Observation Dates and Conditions:
You can begin conducting observations once you are comfortable identifying the main bee groups. Bees really like warm, sunny days with little or no wind (as do humans) so that is a good time to go out to do your bee watching. In addition, we will send you reminders for specific "mass bee watching events", generally twice a month. If you can observe during those time periods, great! Otherwise, no biggie! Remember to write down the temperature at the time of your observation.
Observation Times:
The best observation times are between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM, with preference given for 10:00 AM but if your garden doesn’t get sun until later, you can do your observation anytime until 3 PM - or even later if bees are generally active.
Plant Species:
We accept data on the following 9 plants (CLICK HERE to go to a pdf with images of all accepted flower species):
- The Great Sunflower Project Sunflower
'Lemon Queen' sunflower variety - Any of the following six native perennials which can be found in parks or at our Official Mobile Bee Watching Sites including:
Wild Bergamot (lavender bee balm)
Common Milkweed
Smooth Aster
Woodland Sunflower
Rough-stemmed Goldenrod
Mountain Mint - If the above plants are not in bloom, we also would love observations on the following plants that can be observed throughout NYC:
Garden Cosmos
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)
If you see another plant species with lots of bees on it, you can still tell us about it via email (beewatchers@gmail.com). You can also send us emails with attachments of bee or other insect photos and we will try to identify them for you. Please write down the name of the plant type you are observing and also count the number of open flowers on the plant if possible (some plant flowers are so small it’s impossible to determine this). When the Great Sunflower project sunflower is in bloom, this plant should be your priority for observation. When the other native perennials are in bloom, they should be next on the list for observations.
Bee Categories:
We are looking at 5 groups of bees (CLICK HERE to go to pdf): honey bees, bumble bees, large carpenter bees, and metallic green bees. If any of the bees you see do not fit these categories, please enter the time in the fifth (‘Other’) category.
Bee Visits:
Choose a single plant (from the above list of 9) to observe. A single plant may have multiple flowers on it. A bee “counts” when it lands directly on any open flower head on the entire plant. If it lands on a leaf or elsewhere on the plant, it does not count as a bee visit. If a bee lands on a flower, then flies away, and then the same bee later returns to land on the flower, this counts as 2 separate visits. We are interested in the number of times that any bee visits the flower to gather pollen. Remember to note the number of open flowers on the plant you are observing.
Observation Locations:
Anywhere in NYC is OK. We welcome observations from private and community gardens, terraces, rooftop gardens, street side locations, fire escapes and more. Please write down or remember the specific location where you conducted your observation. When you submit your data online, there is a map that you can use to zoom into the specific location- click it and we will know where you were when you saw the bees (or didn't)!
Observation How-to:
Print our data collection sheet to help remember all the data you need to input later when you get back to your computer. Record your site data and the conditions (temp. etc.). Write down the start time (when you start staring at the flower), then write down the time that each of 5 bees visits the plant you are observing. So, for example, if you start watching your plant at 10:00, and a honey bee lands on the plant at 10:05 write down that at 10:05 there was a honey bee landing. If another honey bee arrives at 10:07, then write that time down as well. And if a bumble bee arrives at 10:21, record that as well.
If bees are already on the plant when you start you observation, then record your start time (say 10:00) and the time for each landing even if all were at 10:00.
Conduct your observation for one half hour or until 5 bees land on your flower. If 5 bees land quickly, then you’re all done until the next time. And if fewer than 5 bees visit, or no bees arrive after 30 minutes, please submit that data as well. This may be the most important data of all for the project.
Note: you may do more than one observation during an observation period, however each location should only have one observation/plant species/date. If you do extra observations on that day at the same location, use a different plant species. If you want to observe the same plant species on the same day as your initial observation, you must visit a new location. Remember to collect and submit all the necessary data separately for each flower species. You may also do observations on a weekly basis instead of just twice month. The more data we get, the better the project.
When you are finished collecting data, don't forget to submit it! It's very satisfying to click the submit button after entering your data, really!