Alarming reports of collapsing bee colonies and declining populations of other pollinator species have forced us to pay attention to the plight of pollinators and what their disappearance might mean to agricultural and natural ecosystems worldwide. Pollinators provide an essential ecological service to more than 90 percent of the world’s wild and cultivated flowering plants and to an estimated one-third of the food that humans consume.

Interior, Agriculture Research Plants Seed

In 1999, the U.S. departments of Interior and Agriculture held a joint workshop on declining pollinators to assess the current status of pollinator populations and to recommend research directions for their agencies (3).

They provided the following recommendations:

• Establish monitoring programs
• Conduct surveys
• Carry out systematic studies of bees
• Assess the role of pollinators in natural
• and agricultural systems
• Determine the effectiveness of efforts to restore the habitats of pollinators
  

Seven years later, the National Research Council of the National Academies comprehensive report, “Status of Pollinators in North America,” reinforces these same recommendations (1).

USGS scientists significantly contributed to the identification, monitoring, and management of pollinator populations including bees, moths, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats (2). Successful management and conservation of pollinators and their habitats depend on the availability and accessibility of tools and pollinator information derived from this research.

Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Bats — Pollination Superstars

A need also exists for raising community awareness and involvement in the national effort to monitor pollinators. Community awareness of large and charismatic pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds and nectarivorous bats is high due in part to the fact that they are relatively easy to observe. Conservation-minded societies and groups such as the North American Butterfly Association, the Hummingbird Society, and Bat Conservation International have also instilled an awareness of these pollinators.

But What About Bees?

But what about other pollinator species that are not so obvious in the landscape such as pollinator insects like bees? Bees are relatively easy to observe on or around flowering plants on a warm summer day, but they can be very difficult to identify. How can we know if we are seeing native or rare species? Observations of pollinators are not much use if we cannot identify the species we being observe. Communities need tools to help them identify pollinators and report their observations.

The Buzz on High-Tech Pollinator Identification

Help for identifying bees and other pollinators is coming from partnerships among USGS scientists and other organizations working to increase access to pollinator information through digital technologies such as the Internet. With support from the National Biological Information Infrastructure, scientists at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and Discover Life are developing Web-accessible identification guides or keys for the bees of North America. Each guide includes high-quality photographs and illustrations and questions about bee morphology that help users identify bees and bumblebees. Identification guides for other pollinators, including butterflies and hummingbirds (in the Birds ID Nature Guide), are also available on the Discover Life Web site. After identifying a specific pollinator, visitors to the site can also report their observations and display those observations on a map.The USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center also provides training in bee taxonomy and identification, as well as the use of some of the more advanced online guides.

Discover Life — 1,183,311 Species at Your Fingertips

Discover Life (http://www.discoverlife.org/) provides free online tools to identify species, share ways to teach and study nature's wonders, report findings, build maps, process images, and contribute to and learn from an encyclopedia of life that now contains 1,183,311 species. The National Biological Information Infrastucture is a broad, collaborative program to provide increased access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. NBII and its partners and collaborators work on new standards, tools, and technologies that make it easier to find, integrate, and apply biological resources information. One of these tools is available in offices, schools, and homes throughout the United States, the Internet. The NBII employs the Internet and other digital technologies for communication and collaboration, education, and transfer of data and technology.

In 2007 the NBII Pollinators Project developed the Pollinators Web site (http://pollinators.nbii.gov/) in partnership with the Ecological Society of America. The Web site combines ecological and biological information on pollinator species including bees, bats, hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths; pollination; and related issues. It also provides increased exposure and access to other important pollinator information sources like the bee identification guides on Discover Life and the Butterflies and Moths of North America database (http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/) that is also hosted online by the NBII. These tools are designed to educate, and help raise awareness of pollinators, and provide communities with the information they need to contribute to the national effort to monitor, manage, and conserve pollinators.

USGS, Partners Take Pollinator Awareness Worldwide

Scientists and researchers within many federal agencies, including USGS, conduct research and analysis for effective management and conservation of pollinators in natural and agricultural habitats and are helping to increase pollinator-related education and awareness nationally and globally. Through this research, and by participating in and supporting national-level efforts like the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and international efforts like the Pollinators Thematic Network of the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network, USGS is helping communities help pollinators. The next time you need information about a pollinator, consider asking the USGS and its partners for help.

For more information:

Discover Life Bee Identification Guides www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Insecta/Hymenoptera/Apoidea/index.html

Online Guides to North American Bee Identification (USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center): www.pwrc.usgs.gov/brd/bee.cfm

USGS-NBII Pollinators Project
http://pollinators.nbii.gov

USGS Science Topics – Pollinators: www.usgs.gov/science/science.php?term=916

People, Land & Water on the WEB: September/October 1999. Pollinators, Plants, & Prosperity:

IABIN Pollinators Thematic Network (http://pollinators.iabin.net)

References:

(1) Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America, National Research Council. 2007. Status of Pollinators in North America. National Academy of Sciences. The National Academies Press. Washington, D.C.

(2) People, Land, and Water on the Web. Special Edition. September/October 1999. (http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps1515/special.pollinators.html) Accessed May 21, 2007.

(3) Tepedino, V.J. and H.S. Ginsberg. 2000. Report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Interior Joint Workshop on Declining Pollinators, 27-28 May 1999, Logan, Utah. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Information and Technology Report, USGS/BRD/ITR-2000-0007. 9pp.