The Great Sunflower Project is using citizen science to measure the health of bee populations across the United States. YourGardenShow.com has partnered with them to take advantage of social media to make the results available in real time. While the decline of commercial beehives is well documented, little is known about the status of bees across regions or the continental United States as a whole. This is particularly true for urban areas. People who partake in the project are planting sunflowers or other plants that are bee magnets, then counting the bees that visit the flowers. The data is entered on-line and is available in real time by zip code using the Bee-o-Meter.
The Decline of Bee Populations
Up to 40% of the honey bee hives in the United States have been destroyed due to colony collapse disorder. This mysterious condition was recently discovered to be due to the combination of a fungal infection with a small RNA virus (Bromenshenk et al. 2010). Many plants will not set fruit unless pollinated, often from bees. This loss poses a serious threat to commercial agriculture, home gardens, and the large number of prescription drugs derived from plants.
While there is much data on the loss of commercial bee hives, substantially less is known about native bee populations. It is not clear whether urban areas have enough viable habitat to sustain bees. Evidence suggests that bumblebee populations in urban areas are declining (McFrederick and LeBuhn, 2006). There are more than 3500 species of bees, and the status of their populations is generally not known. "There is just not data that exists for it," stated Dr. Gretchen LeBuhn of San Francisco State University on May 10, 2011. Scientists would like to have a better understanding of the status of bee pollination of plants across regions of the United States and the country as a whole.
Bee Pollination is Monitored by Citizen Scientists
Individuals have the opportunity to be part of a large-scale research project monitoring the numbers of bees that are pollinating flowers across the United States. This endeavor was launched by The Great Sunflower Project under the auspices of Dr. LeBuhn, who is the scientist behind this project. Initially, it involved planting “Lemon Queen” sunflowers and then monitoring the flowers twice a month for 15 minutes at a time. The person then noted the number of plants, flowers, and the number and type of bees that visited during that time frame. An important part of the project was noting if no bees came to the flowers. This year, additional types of plants that are bee magnets are included in the project.
Data sheets are downloadable on-line and show different types of bees that may visit the flowers, including honey bees, bumblebees, carpenter bees, and green bees. The data is entered on-line by zip code. The data from 2010 is available as a map of the United States. Red dots indicate poor pollination, with 0-1 bees visible during the time frame. Good pollination is measured as having more than four bees visit the flowers and is shown as green dots on the map.
With the advent of the involvement of YourGardenShow.com, the data can be viewed in real time by using the Bee-o-Meter. One can enter in the zip code of interest and, if data has been entered from that zip code, view the pollination status of that area. Many areas of the country are not being monitored, and individuals are encouraged to sign up and become part of the program. The whole data set for the year will be made available in a summarized form once available.
Plants for The Great Sunflower Project
Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are especially useful for this endeavor, since they grow in every state of the United States. They are easy to grow, flower profusely, attract bees, and can be grown in pots on a deck or patio. If using sunflowers as the bee magnet, the project strongly encourages every one to use the cultivar “Lemon Queen,” so that each scientist is analyzing pollination of the same type of plant.
Additional types of plants that attract bees were added this year and are listed below. Hybrid plants often have flowers that are shaped differently than the original species. If planting one of the alternate plants in the following list, it is best to use the original species rather than a hybrid.
- Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa)
- Large Flowered Tickseed (Coreopsis grandiflora)
- Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalus)
- Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
- Lacy Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia)
- Purple Coneflower (Echinaceae purpurea)
Individuals Can Provide Data on the Health of Native Bee Populations
The decline of commercial honey bee hives due to colony collapse disorder has been well-documented, but little is known about the health of bee populations across the United States as a whole. Individuals can act as citizen scientists and monitor the pollination of sunflowers or other plants by bees in their gardens. This data is then entered on-line to The Great Sunflower Project. YourGardenShow.com enables the data to be viewed in real time by entering a zip code into the Bee-o-Meter. This is an opportunity for people to become involved in a giant research project and benefit the study of bees, for which we rely on one third of our food.
Sources:
Bromenshenk, J.J. et al. (2010). Iridovirus and microsporidian linked to honey bee colony decline. PloS ONE 5(10): e13181. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013181.
McFrederick, Q.S.. and G. LeBuhn (2006). Are urban parks refuges for bumble bees Bombus spp. (Hymenoptera : Apidae)? Biological Conservation 129(3):372-382. abstract
