, Doug and Mary Burnham, Sarah Carline, D. M. Caron, Lisa Cass, Larry Clarfeld, Brendan Collins, Bruce Cook, Zac Cota, Jennifer Danly, Kevin Downey, Tim Duclos*, Susan Elliott, Sabina Ernst, Ray Gonda, Dean and Susan Greenberg, Peggy and Mark Faucher, Mark Ferguson*, Jeffery Freeman*, Jody Frey, Ed Hack, Cynthiaand James Hall, Janet Hardy, Spencer Hardy*, Kevin Hemeon, David Hoag, A. Hogeboom, Bobbi Holzel, Elizabeth Hunton, Mike Kiernan, Dave King*, Deb Laramie, Joshua Lincoln, Shannon Maes, Jason Mazurowski*, Duncan McDonald, Kent McFarland*, Eve Mendelsohn, Erika Mitchell, R. A. Morse, Charlie Nicholson, Bernie Paquette, Carl Parsons, Colette Paul, Leif Richardson*, J. G. Rozen, Dick Ruben, JoAnne Russo, Michael Sabourin, Judy Sefchick*, Angela Shambaugh, Nathaniel Sharp*, Michael Veit, Helen Young, Sara Zahendra*

Landowners

We thank the many private landowners that graciously gave us permission to survey wild bees on their property. The following organizations and agencies permitted access to their lands for this project:

The Nature Conservation, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont Air National Guard, Vermont Army National Guard, Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, Silvio Conte National Wildlife Refuge, Merck Forest and Farmland Center, Vermont Land Trust and others.

Others

Thank you to the following people for help with botanical, ecological, collections, or other invaluable help.

Zoe Albion, University of Vermont Invertebrate Collection Technician
Beau Harris, Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium Collections Manager
Aaron Marcus, Assistant Botanist, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
Murray McHugh, Stewardship Manager, The Nature Conservancy
Bob Popp, Botanist, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
Eric Sorenson, Community Ecologist