May 2023
finally, a few days that are field-worthy!
If April weather didn’t cooperate with your bee collecting plans, May is sure to. And you can fill in any gaps with outreach events. Get your inspiration from the folks and events described below.
If you have any feedback or submission for Field Notes or if you want to post notes for your regional team contact Ellen Silva (e.silva@comcast.net). Photos below are from your editor unless noted.
In this issue
Field Notes
Finally out in the field with field school
Every time you hear someone say how fun Bee Camp aka Oregon Native Bee Field School aka SFI Field School is, well, you should just double that ‘cause it’s impossible to say in words how much fun it truly is. Don’t these people look like they were having a good time? Check out more of the action in the description and gallery below.
What happens when you put a mix of USFWS folks, grad students from OSU and UO, amateur melittologists both new to the field and experienced, plus Bee Atlas leaders from Oregon AND Washington all in one place for a full three days of lectures and collecting and botanizing and camp-firing? Everyone has tons of fun and learns a lot. Check out all the photos of happenings and surroundings to get an idea of why you should try to be there next year. Check out the Siskiyou Field Institute website for other field based nature learning opportunities (and if you go, catch a few bees for the Atlas in this highly diverse landscape).
Fun people with mad skillz - we learned from grad students looking into environmental DNA and AI as survey techniques, USFWS folks who are working to protect the Western Bumblebee and are searching for Franklin’s bumblebee, and professionally trained melittologists as well as learning from each other.
The scenery of the area is only beaten by the flora and fauna.
Hot days, chilly nights. The time passed too fast, but ended with a bang. At least Linc seems to think so.
Some friendly bees in Scappoose!
What’s an Earth Day Event without pollinators? Debra Brimacombe staffed a booth at the Scappoose Earth Day Event and got a hand from Robin Gill with costuming, handouts and more. The booth was very popular, with several hundred people examining bee displays, receiving handouts and seeds, and learning more about our native bees. Thanks to Robin for letting us know about the great job Debra did. To quote her, “Debi is the bee’s knees!”
making the most of a slow start to spring
A great group of melittologists gathered to survey the Mariposa Preserve on Earth Day — but since there was nothing blooming at Mariposa, they met up at the Rogue River Preserve followed by a visit to the Agate Desert in Medford instead. Lomatium, Plagiobothrys, Prunus, and other flowers were attracting early Andrena and plenty of Ceratina. The Earth Day cookies offered by the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy were attracting plenty of melittologists. Check out all the photos from the day in the gallery below. (Thanks to Rachel Phariss for many of them!)
omsi after dark is full of bees!
RB and Jan Buschmann were so swamped by avid pollinator lovers at their table at the April OMSI After Dark that they never had a chance to take any photos. At least we have a photo or two of their great display of common bees. Jan reports that Kim Brown’s talk about the OBA was a smash, and Susan Albright sneaked some good bee material into her Master Gardener table. Hundreds and hundreds of people asked about bees and the OBA at this event and these volunteers smashed it out of the park!
Now those are some big bees! Kim Brown presents at OMSI After Dark.
OBA announcements
Catch a Buzz
Catch a Buzz is the FIRST Tuesday of the month at 7pm. To join, go to https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/97230252365?pwd=TURyTXNMZ1M5SHl2TFQvajBxemtRdz09 | Password: bees
Columbia land trust offers two special collecting opportunities - coming up soon!
Mosier Plateau May 4: Our annual Mosier Plateau Preserve OBA collection day is on Thursday, May 4th at 11am. Mosier Plateau is a land trust preserve in Mosier, OR with spectacular spring wildflower diversity, clifftop Gorge views, and a public trail. You can learn more about Mosier Plateau here. This outing will include easy, meandering hiking at your own pace. Mosier is about an hour drive from Portland going east on I-84. We invite you to bring a lunch and your OBA supplies and spend the day collecting native Gorge bees with us. More information to come to those who sign up.
Mt Ulka May 7: The first ever OBA outing at Mt Ulka near the Discovery Center in the Dalles is going to be on Sunday, May 7th at 11am. The Mt Ulka preserve is currently closed to the public, but has a permit to create a public trail up to the shrub steppe cliff edges with spectacular Gorge views. You can learn about plans for Mt Ulka here. This outing will require some meandering hiking including some moderately difficult terrain. We will meet at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in the Dalles, about an hour and twenty-minute drive from Portland. More information to come to those who sign up.
If you are interested in either of the above opportunities, contact Frances Fischer, Land Trust Coordinator for the Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust, at her office (971.634.0593) or by cell (615.772.4905) or email (frances@gorgefriends.org).
kudos to debi brimacombe and jan mcdaniel!
Thank you to Debi Brimacombe for making a new OBA member’s journey easier by inviting them to join in on a tabling event and introducing them to other members. From the person who nominated them for a Kudos note, “She is very knowledgeable and a delight to be around. Her energy is inspiring!”
And thanks to Jan McDaniel for her work educating wetland volunteers on bees and teaching three classes that came out to the wetlands on field trips about pollinators, then helping them with their classroom presentations. All this and a pollinator garden, too, which she has created as an unofficial Atlas Bee Garden for educational purposes.
Do you know someone else who deserves a big thank you for the work they do on behalf of OBA and its volunteers? You can make that happen! Nominate your personal hero for going above and beyond and after approval by the Advisory Committee, a handwritten note will be sent thanking your special person. All it takes to get the process started is to fill out the nomination form found by clicking HERE.
journey level orientation moved to May 9 @ 7pm — check the email from jen for details!
Calendar
There are loads of collecting opportunities on the calendar already, plus Bee School in August and campouts, too. Plan your collecting season now!
Team news
If you want to include your own team’s news in the Roundup, send it to Ellen Silva (e.silva@comcast.net) the Monday before we publish (typically, the 1st and 3d Monday of the month).
Siskiyou Mat (Ceanothus pumilus) - E. Watrous
What’s blooming
Combing through iNaturalist over the last week, we note our volunteers have come across some great plants on the hit list or have found bees in areas of special interest. You should be able to revisit these sites. Remember to check the permit requirements for these sites in Canvas.
Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides)- Martha Richards- Josephine County, OR (April 24)
Biscuitroots (Genus Lomatium) - Josephine County, OR (April 25)
Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum) - Scott Sublette - Heceta Head, OR (April 27)
Please remember to include images of the flower, the leaves, and the entire plant with all your submissions. Only include images of the plants you collect on, not bees, in the Oregon Bee Atlas (Plant Images/Sample ID) project.
miscellany (not to be missed)
Catch A Buzz: Summary submitted by the brilliant Martha Richards
Upcoming Events: Weather is finally warming up, which means that there are plenty of field events on the calendar. Do remember to check the calendar for last-minute additions. Also, please RSVP so that the event organizers can send you more detailed information or let you know if the collection event is cancelled due to bad weather.
May 4th: Mosier Plateau. Balsamroot and other wildflowers are in bloom; this is a stunning site in the Gorge worth visiting.
May 6th and 7th: Wild Horse Wind Farm (WA). The Washington Bee Atlas is getting underway, and this is their first collection event. Yippee!
May 7th: Mt. Ulka. This is another site in the Gorge near the Columbia River Gorge Discovery Center.
May 13th: Nanaimo, BC. Canada's getting going as well! Camas and other flowers should be in bloom.
Announcements: The first meeting to discuss the journey level with Sarah Gardner has been moved to May 9th. If you've signed up, you should have received an email.
USFS Permit (officially, the Nominal Effect letter): OBA members may collect on USFS lands but with some conditions -- no queen bumblebees can be collected, and no collecting in designated wilderness areas. Unlike in years past, we are not required to notify USFS biologists prior to collecting, but it is still a good idea to check in with a USFS representative to keep current on the local conditions. Also, it's a good idea to print the Nominal Effects letter and carry it with you just in case. Details about collecting on USFS lands, along with the Nominal Effects letter, can be found on Canvas (go to the FAQ page).
Special Presentation: Ms. Silva Goes to Washington, or "What I did on my spring vacation"
Ellen Silva regaled us with a wonderful tale of her adventures in the American History Museum in Washington, D.C. Last year, she spent a week at OSU helping Linc to sort and identify bees which began her deep dive into Diadasia. The main key for this genus is an unpublished Ph.D. dissertation from 1969; the only reference materials available to Ellen in Corvallis were from Linc's private collection because the Oregon State Arthropod Collection is closed due to building renovations. The limited references left Ellen with a number of questions (apparently, confusion with relative terms in the dichotomous keys is pretty common -- makes you feel better, no?) and few answers.
When Ellen found herself planning a trip to visit her daughter in New York City, she realized that the American Museum of Natural History was a short train ride away, and that its collections included lots and lots of Diadasia specimens. Before her trip, she requested research permission to view the Diadasia collection, and not only was it approved, she got to meet Brian Danforth (author of The Solitary Bees) and waltz past the long lines of visitors to pick up her special backstage pass. She had done a fair amount of pre-trip prep work so she knew exactly which bees she wanted to look at and what parts of the bees she wanted to check out to better illustrate some of those couplets. As a result, she learned a lot, saw a lot of bee parts, and cleared up a lot of confusion (and it sounds like she really impressed the people at the museum as well!).
Her take-home messages are:
--There are lots of Natural History museums across the country and around the world. They all have reference collections that are open to the public upon request. They're also generally really happy to open their collections to researchers because this kind of information sharing is exactly why those collections exist. Your interest in their collections is proof of support for their mission. All you have to do is ask!
Give yourself lots of time. Ellen spent a day in the museum, but could have easily spent more time there and regrets that she didn't have enough time to also visit their library. That said, her husband is probably happy that he was only abandoned for one day of their vacation.
Do your research beforehand. Part of what made Ellen's visit so fruitful was the fact that she had spent time preparing for the visit so she knew exactly what she was looking for when she got there.
Melittologists are super-nice people (but Ellen probably already knew that already).
Next Month: Andony is working hard to respond to feedback to make Catch a Buzz more buzzy (and it's working!). Next month, Steve Gomes is going to give a presentation on rearing bumblebees. It sounds like it'll be really interesting, so try to tune it!
brush up on the best plants for bees in Oregon with Amy Campion - May 11@7pm via zoom
From Amy, a current OBA apprentice-melittologist-in-training: I am giving a Zoom talk on May 11 to the Native Plant Society of Oregon entitled "Northwest Native Garden Plants and the Amazing Insects They Attract." I will talk about several bees in it and also mention the Oregon Bee Atlas. Is there someplace I could post the announcement so my fellow melittologists will know about it? I'd like to do the talk for other groups as well, so I want more people to see it who might want me to speak to their group. I also plan on putting another talk together on gardening for bumble bees. Zoom link HERE.
The USFWS is very interested in the biology of the Western Bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis) so the recent discovery of a nest by our own Lincoln Best and USFWS conservation biologist Alan Yanahan was a big find. Waiting till the end of the season to allow the nest life cycle to complete, a team from OBA and USFWS carefully excavated the nest and are now unlocking its secrets through extensive analysis. Read the complete story HERE.
Donating to the oba is always in season
Do you really want another tie (can’t really wear them in the field when you’re collecting bees) or flower arrangement (unless it comes with bees, I’m not interested)? Why not suggest to your kids/nieces/nephews that instead of Mother’s/Father’s day gifts or for spring birthdays, they give a donation in your name to the Jerry and Judity Paul Native Pollinator Endowment and help fund the future of the OBA!
Share these instructions: Start by clicking HERE and in the “I want to give to…” field, start typing “Jerry & Judith Paul Native Pollinator Endowment” and it should pop right up. Be sure to select this exact destination for your funds to get it in the right place. And thank you in advance!
Send your OBA news to the Round-Up editor, Ellen Silva at e.silva@comcast.net!
Good advice from great melittologists
Tackle the online material ASAP and key out as many bees as you can.