FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions - If you have a question that is not answered here, contact us

Where can I do a Nest Quest? 

Nest Quest surveys can happen anywhere you can set up a plot, and have permission to access the land. You may travel as far from home as you like to do a survey. Or just do it in your backyard! There are no limits. 

Bumble bees are overall flexible with their nesting habitat, so all types of habitat are interesting to search. 

Should I survey the same plot multiple times? 

No. While you can resurvey plots you have setup in the past, any data collected in the same survey plot will not be used in the final analysis. However, you may setup plots close to previous plots if you are interested in really scouring an area for nests. 

What kind of things may be mistaken for a bumble bee nest? 

It is not always clear when a bumble bee nest is present or not. You may see insect activity that looks very much like an active bumble bee nest. 

Hornet and wasp ground nests exhibit very similar behavior as a bumble bee nest. However, these nests may be very large and active, more than an average bumble bee nest. If you look closely, you also may be able to identify that the insects flying from the nest are not bumble bees. 

In the fall, you may see male bumble bees flittering about in unexpected ways while looking for a mate. This can easily be mistaken for nesting behavior, since they aren't always foraging. Some species like B. griseocollis, B. rufocinctus, and B. auricomus often use perches and may even form aggregations. 

Bumble bees flying close to the ground for low flowers. Some plants, like partridge pea or purple prairie clover for example, grow very low to the ground and are difficult to see when they are amongst lots of other vegetation. 

Sometimes, bumble bees are just weird. You may see them crawling on the ground or on other vegetation. 

I found a nest outside of a survey. Should I still report it? 

Yes!  You may find a bumble bee nest while you are walking to or from your survey. Even though this would not be part of an official survey, you should still follow the protocols for what to do if you find a nest (recording location, collecting data, alerting staff, etc.). These data are important for our study of bumble bee nesting habitat, but will be not be used for assessment of the efficiency of survey techniques. Report the nest to Bumble Bee Watch.

I already know where a bumble bee nest is. Should I place a survey plot around for my survey? 

No. If you already know the location of a nest, intentionally placing a survey plot around it would bias the data. If you know the location of a nest without detecting it during a survey, simply record it using a nest reporting data sheet, and submitting that data to Bumble Bee Watch.