The Ohio Bee Survey is a new OSU project that aims to inventory the richness of Ohio’s wild bee species over two years. We are recruiting volunteer bee collectors who will set out and collect small bee bowls once a week for 21 weeks from May through October. The weekly catch will be frozen, then delivered or mailed to a central locations for pinning and identification later in the year.
Our goal is to have at least one bee collector in each county. We began recruiting bee collectors in the last two weeks, and now have good coverage in many areas across the state. However, we still have about 30 counties without a collector (see list below).
Supplies and training materials are all provided by U.S. mail to collectors. Bee collectors can be Master Gardeners, OCVN volunteer naturalists, OSU employees or others not affiliated with OSU. Collection areas can be in home landscapes, farms or gardens, so travel is not required. (Specific locations such as parks may have permitting requirements, but there are not overall permitting requirements to participate).
Small painted bowls are filled with soapy water, left in the landscape for 24 hours, then collected, strained and the contents frozen. Collection happens alone, so collectors can easily comply with social distancing requirements.
If you or someone you know in a county below would like to participate in the survey, please visit this website:
For more information about the survey, visit:
For questions, please contact Denise at ellsworth.2@osu.edu or survey coordinator MaLisa Spring at spring.99@osu.edu
Counties in need:
Adams
Allen
Auglaize
Brown
Fayette
Fulton
Guernsey
Hancock
Hardin
Harrison
Henry
Lawrence
Lucas
Marion
Meigs
Mercer
Morrow
Noble
Paulding
Perry
Putnam
Ross
Sandusky
Scioto
Shelby
Van Wert
Warren
Washington
Williams
Wyandot
Thanks for any help you can offer!